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John Boyle O'Reilly, Patriot, Poet, Editor, Convict

John Boyle O’Reilly was born in the village of Dowth Ireland on June 28, 1844. He worked as a typesetter, and reporter in Drogheda Ireland and Preston, England. He joined the 10th Hussars, a prestigious British military unit, at the age of 19. Anywhere from 1/3 to ½ of British soldiers were of Irish decent in the 1800’s. He joined the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood, when discovered by the British; he was sentenced to 20 years hard labor in the Australian Penal system. He escaped with the help of a priest on an American whaling ship. He arrived in Boston on January 1870, and took a position at the Pilot, a respected Catholic Newspaper.

Do you know how John avoided the potato famine? Would you like to learn about the role the Warden’s daughter played in John’s escape from Australia? How did an escaped convict became part owner of the Pilot newspaper? Do you know where John Boyle’s Park is in Charlestown?

To learn more, attend the illustrated presentation on John Boyle O’Reilly, by David Hennessey at the Bunker Hill Museum, 43 Monument Sq. on Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. This event is sponsored by the Charlestown Historical Society.

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