Fr Mallin, now one of the oldest Irish priests in the world, was one of five children.
A Jesuit priest who is the last surviving child born to the leaders of the 1916 Rising, celebrated his 101st birthday this week.
Fr Joseph Mallin SJ (pictured) joined the priesthood over 80 years ago following a request from his father, Michael Mallin – a senior figure in the Irish Citizen Army – made the night before he faced a British army firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol in May 1916.
Commdt Michael Mallin, who was second in command to James Connolly, wrote to his family as he prepared to face his death addressing his two-year-old son saying “Joseph, my little man, be a priest if you can.”
The night before his father’s execution, Joseph was taken to Kilmainham by his mother, then pregnant with her fifth child, to say goodbye. Commdt Mallin was one of 16 leaders court-martialled by British authorities and executed in the aftermath of the Rising.
Fr Mallin, now one of the oldest Irish priests in the world, was one of five children.