Dr. Edmund O’Leary 1843-1883
Dr.
Edmund O’Leary of Tipperary town was a half-brother of John O’Leary, the famous
Fenian and inspiration of W.B. Yeats. While John O’Leary’s fine portraits by
John B Yeats now have pride of place in the National Gallery, his brother seems
forgotten. John’s half-siblings deserve recognition: Edmund’s sister Mary was
refused any visits to Edward Duffy, a leading Roscommon Fenian, while he was
dying of TB in a British Gaol, as she was ‘only’ his fiancée. Mary O’Leary also
died of TB a few years later.
Edmund qualified as a medical doctor, was friends with the staff of The Irish People, the Dublin Fenian newspaper, and later practiced in Fetter Lane, London. He was said to have been very charitable towards his poor patients. When the Fenians were penniless and on the run, Edmund O’Leary acted as courier to Paris and with John’s sister Ellen, who was a sort of female executive, also lent £ 1,000 to the organisation, which was never repaid. The O’Learys were people of independent income and good education who could be called on in any crisis. Edmund was very proud of John’s principles and not afraid to stand up for them in company in England, where he mixed in literary circles. He died suddenly in London and was buried privately.
When the NGA discovered his grave, it was unmarked and in poor condition in a North London Cemetery. Considerable detective work was required to identify the spot. We are delighted to have delivered his headstone 120 years after his death.