Ó Conchubhair, Pádraig (1901–53), revolutionary and soldier, was born Patrick O'Connor on 14 March 1901 in Clare Street, Limerick, the first of five sons and two daughters of John Joseph ('Seana Sheán') O'Connor (1877–1927), trade unionist, Irish-language teacher and Fenian, from Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, and Catherine O'Connor (née Hayes), of Adare, Co. Limerick. Pádraig, along with his brothers Mícheál and Seán Óg, was educated at Killaloe Boys School, Co. Clare, where their father was a teacher. In 1912, at the behest of the Gaelic League, Seán Ó Conchubhair relocated the family to Celbridge, Co. Kildare, where he accepted a teaching position with the organisation.
Seán and Pádraig Ó Conchubhair joined the Celbridge company of the Irish Volunteers in early 1914 after attending a recruitment speech delivered by Patrick Pearse (qv). On 26 July 1914 father and son participated in the landing of German arms and ammunition for the Volunteers at Howth, Co. Dublin, procuring twenty-five rifles for their own company. When the split in the Volunteer organisation took place, the Ó Conchubhairs aligned themselves with the separatist Irish Volunteers.
Before Easter 1916 the family moved from Celbridge to 46 Nash Street, Inchicore, Dublin, where Seana Sheán took up employment at the local Great Southern and Western Railway engineering works. When the Easter rising broke out, Pádraig travelled to Celbridge on Easter Monday (24 April 1916) to assess the mobilisation of the local Volunteer company. Hearing that several men from the area had travelled to Dublin, he returned to the capital on Tuesday and along with his brother Seán Óg tried unsuccessfully to gain entry at various rebel posts in the city. Repeatedly refused entry owing to their age (and lack of weapons), the two boys loitered in the Grand Canal Dock area until late on Saturday night, when they were picked up by British military and held at Beggars Bush barracks until their release on Sunday evening.
Early in the spring of 1917, Pádraig attended a reorganising meeting of F company, 4th battalion, Dublin Brigade, during which he formally joined the unit. During a fracas between members of the public and the military at Inchicore, he was shot and wounded in the thigh by a member of the King's Own Regiment (6 September 1919). Less than two months later, he was arrested by an RIC patrol whilst drilling Volunteers at the Ballyfermot sandpits (30 October 1919). He was tried at Lucan courthouse, convicted of unlawful assembly and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, of which he served three months before being released. A determined and ambitious Volunteer, he achieved the rank of captain of his local IRA company, and was appointed OC of no. 4 section of the Dublin Brigade's active service unit (May 1921). Throughout the war of independence he took part in numerous IRA operations, including the burning of Crumlin police barracks (May 1920) and of the Custom House (25 May 1921), Bloody Sunday (21 November 1920), and the escape of IRA prisoners Frank Teeling, Ernie O'Malley (qv) and Simon Donnelly from Kilmainham jail (February 1921).
When the Anglo–Irish truce was agreed (9 July 1921), Ó Conchubhair was tasked with informing leading IRA figures, including O'Malley, of the impending ceasefire order. On 1 February 1922, at the age of 20, he joined the Dublin Guards battalion of the Irish Free State's national army at Beggars Bush barracks. Later that same month he married Eileen ('Nellie') Ní Bhríann (d. 1941), a friend of his sister Máire Jo. On the outbreak of the civil war (28 June 1922), Ó Conchubhair took a leading part in the fighting in Dublin at the Four Courts and in O'Connell Street. His courage and leadership abilities were much admired by his superior officers and he was promoted to commandant and given command of the Free State forces that seized Tipperary town (29–30 July); the town was taken after hard fighting during which he received a shrapnel wound that permanently scarred his face. He was the officer commanding the firing party at the execution of Erskine Childers (qv) (24 November 1922). His decision to support the treaty was based on pragmatism and a sense of allegiance to Michael Collins (qv) and to his closely knit IRA unit, many of whom were friends and neighbours. Shortly before his death in 1953, he gave an interview (one of the few pro-treatyites to do so) to Ernie O'Malley, during which he revealed that he had made up his mind to back the treaty fully only the night before the civil war began with the attack on the Four Courts. The treaty split caused division within the Ó Conchubhair family: all the family took the pro-treaty side except Máire Jo, an active member of Cumann na mBan, who left the family home and emigrated to France.
In conjunction with his father and Piaras Béaslaí (qv), Pádraig (a keen Irish-speaker) was instrumental in the creation of the first Irish-speaking battalion of the national army, An Chéad Chathlán Coisithe (1st Infantry Battalion). He survived the 'army mutiny' of 1924, and by the time of his retirement on 30 March 1928 had achieved the rank of colonel of No. 2 Brigade Athlone. In 1926 he was awarded a grade D pension under the Military Service Pensions Act, 1924. He served as governor of Limerick Prison (July 1928–December 1931), and was later employed as an assistance officer at Balrothery Board of Assistance (April–November 1949). Although retired from the military, Ó Conchubhair remained for over twenty years on the list of reserve officers, and served with the reserve at various intervals, including during the Emergency in commands at Cork, Donegal and Waterford. He died of heart failure at the Meath Hospital, Dublin, on 10 May 1953, and after a military funeral was buried at Bluebell cemetery, Inchicore, Dublin. He was survived by his son, Pádraig Óg, and his three daughters, Róisín, Móna and Caitlín.