O'REILLY, MYLES WILLIAM PATRICK. - Irish politician, b. 13 March 1825 in Dublin, d. there 6 Feb. 1880. He studied at St. Cuthbert's College in Ushaw and at the University of London. As captain of the Irish Fusiliers, in 1860, at the request of Pius IX, he entered the service of the Holy See with the rank of major and was given command of the St. Patrick’s Battalion, numbering about 1,300 men, entirely composed of Irishmen.
As the Piedmontese attack drew near, on 14 Sept. 1860 he took command of the fortress at Spoleto with orders to defend it to the last, without any expectation of reinforcements; but after twelve hours of fighting he signed the surrender. The valor of the troops under his command was acknowledged even by General Brignone, the Piedmontese commander. Returning to his homeland, he was elected in 1862 as the representative for the county of Longford in the House of Commons. A supporter of Home Rule, he participated in parliamentary debates on the Irish question and military affairs. In response to the defamations in the English and liberal press regarding the conduct of the St. Patrick’s Battalion, in 1861 he published *The Irish Papal Brigade vindicated*. He also published biographies of Irish martyrs (*Memorials of those who suffered for the Catholic Faith in Ireland in the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries*, London 1868).
