Eamon's mother, Annie O'Rourke, employed as a governess on the same estancia, crossed paths with William Bulfin.
As a fellow Westmeath native, they found common ground and their relationship withstood distance when he left the gaucho lifestyle in the late 1880s to work at The Southern Cross in Buenos Aires.
[1] Bulfin was a pupil at Patrick Pearse's school, Sgoil Éanna (in English, St Enda's), and studied at University College Dublin,[2] where he became captain of the Irish Volunteer Company.
[3] He was recruited to the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1913, and along with some fellow St Enda's students created home-made bombs in the school's basement in preparation for the Easter Rising.
[13] Bulfin was one of several representatives abroad appointed for that purpose during the War of Independence, and recognition of the importance of their work led to the establishment in February 1921 of a Department of Foreign Affairs.
[citation needed] Bulfin remained at The Southern Cross until 1940 when he returned to Ireland due to ill health.
After returning to Ireland he continued writing for several publications including The Irish Press and Interim Magazine before retiring in 1954.