Connolly-O'Brien, Nora (1893–1981)

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Connolly-O'Brien, Nora (1893–1981)

Irish politician. Name variations: Nora Connolly O'Brien. Born in 1893 in Edinburgh, Scotland; died June 17, 1981; dau. of James Connolly (socialist revolutionary leader executed after the Rising, 1916); m. Seamus O'Brien (former courier for Michael Collins), 1922.

At 3, moved with family to Dublin; moved to US, then Belfast (1910); joined Fianna Éiranna, helped found the Young Republican Party, and organized the Belfast branch of Cumann na mBan; following father's execution, addressed Republican meetings in US; arrested with husband during Civil War and imprisoned; nominated to the Seanad by Taoiseach Sean Lemass (1957), serving for 15 years.