Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon, (2 April 1862 – 29 September 1930) was an Irish
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, a senator of the short-lived
Senate of Southern Ireland,
and a member for eight years of the
Irish Free State Senate until his death.
Military career
Bryan Thomas Mahon was born at Belleville,
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
, on 2 April 1862.
After having served in the
Galway Militia, into which he had been
commissioned as a
second lieutenant in April 1879, he transferred to the
21st Hussars in January 1883, before finally transferring to the
8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars in February 1883. He was promoted to captain in April 1888.
After being seconded for service with the
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...
in January 1893, he served in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
in the
Dongola Expedition in 1896 as a
staff officer
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...
to Major General
Sir Herbert Kitchener, and was present at the
Battle of Ferkeh and the operations at Hafir. He was promoted to major in October 1897.
In 1899, he took part in the final defeat of the
Khalifa
''Khalifa'' or ''Khalifah'' (; commonly "caliph" in English) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups ...
as
Assistant Adjutant general in charge of Intelligence, and was
mentioned in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
(dated 25 November 1899) by
Colonel Wingate with the following words:
I cannot speak in sufficiently strong terms of the excellence of the services performed by this officer. I invariably placed him in general command of all the mounted troops; his personal disregard for danger, intrepid scouting, and careful handling of men, all fit him for high command; his bold and successful seizure of the position in front of Fedil's camp, and his conduct of the fight before I came up, show him to possessed of exceptional qualities as a commander.
In recognition of his service in the Sudan, he received a
brevet promotion to
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
on 14 March 1900, and a substantive promotion to lieutenant colonel after transferring to the 12th Lancers (later the
12th Royal Lancers
The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...
).
During the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
Colonel Mahon led a
flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations.
The term is usually, though not necessarily, appl ...
, 2,000 strong, consisting mainly of South African volunteers from Kimberley, which came to the
Relief of Mafeking. The town, which had been under siege for seven months by Boer forces, was facing starvation. Mahon was appointed a
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion may refer to:
Relationships Currently
* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
* Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach
* Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...
(CB) for his services during the operations, and was invested with the order by King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910.
The second child ...
on 2 June 1902 after his return to the United Kingdom.
Mahon was appointed a
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in May 1902, and was briefly governor of
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan.
Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...
in 1903. In April 1904, after serving on half-pay, took command of a second class district in India, for which he was promoted to substantive colonel and re-promoted to temporary brigadier general while holding the appointment. In December 1906 he was, at the age of 44, promoted to major general while commanding a brigade in India. He was promoted to command a division in August 1909. He became colonel of his regiment, the 8th Hussars, in April 1910.
He was promoted to lieutenant general in September 1912, one of the youngest of his rank in the army.

During the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, which began in the summer of 1914, he commanded the
2nd (Sialkot) Cavalry Brigade and in October was assigned to be the first
general officer commanding
General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment.
Thus, a general might be the GOC ...
(GOC) of the
10th (Irish) Division, a
Kitchener's Army formation composed of civilian volunteers for the army. Despite being "both a protestant and a unionist", it was hoped "that his public image would boost recruitment".
[
Mahon led his division during the Gallipoli campaign and, "like the majority of generals in this affair, did not emerge with his reputation intact".][ The 10th Division landed at Suvla Bay on the night of 6–7 August 1915. Although Mahon's division was "potentially the best of those sent to Suvla", it was split up by General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and thus "deprived Mahon of the chance to show what he could do".] Furthermore, Hamilton chose to select Beauvoir De Lisle as the new commander of IX Corps, believing Mahon was not up to the task. Mahon, who "loathed" De Lisle, refused to serve under him and resigned his command.[
In September he moved with the division to be head of the British Salonika Army to support ]Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
at the onset of the Macedonian campaign. In 1916, after relinquishing command of the Army to Lieutenant-General George Milne, Mahon took up command of the Western Frontier Force in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...
.
He was then appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, in November 1916 in the lead up to 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 ...
.
He retired from the British Army at the end of August 1921, after having been promoted to the rank of full general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. ...
the month before.[
After his retirement he was elected as a privy council member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland.] He was appointed to Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives).
It is commonly called the Seanad or ...
by the President of the Executive Council, W. T. Cosgrave, in 1922 and 1925.
His home, Mullaboden in Ballymore-Eustace, County Kildare, was burned down by the IRA in February 1923 during the Irish Civil War. The most valuable furniture had been removed to Dublin after the destruction of Palmerstown
Palmerstown (; officially Palmerston, see #Name origin and spelling, spelling) is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and suburb in western Dublin, Ireland on the banks of the River Liffey. It forms part of the South Dublin local authorit ...
, the residence of Lord Mayo, another Kildare member of the Irish Senate, the previous month. A gramophone and typewriter were stolen and one of Mahon's tunics was taken and worn by one of the republicans for a photo taken of the squad that carried out the arson.
He and his wife, Lady Mahon, formerly Lady Amelia Milbanke, widow of Sir John Milbanke, V.C., were not home at the time. In 1923, "malicious injury claims" by the Mahons were filed with Kildare County Council
Kildare County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...
in the amount of more than £60,000; they were awarded £21,341.
Mahon was elected to the Seanad in 1928, and served until his death at the relatively young age of 68 in September 1930.
References
External links
Photograph of Mahon
, by Filson Young at The Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahon, Bryan
1862 births
1930 deaths
Military personnel from County Galway
8th King's Royal Irish Hussars officers
Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland
Irish officers in the British Army
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
British Army cavalry generals of World War I
Irish generals
Irish knights
Irish people of World War I
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Members of the 1922 Seanad
Members of the 1925 Seanad
Members of the 1928 Seanad
Politicians from County Galway
Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Independent members of Seanad Éireann
British Army generals
British Army personnel of the Mahdist War
People of the Gallipoli campaign
12th Royal Lancers officers