Myles William Patrick O'Reilly

Myles William Patrick O'Reilly was a Catholic soldier and publicist. Born in Balbriggan, Ireland in 1825; died in Dublin, Ireland in 1880.

Career
He was commissioned a captain in the Louth Rifles in 1854, and when the Roman crisis arose he offered his services to Pope Pius IX against Giuseppe Garibaldi. Raising an Irish brigade of 900 men, he fought in every battle until the surrender of Spoleto in September 1860.

Subsequently he was elected a member of Parliament for Longford from 1862 to 1876, and was one of the founders of the Home Rule movement. In addition to his historical Sufferings for the Faith in Ireland (1868), his pen was ever active in defence of the Holy See and Catholic interests.