Myles William O'Reilly was born on 17 March, 1825. His parents were William O'Reilly (MP for Dundalk) of Knockabbey Castle and the daughter of Myles John O'Reilly of Heathhouse, Queens County. Thus he was descended by both father and mother from the celebrated Edmund O'Reilly. When still quite young he travelled abroad with his father and received the sacrament of confirmation in Rome in 1837. At the age of thirteen, he went to St. Cuthbert's College. In 1841 he entered Ushaw College in England and graduated with a B.A. from London University in 1843 and was one of the first Catholic graduates of the university. From 1845 - 1847 he studied in Rome, where at the 'Sapunza' the degree of L.L.B.was conferred upon him.
On his return to Ireland in 1853 or 1854, he discharged the duties of Deputy Lieutenant, magistrate and grand juror of Louth. He took possession of Knockabbey Castle, his family residence, 'and by his kindness to the tenantry, and his important justice as a magistrate, took his position in the county as a worthy representative of the noble house of O'Reilly.' He was involved in the foundation of the Catholic University in Dublin. Before it commenced, he went to Birmingham with Dr. Leahy and held a consultation with Cardinal Newman on the subject. A sub-committee consisting of Dr. Leahy, Cardinal Newman, Major O'Reillly with Mr. Allen as secretary drew up a report which was the basis of the university operations. Major O'Reilly was offered the chair of Professor of Law, which he refused.
He was also a member of the Louth Rifles militia where he served as a captain, 1853-1856. He married Miss Ida Jermingham, (daughter of Edmund Jermingham of the family of Lord Stafford, one of the oldest Catholic families in England counting amongst her ancestors four English martyrs, Sir Thomas More and Margaret of Salisbury,) on 3 August 1859. Some months later he offered his services to Pius IX against Garribaldi. Major Myles O'Reilly was one of those who helped raise a force in Ireland to assist Pope Pius IX in the defence of the Papal States, threatened with invasion by the Piedmontese and Garribaldians. Having formed an Irish Brigade he was appointed as Major under General Pimodan and fought in every engagement until the surrender of Spoleto on 18 September 1860.
The military resources of the Papacy were weakened by the withdrawal of French forces in 1859 and Pius IX appealed to the Catholics of Europe for recruits to defend the Papal States. A recruitment committee was set up in Dublin and they approached Major O'Reilly to command the Irish forces in April 1860. At first he was hesitant to accept because of his domestic circumstances – his wife was expecting their first child – but his suitability was pointed out – his familiarity with the languages involved, the respect which he was held in both at home and in Rome and his five years military experience, which included two spells at the Curragh and Aldershot. Mrs. O'Reilly agreed once she was allowed to accompany him, and he arranged to take up command in June 1860. The Major and Mrs. O'Reilly arrived in Rome on 27 June 1860 by sea from Marseilles and were received a Papal audience. By then there were over 1,000 Irish recruits in the city. Living conditions were poor, O'Reilly's first task was to improve the conditions and send some undesirable elements home. July and August were spent training. The Major found he had work to in excess of 12 hours a day to keep up with correspondence, write orders and regulations for the men, examine accounts and act as an interpreter.
Hostilities commenced on 11 September 1860, there were 900 Irishmen at Ancona and Spoleto and 145 at Perugia. Perugia was the first attacked, over half were captured and twenty were wounded. O'Reilly was in Spoleto thirty miles away when it came under attack on September 16th and the citadel besieged by 2,500 veteran Piedmontese with field artillery under General Brigonne. O'Reilly led a brave and spirited defence of Spoleto before Rome intervened and ordered him to capitulate.
About 1861 he was residing abroad in Brussels and whilst there acted as intermediary between the authorities of Maynooth and those of Louvain university concerning burses for Maynooth students at the university. From 1862 to 1879 he represented Co. Longford in the British Parliament and was one of those who signed the requisition for the famous Home Rule Conference under Isaac Butt. He also supported Catholic interests and assisted in the movement to obtain Catholic chaplains for the Army. He was offered the Under Secretaryship of Ireland but he refused it. He wrote 'Sufferings for the faith in Ireland' (London, 1868). He also contributed to the 'Dublin Review' and other periodicals writing especially in defence of the Holy See and Catholic educational matters. After the death of his wife, he accepted the position of Assistant Commissioner of Intermediate Education for Ireland. He died in Dublin on 6 Feb 1880. He was interred at Phillipstown not far from his family residence in Co. Louth.
Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: http://www.exploringireland.net
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