Michael (The) Ó Rathaile was one of the co-founders of the Irish Volunteers and was the only 1916 leader to die during the fighting of Easter week. He was born at Ballylongford on the 22nd April 1875 and from an early age was a strong Irish nationalist changing his name to the old Gaelic spelling in the summer of 1901. He wrote for Arthur Griffith’s newspaper the United Irishman and became involved with the Irish Home Rule party while living in Brighton. In 1911 he started using the title ‘The’ believing ‘he christened himself with the blood’ of the Gael, in helping to revive the old clanship of his ancestors. As part of the Executive Committee of the Gaelic League he was involved in the translations of the street names in Baile Átha Cliath into Irish in 1912. He submitted articles to the Irish Freedom paper and took over the Gaelic League’s paper An Claidheamh Soluis bringing out a new edition in 1913.
Upon the founding of the Oglaigh na hÉireann, he became its first treasurer. He was Director of Arms for the Irish Volunteers during the Howth gun-running and while never a member of the IRB, he remained loyal to the Volunteers after a split was caused by the pro-British Redmondites; who desired to fight for England during the First World War. During the Easter Rising he was assigned as aide de camp to Pádraic mac Phiarais at the GPO HQ. While initially against the 1916 Rising (as he believed the army was still at preparation level) and working in partnership with Ó Neill to have the rising stopped, once Mac Phiarais had given the mobilisation order to his troops, Ó Rathaile committed himself to fighting with the men he had trained.
While taking a command-section of his soldiers up Moore Street on an offensive assault, he was put under heavy machine-gun fire from a British barricade. Ó Rathaile was badly hit, but managed to pull himself in Sackville Lane where he wrote his dying letter to his wife on the night of Friday 28th April. Just before he died he dipped his finger into his bleeding wound and with his own blood wrote his name upon a doorway, at just 41 years of age. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery beside O’Donovan Rossa, being one of the first to be buried in what became known as the Republican Plot. He was survived by his wife and his four sons. He died fighting to revive a Gaelic Ireland and will always be cherished in the hearts of the Irish people. Éire Saor, Éire Gaelach.
Upon the founding of the Oglaigh na hÉireann, he became its first treasurer. He was Director of Arms for the Irish Volunteers during the Howth gun-running and while never a member of the IRB, he remained loyal to the Volunteers after a split was caused by the pro-British Redmondites; who desired to fight for England during the First World War. During the Easter Rising he was assigned as aide de camp to Pádraic mac Phiarais at the GPO HQ. While initially against the 1916 Rising (as he believed the army was still at preparation level) and working in partnership with Ó Neill to have the rising stopped, once Mac Phiarais had given the mobilisation order to his troops, Ó Rathaile committed himself to fighting with the men he had trained.
While taking a command-section of his soldiers up Moore Street on an offensive assault, he was put under heavy machine-gun fire from a British barricade. Ó Rathaile was badly hit, but managed to pull himself in Sackville Lane where he wrote his dying letter to his wife on the night of Friday 28th April. Just before he died he dipped his finger into his bleeding wound and with his own blood wrote his name upon a doorway, at just 41 years of age. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery beside O’Donovan Rossa, being one of the first to be buried in what became known as the Republican Plot. He was survived by his wife and his four sons. He died fighting to revive a Gaelic Ireland and will always be cherished in the hearts of the Irish people. Éire Saor, Éire Gaelach.
