Early Life
Sherwin was born in Upper Dorset Street, in inner-city Dublin in 1905, son of a carter. He left school at 14 and became an apprentive harness-maker. At ten years old, he witnessed intense fighting on North King Street near his home during the Easter Rising of 1916.
As a teenager, Sherwin joined the Fianna Éireann (youth wing of the Irish Republican Army) and participated in the Irish War of Independence. Subsequently, aged 17, he joined the Irish Army of the Irish Free State. However, he deserted the army after the attack on the Four Courts that marked the start of the Irish Civil War and re-joined the Fianna as a guerrilla fighter against the Free State.
He was captured after an attack on Wellington Barracks in November 1922 and badly beaten in custody. He eventually suffered a stroke as result and lost the use of his right arm. He was interned at the Curragh Camp and released in 1924
He afterwards ran a dance hall and became chairman of the Fianna.
Read more about this topic: Frank Sherwin
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