Thomas Reilly was born in Monaghan and was educated there and at Trinity College, Dublin. He joined the Young Ireland movement and was a journalist with The Nation in 1845 but in 1847 he followed John Mitchel's example in leaving that paper and began contributing to the United Irishman, Mitchel's new paper. In this he published 'The French Fashion', a revolutionary article which provided ammunition for Mitchel's prosecutors. In 1848, after the arrest of Mitchel, he fled to New York, where he edited the Democratic Review and later the Washington Union. He died in Washington.

Born:	30 March 1824
Died:	5 March 1854