Patrick Whelan (4 September 1893 – 26 April 1916) was an

Irish Volunteer 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 respons ...

, killed in action in

Boland's Mill Boland's Mill is located on the Grand Canal Dock in Dublin, Ireland on Ringsend Road between the inner basin of Grand Canal Dock and Barrow Street. As of 2019, it was undergoing a €150 million reconstruction to become Bolands Quay, a dev ...

during the

Battle of Mount Street Bridge The Battle of Mount Street Bridge was fought on 26 April 1916 between the British Army and Irish rebels during the Easter Rising. It took place in Dublin at the southern end of Mount Street Lower where it meets the Grand Canal. Background On ...

at the time of the

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 ...

of 1916. He was 22 years old when he died and was awarded the

1916 Medal The 1916 Medal is a service medal of the Republic of Ireland. Established 24 January 1941, the medal was awarded to those who rendered recognised military service during the week of 23 April 1916 during the Easter Rising. Appearance The 1916 Med ...

posthumously in 1941. Whelan House in Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin – where he was born – is named in his honour.

Early life

Patrick Whelan was born on 4 September 1893 to John Whelan, a fisherman, and his wife Mary Jane Mullen, at 69 Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, Dublin.The General Register Office, Werburgh Street, Dublin 8. At the time, around the late 1800s, there was an increased interest in the Irish cultural identity, which led to the

Gaelic revival The Gaelic revival ( ga, Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century Romantic nationalism, national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including Irish folklore, folklore, Iri ...

movement. Whelan was an active member of the Ringsend Gaelic League, and a renowned hurler who played for Fontenoy's Club in Irishtown. Like many in Ringsend he worked on the ships, where he was employed as a ship's carpenter. Whelan also became a member of the Irish Volunteers and fought and died for Ireland during the

Easter Rising of 1916 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 ...

. Ahead of the Rising, which began at noon on Easter Monday 24 April, Whelan was dispatched to Tralee in Co. Kerry, only to return with the disheartening news of the capture of

Roger Casement Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...

and "the bitter denunciation of the Germans" by Robert Monteith.

Easter Week

A member of the 3rd Battalion, Unit "D" Company, Dublin Brigade, Whelan fought under Commandant Éamon de Valera. Occupying

Boland's Bakery Boland's Bakery was the largest bakery in Dublin in the late 19th century. It was founded by the Boland family. The company sold a number of products such as bread, biscuits, cakes, confectionery and flour, although over the years biscuits became t ...

around the corner from the flour mill on Grand Canal Street, and a mile to the south-east of the

GPO GPO may refer to: Government and politics * General Post Office, Dublin * General Post Office, in Britain * Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits * Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...

, the 3rd battalion headquarters was at a key location, controlling as it did the railway line and the main road from Dún Laoghaire (then known as Kingstown) to the centre of the city. Throughout the Rising the 3rd Battalion was to cover a large area of South Dublin, with a lot more men expected to report for duty than actually did so on the day. The severely depleted numbers were the result of countermanding orders issued by Eoin MacNeill advising the Volunteers not to take part in the Rising. MacNeill had learnt of the arrest of

and the subsequent loss of German arms. After confronting Patrick Pearse, who refused to be swayed by this revelation, MacNeill felt he had no option but to place a last minute news advertisement calling the Rising off. This caused tremendous confusion among the Volunteers, especially outside of Dublin. For those that did show up, the British, reportedly, "considered De Valera's forces the best trained and best led among the rebels". Whelan was one of the 14 Volunteers of Unit "D" Company, who occupied

at around noon on Easter Monday. In the first artillery fire of the week, Boland's Mill had been shelled by the gunboat "Helga" (now known as the

Irish patrol vessel Muirchú Public Armed Ship ''Muirchú'' () was a ship in the service of Irish Free State's ''Coastal and Marine Service (CMS)''. She was the former Royal Navy ship HMY ''Helga'' and was involved in shelling Liberty Hall in Dublin from the River Liffey w ...

) from the river Liffey. The "Helga", which had sailed from Dún Laoghaire earlier, would go on to bombard

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

the following day. As only the top loft of the mill happened to be in the gunboat's field of fire, Capt. O’Byrne moved his men down to the third floor for safety and because the vantage was just as good from there. The next day, Wednesday 26 April, soldiers of the

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

Regiment sent to Dún Laoghaire from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, made their way into the city by way of Northumberland Street and Mount Street. Ordered by Major-General William Lowe to take Mount Street Bridge "at all costs", the fighting that ensued there would result in two thirds of British casualties for the entire week, despite the Volunteers being heavily outnumbered. Although the main action of the battle occurred at 25 Northumberland Road and Clanwilliam House, the other outposts of the 3rd Battalion played their part too. According to one witness, Jack O'Shea, "during the battle for Mount Street bridge, fire came towards the mill". Despite being under ‘incessant’ sniping on the Wednesday, the return sniper fire from Boland's Mill and the railway tracks managed to keep the British garrison in nearby

Beggars Bush ''Beggars' Bush'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy in the canon of John Fletcher and his collaborators that is a focus of dispute among scholars and critics. Authorship The authorship and the date of the play have long been debated by ...

Barracks pinned down that day and throughout Easter week. The

was the most successful military action of the Rising.

Death and burial

Patrick Whelan Grave, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin

As the battle raged, orders came from battalion headquarters to Capt. O’Byrne to direct heavy fire towards

Baggot Street Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections: ...

Bridge. A party of British soldiers, sent via

Sandymount Sandymount () is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Etymology An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.

, was advancing from that direction in an attempt to outflank the 3rd Battalion position. The British advance was duly met by a heavy volley of fire from the "D" Unit in Boland's Mill and "driven back in disorder". However, during the exchange, according to the Captain's account, at around 4pm on Wednesday 26 April, Whelan was "fatally wounded beside me, being shot in the head just below the eye. He expired in about a minute". The firing at the Mill was so heavy and the men there so exhausted, that Whelan lay where he fell for over 30 hours. On Friday morning, Capt. O’Byrne's brother Peter, the Section Commander of Unit "D" and Volunteer Willie Bruen constructed a temporary coffin and buried Whelan's body under a large heap of clinkers in the yard of the building outside the engine room. Although the yard was protected from direct fire, the bullets were still ricocheting off the windows and walls of Boland's Mill as Capt. O’Byrne read some prayers and they all said the Rosary. Peter Byrne wanted to leave a sign to indicate that a body was buried in the yard, but in the confusion and distress of the situation left a sign that read "I.H.S." instead of the "R.I.P" he intended. Boland's Mill remained under sniper fire until the surrender of the Irish Volunteers on Sunday 30 April 1916. Whelan's body was subsequently buried in Glasnevin Cemetery on 3 May in grave number VB 100 South Section. After consultation with the Whelan family, a memorial stone was erected there by The National Graves Association and unveiled on 24 November 1935.

Whelan House

Whelan House in Thorncastle Street, Ringsend, the street where Whelan was born, was built in 1936 and named in honour of him. It is located next door to O'Rahilly House, built at the same time in honour of

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 ...

. On the other side of Whelan House is St. Patrick's Church in Ringsend, where a statue of Our Lady overlooks the canal. This statue was donated by Patrick's younger brother, Thomas A. Whelan (1 April 1898 – 29 December 1960), who founded the Ringsend branch of the Catholic Young Men's Society (CYMS). The statue, made by

Earley and Company Earley and Company (1861–1975) were ecclesiastical furnishings and stained glass manufacturers and retailers, based in Camden Street, Dublin, Camden Street, Dublin, Ireland. In the 19th century they also had an outlet at 51 Lower Clanbrassil S ...

(1861–1975) of

Camden Street Camden Street ( ga, Sráid Camden) is a street in Dublin 2. It links Ranelagh/Rathmines ( Dublin 6) to the southern city centre of Dublin. It is divided into Camden Street Upper (southern end) and Camden Street Lower (northern end). History The ...

in Dublin,As told by Gabriel Redmond, the nephew of Patrick Redmond who cased and made the statue of Our Lady, while working at Earley and Company. is a memorial to both Patrick and their elder brother Martin Whelan (26 April 1888 – 31 May 1916), who was also killed in action during the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

just five weeks after Patrick, when German gunfire sank .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Patrick 1893 births 1916 deaths Ringsend People of the Easter Rising Deaths by firearm in the Republic of Ireland Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery