Thomas Francis Meagher was born on 3 August 1823 in Waterford City and died on 1 July 1867 in Missouri River, Montana Territory.  He was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. He put his life on the line to fight for Irish independence (so he was known as “Meagher of the Sword).  His view that violence against the British was necessary).

Thomas Francis Meagher came to national prominence throught his involvement in Danieal O'Connell's Repeal Movement, and subsequently as one of the leaders and principal erator of the Young Ireland movement.

It was Meagher who helped introduce a new Irish flag, symbol of a Free Ireland. For his revolutionary efforts, he was arrested, convicted of sedition, and first sentenced to death, but received transportation for life (exiled) to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) in Australia.

In 1852, Meagher escaped and made his way to the United States, where he settled in New York City. He studied law, worked as a journalist, and traveled to present lectures on the Irish cause. He married for a second time in New York. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Meagher joined the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He was most notable for recruiting and leading the Irish Brigade, and encouraging support among Irish immigrants for the Union. By his first marriage in Ireland, he had one surviving son; the two never meeet.