Nancy (Brown) O'Rahilly (1878 –1961) was an American-born Irish nationalist who was involved in the founding and early activities of several institutions in Ireland in the early 20th century.

Early life

Nancy Brown, known to her family and friends as Nannie, was born on 5th Avenue, Manhattan,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to a wealthy American industrialist family in 1878. Nancy would be better known by her married name O'Rahilly, and her part in the Irish revolutionary period. Her husband,

The O'Rahilly , birth_date = , birth_place = Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland , death_date = , death_place = Dublin, Ireland , resting_place = Glasnevin Cemetery , nationality = Irish - British subject ...

, was one of the leaders and the most senior casualty of 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. She was educated in the United States, before visiting Ireland, and later attended an Ursuline convent in Paris. She first met Michael Rahilly, when he was a medical student in

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

. Known to him as Nannie, they were engaged, deciding thereafter to move to New York, her fiancé following to be near her. He sold his family business in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, before moving to America. They were married on 15 April 1899. Rahilly worked for her father's Brown Mills Company. Their first child came soon after on 14 March 1900, named Bobby. They lived in New York until 1902, before moving back to Ireland. Bobby died in June 1903 but another son, Richard (always known as 'Mac') was born on 3 July 1903. They lived in Paris, and then

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, before Egan (from the Irish 'Aodogan') was born in 1904. The family then moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1905, they moved again back to New York, and closed the family business, Brown Mills, which had failed. Their fourth son, Niall was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in December 1906. They lived in New York until 1909.

Later life in Ireland

Together with her husband, Nancy O'Rahilly returned to Ireland to live near sisters Nell and Anna Humphreys. They joined the Gaelic League and became fluent in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

(gaelic). O'Rahilly contributed to ''Irish Freedom'', editor of An Claidheamh Soluis, the Gaelic League paper. Nancy O'Rahilly joined Cumann na mBan in 1914 and was elected to its founding Executive Committee. Two oldest sons joined Fianna Éireann. Her husband Michael Joseph O'Rahilly, was killed during the Easter Rising, having written a note of dying declaration to her. Her last child was born, after the Rising, in July 1916. Her house at 40 Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, County Dublin where she lived with her young family was raided by British soldiers in mid-1916. In 1920, she joined the White Cross organization, and she was appointed to the executive committee and spoke on a fundraising tour of the US. She became a Vice-President of Cumann na mBan, but resigned in 1922, during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, when her son was fighting for the

anti-treaty IRA 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 ...

, which she also supported. She also acted on the Winding-Up Committee in 1925. She lived in Herbert Park, Ballsbridge until her death in 1961, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORahilly, Nancy 1878 births 1961 deaths People of the Irish War of Independence Cumann na mBan members