Tom McEllistrim | |
|---|---|
 McEllistrim in 1927 | |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office July 1937 – June 1969 | |
| Constituency | Kerry North |
| In office August 1923 – July 1937 | |
| Constituency | Kerry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1894-10-14)14 October 1894 Listowel,County Kerry, Ireland |
| Died | 4 December 1973(1973-12-04) (aged 79) Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | Tom McEllistrim (grandson) |
| Children | 3, includingTom |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1916–1923 |
| Battles/wars | |
Thomas McEllistrim (14 October 1894 – 4 December 1973) was an IrishFianna Fáil politician who served as aTeachta Dála (TD) from 1923 to 1969. He was a military activist in the period from 1916 to 1923.[1]
He joined theBallymacelligott company of theIrish Volunteers in 1914 and was involved in an abortive attempt byRoger Casement to land arms for theEaster Rising atBanna Strand inCounty Kerry. After the rebellion he was interned by the British atFrongoch internment camp inWales for his role in the events. In April 1918, he led an arms raid on GortatleaRoyal Irish Constabulary barracks in which two Volunteers were killed. It was one of the first acts of guerrilla warfare in the period.[citation needed]
McEllistrim served in theIrish Republican Army in Kerry throughout theIrish War of Independence of 1919 to 1921. He was instrumental in the setting up of first anActive service unit (in June 1920) and then a larger "flying column", or full-time guerrilla unit in the IRA's Second Kerry Brigade in early 1921. His column fought in both theClonbanin Ambush and theHeadford Ambush in the spring of 1921. At the latter action, in which the IRA ambushed a train carrying British troops, Dan Allman, the leader of the flying column was killed, leaving McEllistrim in command.[citation needed]
According to historian T. Ryle Dwyer, "McEllistrim arguably played as important a role in the War of Independence asTom Barry orDan Breen but he never wrote a book about his exploits, nor was he prepared to talk about them publicly... Even though McEllistrim sat in the Dáil for over forty years, he apparently never mentioned the period inLeinster House".[2]
He rejected theAnglo-Irish Treaty and fought in theAnti-Treaty IRA during theIrish Civil War of 1922 to 1923. He was one of the senior IRA figures in Kerry during this conflict, under the command of Humphrey Murphy. In the war's early months, he commanded a Kerry column in the fighting inLimerick and at theBattle of Kilmallock, before retreating back into Kerry and pursuing guerrilla warfare. In January 1923, he, along withJohn Joe Sheehy, led an attack on the National Army barracks atCastlemaine, using an improvised mortar.[citation needed]
McEllistrim was elected to the Dáil as a TD for Kerry in August 1923, only months after the end of the civil war, as a republican candidate. He came third in the county with 7,277 votes.[3] He remained a TD for theKerry constituency, and later ofKerry North from 1926 to 1969.[4] After 1926, he followed much the republican leadership into Fianna Fáil. His son,Tom McEllistrim, and his grandson, alsoTom McEllistrim also represented the Kerry North constituency.
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