Cur síos
Micheal O’Hanrahan (1877-1916)
Born in New Ross, Wexford on 16 January 1877. His father Richard had taken part in the Fenian Rising of 1867. As a child the family moved to Carlow where Michael received his education in a CBS and later he went to the College Academy. He was hoping to join the Civil Service but would not take the Oath. As a young man, O’Hanrahan showed great promise as a writer, becoming heavily involved in the promotion of the Irish language. He founded the first Carlow branch of the Gaelic League, and published two novels, A Swordsman of the Brigade and When the Norman Came. Upon coming to Dublin he had various jobs such as working for an Irish publisher, freelance journalism etc. He also joined Sinn Féin in Dublin and was quite active with the party for a few years and sat on its National Council.
Like many of the other executed leaders, he joined the Irish Volunteers from their inception. Hard work and enthusiasm resulted in his promotion to National Quartermaster and for some time before the Rising he was a full time member of Volunteer HQ Staff at 2 Dawson St. During the fight in ’16 he was second in command to Thomas MacDonagh at Jacob’s biscuit factory although this position was largely usurped by the arrival of MacBride. His execution took place on 4 May 1916.
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