Charles McGuinness

Charles John 'Nomad' McGuinness (6 March 1893 – 7 December 1947) was an Irish adventurer supposed to have been involved with a myriad of acts of patriotism and nomadic impulses. Due to a habitual trait of embellishing his own life story mixed with his genuine wanderlust and actual achievements, discerning what is and is not accurate about McGuinness' life has been a challenge for historians. In a 1934 autobiography, McGuinness summarised himself as an "Irish Sailor, Soldier, Pearl-fisher, Pirate, Gun-runner, Rum-runner, Rebel and Antarctic Explorer". Writing for the Irish Independent, Irish historian Breandán Mac Suibhne remarked that "bush-fighter, big-game hunter, hobo, jail-breaker, radio broadcaster, set-maker in Hollywood, construction worker on Long Island, journalist, author of children's literature and internee" could also be reasonably added to that list. and McGuinness was left stranded on a lifeboat for two weeks until rescued. He subsequently remained in the Tahiti region for a year, working as a pearl fisher.

Irish War of Independence McGuinness finally returned to Derry in 1920, and upon arrival threw himself into the ongoing War of Irish Independence. Although McGuinness was viewed as an eccentric, having brought a monkey back from Africa to Derry,

Following a failed bank raid in the Glenties in County Donegal, McGuinness was captured by British forces in June 1921 and charged with the murder of Inspector Robert Johnson in Glasgow, Scotland which had occurred the previous month. However, McGuinness was able to escape from Ebrington Barracks before any serious case could be brought against him. His guards thought he was too weak to escape so they paid little attention to him. A local Derry priest, Friar Coyles, claimed that McGuinness escaped by being smuggled out in a coffin After passing sentence, the German judge wished McGuinness, "better luck next time". The incident caused an uproar back in the United Kingdom.

In July 1921, McGuinness was again sent to Weimar Germany by Liam Mellows to purchase more weapons.

Gun-running with Frieda In November 1921, McGuinness jokingly claimed to have established the first-ever "Irish navy" after he successfully purchased a tugboat named "Frieda" in Hamburg, Germany with funds supplied by Robert Briscoe, Using the experience of the Frieda and Waterford as a template, or 1500 rifles, 2000 pistols and 1.7 million rounds of ammunition.

Unfortunately for the Anti-Treaty forces, they were never able to make use of the shipment, as just one month after the landing Anti-Treaty IRA Chief of Staff issued a ceasefire order, bringing an end to the Civil War. The arms brought abroad by the Hanna would be seized by the National Army.

1930s Rum-runner In the midst of the now ongoing Great Depression as well Prohibition in the United States, McGuinness turned back to the life of smuggling cargo between countries, when in 1930 he began smuggling rum from Canada into the United States. However, his fortunes were quickly dashed when his ship and its cargo were impounded in the summer of 1931.

Working in Soviet Russia For two years in 1932, McGuinness claimed to have gone to Soviet Russia to experience a communist-run country, where he worked as a harbour master in the port city of Murmansk.

Death McGuinness is believed to have died on 4 December 1947 when he drowned alongside four other crew members of the schooner Isaalt that he was piloting off on Ballymoney Strand near Gorey in County Wexford.

McGuinness' publisher, Methuen Publishing, was sued by John William Nixon on account of the book. In Sailor of Fortune/Nomad, McGuinness makes reference to a thinly disguised Nixon and implies that Nixon was the former RUC detective inspector who, in 1922, led a gang in Belfast who carried out the McMahon killings.

Irish Independent Spanish Civil War feature articles McGuinness wrote a six-piece article featured in the Irish Independent Newspaper in 1937. The introduction titled, "True Story That Will Thrill You," depicts McGuinness's account of his adventures at the time of the Spanish Civil War. The first piece, entitled "Adventures in War-Torn Spain," continues his account of this period. The second piece is entitled "Foul War on Religion." The third piece is called "Massacre in A Cemetery." The fourth piece is called "Under Fire by the Enemy." The fifth piece is called "Among those about to Die." These featured articles depict Charles "Nomad" McGuinness's adventures at the time of the Spanish Civil War. His articles mainly focus on the destruction, death, and corruption related to the war in Spain.

Personal life

McGuinness had three wives in his lifetime. His first wife, Klara Zuckerkandel (referred to as "Claire" in Ireland) was German, whom he married in Vienna then moved to New York where they had their son, Patrick Joseph. Little is known about his second wife, other than her burial in the City cemetery. His third wife was buried in Donegal.

Tattoos As a sailor for much of his life, McGuinness engaged in the maritime culture of tattooing his body. According to Robert Briscoe, "from the soles of his feet to his neck, he was a picture gallery, with everything from mermaids to alligators". In addition to statements that almost his entire body was tattooed, a number of sources allege that McGuinness had the Union Jack tattooed to the soles of his feet so that he would forever be 'trampling on "the butcher's apron'".