Roddy McCorley (died 28 February 1800) was an Irish nationalist from the civil parish of Duneane, County Antrim, Ireland. Following the publication of the Ethna Carbery poem bearing his name in 1902, where he is associated with events around the Battle of Antrim, he is alleged to have been a member of the United Irishmen and claimed as a participant in their rebellion of 1798.
Early years and the 1798 rebellion
Roddy McCorley was the son of a miller and was born near Toome in the parish of Duneane, County Antrim. A few years before the 1798 rebellion, McCorley's father is believed to have been executed for stealing sheep. These charges may have been politically motivated in an attempt to remove a troublesome agitator at a time of great social unrest.
There is uncertainty as to whether McCorley was actually actively involved with the predominantly Presbyterian United Irishmen or the predominantly Catholic Defenders. A letter published in the Belfast Newsletter a few days after McCorley's execution gave an account of the execution and how McCorley was viewed by some. In it, he is called Roger McCorley, which may be his proper Christian name.