William Hoey Kearney Redmond
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Major William Hoey Kearney Redmond (1861–9 June 1917) (commonly known as Willie Redmond) was an Irish Parliamentary Party Member of Parliament and First World War fatality.
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[edit] Early life
Redmond was born Ballytrent, County Wexford, the son of William Archer Redmond and his wife Mary, née Hoey. His father was a MP for Wexford Borough who came from a long line of Catholic nationalist politicians. His elder brother was John Redmond who became leader of the Irish National Party.
William was also educated at Clongowes Wood College.
[edit] Political career
He joined the militia with the intention of making the army his career but resigned in 1881 to take part in the Irish National Land League. He and his brother John Redmond travelled to Australia to raise funds for the nationalist cause and whilst there met two sisters who became their wives. In 1881 under the Irish Coercion Act he was imprisoned in the Kilmainham gaol, Dublin, with Charles Parnell.
In 1883, he was elected MP for his father's old constituency of Wexford Borough. Following the constituencies abolition in 1885, he was returned for the Fermanagh North. In 1892, he was elected MP for the Clare East constituency, from which he was returned unopposed from 1900 until his death.
On 24 February 1886 William married Eleanor Mary Dalton (died 31 January 1947), eldest daughter of James Dalton. They had one son who died at the age of five.
[edit] First World War
At the outbreak of World War I, John Redmond called on Irish Volunteers to enlist in the British Army in the hope that this would strengthen the cause of Home Rule. This caused a split in the Volunteer movement and his brother William was one of the first to volunteer for the army as a member of the National Volunteers.
He was commissioned as a captain in the Royal Irish Regiment, with whom he had served 33 years before, at the age of 53. He went to France with the 16th Irish Division in the winter of 1915-'16 and was soon in action, winning a mention in dispatches from Sir Douglas Haig. He gained his majority but this promoted him away from the action much to his displeasure and he only succeeded in returning to his beloved 'A' Company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, the night before the Battle of Messines. By then he was 56 years old.
[edit] Death
Upon going over the top at Wytschaete/Wijtschate on 9 June, Redmond, one of the first out of the trenches, was hit almost immediately in the wrist and then, when hit in the leg, could do no more than urge his men on. Stretcher bearers of the Ulster Division brought him in and eventually he reached the Casualty Clearing Station at the Catholic Hospice at Locre (now Loker) where he died that afternoon - almost certainly from shock.
He was buried nearby in a grave in a single plot near the Locre Hospice Cemetery.
[edit] External references
Review of Trench Pictures from France http://www.naval-military-press.com/catalogue/military-books/8142.htm
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Details http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=4041444
Locre Hospice Cemetery http://www.webmatters.net/cwgc/loker_hospice.htm
The story of Private Samuel Meeke who carried the injured Willie Redmond to the dressing station http://www.ballymoneyheroes.co.uk/Stories.htm
[edit] Writings
- W. H. K. Redmond, Through the New Commonwealth, Dublin, 1906
- William Hoey Kearney Redmond, Trench pictures from France, A. Melrose, 1917
[edit] References
- Terence Denman, A lonely Grave - The Life and Death of William Redmond, Dublin: (Irish Academic Press)
[edit] Political offices
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Timothy Michael Healy |
MP for Wexford Borough 1883–1885 |
Succeeded by: Abolished |
| Preceded by: New creation |
MP for Fermanagh North 1885–1892 |
Succeeded by: Richard Martin Dane |
| Preceded by: Joseph Richard Cox |
MP for Clare East 1892–1917 |
Succeeded by: Éamon de Valera |
