Richard O'Carroll

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Richard O'Carroll
Richard O'Carroll.png
Dublin City Councilor
In office
1907–1916
ConstituencyMansion House Ward
Personal details
Born(1876-02-29)29 February 1876
Dublin, Ireland
Died5 June 1916(1916-06-05) (aged 40)
Portobello Military Barracks, Dublin, Ireland
Resting placeGlasnevin Cemetery,
Dublin, Ireland
Political partySinn Féin, Labour Party
Military service
AllegianceIrish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Volunteers
RankLieutenant
Commands2nd Battalion of the Irish Volunteers
Battles/warsDublin Lockout
Easter Rising

Richard O'Carroll (29 February 1876–5 May 1916) was a founding member of the Labour Party alongside James Connolly and many other trade unionists and fellow socialists in Clonmel, Ireland, in 1912.

Career[]

O'Carroll was a bricklayer by trade who held the position of general secretary of the Bricklayers Union from 1907 until his death in 1916.[1] He was also a city councillor during that period.[2] He was known as an active and critical Poor Law Guardian in his time.[3]

From 1907 until his death, O'Carroll was a sitting representative for Mansion House Ward on Dublin City Council as a member of the "Dublin Labour Party", a precursor to the Labour Party. Previous to that, he had been a member of Sinn Féin. O'Carroll succeeded James Larkin as leader of the Dublin Labour Party in 1912 when Larkin lost his seat following a criminal conviction.[4]

O'Carroll was active during the Dublin Lockout of 1913, and was injured in a baton charge by Police when they broke up a labour meeting in Inchicore on 13 August.[4]

During the 1915 local elections, as leader of the Dublin Labour Party O'Carroll avoided revolutionary rhetoric in favour of looking at immediate issues such as public housing, social services and educational reform.[4]

1916 Easter Rising[]

O'Carroll was a member of the revolutionary Nationalist group Irish Republican Brotherhood as well as the Irish Volunteers. He participated in the Easter Rising of 1916, fighting in the Camden Street area as a lieutenant of 2nd Battalion under the command of Thomas MacDonagh.[4]

Death[]

Main article: Francis Sheehy-Skeffington § Summary execution

On 26 April 1916, immediately after executing Dickson, MacIntyre and Francis Sheehy Skeffington at Portobello Barracks, Captain John Bowen Colthurst led a raid on suspected rebel hideouts in Camden Street. It was here that one of Colthurst's soldiers, Cadet Gerald Keatinge discovered O'Carroll, a lieutenant in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, in a room above Byrne's grocery shop. After O'Carroll had surrendered (to Keatinge, Lieutenant Wilson, and a rifleman), Colthurst ordered a sergeant (probably Sergeant Kelly) to take O'Carroll out into the street and shoot him. "So this poor terrified wretch was made to kneel down on the pavement and make his peace with God"[5] before Kelly shot him point-blank in the chest, in front of a crowd of onlookers and soldiers.

O'Carroll did not die immediately. Perhaps unnerved by the large audience, Colthurst, instead of administering a coup de grace, commandeered a passing bread van and had O'Carroll taken to Portobello Infirmary where he died nine days later.

In his April 26 report of the day's events, Colthurst claimed that O'Carroll had been attempting to escape when he was shot.[6] A few days later, the Portobello orderly room began an internal inquiry into Colthurst's actions, including O'Carroll's shooting. The soldier Lieutenant Gibbon, who knew Colthurst's claim was false, overheard him outside the orderly room, coaching a sergeant (presumably Kelly) to tell the investigating adjutant that 'The prisoner was trying to escape'.[7] When Colthurst noticed that he was being overheard, he moved away a few yards to be out of Gibbon's hearing. Colthurst obviously knew that the shooting of O'Carroll had been illegal [8] and he was now looking for an excuse to justify it.

After O'Carroll's murder, the military authorities attempted to erase his name from the historical record. Colthurst was court-martialled and found 'Guilty but Insane' for the Portobello murders, but during the two-day trial, there was no discussion of Colthurst's April 26 report and no mention of O'Carroll. Three months later, a royal commission examined the circumstances of Colthurst's murders at Portobello Barracks.[9] On the first day of the proceedings, Tim Healy, solicitor for Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, attempted to read into the record that part of Colthurst's report that dealt with O'Carroll. Sir John Simon, the commission chairman interrupted Healy and ruled that this evidence was outside the scope of the inquiry and so could not be heard.[10]

Legacy[]

O'Carroll was buried at Glasnevin cemetery, alongside many of Ireland's nationalist leaders. In 1935 the National Graves Association and the Bricklayer's Union created a momentum to him at his graveside.[4]

Richard O’Carroll Empowerment Bursary[]

The Labour Party has chosen to commemorate the life and legacy of O'Carroll by assisting young people in continuing their education by means of a bursary.[11] The competition for the bursary of €2,000 runs annually and began in 2016.

References[]

  1. ^ Robbins, Frank (1974). "Labour and Easter Week 1916". Dublin Historical Record. 28 (1): 21–29. ISSN 0012-6861. JSTOR 30103926.
  2. ^ Callan, Charles (2006). "Labour Lives no. 8: Peadar Macken (1878-1916)". Saothar. 31: 121–123. ISSN 0332-1169. JSTOR 23199972.
  3. ^ "Cllr Richard O'Carroll". Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e White, Lawrence William. "O'Carroll, Richard". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  5. ^ Keatinge, Gerald. Some experiences of a Cadet during the Irish Rebellion of Easter week, 1916. Unpublished. Quoted in Neil Richardson. "According to their lights". Collins Press. 2015. p.178
  6. ^ The National Archives. PRO. WO 35/67/1. Colthurst reported O'Carroll's capture and shooting:"One other man (name unknown) was captured in Byrne's and as seditious (pro-German) literature was found on him and as he had arms in his possession he was made prisoner and placed in charge of Sergeant Kelly. Later Sergeant Kelly informed me that the man had attempted to escape but was fired upon, wounded and re-captured." Referring to the shooting of Dickson, MacIntyre and Sheehy Skeffington earlier in the report, Colthurst similarly justified their execution on the grounds that the prisoners might have escaped from the court yard of the Guard Room and that he knew them to be "dangerous characters", based on the correspondence captured on them.
  7. ^ Gibbon, Monk (1968). Inglorious soldier. Hutchinson. p. 62.
  8. ^ Just two hours previously, Colthurst had told his superior officer, Major Rosborough, that he might get into trouble for the shooting of the prisoners in Portobello and that he could even be hanged for it.
  9. ^ Royal Commission on the Arrest on 25th April, 1916 and subsequent treatment of Mr Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Mr Thomas Dickson and Mr Patrick James McIntyre (1916). Report of the Commission. HMSO.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Skeffington Inquiry". Irish Times (24 August 1916).
  11. ^ "Leaving Cert students encouraged to apply for Empowerment bursary". The Clare Echo News. 2018-06-24. Retrieved 2020-01-31.


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