Michael Kilroy
Encyclopedia
Michael Kilroy was an Irish
politician and guerrilla leader. He was an Irish Republican Army
(IRA) officer in his native County Mayo
, during the Irish War of Independence
and Irish Civil War
. Subsequently, he was a Sinn Féin
and later Fianna Fáil
Teachta Dála
(TD) for Mayo South
.
, County Mayo
on the 14 September 1884. He was the son of Edward and Matilda Kilroy and one of ten in family. He was a carpenter and coachbuilder and learned his trade in Claremorris when he was 16 years and lodged with the Stratford Family in Mount Street, Claremorris. He was married to Ann Leonard of Crossmolina and they had eight in family. As a child he was raised with his maternal grandmother who was also Kilroy in the townland of Carrickaneady, Newport and went to school in Culmore in the 1890's where he was greatly influenced by the nationalistically minded Martin Casey, the Head Master. Mr. Casey instilled in his pupils a great love of Irish history that would remain with Kilroy all his life.
A booklet on the life of Michael Kilroy was published in 2008, Michael Kilroy - A Life 1884 - 1962 and is available in Mayo County Libraries.
The IRA in West Mayo was relatively quiet until January 1921, when Michael Kilroy, who was described as, "a puritanical and ascetic blacksmith" took over command of the brigade after the previous leader Thomas Derrig was arrested by the British.
There were four Battalions in the West Mayo Brigade, The First Battalion was in Castlebar, the Second Battalion was in Newport, the Third Battalion was in Westport and the Fourth Battalion was in Lousiburgh. In his earlier career with the Movement for Independence, Kilroy had been an organiser for the IRB in the west and had been one of the founder members of the Volunteer Company in Newport in February 1914 and was the O/C and also Quarter Master of the Mayo Brigade of the Irish Volunteers.
Kilroy formed a flying column
of 40-50 men to carry out attacks on British forces in the area. On 6 May 1921, they suffered a reverse at Islandeady, when a British patrol came upon the IRA men cutting a road, 3 IRA members were killed and 2 captured.
Another setback was to follow; at the Kilmeena ambush
on 19 May 1921, 6 IRA men were killed and 7 wounded. One Royal Irish Constabulary
and one Black and Tans
policemen were also killed in the action. After the ambush at Kilmeena the column retreated to the hill country of Skirdagh to the north east of Newport where they were forced to retreat when a patrol from Newport came into the village the gallant men of the West Mayo Brigade held them off and the wounded were got away to safety. This was on the 23 May 1921 and the column was hidden in the hills of the Nephin range and in the Glenisland area until the RIC, Tans and the Border regiment lifted the cordon. One volunteer from Newport was killed at Skirdagh and a number of the RIC including a District Inspector was killed. It was a crucial week in the survival of the column because they were attacked from the rear at Kilmeena and could have been wiped out at this action.
The Crown forces burned houses including the home of Michael Kilroy on the 20 May 1921 and the same would happen after the Carrowkennedy Ambush in June 1921. The south west Mayo area suffered greatly during these months of 1921 due to the ambushes.
On the 2 June 1921 in an action at Carrowkennedy
, they killed 8 Tans and captured 16 members of the RIC along with a Lewis Machine gun and rifles and ammunition. The ambush began after the convoy or patrol left Darby Hastings pub at Carrowkennedy and one of the column fired early hitting the driver of the first vehicle and after a protracted period of firing in which a number of Tans were killed, an explosion in one of the lorries brought an end to the firing. Two of the wounded Tans died later. The 16 RIC referred to earlier surrendered in a nearby cottage. The Column went on the run for the next six weeks until the Truce. The first casualty in the ambush was District Inspector Stevenson.
He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
in 1922 and sided with the Anti-Treaty IRA
during the Civil War with the Irish Free State
forces in 1922–23. He served on the Army Executive of the IRA in this period. In October 1922 he was appointed O/C of the 4th Western Division and later the Western Command in September 1922, the 4th Western Division covered North Mayo, West Mayo and West Connemara.
In the early months of the Civil War, he and his men dominated the West Mayo area and successfully ambushed Free State Army troops on several occasions. The Government forces also had to evacuate their garrison at Newport and Kilroy led a successful attack on Clifden, capturing the Army post there on 29 October 1922. They also captured Ballina in September 1922. They fought a battle at Glenamoy on the 16 September 1922 where 6 Free State Troops were killed and five wounded, one Republican Officer was wounded.
However the Free State then sent an expedition to the North Mayo/Connemara
area, which succeeded after some fighting, in capturing Michael Kilroy and many of his men at Carrowbeg House on 23 November 1922. Kilroy was badly wounded and interned at Athlone and Mountjoy where he went on Hunger Strike and would escape in late 1923 when the Civil War was over.
Michael Kilroy was elected for Fianna Fáil in South Mayo in June 1927 and would be TD for South Mayo until 1937 when he lost his seat when contesting the General election in North Mayo in 1937.
He did not take his seat in the 4th Dáil due to Sinn Féin's abstentionist
policy.
He was the Chairman of Mayo County Council from 1934 to 1945, the longest-serving member in this position in the history of the Council. From 1945 until his death on the 23 December 1962 he was a Member of the Hospitals Commission. He retired from politics in 1945. His funeral was one of the largest seen in Newport and along with many politicians, the then President Eamon de Valera was present. The graveside oration was given by his comrade and fellow TD Edward Moane from Westport.
The Fianna Fáil Cummann in Newport is named in his honour and his son Peadar also was in local politics as a member of Mayo County Council.
He was elected as a Fianna Fáil
TD at the June 1927 general election. He was re-elected at the September 1927, 1932
and 1933
general elections. He lost his seat at the 1937 general election
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
politician and guerrilla leader. He was an 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...
(IRA) officer in his native County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo 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 village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, during 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...
and 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....
. Subsequently, he was a Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
and later Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
(TD) for Mayo South
Mayo South (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Mayo South was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1923 to 1969...
.
Guerrilla leader
Michael Kilroy was born in Derrylahan townland, NewportNewport, County Mayo
Newport, historically known as Ballyveaghan , is a small picturesque town in the Barony of Burrishoole County Mayo, Ireland with a population of 590 in 2006. It is located on the west coast of Ireland, along the shore of Clew Bay, north of Westport. The N59 road passes through the town. The...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo 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 village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
on the 14 September 1884. He was the son of Edward and Matilda Kilroy and one of ten in family. He was a carpenter and coachbuilder and learned his trade in Claremorris when he was 16 years and lodged with the Stratford Family in Mount Street, Claremorris. He was married to Ann Leonard of Crossmolina and they had eight in family. As a child he was raised with his maternal grandmother who was also Kilroy in the townland of Carrickaneady, Newport and went to school in Culmore in the 1890's where he was greatly influenced by the nationalistically minded Martin Casey, the Head Master. Mr. Casey instilled in his pupils a great love of Irish history that would remain with Kilroy all his life.
A booklet on the life of Michael Kilroy was published in 2008, Michael Kilroy - A Life 1884 - 1962 and is available in Mayo County Libraries.
The IRA in West Mayo was relatively quiet until January 1921, when Michael Kilroy, who was described as, "a puritanical and ascetic blacksmith" took over command of the brigade after the previous leader Thomas Derrig was arrested by the British.
There were four Battalions in the West Mayo Brigade, The First Battalion was in Castlebar, the Second Battalion was in Newport, the Third Battalion was in Westport and the Fourth Battalion was in Lousiburgh. In his earlier career with the Movement for Independence, Kilroy had been an organiser for the IRB in the west and had been one of the founder members of the Volunteer Company in Newport in February 1914 and was the O/C and also Quarter Master of the Mayo Brigade of the Irish Volunteers.
Kilroy formed a flying column
Flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ad hoc unit, formed during the course of operations....
of 40-50 men to carry out attacks on British forces in the area. On 6 May 1921, they suffered a reverse at Islandeady, when a British patrol came upon the IRA men cutting a road, 3 IRA members were killed and 2 captured.
Another setback was to follow; at the Kilmeena ambush
Kilmeena ambush
The Kilmeena ambush was an action during the Irish War of Independence that took place at Kilmeena, County Mayo on 19 May 1921. The ambush ended in defeat for the local West Mayo Irish Republican Army , with six IRA men killed and seven wounded...
on 19 May 1921, 6 IRA men were killed and 7 wounded. One 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...
and one 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...
policemen were also killed in the action. After the ambush at Kilmeena the column retreated to the hill country of Skirdagh to the north east of Newport where they were forced to retreat when a patrol from Newport came into the village the gallant men of the West Mayo Brigade held them off and the wounded were got away to safety. This was on the 23 May 1921 and the column was hidden in the hills of the Nephin range and in the Glenisland area until the RIC, Tans and the Border regiment lifted the cordon. One volunteer from Newport was killed at Skirdagh and a number of the RIC including a District Inspector was killed. It was a crucial week in the survival of the column because they were attacked from the rear at Kilmeena and could have been wiped out at this action.
The Crown forces burned houses including the home of Michael Kilroy on the 20 May 1921 and the same would happen after the Carrowkennedy Ambush in June 1921. The south west Mayo area suffered greatly during these months of 1921 due to the ambushes.
On the 2 June 1921 in an action at Carrowkennedy
Carrowkennedy ambush
The Carrowkennedy Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 2 June 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place in Carrowkennedy, County Mayo....
, they killed 8 Tans and captured 16 members of the RIC along with a Lewis Machine gun and rifles and ammunition. The ambush began after the convoy or patrol left Darby Hastings pub at Carrowkennedy and one of the column fired early hitting the driver of the first vehicle and after a protracted period of firing in which a number of Tans were killed, an explosion in one of the lorries brought an end to the firing. Two of the wounded Tans died later. The 16 RIC referred to earlier surrendered in a nearby cottage. The Column went on the run for the next six weeks until the Truce. The first casualty in the ambush was District Inspector Stevenson.
He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
in 1922 and sided with the Anti-Treaty IRA
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
during the Civil War with the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
forces in 1922–23. He served on the Army Executive of the IRA in this period. In October 1922 he was appointed O/C of the 4th Western Division and later the Western Command in September 1922, the 4th Western Division covered North Mayo, West Mayo and West Connemara.
In the early months of the Civil War, he and his men dominated the West Mayo area and successfully ambushed Free State Army troops on several occasions. The Government forces also had to evacuate their garrison at Newport and Kilroy led a successful attack on Clifden, capturing the Army post there on 29 October 1922. They also captured Ballina in September 1922. They fought a battle at Glenamoy on the 16 September 1922 where 6 Free State Troops were killed and five wounded, one Republican Officer was wounded.
However the Free State then sent an expedition to the North Mayo/Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
area, which succeeded after some fighting, in capturing Michael Kilroy and many of his men at Carrowbeg House on 23 November 1922. Kilroy was badly wounded and interned at Athlone and Mountjoy where he went on Hunger Strike and would escape in late 1923 when the Civil War was over.
Politician
Kilroy entered politics in August 1923 when whilst still in Gaol he was elected for the Republicans for South Mayo but due to the Oath of Allegiance he did not take his seat.Michael Kilroy was elected for Fianna Fáil in South Mayo in June 1927 and would be TD for South Mayo until 1937 when he lost his seat when contesting the General election in North Mayo in 1937.
He did not take his seat in the 4th Dáil due to Sinn Féin's abstentionist
Abstentionism
Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in the election itself...
policy.
He was the Chairman of Mayo County Council from 1934 to 1945, the longest-serving member in this position in the history of the Council. From 1945 until his death on the 23 December 1962 he was a Member of the Hospitals Commission. He retired from politics in 1945. His funeral was one of the largest seen in Newport and along with many politicians, the then President Eamon de Valera was present. The graveside oration was given by his comrade and fellow TD Edward Moane from Westport.
The Fianna Fáil Cummann in Newport is named in his honour and his son Peadar also was in local politics as a member of Mayo County Council.
He was elected as a Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
TD at the June 1927 general election. He was re-elected at the September 1927, 1932
Irish general election, 1932
The Irish general election of 1932 was held on 16 February 1932, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 29 January. The newly elected 153 members of the 7th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 9 March 1932 when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of...
and 1933
Irish general election, 1933
The Irish general election of 1933 was held on 24 January 1933. The newly elected members of the 8th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 8 February when the new President of the Executive Council and Executive Council of the Irish Free State were appointed....
general elections. He lost his seat at the 1937 general election
Irish general election, 1937
The Irish general election of 1937 was held on 1 July 1937, just over two weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 14 June. A plebiscite to ratify the Constitution of Ireland was held on the same day...
.