Pádraig Ó Fathaigh (1879–1976) was a member of the Gaelic League and an Intelligence Officer of the Irish Republican Army.

Background and early life

A native of Lurgan, Gort,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ó Fathaigh was the fifth of six children (and third son) of Laurence and Bridget Ó Fathaigh. Like most of their neighbours, the family were tenant farmers "who lived in a three-roomed house and raised grains, root crops and livestock for sale at local markets. They also maintained a few outbuildings for their animals, indicating that the family was able to invest in some improvements on their farm." Growing up amid the

Irish Land War The Land War ( ga, Cogadh na Talún) was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the first and most intense period of agitation between 1879 and 18 ...

and Home Rule, Ó Fathaigh – whose family spoke Irish at home – joined the Gaelic League. He was certified to teach Irish in national schools in 1907 and two years later became the full-time ''múinteoir taistil'' (travelling teacher) for the Gort area. He regularly cycled all over the district each week, his night classes been as large as 150 pupils.

Irish Volunteer

He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1914, possibly becoming a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood around the same time. His older brothers, Mícheál and Seán were also Volunteers, while their youngest sister, Mary, was secretary of the local Cumann na mBan. Liam Mellows was a regular visitor to the family home. His participation in the

Easter Rebellion 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 was cut short by his arrest at

Kinvara Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the Barony (Ireland), barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also ...

presbytery, while the main group of over six hundred Galway volunteers gathered near Athenry and Oranmore under Liam Mellows and Larry Lardner.

Active service in County Galway

After the failure of the rising, Ó Fathaigh served time for penal servitude in England until released in 1917. With the start of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

he was on the run, serving as an intelligence officer. He was arrested in January 1920 and was imprisoned in England. He participated in the ten-day hunger strike at London's Wormwood Scrubs prison in 1920. He escaped on 16 May, arriving back in the Gort area in June. Over the following year his friend,

Joe Howley Joseph Howley, from Oranmore, County Galway, was a member of the Irish Volunteers. He mobilized and led a combined contingent of 106 Volunteers from Oranmore Including Tommy Furey and neighboring Maree on Easter Tuesday morning of the 1916 Ea ...

, and informant, Constable Kearney of the Royal Irish Constabulary, were killed by the Black and Tans, while other events included the killings of Eileen Quinn, Fr. Michael Griffin, the Loughnane brothers,

Frank Shawe-Taylor Frank Shawe-Taylor (1869 – 3 March 1920) was an Irish land agent and ex-High Sheriff of County Galway who was killed in an IRA ambush during the Irish War of Independence Background to the dispute Land disputes in Ireland had been a conten ...

and Captain C.E.N. Blake. Following the death of the latter, his wife and two fellow officers at the Ballyturin ambush, Ó Fathaigh's family home was burned by Crown forces, after which they ran riot in Gort. After the Truce of 1922, he was congratulated for his efforts from

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

. However, he took the Anti-Treaty side in 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 ...

Later life

After the war, he earned a degree in Celtic Studies from

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

, teaching in his locality. In later years he worked as a Health Board clerk for Galway County Council and was secretary of the committee which erected a monument to Liam Mellows in Eyre Square.

Memoir

Pádraig Ó Fathaigh wrote a memoir of his life in 1968, which is now National Library of Ireland MS 21288. It was published in 2000.

References