This memorial stands along the mall in the picturesque town of Westport. It commemorates Dr. Sean MacBride who was born on January 26, 1904. His father was Major John MacBride, who was responsible for the Irish Brigade in 1899 which fought for the Boers against the British in the unsuccessful Transvaal (Boer) War of 1899 - 1902. Major MacBride fought the British at Jacob's factory during the Easter Week Rebellion.
He was sentenced to death by the English and executed at Kilmainham Jail on May 5, 1916. The mother of Sean MacBride was Maud Gonne MacBride, a beauty and one of the strongest advocates of Irish Nationalism. W. B. Yeats idolized her in many of his poems.
Sean MacBride grew up in France but finally was able to permanently return to Ireland with his mother in 1918. He immediately joined the Fianna. In 1921, he was with Michael Collins in London during the negotiations for the Anglo-Irish Treaty. When the treaty was ratified in 1922, Sean MacBride exhibited his Anti-Treaty philosophy primarily because of the partition of Ireland. Sean fought against the Irish Free State and was captured and Jailed with Ernie O'Mally in the Four Courts Battle. Years later, Sean MacBride succeeded Moss Twomey in 1936 as Chief of Staff of the IRA.
