Christopher "Kit" Poole
| Christopher "Kit" Poole | |
|---|---|
Christopher Poole (second from left) atop a building with three other Irish Citizen Army members.
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| Born |
17 December 1875 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 27 November 1965 (aged 89) Dublin |
| Allegiance | British Commonwealth, later Irish Citizen Army |
| Years of service | 1894–1906 (British Commonwealth) 1913-1918 (Irish Citizen Army) |
| Rank | Private (British Commonwealth) Captain (Irish Citizen Army) |
| Unit | 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment (British Commonwealth) |
| Commands held | Second-in-command of Irish Citizen Army, St Stephen's Green Garrison, Easter Week, 1916 |
| Battles/wars |
Tirah Campaign Second Boer War Easter Rising |
| Awards |
King's South Africa Medal (1901 & 1902 clasps) Queen's South Africa Medal (1902) |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Fay |
Christopher "Kit" Poole (17 December 1875 – 27 November 1965) was an Irish soldier and military tactician who fought in the Tirah Campaign and the Second Boer War as a British Army private, as well as a captain of the Irish Citizen Army during the Easter Rising. During the Citizen Army's inception in 1913, he was a member of the group's initial provisional council alongside Jack White, James Larkin, P. T. Daly and Constance Markievicz, and would go on to take up a permanent position on its executive committee. He was also a pivotal figure during the 1916 Easter Rising, as second-in-command at St. Stephen's Green under Citizen Army commandant Michael Mallin where they held out for six days against British forces, ending the engagement when the British brought them a copy of Pearse's surrender order.
Christopher Damian Poole was born on Capel Street in Dublin, the second of six children to parents Frederick Poole, a tailor, and Mary Jane Madden, a housewife. Poole grew up in a nationalist environment; Joseph Poole, his older brother and member of the Fenian Brotherhood, was executed in 1883 for a murder which he did not commit. His other brothers; Vincent, John Denis, Patrick, and Patrick's son, John, took active roles in the Rising and the Civil War.
Poole enlisted with the British army at the age of 18 (30/7/94) and was assigned to the 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment alongside his future commandant, Michael Mallin. Poole served for a period in South Africa, earning the Queen's South Africa Medal and two King's South Africa Medal clasps for his service during the Boer War, after which he retired from British Military Service.
Six years after returning to Ireland, Poole was elected to the founding provisional committee of the Irish Citizen Army alongside Jack White, Constance Markievicz and Jim Larkin. On 22 March 1914, Larkin presided at a meeting reconstituting the ICA. Primarily Larkin, Seán O’Casey, Markievicz and other members of the ITGWU drew up a new constitution, calling for an ‘army council’ and included explicitly nationalist aims. The committee consisted of Poole, T. Blair, John Bohan, T. Burke, P. Coady, P. Fogarty, P.J. Fox, Thomas Healy, T. Kennedy, J. MacGowan, Michael Mallin, P. Morgan, F. Moss, P. O’Brien and John Shelly.
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