Harry Boland

For the Australian union leader, see Harry Boland (trade unionist).

Harry Boland
Teachta Dála
In office 14 December 1918 – 8 November 1922
Preceded by	John Patrick Hayden
Succeeded by	Gerald Boland
Constituency	South Roscommon Mayo South–Roscommon South
Personal details
Born	27 April 1887(1887-04-27) Phibsboro, Dublin, Ireland
Died	31 July 1922(1922-07-31) (aged 35) Skerries, Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Sinn Féin
Religion	Roman Catholic

Harry Boland (Irish: Énrí Ó Beólláin) (27 April 1887 – 31 July 1922) was an Irish Republican politician and member of the First Dáil.

Early life

Boland was born in Phibsboro, Dublin on 27 April 1887. He was active in GAA circles in early life, and ultimately joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Harry was educated at the Synge Street CBS but had a personality clash with one of the brothers so he refused to carry on his attendance at the school. He then went to De la Salle College, County Laois, as a novitiate..

Irish nationalism

Boland joined the Irish Volunteers along with his brothers and took an active part in the Easter Rising of 1916.

At the 1918 general election Boland was elected to represent the South Roscommon seat. In line with all the Sinn Féin MPs elected at that election he did not represent his constituents at Westminster but withdrew to sit in the declared independent Dáil Éireann (the First Dáil) and was named by Éamon de Valera as special envoy to the United States. He left Ireland for the United States of America along with de Valera as part of a campaign to raise awareness and support for their cause in America. Boland held the Russian Crown Jewels as collateral for a loan of $25000 from the Irish Republic to the Soviet Republic through the head of the Soviet Bureau, Ludwig Martens. These jewels were transferred to Ireland when he returned.

During the Irish War of Independence Boland operated alongside Michael Collins.

Civil War

Boland opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty along with de Valera, and in the ensuing Irish Civil War, he sided with the Anti-Treaty IRA. In 1922, he was re-elected to the Dáil representing Roscommon South.

During the Battle of Dublin (1922), Harry Boland was shot in a skirmish with soldiers of the Irish Free State at the Skerries Grand Hotel. He died several days later in St Vincent's hospital and was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery.

Legacy

Boland's death affected Collins and may have spurred him towards peace negotiations with De Valera. Soon after, Collins was killed at an ambush at Béal na mBláth, County Cork. The Skerries Grand Hotel later became a secondary school for boys, managed by the De La Salle Brothers. There is a commemorative plaque on site stating that Boland was killed in action there.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Harry's brother Gerald Boland was a prominent member of Fianna Fáil and was later a minister of Justice. His nephew Kevin Boland served as a minister and was implicated in the arms crisis. His resignation from Fianna Fáil and the subsequent loss of his seat put an end to the Boland political dynasty.

In popular culture

In the 1996 biopic Michael Collins, Harry Boland was portrayed by Aidan Quinn.

See also

• Families in the Oireachtas

Biographies

• Andrew Brasier and John Kelly, Harry Boland: A Man Divided, Dublin (2000)
• David Fitzpatrick, Harry Boland's Irish Revolution, Cork University Press (2003)
• Jim Maher, Harry Boland: A Biography, Dublin (1998)

Sources

• Ancient Order of Hibernians - Biography
• Contemporary account of Harry Boland's death - New York Times, 2 August 1922

References

Preceded by Seán McGarry

President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood 1919–1920

Succeeded by Patrick Moylett