Sir Thomas Myles (20 April 1857—14 July 1937) was a prominent Irish home ruler and surgeon, involved in the importation of arms for the

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 respons ...

in 1914.

Early life

Thomas Myles was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in 1857, the third of eleven children born to John Myles (1807–1871), a wealthy corn merchant, and his second wife Prudence, daughter of William Bradshaw of Canal House, Limerick. The Myles family had been prominent merchants in and around

city since Cromwell's time. A prominent sportsman from an early age, Myles graduated in medicine at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 1881. One of his duties in his first job as resident surgeon at Dr. Steevens's Hospital was to render medical assistance to the victims of the

Phoenix Park murders The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke (civil servant), Thomas Henry Burke in Phoenix Park, Dublin, British rule in Ireland, Ireland, on 6 May 1882. Cavendish was the newly appoint ...

on 6 May 1882.

Career

From 1900 till 1902, Myles was President of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

. After stepping down, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902, and knighted by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

Earl Cadogan Earl Cadogan is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain for the Cadogan family. The second creation, in 1800, was for Charles Cadogan, 3rd Baron Cadogan. History Of Welsh origin, the family name was spelt ''Cadwg ...

, at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the se ...

on 11 August 1902. He also received the honorary freedom of his native city.

Kilcoole arms landing

Myles was also an active Home Ruler. He owned a yacht, the ''Chotah''. In 1914, he was recruited (by

James Creed Meredith James Creed Meredith, KC (28 November 1875 – 14 August 1942) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1937 to 1942 and a Judge of the High Court from 1924 to 1937. He was best known as a nationalist of the early ...

) to help in the importation of guns for the

with Erskine Childers, Conor O'Brien and others. Childers landed his part of the consignment from the ''Asgard'' at

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...

on 26 July 1914. Myles's cargo was landed by the ''Chotah'' at

Kilcoole Kilcoole () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is three kilometres (2 miles) south of Greystones, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Wicklow, and about 28 kilometres (17 miles) south of Dublin. It was used as the set for the Irish te ...

, county Wicklow a week later, on the night of 1/2 August. Meredith himself helped out aboard the ''Chotah'' during the operation. On 1 August 1914, 600 Mauser rifles and 20,000 rounds of ammunition were landed at the beach in Kilcoole, County Wicklow in Ireland. The arms and ammunition was smuggled using his boat ''The Chotah'' during the night. Once the arms were landed they were taken away by Volunteers on bicycles and in vehicles. The arms were taken to

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 ...

's school, St Enda's, in

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Later career

Myles was appointed temporary Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps on 21 November 1914 and also became Honorary Surgeon in Ireland to the King. He was appointed to be an Additional Member of the Military Division of the Third Class, or Companion, of the Most Honourable

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

, for services rendered in connection with the war, the appointment to date from 1 January 1917. He died on 14 July 1937 and is buried at

Deansgrange Deansgrange () is a southern suburb of Dublin, centred on the crossroads of Clonkeen Road and Kill Lane. The area shares the name Clonkeen () with the area further east, known as Kill of the Grange (i.e. "Church of the Grange of ": referring to ...

Cemetery in Dublin.

Legacy

The gun running on the ''Chotah'' was reenacted 100 years later.

References

* * "No One More Nationalist": How Sir Thomas Myles Risked His Position For The Cause, ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

'', 16 July 1937 ;Specific

External links

''Limerick’s Forgotten Son: Sir Thomas Myles (1857–1937) — Sportsman, Surgeon, Sailor and Gun-Runner''

Obituary, Annals of Surgery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Myles, Thomas 1857 births 1937 deaths Irish knights Irish Protestants Companions of the Order of the Bath Irish surgeons Knights Bachelor Medical doctors from County Limerick Protestant Irish nationalists