William O'Brien
O'Brien disagreed with the establishment of a southern Irish Free State under the Treaty, still believing that Partition of Ireland was too high a price to pay for partial independence. He wrote in 1923, "It is now obvious enough that, had the Irish Council Bill been allowed to pass in 1907, the Partition of Ireland would never have been heard of." Retiring from political life, he contented himself with writing and declined Éamon de Valera's offer to stand for Fianna Fáil in the 1927 general election. He died suddenly on 25 February 1928 while on a visit to London with his wife at the age of 75. His remains rest in Mallow, and one of the principal streets in the town bears his name to this day. His head-bust overlooks the town Council's Chamber Room and one of his finest portraits hangs in University College Cork.
Thomas W. O'Brien
In 1913, a gold discovery was made on a new creek. The creek was named O'Brien Creek as O'Brien was the man who grubstaked the prospector, by giving him supplies and equipment on credit. With the Klondike in decline, O'Brien sought to use this new discovery to maintain his wealth. He widely publicized his new find and built a store and a hotel in the area of the new gold fields. O'Brien would not live much longer to enjoy the fruits of this latest scheme. Despite his wealth, O'Brien was not a healthy man. Perhaps the years of working with a whiskey gang and running a brewery had made him a little too familiar with drink. He died at the age of 57 on August 24, 1916, of cirrhosis of the liver. His funeral was the biggest that Dawson had ever seen. According to the register at the 8th avenue cemetery, the whole town got a half hour off work to come to the funeral. As for his family, Thomas’ son, Charles Thomas O'Brien, lost his life in the First World War. His name can be read on the First World War memorial in Dawson City, together with the name of his brother, James Jonathan who also fought but survived. His daughter, Margaret Mary, studied at the University of California, Berkeley, never married, and died in San Francisco in 1990. His widowed wife Anna remarried after his death. Anna died in 1927 in Riverside, California.