Bridget Connolly

Bridget Connolly (23 May 1890 – 15 November 1981) was an Irish nationalist and republican, active during the Easter Rising of 1916 and believed to be the only person from County Carlow to be in the General Post Office, Dublin, during the Easter Rising. She also served during both the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.

Biography Bridget Connolly was born 23 May 1890 in Friarstown near Killerig, County Carlow. Her parents were Peter Connolly, a labourer, and Elizabeth Gaynor. The Connolly's left Friarstown, possibly after they were evicted, and by 1911 were living in Artane, Dublin. She attended school at St. Vincent's Convent School, Dublin, going to qualify as a school teacher. She then joined , an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation.

In advance of the Easter Rising, Connolly stored arms, over a dozen 900 Mauser rifles. She served in the GPO garrison during the Easter Rising,

During the War of Independence, she collected and stored arms, and secured safe houses for men on the run. Connolly went to Manchester and Liverpool on the orders of Austin Stack during the Civil War to relay cables to the United States and await the replies. She was attached to the garrison at Barry's Hotel during the attack on the Four Courts in 1922, mobilising men and moving arms under the orders of Oscar Traynor. She was imprisoned after that attack, with Richard Mulcahy ruling her a danger to public safety. She was released in late November 1923.