The role of Sir Thomas Myles in Kilcoole gunrunning

This press release was published on the website of the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough yesterday [Wednesday 16 July 2014]:

Canon Patrick Comerford Examines Role of Sir Thomas Myles in Kilcoole Gun Running Talk

As part of the Centenary Festival around the Kilcoole Gunrunning which occurred on August 2 1914, the Kilcoole Heritage group has organised a two-day historical weekend that will include a range of gunrunning, World War I and Easter Rising events against an historical backdrop on July 26 and 27.

As part of the lead–up to the weekend, a series of talks is taking place in Kilcoole Golf Club on the Newcastle road on Thursday 17 and 24. On Thursday July 17 at 8.00 pm the speaker will be Canon Patrick Comerford (pictured), Lecturer in Anglicanism, Liturgy and Church History in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, who will emphasise the role that Sir Thomas Myles played when he sailed his boat, the Chotah into the shore at Kilcoole and delivered his cargo of 600 rifles and ammunition.

Along with Myles, other prominent Irish Nationalists belonging to the Church of Ireland were involved in the planning and carrying out of the operation. These included Mary Spring Rice, Alice Stopford Green, Diarmuid Coffey, Conor O’Brien and Robert Erskine Childers, who grew up in Anamoe. Patrick will explore their role and ask if Myles was forgotten in history because of his service during World War I.