Pat Nally

Patrick William Nally (13 March 1857 – 8 November 1891) was a member of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and well known Connacht athlete from Balla, County Mayo. A prolific sportsman, Nally organised some of the sports events in Ireland open to the working class instead of the ruling elite, and in turn, he was highly influential on Michael Cusack, who would go on to found the Gaelic Athletic Association. Highly active in the Land League and the IRB in Connacht, In 1881 Nally was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in Mountjoy Jail, Dublin, for what became known as the "Crossmolina Conspiracy", in which he and others were accused of plotting to kill a landlord's agents. While imprisoned Nally was reportedly subjected to harsh treatment and he later died in prison in November 1891 under dubious circumstances. Nally was later honoured by the GAA for his influence on their creation.

Biography Background

Nally was the eldest son of eight children and one of six brothers, of a prosperous farmer William Nally. William Nally had been an agent for the local landlords the Lynch Blosse family, who owned extensive lands in Balla and Claremorris. The Lynch Blosse family also owned Rockstown house, which subsequently became the property of the Nally Family. Despite the fact that his work as a landlord's agent would have pitted him against the local tenants, it is believed that Willian Nally was a Fenian supporter. Patrick Nally from an early age himself became a Fenian, and by the late 1870s was a leading organiser of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

Nally was educated at St Jarlath's College in Tuam, County Galway, where he made important connections with other Irish nationalists. Cusack found that Nally's views on the influence of British landlordism on Irish athletics were the same as his.

Following the success of his first event, Nally organised another meeting on 14 October 1880, and Nally ensured that the organising committee contained no landlords.

By 1880, Nally had become a member of the IRB's Supreme Council, and replaced Matthew Harris as the leader of the IRB in Connacht by autumn of 1880. When speaking on Land League platforms, Nally did not make grand statements about reorganising society, but instead focused on a more legalistic argument that tenants should pay no more than the rents specified in Griffith's Valuation of 1854. However, touching on the Land League's more nationalistic tendencies, Nally expressed the hope that the Royal Irish Constabulary, many of whom were the sons of farmers, would join the land league and turn against the British administration.

During the winter of 1880, Nally relocated to Manchester, where he spent his time attempting to secure the shipping of 300 rifles to Mayo. While still in Manchester he wrote back to the press in Mayo to condemn agrarian riots taking place in his absence. In September 1881 Nally came out in support of Gladstone's Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881.

On 28 March 1884, following eleven months in police custody and a four-month trial, Nally was convicted and sentenced to ten years imprisonment while the other prisoners each received seven-year sentences. Nally's imprisonment meant he could not attend the first meeting of the Gaelic Athletic Association on 1 October 1884, an organisation many felt he had directly inspired. and saw a large turnout, including eleven members of parliament as well the leaders of the GAA and IRB. Nally's coffin was draped with the same green flag that had adorned Parnell's coffin just one month prior. Nally was buried in the Fenian section of Glasnevin cemetery.

In Nally's memory, a Celtic cross was erected in the centre of Balla in 1900, and some years later a monument was erected in Crossmolina in memory of all seven men convicted during the Cork trials of March 1884.

In 1952 the GAA erected a terrace stand at the north end of Croke Park named "Nally Stand" in his honour. It was unique for being the only stand in the stadium named after a person who had no direct connection to the Gaelic Athletic Association. In January 2003, it was removed from Croke Park as part of the redevelopment of the stadium. The stand was relocated to the grounds of Carrickmore GAA club in County Tyrone while a new Nally terrace was erected at Croke Park.

Footnotes A. Some sources cite 1856 or 1857 as the year of birth