Edward "Ned" Daly (
25
February 1891 –
4 May
1916) was commandant of Dublin's 1st battalion
during the
Easter Rising of 1916. He
was the youngest man to hold that
rank, and the youngest executed in the
aftermath.
Background
Born at 26
Frederick Street, Limerick
, Daly was
the only son among the ten children born to Edward and Catherine
Daly (née O'Mara). He was the younger brother of
Kathleen Clarke, wife of
Tom Clarke, and an active
member of the
Irish
Republican Brotherhood. His father, Edward, was a Fenian who
died five months before his son's birth at the age of forty-one.
His uncle was
John Daly, a
prominent
republican who had
taken part in the
Fenian Rising. It
was through John Daly that Clarke had met his future wife.
He was educated by the Presentation Sisters’ at Sexton Street, the
Christian Brothers at Roxboro Road and at Leamy’s commercial
college.
He spent a short time as an apprentice baker
in Glasgow
, before
returning to Limerick to work in Spaight's timber yard. He
later moved to Dublin where he eventually took up a position with a
wholesale chemists. He lived in Fairview with Kathleen and Tom
Clarke.
Political Involvement
Although Daly's membership of the IRB is certain, it is not known
when he joined the organisation. In November 1913 Daly joined the
newly-founded
Irish Volunteers. He
soon reached the rank of captain. He was assiduous in his study of
military manuals and the professionalism of his company gained the
admiration of senior officers in actions such as the
Howth gun-running of 1914. In March 1915,
he was promoted to the rank of commandant of the 1st
Battalion.
The Easter Rising
Daly's
battalion, stationed in the Four Courts
and areas to the west and north of Dublin
center, saw
the most intense fighting of the rising. He surrendered his
battalion on
29 April. In his trial, he
claimed that he was just following orders, but was
executed by firing squad on
4 May 1916, at the age of
25.
The men in his battalion spoke of him as a good commandant. This
opinion was also shared by a British officer that Daly's battalion
had captured.
References
External links
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