This was the case for Alice Milligan, publisher in Belfast of "The Shan Van Vocht." Milligan's command of Irish was never fluent, and on that basis Patrick Pearsewas to object when, in 1904, the Gaelic League hired her as a travelling lecturer. She proved herself by establishing new branches throughout Ireland and raising funds along the way. In the north, in Ulster, she focused on the more difficult task of recruiting Protestants, working with, among other activists, Hyde, Ada McNeill, Roger Casement, Stephen Gwynn, and Seamus McManus.