Thomas McEllistrim (14 October 1894 – 4 December 1973) was an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) from 1923 to 1969. He was a military activist in the period from 1916 to 1923.

Guerrilla fighter

He joined the Ballymacelligott company of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

in 1914 and was involved in an abortive attempt by

Roger Casement Roger David Casement (; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during World War I. He worked for the Britis ...

to land arms for 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 ...

Banna Strand Banna Strand (Irish language, Gaeilge: Trá na Beannaí), also known as Banna Beach, is a beach in North Kerry, Ireland. It is an Atlantic Ocean beach extending from the Smallrock (Roc Beag) and Blackrock in the North to Carrahane at its south ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. After the rebellion he was interned by the British at

Frongoch internment camp Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German prisoners-of-war during First World War, and then Irish ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

for his role in the events. In April 1918, he led an arms raid on Gortatlea

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

barracks in which two Volunteers were killed. It was one of the first acts of guerrilla warfare in the period. McEllistrim served in the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

in Kerry throughout the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

of 1919 to 1921. He was instrumental in the setting up of first an

Active service unit An active service unit (ASU; ) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Clandestine cell system, cell of four to ten members, tasked with carrying out armed attacks. In 2002, the IRA had about 1,000 active members of which about 300 were i ...

(in June 1920) and then a larger "flying column", or full-time guerrilla unit in the IRA's Second Kerry Brigade in early 1921. His column fought in both the Clonbanin Ambush and the Headford Ambush in the spring of 1921. At the latter action, in which the IRA ambushed a train carrying British troops, Dan Allman, the leader of the flying column was killed, leaving McEllistrim in command. According to historian T. Ryle Dwyer, "McEllistrim arguably played as important a role in the War of Independence as Tom Barry or

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 Grange ...

but he never wrote a book about his exploits, nor was he prepared to talk about them publicly... Even though McEllistrim sat in the Dáil for over forty years, he apparently never mentioned the period in

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

". He rejected the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

and fought in the

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 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 Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

of 1922 to 1923. He was one of the senior IRA figures in Kerry during this conflict, under the command of Humphrey Murphy. In the war's early months, he commanded a Kerry column in the fighting in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and at the Battle of Kilmallock, before retreating back into Kerry and pursuing guerrilla warfare. In January 1923, he, along with John Joe Sheehy, led an attack on the National Army barracks at Castlemaine, using an improvised mortar.

Political career

McEllistrim was elected to the Dáil as a TD for Kerry in August 1923, only months after the end of the civil war, as a republican candidate. He came third in the county with 7,277 votes.Tom Doyle, The Civil War in Kerry, p131 He remained a TD for the Kerry constituency, and later of Kerry North from 1926 to 1969. After 1926, he followed much the republican leadership into Fianna Fáil. His son, Tom McEllistrim, and his grandson, also Tom McEllistrim also represented the Kerry North constituency.

References

Guerrilla fighter

Political career

See also

References