MacBride was the son of Maud Gonne and Major John MacBride whose marriage ended in a bitter separation. Father and son never saw each other again. After the Easter Rising of 1916 Maud Gonne came to live in Ireland. Sean joined the IRA becoming its leader in 1938. He later went into politics and became Minister for External Affairs in 1948. He later began an international career with the ILO, Amnesty, and the UN. He was a controversial character, rigid and unmoverable.