James Daly (mutineer)
James Daly | |
|---|---|
 Private James Daly | |
| Born | circa. 1898 |
| Died | 2 November 1920 |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Connaught Rangers |
Private James Joseph Daly (executed 2 November 1920, aged 22) was a member of a mutiny of the Connaught Rangers in India in 1920 in protest of the activities of the Black and Tans. He was executed in the aftermath of the mutiny.
Career
Private Daly, a native of Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, joined the Connaught Rangers and was posted to India.
The June 1920 revolt originated at Wellington Barracks, Jullundur (now Jalandhar), Punjab near the border with modern-day Pakistan then spread to other Connaught Rangers companies. Daly and up to 150 colleagues took up arms in protest of the activities of the Black and Tans, officially the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve.[1][2][3]
They proclaimed their hut to be known as "Liberty Hall", raised the green flag of Ireland above the hut and then attacked the armory but were captured and taken to Lucknow Prison.[2][1]
Two Irish mutineers, Patrick Smythe and Peter Sears, were killed during the mutiny. Private John Miranda, an English mutineer and native of Liverpool, died later of enteric fever at Dagshai military prison.
Daly was executed by firing squad for his leading role in the incident following a court martial on 2 November 1920. He was the last member of the British armed forces to be shot for mutiny.[1][4] In 1970, on the 50th anniversary of the mutiny his body was sent back to Ireland.[5]
Legacy
Daly is remembered in a traditional Irish song known as Lay Him Away on the Hillside,[6] the chorus of which includes the lines:
- Lay him away on the hillside,
- Along with the brave and the bold
- Inscribe his name on the scroll of fame
- In letters of purest gold...
References
- ^ a b c Fergal Keane (1999-01-09). "We must pardon Private Daly, the last man shot for mutiny". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- ^ a b Ronan McGreevy (2014-01-17). "Connaught Rangers mutiny: a far-away conflict brought home in new archive". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
- ^ "History Ireland". History Ireland. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- ^ "Connaught Rangers". National Army Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ Bartlett, Thomas (Spring 1998). "The Connaught Rangers Mutiny India, July 1920". History Ireland. 6 (1). Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Lay Him Away on the Hillside". Musixmatch. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
Further reading
- Behan, Brendan. Confessions of an Irish Rebel. Arrow. ISBN 978-0099365006.
External links
- 1920 deaths
- Deaths by firearm in India
- Connaught Rangers soldiers
- People executed by the British military by firing squad
- People of the Irish War of Independence
- Executed Irish people
- 20th-century executions by the United Kingdom
- People executed for mutiny
- Mutineers
- Irish people executed abroad
- People from County Westmeath