Captain O’Shea—the Limerick connection
Published in Issue 2 (March/April 2021), Letters, Volume 29Sir,—Joe Connell’s article on Katharine Parnell (HI 29.1, Jan./Feb. 2021) was a most interesting read. It may be of interest to readers to know that Katharine Parnell was the sister of Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood VC of the British Army. Katharine’s first husband, Captain William Henry O’Shea, was the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) MP for Clare from 1880 to 1885 and for Galway Borough following a by-election in 1886. It was at Parnell’s insistence that O’Shea was nominated as the IPP candidate for Galway, despite the fact that he would not sign the party pledge and abstained on the Home Rule bill. Prior to becoming involved in politics William O’Shea held a commission in the 18th Hussars of the British Army, purchased for him by his father, Henry O’Shea. Henry O’Shea served as a member of Limerick City Council from 1853 to 1856 and served as mayor of the city for one year in 1855.—Yours etc.,
TADHG MOLONEY
