Seán McLoughlin (communist)
Seán McLoughlin | |
---|---|
Commandant-General | |
Unit | Fianna Éireann |
Battles/wars | Easter Rising Irish Civil War |
Seán McLoughlin (2 June 1895 – 13 February 1960) was an
Early life
Born as John McLoughlin in north
Easter Rising
Late in 1913, McLoughlin joined the Irish Volunteers, siding with its anti-World War I faction, and serving in G company under Seán Heuston. Early in 1916, Heuston and McLoughlin both transferred to D company, and took part in the Easter Rising, occupying the Mendicity Institution. Over the next two days, McLoughlin repeatedly travelled between the Institution and General Post Office (GPO), updating the leadership on progress and obtaining supplies. However, on one trip, he was identified by civilians and nearly captured, instead finding refuge in the Four Courts and then finally returning to the GPO. Once there, James Connolly gave him command of thirty volunteers and a mission to occupy the offices of the Irish Independent, to maintain a watch on British troop movements and potentially bombard them, if they began an assault.[2]
The following day, McLoughlin returned to the GPO to check in. His sister, Mary McLoughlin, age 15, was stationed there as well, acting as a courier.[3] He attempted to warn the O'Rahilly against moving out to Parnell Street, as he knew the area was occupied by British troops, but was too late to catch him. The O'Rahilly was killed, and McLoughlin assumed control in the GPO, with the agreement of the injured Connolly. He successfully evacuated 300 men to Moore Street, and this led Connolly and the other headquarters staff to award him the title of commandant-general and overall charge of the Volunteers' military operations, even though he was still only 21 years old.[2]
McLoughlin organised tunnelling through the walls of buildings in Moore Street, allowing the troops to distribute through a larger space and bringing them closer to the British barricades, without the British troops realising. He planned a break-out, hoping to surprise the British and win against them in hand-to-hand combat, but the commander-in-chief, Patrick Pearse decided that the risk of civilian casualties was too high, and instead surrendered. McLoughlin opposed this decision, but nonetheless arranged for the remaining troops to march to the agreed place of surrender in an orderly fashion.[2]
Following the surrender, McLoughlin expected to be sentenced to death, but a British captain removed his insignia, and the British regarded him as a minor figure, and he was simply interned, at Knutsford Gaol and then Frongoch internment camp.[2] He was released in December, and returned to the Volunteers, organising the movement in Tipperary.[4]
Communism
McLoughlin also joined the
In December 1919, McLoughlin resigned his positions in the SPI to travel to Scotland. There, he undertook a speaking tour on behalf of the newly formed "Irish Labour Party (Glasgow)", a group unconnected with the
McLoughlin returned to Ireland in May 1920, recuperating from breathing problems. In his absence, the SPI had ceased to function, and he founded a new Irish Communist Labour Party, becoming its chairman. He hoped that the new party could affiliate to the
Irish Civil War
McLoughlin was in Britain during the
Later life
In 1924, McLoughlin moved to
Commemoration
On 3 May 2017 a plaque was unveiled at his home in Dublin City.[7]
References
- ^ Ruan O'Donnell. 16 Lives: Patrick Pearse. p. 256.
- ^ a b c d e Charlie McGuire, "Seán McLoughlin – the boy commandant of 1916", History Ireland, Vol.14, No.2
- ^ "Witness Statement of Mary McLoughlan" (PDF). Bureau of Military History.
- ^ Irish Democrat
- ^ a b c d e f g Charlie McGuire, "An Irish Socialist in Britain: Sean McLoughlin and the British Socialist Movement, 1920–1922", Irish Studies Review, vol.16, no.2
- ^ Ian Bullock, Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left, p.254
- ^ "Plaque unveiled in Dublin to commemorate Irish Volunteer Sean McLoughlin". Raidió Teilifís Éireann.