Proposal to Name Road Sean Boylan Senior Passed By Councillors

Report Paul Murphy

A proposal that the new road from the Ratholdron to Kells Road in Navan be named after 1916 and War of Independence figure Sean Boylan Senior has won approval from Navan Municipal district councillors. The proposal was put forward at an MD meeting by Aontù  Cllr Emer Tòibìn. She said that Sean Boylan Senior and his family had left a great legacy to the people of Meath and further afield. The road-named honour would be a fitting tribute and an enduring acknowledgement to him for all that he had achieved across so many important aspects of life in the last century in Meath.

The cllr said that Sean Boylan had been a close associate of Padraig Pearse, helped organise the 1916 Rising and was IRA Officer Commanding in Meath during the War of Independence, “His role in the struggle for Irish independence, his connection to Michael Collins and his leadership in Meath’s Old IRA made him a towering figure in our country’s past. His legacy extends beyond politics into GAA
and community life.”

Cllr Toibin said that her brother Peader Toibin TD had spoken to Sean Boylan Junior recently to ask if he and his family would be happy if a motion to get the new road named after his father was tabled at the MD and he had stated that his family would be delighted and honoured.

Ms Toibín said that Sean Boylan Senior had been described by local historian Oliver Coogan who had since passed as one of the most influential and significant figures in the Republican movement in Meath.

Boylan Senior was born in 1882 and worked at the family’s market garden and herb business at Edenmore, Dunboyne but was involved in political activity from an early age. He was present at the unveiling of the Parnell Monument in O’Connell Street Dublin and led a group of Dunboyne hurlers in the cortege at the funeral of O’Donovan Rossa in 1915 where Padraig Pearse made his famous graveside oration.

He was to become a close friend of Pearse and was deeply involved in the organisation of the 1916 Rising in the locality. After the Rising he spent periods of time in Wandsworth Jail and Frongoch Camp in Britain. When the Meath Brigade of the Old IRA was formed Sean Boylan became its commanding officer.

Fianna Fail Cllr Padraig Fitzsimons said that some people might have other suggestions for naming the bridge. He did not think it should be the sole nomination from the MD. Some people had approached him to suggest other names. The motion was passed by the councillors present.

(Picture credit: Meath History Hub Noel French).