Paddy Daly (1888–1957) sometimes referred to as Paddy O'Daly, served in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

during the Irish War of Independence''Michael Collins: A Life'' by James Mackay, p. 132 and subsequently held the rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Irish National Army The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...

from 1922 to 1924.

Easter Rising

Daly was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 1888. He fought in the 1916 Easter Rising under the command of his namesake Ned Daly, leading the unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Magazine Fort in the

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

. He was later wounded in the particularly vicious fighting near the Linenhall. He was subsequently interned in

Frongoch internment camp Frongoch internment camp at Frongoch in Merionethshire, Wales was a makeshift place of imprisonment during the First World War and the 1916 Easter Rising. History 1916 the camp housed German prisoners of war in a yellow distillery and cru ...

for his part in the rebellion until 1918, when he was released as part of a general amnesty for Irish prisoners.

War of Independence

In the War of Independence (1919–1921), he served as leader of the " Squad",

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 ...

' assassination unit. On 19 December 1919, Daly along with

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grang ...

led an abortive ambush, at Ashtown railway station near the

, on the British

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Supreme Commander of the British Army in Ireland, Lord French, as he returned from a private party which he had hosted the previous evening at his country residence in

Frenchpark Frenchpark, historically known as Dungar (), is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland on the N5 national primary road. It was the home of Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland. The nearby French Park Estate was until 1952 the ancestr ...

, County Roscommon. Lord French escaped the ambush but Martin Savage was shot dead. Daly and the men under his command were responsible for the killing of many British intelligence officers, in particular District Inspector Redmond, who had been putting increasing pressure on the squad. Daly himself personally killed several people, including Frank Brooke, director of Great Southern and Eastern Railway, who served on an advisory council to the British military, in June 1920. He did not directly lead any of the attacks on

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

but was on standby in one of the Squad's safe houses. In the aftermath, 23 November 1920, he was arrested and interned in Ballykinlar Camp in County Down. He was released on parole from Ballykinlar in March 1921 – the British apparently being unaware of his senior position within the Dublin Brigade of the IRA. After his release, Daly, along with

Emmet Dalton James Emmet Dalton MC (4 March 1898 – 4 March 1978) was an Irish soldier and film producer. He served in the British Army in the First World War, reaching the rank of captain. However, on his return to Ireland he became one of the senior fig ...

, was also involved in the attempt to free Sean Mac Eoin from

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

on 14 May 1921. He and his men hijacked a British Army Peerless armoured car in Clontarf at the corporation

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

, while it was escorting a consignment of meat to a barracks and shot dead two soldiers in the process. The plan involved Dalton and Joe Leonard impersonating two British army officers (wearing Dalton's uniforms from his days as a soldier during World War I) and using forged documents to "transfer" MacEoin to

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 s ...

. They gained entry to Mountjoy, but were discovered before they could free MacEoin and had to shoot their way out. They later abandoned the armoured car after removing the Hotchkiss machine guns and setting fire to what they could. Towards the end of the war, in May 1921, the two principal fighting units of the IRA's Dublin Brigade, the "Squad" and the "Active Service Unit" were amalgamated after losses suffered in the

Burning of the Custom House On 25 May 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the Custom House in Dublin was occupied and then burnt in an operation by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The Custom House was the headquarters of the Local Government Board for Ireland, an ...

. Daly was put named

Officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

(OC) of this new unit, which was named the

Dublin Guard The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army in the ensuing Civil War. Foundation In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army's Dublin Briga ...

. Daly's own account of his activities during the War of Independence is held at the Bureau of Military History in Cathal Brugha Barracks.

Civil War

After the

Anglo-Irish Treaty 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 ...

split the IRA, Daly and most of his men sided with the pro-treaty party, who went on to found the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

. He was appointed to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

in the newly created

, which was inaugurated in January 1922. When the Irish Civil War broke out in June 1922, Daly commanded the Free State's troops who secured Dublin, after a week's fighting. In August 1922, during the

Irish Free State offensive The Irish Free State offensive of July–September 1922 was the decisive military stroke of the Irish Civil War. It was carried out by the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State against anti-treaty strongholds in the south and s ...

that re-took most of the major towns in Ireland, Daly commanded a landing of 450 troops of the Dublin Guard at

Fenit Fenit () is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on north side of Tralee Bay about west of Tralee town, just south of the Shannon Estuary. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit which extends northwards from ...

, County Kerry which went on to capture

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

from the anti-treaty forces. Acting with severe brutality in Kerry, Daly commented that, 'nobody had asked me to take kid-gloves to Kerry, so I didn't'. As the Civil War developed into a vicious guerrilla conflict, Daly's men were implicated in series of atrocities against anti-treaty prisoners (see

Executions during the Irish Civil War The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War (June 1922 – May 1923). This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Treat ...

), culminating in a series of killings with landmines in March 1923. Daly, and others under his command, claimed that those killed were accidentally blown up by their own mines. Statements by the Garda Síochána (stymied from procuring evidence), two Free State lieutenants on duty – W. McCarthy and Niall Harrington – and one survivor, Stephen Fuller, maintained the claims were fabricated.

Subsequent career

Daly resigned from the Free State army in 1924 after an incident in Kenmare, Kerry, concerning the daughters of a doctor. A court martial was held but collapsed as no one was prepared to give evidence. He volunteered his services for the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

again in 1940 and was appointed as a Captain to the non-combatant Construction Corps.

Personal life and death

Daly was a carpenter by trade. Daly married Daisy Gillies in 1910. His brother James (Seamus) married Daisy's sister

Nora Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to: * Nora (name), a feminine given name People with the surname * Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer * Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian Places Australia * Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...

, a

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...

activist, in a joint wedding ceremony.McAuliffe, Mary and Gillies, Liz (2016). Richmond Barracks 1916. We Were There - 77 Women of the Easter Rising. Dublin City Council. pp.220-222. After Daisy's death in 1919, Daly married Bridget Murtagh, also a Cumann na mBan activist, in 1921.McAuliffe, Mary and Gillies, Liz (2016). Richmond Barracks 1916. We Were There - 77 Women of the Easter Rising. Dublin City Council. pp.219. Murtagh and Nora O'Daly had carried out intelligence gathering for the planned attack on the Magazine Fort in 1916. She was a sister of Elizabeth Murtagh, the first wife of Commandant Michael Love who served with Daly in the Collins Squad of the IRA, in the Irish Free State Army of the 1920s and during the Emergency period. Murtagh died in childbirth in 1930. Daly subsequently married Norah Gillies, his first wife's niece. On his death in January 1957Daly profile
he was buried with full military honours in Mount Jerome cemetery. He was survived by his brothers, Comdt Seamus O'Daly and Capt Frank O'Daly, his sons Patrick and Colbert, and his daughters Brede and Philomena.

References

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/bloodbath-to-whitewash-the-civil-war-crimes-of-paddy-o-daly-1.3358645

Bibliography

* Duggan, John ''A History of the Irish Army''(1991) *''Ireland's Civil War'', Calton Younger (1966) *''Green Against Green'', Michael Hopkinson *''The Squad'', T Ryle Dwyer (2005) *''Kerry Landings'', Harrington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Paddy 1888 births 1957 deaths Irish Army officers Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Military personnel from Dublin (city) Irish nationalist assassins Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium National Army (Ireland) generals