Anna "Anno" O'Rahilly (née Rahilly) (17 February 1873 – 1958) was an Irish revolutionary and

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...

member, republican prisoner and hunger-striker active in the period from 1916 to 1923. Born in

Ballylongford Ballylongford (historically ''Bealalongford'', from ) is a village near Listowel in northern County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 415. Geography The village is situated near the estuary of the Ballyline River, ...

, County Kerry to grocer and nationalist public representative Richard Rahilly and Ellen Mangan, she was a sister of the 1916 leader

The O'Rahilly Michael Joseph O'Rahilly ( or ; 22 April 1875 – 29 April 1916), known as The O'Rahilly, was an Irish republican and nationalist. He was a founding member of the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and served as Director of Arms. Despite opposing the ac ...

and the Cummann na mBan leader Nell Humphreys (née Rahilly). and became a member of the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

. Like The O'Rahilly, she changed her name from the original Rahilly. In April 1914 she was one of a small group of women present at the founding of Cumann na mBan in Wynne's Hotel, Dublin. Following the death of her brother The O'Rahilly in combat in 1916 she was arrested and detained in the aftermath of the

Easter rising The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

. She provided the first money to be handled by Dail Eireann in 1919, a loan for £2000. The

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

holds a letter from her appealing for money on behalf of republican prisoners' dependents. During the Civil war, on 4 November 1922 she was accidentally shot in the family home in Ailesbury Road by

Ernie O'Malley Ernest Bernard Malley (; 26 May 1897 – 25 March 1957) was an Irish republican and writer. After a sheltered upbringing, as a young medical student he witnessed and participated in the Easter Rising of 1916, an event that changed his outlook ...

After her recovery, she was detained for the rest of the civil war in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison (), 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 Ray Murtagh. History Mountjoy was designed by Cap ...

, Kilmainham Gaol and the North Dublin Union, where she was on hunger strike in October–November 1923.

References

1873 births 1958 deaths People of the Easter Rising People from Ballylongford Cumann na mBan members {{Ireland-bio-stub