Michael Reynolds (United Irishmen)

Michael Reynolds (c. 1771–1798) was the leader of the United Irish Kildare rebels during the Battle of Naas.

Reynolds was a farmer from Johnstown near Naas in County Kildare. Described by Madden as "a great man of muscular strength and activity, of a short stature and dark complexion and somewhat celebrated in the country for his horsemanship." At some point before 1798 Reynolds joined the United Irishmen, a secret society whose aim was to overthrow British rule and establish an independent, democratic republic in Ireland.

In March 1798, most of the leadership of the Leinster branch of the Society met at the house of Oliver Bond in Dublin. They were arrested here, causing the crippling of the organization. Many of its leaders, such as Russell and Thomas Addis Emmet, were already in prison, while others like Tone and Arthur O'Connor were away in Europe. Meanwhile, Lord Edward Fitzgerald was hiding within from a government net that was closing in around him.

One of the men arrested during this raid was George Cummins, an apothecary and Society leader in Kildare. The remaining members of the Leinster directory appointed Reynolds as his replacement. Finger-pointing soon began as many suspected betrayal. Much of the suspicion fell on Thomas Reynolds (a distant relative to Michael) who was at Bond's during the raid, yet had not been arrested. A few days later, the new leaders met at The Brazen Head pub in Dublin. At the meeting, Michael named his relative Thomas Reynolds as the traitor. Although the committee agreed with him, they rejected Michael's request to execute Thomas Reynolds himself. Thomas Reynolds would live until 1836.

...
Wikipedia