Campbell Joseph O'Connor Kelly OBE, MC, GM, MM, was born in Ireland in September 1892 and he enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery in November 1910. During the Great War he served on the Western Front and was awarded thew Military Medal for gallantry shown at the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). On 7 January 1918, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and in September of that year he was awarded the Military Cross.
After the war, O’Connor Kelly remained the in army and was sent to Victoria Barracks in Cork where he became an intelligence officer in the headquarters of the 6th Division. A member of the IRA later described Kelly as ‘One of the most. dangerous and efficient intelligence officers employed by the British’. During the Irish War of Independence, the IRA believed that Kelly tortured republican prisoners and a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to assassinate him.
In this presentation, Fiona Forde looks at the life of Campbell Joseph O'Connor Kelly, his military service in the First World War, his civilian service during the Second World War, his time in Cork and his personal life – something that would cause him to being charged with bigamy.
Fiona Forde is a family historian and a member of the Cork Branch of The Western Front Association. She has a Masters in Local History awarded by University College Cork, and is particularly interested in the familial stories of the men and women affected by conflict between 1913 and 1923.
The portrait photo of Kelly with an ‘X’ over his head was obtained by the IRA and used to identify him.
The building known as the ‘Clock Tower’ is shown in the photograph of Victoria Barracks in Cork. Kelly was based in this barracks during the Irish War of Independence.