You have probably never heard the name Molly O’Reilly until now. She was born sometime in 1900, at Gardiner Street, Dublin and she died in 1950. This lady was part of the resistance against the British forces on Ireland.
Influenced by the writings and teachings of James Collony, O’Reilly joined the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) in early 1914. Later that year, she hid rifles in her own home so they could be distributed to various safe dumps where the British soldiers could not find them. Her family knew nothing of this. Molly thought that if she told them, they would stop her.
On Easter Monday, 23rd April 1916, Molly marched the ICA to occupy the General Post Office and throughout the Easter week undertook the dangerous mission of carrying dispatches from the Republican headquarters to Liberty Hall (the Dublin parliament). She was in fact the first person to ever hold the Irish flag over Liberty Hall.
This special lady was my great-great aunt.
By: Bibi