Michael Dwyer

Michael Dwyer
Nickname(s)	"The Wicklow Chief"
Born	Camara, County Wicklow, Ireland
Died	Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Allegiance	Society of the United Irishmen
Battles/wars	1798 rebellion Guerrilla Campaign 1799–1803

Michael Dwyer (1772–1825) was a United Irishmen leader in the 1798 rebellion. He later fought a guerrilla campaign against the British Army in the Wicklow Mountains from 1798–1803.

Dwyer was born in Camara, a townland in the Glen of Imaal County Wicklow. He was the eldest of seven children of farmer John Dwyer and his wife Mary (née Byrne), who had a farm in the widespread fields of Wicklow and supplied the men of the rebellion with food. In 1784 the family moved to a farm in Eadestown. Dwyer was a cousin of Anne Devlin, who would later achieve fame for her loyalty to the rebel cause following the suppression of Robert Emmet's rebellion.

Dwyer joined the Society of United Irishmen and, in the summer of 1798, he fought with the rebels as captain under General Joseph Holt in battles at Arklow, Vinegar Hill, Ballyellis and Hacketstown. Under Holt's leadership, he withdrew to the safety of the Wicklow Mountains in mid-July, when rebels could no longer operate openly following their defeat in the disastrous midlands campaign. Dwyer and Holt tied down thousands of troops.

Dwyer and his men began a campaign targeting local loyalists and yeomen, attacking small parties of the military and eluding any major sweeps against them. His force was strengthened by many deserters from the military, who headed to Wicklow as the last rebel stronghold and who became the dedicated backbone of his force, as they could not be expected to be included in any future offer of amnesty.

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