Pádraig Ó Fathaigh
Encyclopedia
Pádraig Ó Fathaigh was a member of the Gaelic League and an Intelligence Officer
of the Irish Republican Army
.
, County Galway
, Ó Fathaigh was the fifth of six children (and third son) of Laurence and Brdget Ó Fathaigh. Like most of their neighbours, the family were tenent farmers "who lived in a three-roomed house and raised grains, root crops and livestock for sale at local markets. They also maintained a few outbuildings for their animals, indicating that the family was able to invest in some improvements on their farm." Growing up amid the Irish Land War and Home Rule
, Ó Fathaigh - whose family spoke Irish at home - joined the Gaelic League. He was certified to teach Irish in national schools in 1907 and two years later became the full-time múinteoir taistil (travelling teacher) for the Gort area. He regularly cycled all over the district each week, his night classes been as large as 150 pupils.
in 1914, possibly becoming a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
around the same time. His older brothers, Mícheál and Seán were also Volunteers, while their youngest sister, Mary, was secretary of the local Cumann na mBan
. Liam Mellows
was a regular visitor to the family home. His participation in the Easter Rebellion of 1916 was cut short by his arrest at Kinvara
presbytery
, while the main group of over six hundred Galway volunteers gathered near Athenry
and Oranmore
under Liam Mellows and Larry Lardner.
till released in 1917. With the start of the Irish War of Independence
he was on the run, serving as an intelligence officer.
He was arrested in January 1920 and was imprisoned in England
. He participated in the ten-day Hunger Strike
at London
's Wormwood Scrubs
prison in 1920. He escaped on 16 May, arriving back in the Gort area in June. Over the following year his friend, Joe Howley
, and informant, Constable Kearney of the Royal Irish Constabulary
, were killed by the Black and Tans
, while other events included the killings of Eileen Quinn, Fr. Michael Griffin, the Loughnane brothers, Frank Shawe-Taylor
and Captain C.E.N. Blake. Following the death of the latter, his wife and two fellow officers at the Ballyturin ambush,
Ó Fathaigh's family home was burned by Crown forces, after which they ran riot in Gort.
After the Truce of 1922, he was congratulated for his efforts from Michael Collins
. However, he took the Anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War
.
from National University of Ireland, Galway
, teaching in his locality. In later years he worked as a Health Board clerk for Galway County Council and was secretary of the committee which erected a monument to Liam Mellows
in Eyre Square
.
MS 21288. It was published in 2000.
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
.
Background and early life
A native of Lurgan, GortGort
Gort is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. An Gort is the official Irish name for the town, as defined by the Placenames Commission. In spoken Irish, however, the town is known by its traditional name Gort Inse Guaire. It lies just north of the border with County Clare on the...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, Ó Fathaigh was the fifth of six children (and third son) of Laurence and Brdget Ó Fathaigh. Like most of their neighbours, the family were tenent farmers "who lived in a three-roomed house and raised grains, root crops and livestock for sale at local markets. They also maintained a few outbuildings for their animals, indicating that the family was able to invest in some improvements on their farm." Growing up amid the Irish Land War and Home Rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
, Ó Fathaigh - whose family spoke Irish at home - joined the Gaelic League. He was certified to teach Irish in national schools in 1907 and two years later became the full-time múinteoir taistil (travelling teacher) for the Gort area. He regularly cycled all over the district each week, his night classes been as large as 150 pupils.
Irish Volunteer
He joined the Irish VolunteersIrish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
in 1914, possibly becoming a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
around the same time. His older brothers, Mícheál and Seán were also Volunteers, while their youngest sister, Mary, was secretary of the local Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan
Cumann na mBan is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914 as an auxiliary of the Irish Volunteers...
. Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows was an Irish Republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England, Mellows grew up in County Wexford in Ireland. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway, and the War of Independence...
was a regular visitor to the family home. His participation in the Easter Rebellion of 1916 was cut short by his arrest at Kinvara
Kinvara
Kinvara is a sea port village located in the south of County Galway in the province of Connacht on the west coast of Ireland. Kinvara is also the name of the parish in which the village is situated. Kinvara is occasionally spelled Kinvarra in English; this may be seen on some maps and road signs,...
presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
, while the main group of over six hundred Galway volunteers gathered near Athenry
Athenry
Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...
and Oranmore
Oranmore
Oranmore is a village in County Galway on the outskirts of Galway city in Ireland. With its major housing developments, Oranmore is rapidly becoming a part of Galway's commuter or suburban belt...
under Liam Mellows and Larry Lardner.
Active service in County Galway
After the failure of the rising, Ó Fathaigh served time for penal servitude in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
till released in 1917. With the start of the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
he was on the run, serving as an intelligence officer.
He was arrested in January 1920 and was imprisoned in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He participated in the ten-day Hunger Strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha , and one of the largest areas of common land in London...
prison in 1920. He escaped on 16 May, arriving back in the Gort area in June. Over the following year his friend, Joe Howley
Joe Howley
Joseph Howley was a member of the local Irish Volunteers at Oranmore, County Galway. Howley mobilized and led a combined contingent of 106 Volunteers from Oranmore and neighboring Maree on Easter Tuesday morning of the 1916 Easter Rising. Their plan was to attack the Oranmore barracks...
, and informant, Constable Kearney of the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
, were killed by the Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
, while other events included the killings of Eileen Quinn, Fr. Michael Griffin, the Loughnane brothers, Frank Shawe-Taylor
Frank Shawe-Taylor
Frank Shawe-Taylor was an Irish land agent and murder victim. Arising from a land dispute, a shocking event in County Galway during the Irish War of Independence led to a series of further deaths and tragedies.-Background to the dispute:...
and Captain C.E.N. Blake. Following the death of the latter, his wife and two fellow officers at the Ballyturin ambush,
Ó Fathaigh's family home was burned by Crown forces, after which they ran riot in Gort.
After the Truce of 1922, he was congratulated for his efforts from Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
. However, he took the Anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
.
Later life
After the war, he earned a degree in Celtic StudiesCeltic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
from National University of Ireland, Galway
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
, teaching in his locality. In later years he worked as a Health Board clerk for Galway County Council and was secretary of the committee which erected a monument to Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows was an Irish Republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England, Mellows grew up in County Wexford in Ireland. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway, and the War of Independence...
in Eyre Square
Eyre Square
John F. Kennedy Memorial Park is an inner-city public park in Galway, Ireland, formerly officially named Eyre Square and still widely known by that name...
.
Memoir
Pádraig Ó Fathaigh wrote a memoir of his life in 1968, which is now National Library of IrelandNational Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism is the member of the Irish Government responsible for the library....
MS 21288. It was published in 2000.
See also
- Tadhg an tSleibhe Ó FathaighTadhg an tSleibhe Ó FathaighTadhg an tSleibhe Ó Fathaigh, Irish Chief of the Name, fl. 1620.-Ó Fathaigh of Slieve Aughty:Tadhg an tSleibhe was one of the few known chiefs of the Ó Fathaigh clan, located in Uí Maine, in what is now County Galway. Descendants of Fathadh mac Aonghus, they were a minor clan, based in an area...
, Chief of the Name, fl. 1620. - Éamonn CeanntÉamonn CeanntÉamonn Ceannt , born Edward Thomas Kent, was an Irish republican, mostly known for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916.-Background:...
- Tom Egan (Coshla)
- Bill Freaney
- Joe HowleyJoe HowleyJoseph Howley was a member of the local Irish Volunteers at Oranmore, County Galway. Howley mobilized and led a combined contingent of 106 Volunteers from Oranmore and neighboring Maree on Easter Tuesday morning of the 1916 Easter Rising. Their plan was to attack the Oranmore barracks...
- Liam MellowsLiam MellowsLiam Mellows was an Irish Republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England, Mellows grew up in County Wexford in Ireland. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway, and the War of Independence...
- Frank Shawe-TaylorFrank Shawe-TaylorFrank Shawe-Taylor was an Irish land agent and murder victim. Arising from a land dispute, a shocking event in County Galway during the Irish War of Independence led to a series of further deaths and tragedies.-Background to the dispute:...