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Early Life
Not much is known fact about the life of Charles McGuinness. His life is a mixture of truth and legend. Whatever is known about him can be found in his articles, as well as popular legends of the time.

Charles “Nomad” McGuinness was born March 6, 1893. He was raised in Lower End, Derry City in Ireland. His mother, Margaret Hernand was of Spanish descent, and his father, Charles McGuinness, was an Irish ship captain. Margaret died when Charles was young. Charles had two brothers, Hugh and John McGuinness. Hugh was a headmaster of St. Eugene’s in Rosemount, and John was a teacher as well.

Charles had a few wives in his lifetime. His first wife, Clara (or Claire) was German, whom he married in Vienna then moved to New York where they had their son, Patrick Joseph. Little is known about his second wife, other than her burial in the City cemetery. His third wife was buried in Donegal.

In 1908, at the age of 15, Charles went off to sea on the schooner “Vixen”. His first world trip was in 1909 on the ship "Cedarbark". It went from Wales to Iquique in Chile and then on to New York. In 1910, Charles arrived in Sydney, Australia on "the Pilgrim". "The Pilgrim" ended up shipwrecked off of the coast of Tahiti in 1910.

Other Adventures
His adventures expanded even further from Australia to Java and then to Easter Island. During this time, Charles took part in riots and mutinies on many different boats. Before World War I, Charles was gold mining in Australia, and went on adventures to the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Africa, Mexico, the West Indies, Brazil, China, and Japan. This can be found in his account ‘Nomad’.

Charles also "hoboed" in Canada and even became part of the Canadian militia before his return to Europe. He was eventually rumored to have become incarcerated in Venice.

From 1928 to 1930, McGuinness helped locate and evaluate the vessels used for the first Byrd expedition to Antarctica. He played the official number two role on the expedition as the first officer.

Military Career
The first known origins of McGuinness' military career came when he fought for the English in Africa. He was initially in the Cameroon region, but deserted in 1916 when he heard about the rebellion for independence taking place in Ireland.

He then joined the Afrikaners against the British. It was shortly after this that he is rumored to have been captured by the Germans. He convinced them that he was on their side and fought with them for a time in their East African Campaign.

McGuinness claims in his autobiography to have been the sole survivor of a ship-wreck in Delagoa Baynear Mozambiquein November of 1917. As the story goes, he was aboard the S.S. Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese steamer, when the ship wrecked and sank at the mouth of shark infested waters.

McGuinness finally returned to Derry in 1920. He became involved in defending the Catholics during the Derry Riots. He was made the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the Irish Republican Army’s (IRA) Northern Capacity. He assisted in the escape of Frank Carty, the leader of the IRA from Derry Gaol in February 1921.

Four months later, he was captured and wounded in Belfast. He was imprisoned in the Ebrington Military Barracks in Derry. His guards thought he was too weak to escape so they paid little attention to him. Friar Coyles maintains that McGuinness escaped by being smuggled out in a coffin, Which is likely a fabricated story.

After his trips to Antarctica, Russia and a brief stint in China, McGuinness was back in the military for the last time. He traveled to Spain to fight on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. More information about his experiences in Spain, can be found from the series of articles he wrote for the Irish Independent Newspaper.

Literary Works
In Charles McGuinness' lifetime, he published two books and contributed a series of articles to the Irish Republican Newspaper.

Sailor of Fortune (Nomad)
McGuinness’ first book was published as "Sailor of Fortune" in the United States and published as "Nomad" in the United Kingdom. This eighteen chapter book, published in 1935 is an autobiography of McGuinness’ and his travels. The memoir details his life in the army as well as his various adventures which include shipwrecks and imprisonment.

Behind the Red Curtain
"Behind the Red Curtain", published in the United Kingdom in 1936 is a chronicle of McGuinness’ time in Russia where he worked as a harbor master for the Port of St. Petersburg. The usage of the “curtain” metaphor in the title may be one of the most primitive reference applied to the Soviet Union.

Irish Independent Spanish Civil War Feature Articles
Charles “Nomad” McGuinness wrote a six piece article featured in the Irish Independent Newspaper in 1937. The introduction titled, “True Story That Will Thrill You,” depicts McGuinness’s account of his adventures at the time of the Spanish Civil War. The first piece, entitled “Adventures In War-Torn Spain,” continues his account of this period. The second piece is entitled “Foul War on Religion.” The third piece is called “Massacre in A Cemetery.” The fourth piece is called “Under Fire by the Enemy.” The fifth piece is called “Among those about to Die.” These featured articles depict Charles “Nomad” McGuinness’s adventures at the time of the Spanish Civil War. His articles mainly focus on the destruction, death, and corruption related to the war in Spain.

Death
Not much is known about McGuinness’ later life or his death on December 7, 1947. He mysteriously drowned, along with four other members of the seven man crew, in the Irish Sea when the Isallt, a western ocean yacht hit rocks on a trial voyage to the West Indies.