Draft:Michael Malone

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  • Comment: If the subject is only known for their involvement in the Battle of Mount Street Bridge (and the body and all the sources only discuss the subject in the context of that event), then how is WP:BIO1E met? Should the subject not be covered (as the sources do) in the article on that event? (Military personnel are not automatically notable. Many people fought/died in the Easter Rising (and broader Irish revolutionary period). They are not all independently notable? Guliolopez (talk) 11:02, 11 August 2025 (UTC)


Lieutenant Michael Malone
Born1888
Dublin, Ireland
Died(1916-04-26)26 April 1916
25 Northumberland Road, Dublin, Ireland
AllegianceIrish Volunteers
BranchIrish Volunteers (Cycling Corps), 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade
RankLieutenant
Battles / warsEaster Rising (Battle of Mount Street Bridge)

Michael Malone (1888 – 26 April 1916) was an officer in the Irish Volunteers who commanded a defensive position during the Battle of Mount Street Bridge in the 1916 Easter Rising. His defense of 25 Northumberland Road significantly delayed British reinforcements, making the action one of the most effective rebel operations of the week.[1][2]

Early life

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Michael Malone was born in Dublin in 1888.[1] He was a Row Boy, having attended Westland Row CBS, where other alumni included Patrick and Willie Pearse, who's father was a sculptor.[3] A carpenter by trade, he won art and drawing awards from Dublin Technical Schools, a talented sculptor and was a member of St Patrick’s Confraternity in Ringsend.[1] He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and later became a lieutenant in Éamon de Valera’s 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, attached to the unit’s cycling corps.[1][4]

Role in the Easter Rising

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On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, Patrick Pearse, a former barrister, schoolteacher and commander of the Irish Volunteers, read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from outside the General Post Office, in Dublin. As this event was unfolding battalions of Irish Volunteers were occupying strategically located positions throughout Dublin city in order to defend the newly declared republic. Earlier that morning, one of those battalions, under the command of Commandant Eamon de Valera, occupied their designated position, Boland's Mill in Ballsbridge, Dublin.[5][4] Their orders were to delay British reinforcements advancing from Kingstown tow

That same morning, Malone led sixteen Volunteers from "C" company, 3rd battalion towards Mount Street Bridge, a key crossing point into Dublin City. Their orders: to prevent British reinforcements from entering Dublin.Here they set up several strategic positions from Mount Street Bridge to the junction of Northumberland Road and Pembroke Road. These positions consisted of a schoolhouse, two houses at 25 Northumberland Road, Clanwilliam House and a Parochial Hall. The volunteers fortified their designated posts by making barricades of furniture.

The battle began on 26 April, opposing them were units of the 2/7th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, numbering about 1,750 soldiers.[5][2] Malone’s small force, estimated at 16–17 Volunteers, inflicted heavy casualties — official British casualties amounted to four officers and 216 other ranks killed or wounded during the engagement — over more than seven hours of fighting.[5][6][2]

Malone was killed by rifle fire while coming down the stairs during the final British assault on No. 25, after the Sherwood Foresters blew open the door with grenades.[1][7][2] British troops initially buried him in the backyard of the house, but his remains were later re-interred in the Republican Plot in Glasnevin Cemetery.[1][2][8]

Legacy

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The defense of Mount Street Bridge is remembered as one of the most effective actions of the Rising, delaying a large contingency of British forces with minimal rebel numbers.[5][2] Malone is commemorated with a plaque near Northumberland Road and is honoured in annual Easter Rising remembrances.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Irish Volunteers – Battle of Mount Street Bridge". Mount Street 1916. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f O'Brien, Paul (2008). Blood on the Streets: 1916 & The Battle for Mount Street Bridge. Cork: Mercier Press. ISBN 978-1-85635-576-6.
  3. ^ "The Pearses and the Brennocks – Two families of Row Boys". Westland Row Past Pupils’ Union. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Coles, Peter (27 April 2019). "The Bloody History of Mount Street Bridge". In the Dark. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Battle of Mount Street Bridge, Dublin 1916". Western Front Association. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Easter Week Timeline – Wednesday 26 April 1916". University College Cork. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Johnny Moran's 1916 Project – Battle of Mount Street Bridge" (PDF). Star of the Sea Parish. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  8. ^ O'Brien, Paul. "The Battle of Mount Street Bridge, 1916". paulobrienauthor.ie. Retrieved 2025-08-07.