John Boyle O'Reilly | |
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![]() O'Reilly in 1871 | |
Born | Dowth, County Meath, Ireland | 28 June 1844
Died | 10 August 1890 Hull, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 46)
Resting place | Holyhood Cemetery, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Occupation | Journalist, poet, fiction writer |
Period | 1873–1890 |
Notable works | Moondyne |
Spouse | Mary Agnes Murphy (m.1872–90; his death) |
Children | 4 |
John Boyle O'Reilly (28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish poet, journalist, author and activist. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia. After escaping to the United States, he became a prominent spokesperson for the Irish diaspora community and culture through his editorship of the Boston newspaper The Pilot, in addition to his personal writings and lecture tours.
Born in Dowth, County Meath, O'Reilly moved to his aunt's residence in England as a teenager and became involved in journalism before enlisting in the British Army shortly thereafter. In 1863, he left the army after becoming discontented with British rule in Ireland.[1] In 1864, after returning to Ireland, O'Reilly joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood under an assumed name and was part of the group for two years until he and many others were arrested by the British authorities in early 1866.[1] After a trial that same year, he was sentenced to death, but this sentence was subsequently commuted to twenty years of penal servitude. In 1867, O'Reilly was involuntarily transported to Western Australia and moved to the town of Bunbury, where he escaped two years later. He was assisted in escaping by a Fr. Patrick McCabe from Arnaghan, Gowna, County Cavan.
After the escape, O'Reilly moved to Boston and embarked on a successful writing and journalism career, producing works such as Moondyne (1879) and Songs from the Southern Seas (1873), writing poems such as The Cry of the Dreamer and The White Rose and In Bohemia. He married Mary Murphy in 1872 and had four daughters. In his final years of life, O'Reilly suffered from various health issues before eventually dying of an overdose in 1890 at his summer home in Hull, Massachusetts. His memorial service held at Tremont Temple was a major public event.[2]
O'Reilly's literature and work with civil rights have been celebrated throughout the years.