Thomas P. Cahill, journalist and historian, was born in Manchester, England in 1862 to James and Catherine Cahill. James Cahill was involved in the 1867 rescue of fellow Fenians Timothy Deasy and Thomas J. Kelly, which resulted in the death of British police sergeant Charles Brett and the subsequent execution of Cahill's companions Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien (also known as the "Manchester Martyrs"). Cahill, along with his family, escaped to the United States. This event would be influential on the life and work of Thomas P. Cahill.

As a young man, Thomas Cahill helped to organize labor unions among the workers of the textile industries and served as the National Secretary of the National Union of Textile Workers. In 1912, Cahill was awarded the Carnegie Medal for saving the life of a young girl who was nearly struck and killed by a street car. During World War I, he was a war secretary for the Knights of Columbus with the 2nd Army, serving in France and earning recognition for the efficiency and merit of his work, especially during the Battle of the Argonne.

Cahill was also an editor, journalist, and author who composed works of verse and historical prose. Of particular interest to Cahill were the topics of the Manchester Rescue and the role of Irish Americans --especially Captain Jeremiah O'Brien of Machias, Maine -- in the American Revolutionary War. It is largely owing to Cahill's efforts that O'Brien has been recognized as the first naval officer commissioned for the Revolutionary War.

In his later years, Cahill became a celebrated historian and lecturer. He belonged to and was honored by a number of historical and Irish American societies including the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He died in the O'Brien Convalescent Home in Somerville, Massachusetts at the age of 80. His wife, Margaret Hamill Cahill, had died the previous year.

Source: The Thomas P. Cahill Family Papers, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.