Richard P. Gogan (29 November 1899 – 28 April 1982) was a member of the Irish Volunteers who fought in the 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 ...

. In later life, he became a

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician.

Early and personal life

He was the son of William J. Gogan and was married to Kitty Gogan. He was one of the Guard of Honour at the funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in August 1915, and was present when

Patrick 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 who ...

gave his famous speech at the graveside.

Revolutionary period (1916–1923)

Gogan was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, Dublin Brigade, Irish Volunteers from 1914 commanded by Edward Daly. During Easter Week 1916, he saw action at Cabra and at the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

(GPO). On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, he was part of a unit that were tasked to take control of three bridges into

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 ...

, at the North Circular Road, Cabra Road and Cross Guns Bridge on Phibsboro Road. They came under machine gun and artillery fire from nearby British military units, and an artillery piece sprayed their barricade with shrapnel after which they escaped and took shelter near Ben Eavin House in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

. At some point in the early hours of 25 April 1916, he left along with Jack Price, PJ Corless and his brother Vincent. The next report of his participation in the Rising is at the GPO in

O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections ...

. Early in the morning of Friday 28 April, he volunteered as a stretcher-bearer to carry the wounded James Connolly out of the GPO, which was by then on fire. Under heavy machine-gun fire, he and two others (Sean Price and Paddy Ryan) carried Connolly to an Irish Volunteer position in a mineral water factory on Henry Place. Prior to the Rising, there is a report of Gogan working in a bomb factory at a house called 'Cluny' in Clontarf which was used as an Irish Volunteers' munitions base. During 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 ...

, Gogan took part in arms raids, armed street patrols, dispatch work and had custody of an arms dump at his father's business premises at 184 Parnell Street, Dublin. Taking the anti Treaty side in the Civil War, he took part in the occupation and defence of buildings during the

Battle of Dublin The Battle of Dublin was a week of street battles in Dublin from 28 June to 5 July 1922 that marked the beginning of the Irish Civil War. Six months after the Anglo-Irish Treaty ended the recent Irish War of Independence, it was fought betw ...

. He was captured in late January 1923 by National forces and interned in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin. He signed the 'form' pledging not to take up arms against the Free State for early release. Gogan reported back for duty but had no further activity. His father's business premises at 184 Parnell Street, Dublin was raided by the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

as late as 1927. Gogan later applied to the Irish government for a service pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1934 and was awarded 6 and 103/500 years service in 1943 at Grade E for his service with the Irish Volunteers and the IRA between 01 April 1916 and 30 September 1923.Irish Military Archives, Military Service (1916-1923) Pension Collection, Richard P Gogan,MSP34REF1144. Available online at http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/search.aspx?formtype=advanced.

Political career

He was a founding member of Fianna Fáil. Gogan was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

as a Fianna Fáil

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency at the 1954 general election, having previously unsuccessfully contested the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

general elections. He held his seat at every subsequent election until losing at the 1977 general election in the new Dublin Cabra constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gogan, Richard 1899 births 1982 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil Members of the 17th Dáil Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Politicians from County Dublin