The only surviving child of an executed leader of the 1916 Rising receives the freedom of the city of Dublin.
Now 102 years old, Father Joseph Mallin is the son of Commandant Michael Mallin, who led the Irish Citizen Army at St Stephen's Green during the Easter Rising. In a special documentary to be shown on Nationwide, Fr Mallin says his father denied his central role in the Rising in a bid to protect his family.
Father Joseph Mallin has served as a priest in Hong Kong for 60 years.
Father Joseph Mallin was awarded the freedom of the city of Dublin in recognition of his decades in ministry and the role his father played in the 1916 Rising.
Michael Mallin met James Connolly through his involvement in the trade union movement. He was asked to command the Irish Citizen Army at St Stephen's Green on Easter Monday, 1916. Professor Joseph Lee, New York University, outlines the role played by Michael Mallin and his subsequent execution at Kilmainham Gaol on 8 May 1916. He left behind his wife Agnes and four children. Michael Mallin's final request was that Joseph would become a priest and his daughter would become a nun. Following his father's death, Joseph says that the family were left in absolute poverty.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 21 March 2016. The reporter is Sandra Hurley.
