Colonel Thomas J. Kelly, C.O.I.R.
In January 2016, I returned home to Troy, New York after seven-and-a-half months of overseas research with plenty of fodder for a full biography of my great-great-grandfather, Colonel Thomas J.
Kelly — he was one of The Bold Fenian Men, and Chief Organizer of the Irish Republic (C.O.I.R.) in the 1860’s, after James Stephens.
Back in January 2015, I envisioned this to be only a biography project, requiring just a few weeks of research to obtain primary source documents for what I perceived as the last missing bits of his story, and then straight on to the writing bit. however, in just one year, it has mushroomed to what may be an open-ended project, especially if I continue to work solo.
I’ve since stopped aggressively researching and have instead begun processing and sifting through the copious amounts of data obtained from physical and virtual archives and libraries on two continents and in many countries.
Follow me as I unfold the story about how such a great Irish hero became almost lost to history.