Background
In May 1920, Cahill was born in Divis Street in West Belfast, Ireland, where his parents had been neighbours of the Scottish-born Irish revolutionary James Connolly.
Cahill was the first child in a family of thirteen siblings born to Joseph and Josephine Cahill. Cahill was educated at St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Primary School at Barrack Street. Cahill's father was a printer by trade and an Irish republican who was a former member of the Irish National Volunteers and would produce republican-related material at his print shop. At the age of fourteen Cahill left school to assist in the print shop after his father had become ill.
Soon after this, Cahill joined the Catholic Young Men's Society, which campaigned on social issues with a focus on eradicating working-class areas of Belfast of moneylenders who often charged extortionately-high levels of interest rate. At the age of seventeen, Cahill then joined Na Fianna Éireann, a republican-orientated scouting movement.
Read more about this topic: Joe Cahill
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