Michael Mallin

Michael Mallin (Irish: Micheál Ó Mealláin; 1 December 1874 – 8 May 1916) was an Irish rebel and socialist who took an active role in the 1916 Easter Rising.

Born in Dublin, the son of John Mallin a carpenter, Mallin was second in command of the Irish Citizen Army under James Connolly and commanded the garrison at St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, with Constance Markievicz as his second in command. Mallin had enlisted in the British army as a boy soldier/drummer boy in his early years and served for many years in India. His experiences there radicalised him and manifested itself in his becoming a leading official in the silk weavers union upon his return to Ireland and his acceptance of the post of second in command and chief training officer of the Irish Citizen Army. The ICA was formed after the 1913 general strike in Dublin to protect workers from the RIC and also from employer funded strike breaking gangs.

Mallin surrendered on Sunday, 30 April 1916 when ordered to do so by Connolly. At his court-martial he attempted to downplay his involvement. This was understandable as he was a young father of four children and his wife was pregnant with a fifth. In his own statement, Mallin projected himself as a mere tradesman and band leader who had almost by chance become involved in the Irish Citizen Army and the Rising. He sought to exculpate himself from blame by suggesting that he was a mere dupe, obeying orders and ignorant of Connolly's plans for insurrection. He stated: "I am no commission whatever in the Citizen Army. I was never taken into the confidence of James Connolly. I was under the impression that we were going out for manoeuvres on Sunday." Once aware that there was to be a rising he claimed that he covertly tried to subvert it. He also claimed that Countess Markievicz was in command, and not second in command to him, and that she had commanded him to take charge of the men on the Monday. However he was convicted and executed by firing squad on 8 May. The presiding officer at his court martial was Charles Blackader^{[citation needed]}. In his last letter to his wife, Mallin stated that "I find no fault with the soldiers or the police" and admonished her "to pray for all the souls who fell in this fight, Irish and English." He commented "so must Irishmen pay for trying to make Ireland a free nation."

The modern-day Dún Laoghaire Mallin DART station has been named after him.^[1]

Family

He was married to Agnes, with whom he had three boys and two girls, the youngest child was born after Micheals execution. His son Fr Joe Mallin SJ, born in September 1913, became a Jesuit priest and teacher in Hong Kong, celebrating his 100th birthday in 2013^[2] he is the last surviving child of those executed in the 1916 rising.^[3]

References

External links

• Michael Mallin at Find a Grave