William Joseph Mellows ( ga, Liam Ó Maoilíosa, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republican and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

before moving to Ireland, being raised in Cork,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and his mother's native

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

. He was active with 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 ...

and

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...

, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway and the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. Elected as a TD to the

First Dáil The First Dáil ( ga, An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919 to 1921. It was the first meeting of the unicameral parliament of the revolutionary Irish Republic. In the December 1918 election to the Parliament of the United ...

, he rejected 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 ...

. During the Irish Civil War Mellows was captured by Pro-Treaty forces after the surrender of the Four Courts in June 1922. On 8 December 1922 he was one of four senior IRA men

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by the Provisional Government.

Early life

Mellows was born at the Hartshead Military Barracks in

on 25 May 1892, the son of William Joseph Mellows, an English man who worked as an NCO in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and Sarah Jordan, an Irish woman from Inch, County Wexford. His family moved to 10 Annadale Avenue in the Fairview area of

in February 1895, when his father was transferred there; Mellows remained in

with his grandfather, Patrick Jordan, due to ill health. He attended the military school in Wellington Barracks in Cork and the

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

garrison school in Dublin, but ultimately refused a military career much to his father's disappointment, instead working as a clerk in several Dublin firms, including the Junior Army & Navy Stores on

D'Olier Street D'Olier Street ( ) is a street in the southern city-centre of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It and Westmoreland Street are two broad streets whose northern ends meet at the southern end of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. Its southern ...

Career

Entry into politics

Mellows was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...

from an early age. In 1911, he purchased a copy of ''Irish Freedom'', which began: "We stand for Ireland..." He approached Thomas Clarke in his shop, who recruited him into

Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in setting up the Irish Volun ...

, an organisation of young republicans. He also met secretary Patrick O'Ryan, Con Colbert and Eamon Martin, who would be a lifelong friend. At the next meeting, Mellows' brothers all signed up. On 7 April 1911, he was sworn to secrecy by the

. Mellows was proposed for the post of organiser and travelling instructor. He founded the ''sluagh'' at Dolphins Barn, Co Wexford, which was a success. He established more ''sluagdste'' at

Ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

and

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...

in Easter 1912. Mellows cycled everywhere, which was cheap and convenient; he was promoted to the rank of captain by the ''ard choisde''. In June 1913, Mellows stayed at

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

IRB Centre with Liam Walsh in the Gaelic League Room, Williams Street. Mellows was organising sports in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

in September 1913 when he was introduced to socialist

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

Countess Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the firs ...

's residence, where Connolly was recuperating after his hunger strike. Connolly was deeply impressed and told his daughter Nora: "I have found a real man". Mellows was called back to Dublin on 25 November 1913. He was active in the IRB and was a founder member of the

, being brought onto its organising committee to strengthen the Fianna representation. He was given a full-time job at 30s a week. Mellows joined forces with Éamonn Ceannt and

Sir Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

at the Provisional Committee choosing to support the parliamentary route taken by Roger Casement. But as an employee he was compelled to agree with Redmondite candidates, although he had voted against the Nationalists' pro-British policy. He was arrested and jailed on several occasions under the

Defence of the Realm Act The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the p ...

. On 1 August, Mellows' company was taking an arms shipment from Howth to Dublin and fired on the RIC at Clontarf. That evening Éamon de Valera took him by car to Kilcoole. Guns were loaded on a charabanc in Bray at night and then distributed in Dublin from a fleet of taxis. Mellows was sent to Galway and made his base at

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

. There he met Seán Mac Diarmada and was appointed as election scrutineer at

. On Sunday 18 May 1915, the two men were at an anti-enlistment rally when they were challenged at gunpoint by police inspector Comerford. Mac Diarmada was searched, arrested and jailed. Mellows, however, got away and started a training group at Kynoch's Fort, south Galway, recruiting men from miles around. On 1 July, he was arrested at Courtown Harbour and jailed for three months. He was sent to Mountjoy Prison. Months later Mellows was with volunteers at

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

when they were attacked by machine-guns. Fleeing the scene over rooftops, they made off by motorbike. Mellows returned to post a letter and assist his comrades. A week later he was arrested at the house of Julia Morrissey. The British took him by train to

Arbour Hill Prison Arbour Hill Prison () is a prison located in the Arbour Hill area near Heuston Station in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The prison is the national centre for male sex offenders. Adjacent to the prison are the Church of the Sacred Heart, ...

, before he was shipped to Leek, England.

1916 Easter Rising

Eventually escaping from Reading Jail he returned to Ireland to command the "Western Division" (forces operating in the West of Ireland) of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

during the Easter Rising of 1916. He led roughly 700 Volunteers in abortive attacks on

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

stations at

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ''Úarán Mór'') is a town near the city of Galway in County Galway, Ireland. It is also the name of the civil parish and Roman Catholic parish in which the town lies. It is east of Galway city on the edge of Oranmore Bay, an i ...

, and

Clarinbridge Clarinbridge () is a village in south County Galway, Ireland. It is on the mouth of the Clarin River at the end of Dunbulcaun Bay, which is the easternmost part of Galway Bay. The placename is also spelled Clarenbridge. Notable people * Alexa ...

in county Galway taking over the town of

. However, his men were very badly armed and supplied and they dispersed after a week, when British troops and the cruiser were sent west to attack them. In the aftermath of the Uprising over three hundred Galway Volunteers were deported to jails across England and Scotland. Mellows and a number of other local IRA leaders were able to evade capture after the station master of Athenry, James Miggins, delayed a detachment of incoming British troops.

Time in America

After this insurrection failed, Mellows escaped to the United States, where he was arrested and detained without trial in the "Tombs" prison, New York, on a charge of attempting to aid the German side in the First World War. This was in the context of incidents like the Black Tom and Kingsland explosions, where German agents had bombed neutral American ports and industrial facilities. After his release in 1918, he worked with

John Devoy John Devoy ( ga, Seán Ó Dubhuí, ; 3 September 1842 – 29 September 1928) was an Irish republican rebel and journalist who owned and edited '' The Gaelic American'', a New York weekly newspaper, from 1903 to 1928. Devoy dedicated over ...

and helped to organise

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

's fund raising visit to America in 1919–1920. He returned to Ireland to become

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 ...

"Director of Supplies" during the Irish War of Independence, responsible for buying arms. At the 1918 general election, he was elected to the

as a

candidate for both Galway East and for Meath North.

Opponent of the Treaty

Mellows considered the

as signed to be a betrayal of the

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...

, saying in the ''Treaty Debates'' of 1921–22: A conference of nine TDs was deputed to meet privately on 5 January 1922 to resolve the dispute and to achieve a unified front by compromise. The four other anti-Treaty TDs said there was agreement but Mellows did not, and was seen thereafter by pro-Treaty TDs as one of their most implacable opponents. The following day the Dáil voted to approve the Treaty by a majority of 64 to 57. Details on the private conference and the private Dáil session debate were not made public until the 1970s. He wrote a social programme based on the Dáil's Democratic Programme of 1919 aimed at winning popular support for the anti-Treaty cause.

Civil war and execution

Mellows was one of the more strident TDs on the approach to the Irish Civil War. On 28 April 1922 he told the Dáil: : Mellows, the quartermaster-general with the rank of commandant general, was one of a number of senior figures in the Anti-Treaty IRA faction that had occupied the

Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circui ...

since April. However, on 28 June the building was bombarded by pro-Treaty Free State forces and the IRA garrison was forced to surrender after two days. Mellows had a chance to escape along with Ernie O'Malley, but did not take it (see also Battle of Dublin). Imprisoned in Mountjoy Gaol in the Phibsborough area of

, Mellows (along with Rory O'Connor,

Joe McKelvey Joseph McKelvey (17 June 1898 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish Republican Army officer who was executed during the Irish Civil War. He participated in the anti-Treaty IRA's repudiation of the authority of the Dáil (civil government of the Iri ...

and Dick Barrett) was

executed by firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

on 8 December 1922, in reprisal for the shooting of Pro-Treaty TD Seán Hales (see

executions during the Irish Civil War The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War (June 1922 – May 1923). This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Treat ...

). These executions, and their effects on their fellow prisoners, are described in Peadar O'Donnell's Irish Civil War memoir ''The Gates Flew Open''.

Ideology

In 1922, the Labour Party posthumously published a document entitled "Liam Mellow's Jail Programme", based on notes Mellows had smuggled out of jail after being captured by the Irish Free State. In this document, Mellows outlines a 10 point programme he proposed that the Anti-Treaty IRA adopt in 1922: # Ownership and control of all heavy industries by the state for the benefit of all the people # Complete ownership of the transport system by the state # State ownership of all banks # Confiscation of all the large ranches and estates, without compensation to the landed aristocracy, and the distribution of the land among the landless farmers and agricultural labourers. Election of joint councils representatives of these two classes to distribute and manage the land. Abolition of all forms of tenure and indebtedness either to private owners or to the state. Cancellation of all debts and mortgages. # Establishment of an all-around shorter working day # Control of workshop conditions, to be vested in a joint council representing the workers' Trade Unions concerned and the state # Municipalisation of all public services: Trams, light, heat, water, etc and free use by the workers # Compulsory rationing of all available household accommodation and the abolishing of all rents # Full maintenance for the unemployed at full Trade Union rates until useful work at Trade Union rates of wages can be provided # The universal arming of all workers in the town and country to defend their rights Pat Walsh opines that Mellows was not a Communist nor a Marxist, but simply a nationalist who, in a situation of desperation for the Republican forces who looked set to lose the Civil War, thought that only by bringing workers into the national struggle could the Republican forces survive. "It was with great reluctance," Walsh writes, "that Mellows advocated this course." Writing for An Phoblacht in January 2010, Sinn Fein's Eoin Ó Broin also discussed Mellows' Marxist political positions. In the article, Ó Broin quotes Mellows' "Jail notes", in which Mellows' applies Marxist theory to Ireland and advocates for a "People's Republic". Ó Broin concludes the article by suggesting that Sinn Féin should take up these positions.

Commemoration

Mellows is commemorated by statues in

Eyre Square Eyre Square (; ga, An Fhaiche Mhór, also known as John F. Kennedy Memorial Park) is a city public park in Galway, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway rai ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

, in the official name of the Irish Defence Forces army barracks at Renmore (''Dún Úi Maoilíosa'') and in the naming of Mellows Bridge in Dublin. He is also commemorated in the names of two GAA clubs (one in Galway, and Castletown Liam Mellows GAA in Wexford), and by Unidare RFC in

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

and their "Liam Mellows Perpetual Cup". Mellows is buried in Castletown cemetery, County Wexford, a few miles from

Arklow Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...

. An annual commemoration ceremony is held at his grave site, in which a wreath is laid by a member of the Liam Mellows Commemoration committee. "Liam Mellows Avenue" in Arklow is named in his honour, as is "Liam Mellows Street" in

, County Galway,

Teagasc Teagasc (, meaning "Instruction") is the State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland, semi-state authority in the Republic of Ireland responsible for research and development, training and advisory services in the agri-food sector. The offici ...

Rural Economy Research Centre "Mellows Campus", "Liam Mellows Park" in Renmore,

and

Wexford town Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

, and Mellowes (sic) Road in

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the posta ...

, Dublin. In 2016, Fianna Fáil leader

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

TD unveiled a new gravestone for Mellows. In December 2019, a memorial statue was unveiled in

. File:Liam Mellows memorial.jpg, Liam Mellows memorial unveiled in 2019 File:Piece 207-128; William Mellowes (1922).pdf, page=11, British Army military intelligence file for William Mellowes

References

External links

1911 census return1901 census return
*
Liam Mellows, DP10200 in Ireland's ''Military Service Pensions Collection''
*
file relating to military service pension (1)
*
file relating to military service pension (2)
*
file relating to military service pension (3)
*
file relating to military service pension (4)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellows, Liam 1892 births 1922 deaths Early Sinn Féin TDs Executed Irish people Irish communists Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Members of the 1st Dáil Members of the 2nd Dáil Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Galway constituencies (1801–1922) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Meath constituencies (1801–1922) People executed by Ireland by firing squad People executed by the Irish Free State People killed in the Irish Civil War People of the Easter Rising People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Politicians from County Wexford Politicians from Manchester Syndicalists UK MPs 1918–1922