Skip to main content

Grangegorman Lives: Patrick O’Daly

On this day (1 February) in 1922, O’Daly orchestrated the handover of the Beggars Bush barracks from British troops.

Patrick O’Daly (1888 1957) was a soldier and counter-intelligence officer who helped to further the republican cause in Ireland. Originally trained as a carpenter, O’Daly quickly became involved in the Irish republican political movement, swearing into the Irish Republican Brotherhood at 19 years old. Following his participation in the Easter Rising, O’Daly was sent to the Richmond hospital for treatment and promptly arrested in his bed. He was then extradited to a Welsh prison, before being released under the terms of the general amnesty agreement in December of the same year. O’Daly would continue his participation in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, commanding the Guard’s 1st Company through Dublin to accept the hand-over of Beggars Bush barracks from British troops on February 1st, 1922. O’Daly resigned his commission with the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1924, returning to life as a civilian.

Read more about Patrick O’Daly’s life in our Dictionary of Irish Biography.

Grangegorman Lives is a series of biographies of people whose lives influenced or were influenced by Grangegorman. The biographies are all sourced from Ireland’s Dictionary of Irish Biography: Ireland’s national biographical dictionary. Devised, researched, written and edited under the auspices of the Royal Irish Academy, its online edition is freely available at www.dib.ie.

Grangegorman Histories is a public history programme of research and shared discovery of the Grangegorman site and surrounding communities. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with our activities.

Image credits https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/bloodbath-to-whitewash-the-civil-war-crimes-of-paddy-o-daly-1.3358645 Brophy family collection, South Dublin County Council Libraries