Michael Mallin
|
Michael Mallin
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1 December 1874 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin, Ireland |
| Allegiance | Irish Citizen Army |
| Years of service | 1913–1916 |
| Rank | Commandant Second in Command of Irish Citizen Army |
| Commands held | St Stephen's Green Garrison, Easter Week, 1916 |
| Battles/wars | Easter Rising, Tirah Campaign |
Michael Mallin (Irish: Micheál Ó Mealláin; 1 December 1874 – 8 May 1916) was an Irish rebel and socialist who took an active role in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Born in Dublin, the son of John Mallin, a carpenter, Michael Mallin, a silk weaver and co-founder with Francis Sheehy-Skeffington of the Irish Socialist Party, was second in command of the Irish Citizen Army under James Connolly in the Easter Rising of 1916 and commanded the garrison at St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, with Constance Markievicz as his second in command.[1]
Mallin had been signed up to the British army as a boy soldier and served for many years in India and Afghanistan, winning the India Medal of 1895 with the Punjab Frontier and Tirah clasps 1897-98. His experiences in fighting against impoverished natives on behalf of the British Empire radicalised him and on his return to Ireland he became a leading official in the silk weavers' union and second in command and chief training officer of the Irish Citizen Army, which was formed during the 1913 lockout to protect workers from the DMP and from employer-funded gangs of strike-breakers.
Mallin surrendered on Sunday, 30 April 1916 when ordered to do so by Connolly. At his court-martial he downplayed his involvement. In his statement, Mallin said, "I had no commission whatever in the Citizen Army. I was never taken into the confidence of James Connolly. I was under the impression that we were going out for manoeuvres on Sunday." He added, "Shortly after my arrival at St Stephen's Green the firing started and Countess Markievicz ordered me to take command of the men as I had been so long associated with them. I felt I could not leave them and from that time I joined the rebellion."
He was convicted by the ad hoc court martial and executed by firing squad on 8 May 1916. The presiding officer at his court martial was Colonel EWSK Maconchy.[2] In his last letter to his wife, who was pregnant with their fifth child, Mallin stated that "I find no fault with the soldiers or the police" and asked her "to pray for all the souls who fell in this fight, Irish and English." He commented "so must Irishmen pay for trying to make Ireland a free nation." He wrote to his baby son, “Joseph, my little man, be a priest if you can”, and also requested that his daughter Una become a nun. Both followed his wishes.[3]
Dún Laoghaire Mallin DART station is named after Michael Mallin.[4]
Family
He was married to Agnes Hickey, with whom he had three sons and two daughters, the youngest born after Mallin's execution. His son Fr. Joe Mallin SJ, born in September 1913, a Jesuit priest and teacher in Hong Kong, celebrated his 102nd birthday in 2015. He is the last surviving child of those executed in the Rising.[5]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
