Thomas Harris joined the Irish Volunteers in 1915, becoming a member of the Maynooth Company in the Kildare Brigade. Along with 15 other men from his company, he travelled to Dublin on the night of Easter Monday, 1916, and joined the GPO garrison the following day. He was posted to the Evening Mail Offices and the Royal Exchange Hotel before returning to the GPO, where he was wounded whilst attempting to evacuate. Interned in Frongoch prison camp until August 1916, he rejoined the Volunteer movement and became commander of the No.2 Kildare Brigade during the War of Independence. After orchestrating an attack on Kill RIC Barracks in August 1920 in which two constables were killed, Harris was arrested and interned until December 1921. He played a leading role in the Kildare IRA during the Civil War and was imprisoned in June 1922, escaping four months later. Harris subsequently joined Fianna Fáil and served as a TD from 1927 to 1948, representing Kildare and later Carlow/Kildare constituencies.
Witness Statement(s):
Pension File(s):
Do you have information about this person you would like to share?