Seán Mac Eoin Seán Mac Eoin ( 30 September 1893 – 7 July 1973 ) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and soldier . He was commonly referred to as the " Blacksmith of Ballinalee " . Early life . Seán Mac Eoin was born John Joseph McKeon on 30 September 1893 at Bunlahy , Granard , County Longford , the eldest son of Andrew McKeon and Catherine Treacy . After a national school education he trained as a blacksmith in his father ' s forge and , on his father ' s death in February 1913 , he took over the running of the forge and the maintenance of the McKeon family . His national activities began in earnest in the same year when he joined the Clonbroney Company of the Irish Volunteers and was sworn into membership of the Irish Republican Brotherhood . IRA leader . He came to prominence in the War of Independence as leader of an Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) flying column . In November 1920 , he led the local column in attacking Crown forces in Granard during one of the periodic government reprisals , forcing them to retreat to their barracks . The next day , he held the village of Ballinalee against superior British forces , forcing them to retreat and abandon their ammunition . At the Clonfin Ambush Mac Eoin ordered his men to care for the wounded British , at the expense of captured weaponry . This earned him both praise and criticism , but became a big propaganda boost for the war effort , especially in the United States . He was admired by many within the IRA for leading practically the only effective column in the midlands . He was captured at Mullingar railway station in March 1921 , imprisoned and sentenced to death for the murder of an RIC Inspector . Mac Eoin ' s family forge was near Currygrane , County Longford , the family home of Henry Wilson , the British CIGS . In June 1921 Wilson was petitioned for clemency by MacEoin ' s mother ( who referred to her son as " John " in her letter ) , by his own brother Jemmy , and by the local Church of Ireland vicar , and passed on the appeals out of respect for the latter two individuals . Three auxiliaries had already given character references on his behalf after he had treated them chivalrously at the Clonfin Ambush in February 1921 . However , Macready , British Commander - in - Chief , Ireland , confirmed the death sentence describing Mac Eoin as " nothing more than a murderer " and writing that he was probably responsible for other " atrocities " , but also later recorded in his memoirs that Mac Eoin was the only IRA man he had met , apart from Collins , to have a sense of humour . Mac Eoin wrote this poignant letter to his friend ( and classmate at Moyne Latin School ) Father Jim Sheridan , a combatant in the Old IRA and a " Flying Column " member who had been ordained and sent to Milwaukee to study theology : " Dear Jim , Last week I was tried , convicted and sentenced to die three weeks from today . My poor mother was here yesterday to request that my body be turned over to her for Christian burial . They refused and told her that my body would be buried in quicklime in the prison yard . If you write immediately , I will receive your letter before I died . Farewell , Jim . Pray for my soul . " According to Oliver St . John Gogarty , Charles Bewley wrote Mac Eoin ' s death - sentence speech . Michael Collins organised a rescue attempt . Six IRA Volunteers , led by Paddy O ' Daly , captured a British armoured car and , wearing British Army uniforms , gained access to Mountjoy Prison . However , Mac Eoin was not in the part of the jail they believed , and after some shooting , the rescue party retreated . < ref name = " tpc " / Within days , Mac Eoin was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1921 general election , as a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for Longford – Westmeath . Mac Eoin was eventually released from prison – along with all other members of the Dail – after Collins threatened to break off treaty negotiations with London unless he was freed . It was rumoured that Sean Mac Eoin was to be the best man at Collins ' wedding . Treaty and the Civil War . In the debate on the Anglo - Irish Treaty Mac Eoin seconded Arthur Griffith ' s motion that it should be accepted . Mac Eoin joined the National Army and was appointed GOC Western Command in June 1922 . In the Irish Civil War , he pacified the west of Ireland for the new Free State , marching overland to Castlebar and linking up with a seaborne expedition that landed at Westport . For the rest of the 1920s his military career was a steady upward curve : he was appointed GOC Curragh Training Camp in August 1925 , Quartermaster General in March 1927 , and Chief of Staff in February 1929 . His tenure of the highest post in the armed forces would not appear to have been a particularly happy period and his departure came in June 1929 . Political career . In 1929 he resigned from the Army and was elected at a by - election to Dáil Éireann for the Leitrim – Sligo constituency . At the 1932 general election he moved to the constituency of Longford – Westmeath and served the Longford area as TD in either Longford – Westmeath ( 1932 – 37 , 1948 – 65 ) or Athlone – Longford ( 1937 – 48 ) until he was defeated at the 1965 general election . During a long and distinguished political career he served as Minister for Justice ( February 1948 – March 1951 ) and Minister for Defence ( March – June 1951 ) in the First Inter - Party Government , and again as Minister for Defence ( June 1954 – March 1957 ) in the Second Inter - Party Government . He unsuccessfully stood twice as candidate for the office of President of Ireland , against Seán T . O ' Kelly in 1945 , and Éamon de Valera in 1959 . MacEoin retired from public life after the 1965 general election and died on 7 July 1973 . He married Alice Cooney on 21 June 1922 at a ceremony attended by Griffith and Collins , she died on 16 February 1985 . They had no children . House controversy . There is currently a controversial plan to demolish his home , Rose Cottage in Balinalee , County Longford and replace it with ten houses . This house served as his headquarters during the Battle of Balinalee in 1920 . The plan is facing local opposition from historical groups and residents . A modified plan for the site which includes the existing dwelling with non - original extensions removes is applied for by the County Leitrim owned developers .