Séamas Ó Maoileoin (19 December 1893 – 8 March 1959) was an Irish

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

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 ...

(IRA), and later an author. He was described as being one of

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 ...

’ most trusted agents.

Early life

Malone was born in the village of Meedin, near

Tyrrellspass Tyrrellspass (, IPA: �bʲaləxˈanˠˈtʲɪɾʲiəliː is a Georgian village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is from Dublin, in the south of the county on the R446 (formerly the N6) road. Tyrrellspass won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition i ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

to William Malone, a farmer and schoolteacher Marie Mulavn. He had a sister, Mary and two brothers Joseph and

Tomas Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

, with whom he would fight alongside 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 ...

. Due to his grandfather's exile due to activities in the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

, his father was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He attended Rinn Dun Montessori School in Lecarrow,

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, before moving to the Christian Brothers school in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

. He later gained a scholarship for Newbridge College. He studied

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

extensively in Mullingar and also

Spiddal Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language, Irish and official name: , , meaning 'the hospital'), is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 road. It is o ...

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 ...

. He would later gain employment at the

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

Christian Brothers school.

Easter Rising

Malone left Armagh after realizing he was working against

John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader ...

. He became involved with the

with his brother, taking part in both the

Howth gun-running The Howth gun-running ( ) was the smuggling of 1,500 Mauser rifles to Howth harbour for the Irish Volunteers, an Irish nationalist paramilitary force, on 26 July 1914. The unloading of guns from a private yacht during daylight hours attracted a ...

and

Kilcoole gun-running Sir Thomas Myles (20 April 1857—14 July 1937) was a prominent Irish home ruler and surgeon, involved in the importation of arms for the Irish Volunteers in 1914. Early life Thomas Myles was born in Limerick in 1857, the third of eleven ch ...

missions. In 1914 he began working at a school in

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...

, whilst here he was asked by

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

. The following year he had left this position and was working at a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

School 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 ...

. He was issued the order to return to Tyrellspass upon the outbreak 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 ...

in 1916. During the rising a shootout took place at the family homestead in Meedin. The

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 ...

raided the home and reports of at least 3 shots being fired were reported during the week. Due to his activities during the rising, he was arrested and spent captivity in both

and

Richmond Barracks Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a cultural centre. History The barracks, which were named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by the Brit ...

before being sent to

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

and

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

. Upon release he was offered a position working under

Conradh na Gaeilge (; 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 emer ...

North Tipperary North Tipperary () was a county in Ireland in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary (which was in South Tipperary) and consisted of 48% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. North Tipperary Coun ...

. Michael Collins ordered him to relocate to

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

under the alias ‘''Liam Forde''’ due to his popularity in Tipperary. His brother Tomas adopted the name '''Séan Forde. Here he worked at the Christian Brothers school on Sullivan's Quay.

Irish War of Independence

In December 1918 he was arrested along with his brother at

Kilfinane Kilfinnane or Kilfinane () ( or , ) is a small market town in County Limerick, Ireland. The town's name comes from the Irish (church) and (Finnian), making its meaning "Church of Saint Finnian". Kilfinnane is located approximately 40&nbs ...

. They were held in

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

before escaping. During the

, he headed the East Limerick Brigade of the Irish Republican Army. 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 ...

, he opposed 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 ...

. He began teaching in a room in

Tyrrellspass Castle Tyrrellspass Castle is a medieval castle in Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, Ireland. Dating back to circa 1411, it is the only remaining castle of the Tyrrells who came to Ireland around the time of the Norman Invasion. Architecture The cas ...

, and even established a school named the Thomas Davis Secondary School, however the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

refused to officially recognise the school.

Later life

Following the war, he returned to teaching. He was teaching in Cork following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1958 he wrote an autobiography titled B'fhiú an braon fola''' (''The drop of blood was worth it)''. At the end of his career, he was working as a teacher in

Rathmines Rathmines (; ) is an inner suburb on the Southside (Dublin), Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranela ...

. Malone died on 8 March 1959 at

Deansgrange Deansgrange () is a southern suburb of Dublin, centred on the crossroads of Clonkeen Road and Kill Lane. The area shares the name Clonkeen () with the area further east, known as Kill of the Grange (i.e. "Church of the Grange of ": referring to ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

he is buried at the

Deans Grange Cemetery Dean's Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been buried there. It is, toge ...

. His family remains active in the Republican movement, with his nephew

Seosamh Ó Maoileoin Seosamh Ó Maoileoin (born Joseph Malone) is an Irish Republican politician from Meedin, Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath. He has been the president of Republican Sinn Féin since November 2018 following the resignation of Des Dalton. Family ...

being the current president of

Republican Sinn Féin Republican Sinn Féin or RSF () is an Irish republican political party in Ireland. RSF claims to be heirs of the Sinn Féin party founded in 1905; the party took its present form in 1986 following a split in Sinn Féin. RSF members take seats w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O Maoileoin, Seamas 1893 births 1959 deaths Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) People from County Westmeath Activists from County Westmeath