The only surviving child of an executed leader of the 1916 Rising is to receive the freedom of the city of Dublin.
Fr Joseph Mallin (102) is a Jesuit priest who is based in Hong Kong. His father was Commandant Michael Mallin who was in command of the Irish Citizen Army at St Stephen's Green during Easter Week.
Fr Mallin will not be travelling to Dublin for the Rising commemorations so the freedom of the city will be awarded to him in Hong Kong on March 21st.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh said Fr Mallin was receiving the award not only because of status as the child of a Rising leader, but also because of his life serving the people of Hong Kong and Macau through his ministry and teaching.
Fr Mallin was just two and a half years old when his father was executed in Kilmainham Jail. His father summoned him and his mother to his cell just before he was executed on May 8th, 1916.
Michael Mallin gave his wife a note stating that he hoped Joseph would become a priest. She was pregnant with the couple’s fifth child.
In recent interviews Fr Mallin has said that his mother rarely talked about her executed husband, but he did see her cry once on the anniversary of his death.
Fr Mallin last visited Ireland to celebrate his 90th birthday but now considers Hong Kong his home. He keeps in touch with the news from Ireland and corresponds regularly in Irish with his relatives.
