Captain Percy Philip O'Reilly (27 July 1870 – 3 July 1942) of Colamber Westmeath was an Irish
polo player who competed at the
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...
. Together with
John Paul McCann,
John Hardress Lloyd and
Auston Rotheram, he was a member of the Ireland team that won a silver medal. The Ireland team was part of the
Great Britain Olympic team. In 1911 he was an 8-goal handicap player. He was the only son of Philip O'Reilly and Anna Maria Nugent, the daughter of
Sir Percy Nugent.
Captain Percy O'Reilly married Alice Eleanor Boyd-Rochfort of Middleton Park on 18 January 1900, she was the sister of
Captain Sir Cecil Boyd-Rochfort royal horse trainer and daughter of Major Rochfort Hamilton Boyd-Rochfort.
He was made
High Sheriff of Westmeath
The High Sheriff of Westmeath was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Westmeath, Ireland from its creation under The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and re ...
in 1919.
Captain Percy O'Reilly and Alice Eleanor Boyd-Rochfort had three sons and three daughters. Born in 1909 their son Captain Charles Valentine O'Reilly was awarded a Military Cross for his courage and determination in an action whilst crossing the Wietze river in the village of Reiningen in April 1945.
Their youngest daughter Viola born in 1907, married General
Sir Miles Dempsey, commander of
the British Second Army during the D-Day landings and invasion of Normandy.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Percy
1870 births
1942 deaths
19th-century Irish people
High sheriffs of County Westmeath
Members of the Ireland polo team at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Olympic medalists in polo
Equestrians from County Westmeath