Cornelius McNamara, better known as Connie (Mackey) Mc Namara, (6 April 1896 – 15 December 1957) was the Captain of "A" Company Active Service Unit of the Second Battalion Mid Limerick Brigade in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence.

Early life

Cornelius McNamara was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

city, the son of a butcher. He was educated for a period in the Christian Brothers

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in Sexton Street, Limerick. He left the school around 1910 and took up an apprenticeship in one of the four large bacon factories in Limerick. When

Padraig Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary wh ...

and

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came to Limerick in early 1914 to raise

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companies, the seeds were planted in Cornelius' mind to join the movement later on.

Volunteers

In October 1915, he enlisted in "C" Company Limerick City Battalion under Michael Colivet, and was present at Killonan with the rest of his battalion during the Easter Rising, but after hearing word that the Rising was called off, the battalion marched back to Limerick. Soon after, the Battalion split and he then joined "A" Company of the newly formed Second Battalion. His home then became the battalion dispatch centre and he was admitted to the ranks of the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

. In November 1918 he was promoted to first Lieutenant.

War of Independence

When the Irish War of Independence started on 6 April 1919, Cornelius became part of 'A' Company's Active Service Unit. On the same day, he was part of the attempted rescue of Robert Byrne, Adjutant of the Second Battalion from the City Home in Limerick. Byrne was mortally wounded and became the first Republican fatality of the Irish War of Independence. He was promoted to Captain in November 1919 and became leader of the 'A' Company Active Service Unit. On 17 July 1920, he was arrested with 4 or 5 members of his ASU collecting funds in Garryowen. He was imprisoned until mid-February 1921 and was re-arrested soon after his release and remained in prison until 9 December 1921 where he was released under a general amnesty of the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

of 6 December 1921.

Civil War

McNamara fought on the Republican side in the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). He was made commandant of the Strand Barracks in Limerick in March 1922. From 15 to 20 July, the Barracks was attacked by Free State troops under Michael Brennan. After a five-day siege, he surrendered and was imprisoned in Limerick Prison and then transported by the ship Arvonia to be interned in Gormanston Internment Camp. While he was in Limerick prison and aboard the Arvonia he was elected prisoners' commandant.

Subsequent IRA career

After the defeat of the anti-Treaty

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA) in the Civil War, McNamara was released on 23 December 1923. He became secretary of the Limerick branch for the Irish Republican Prisoners' Dependents Fund (IRPDF) from 1924 to 1925, which assisted Republican Prisoners families. He was forced to emigrate to

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in both 1925 and 1930 by Free State sympathisers, and took no further part in any more IRA activities.

Death

He died at home in 1957 and was survived by his second wife May (née Moakley) and only daughter Patricia Corbett. His grandson Jim Corbett chronicled his life with the biography Not While I Have Ammo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Cornelius Military personnel from County Limerick 1957 deaths 1896 births Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Irish emigrants to the United States