Edward Daly: 16Lives

About Helen Litton

Edward Daly (1891-1916): Born in Limerick on 28 February 1891 he was the only boy amongst nine sisters. Daly's family had a history of republican activity; his father had taken part in the Rising of 1867. He knew Tom Clarke through his uncle John Daly who shared a cell with the dynamiter- they were brought closer through Tom's marriage to his sister Kathleen Daly. The Christian Brothers who considered him not by any means a brilliant pupil educated him. He tried working in Glasgow as a bakers apprentice but returned to Limerick to work as a clerk in a timber yard. In 1912 he moved to Dublin and worked for the chemist wholesalers on Westmoreland Street May Roberts. He was one of the first to join the Volunteers and helped to organize for the Rossa funeral in 1915. In the weeks leading up to the Rising at Seán MacDiarmada's request he worked full time for the Volunteers. Ned was commander of the Volunteers First Battalion who were based around the Four Courts area of Dublin during 1916. Daly raided the Bridewell Barracks and found twenty-four members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police hidden in their cells. He also raided the Linenhall Barracks a building which housed the Army Pay Corps which his men then set on fire in order to disrupt the system. Ned Daly and his men fought pitched battles with the British around the narrow streets of Smithfield and the Market area of Dublin. After the eventual surrender of the 1st Battalion an unfortunate incident occurred when British soldiers apparently lost control of themselves. They battered their way into houses along North King Street and shot male residents indiscriminately. The discovery of a shallow grave after the Rising that contained two civilian bodies later led to an investigation which served to help the decisive shift of public opinion against the British forces. On the other hand Daly had captured Col J.P. Brereton and held him in the Four Courts. Later Brereton commended the garrison for their behavior and said he was treated with kindness by the insurgents. Ned Daly was taken to Kilmainham Gaol and took the dubious honour of being the youngest 1916 leader to be executed on the 4 of May 1916.