James Boland

James Boland (6 October 1856 – 11 March 1895) was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) who was linked to the Irish National Invincibles. He was the father of republican revolutionaries and politicians Harry, Gerald, Ned and Kathleen Boland.

Early life James Boland was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, in 1856. His parents, Patrick Boland and Eliza Boland née Kelly, were both Famine emigrants from Connacht in Ireland. His father was reputed to be a member of the IRB and his mother was a first cousin of Col. Thomas Kelly.

Patrick and his brothers may have been involved in the IRB campaign to rescue Kelly and Timothy Deasy from a Manchester police van. Ten-year-old Jim is thought to have been a scout for the party that attacked the van and killed a police officer.

He was awarded the Royal Humane Society's medal in the same year for 'jumping off the Metal Bridge' to save a life.

He was elected President of the Dublin County Committee of the GAA in 1892 and to the Dublin seat of GAA Central Council for the next two years. The Bolands had two more children, Kathleen in 1889 and Ned in 1893.

In 1894, Jim was elected to the Supreme Council of the IRB.

Death Boland fell ill in October 1894 with a serious brain disorder. He had received head injuries at two previous incidents. According to accounts, he was hit in the head protecting Parnell from assailants before his last trip to Wicklow, and developed concussion. The injury also caused an undetected skull fracture. He was also involved in a bombing of the offices of the Parnell's newspaper United Ireland in 1891 following an attempted takeover by Healyites, during which he was struck in the head.

He failed to recover and died on 11 March 1895. Around 1,500 mourners on foot followed his open hearse at his funeral. The group included three members of parliament, eight city councillors and prominent Nationalists, including Arthur Griffith, James Bermingham and Fred Allan. Following his death, two funds were raised to save his wife and young family from destitution. Enough money was raised to acquire a tobacconists business for Kate Boland.