Death of Thomas Dunne - Castledermot - 16 June 1922

On 26th April, 1922 the Irish Hierarchy issued the following statement, “The best and wisest course for Ireland is to accept the Treaty and make the most of the freedom it undoubtedly brings us”. Their reference was to the Treaty between Great Britain and Ireland approved by the Dáil in the previous January. The Civil War which resulted is generally considered to have begun when anti-treaty troops seized the Four Courts in June 1922. However, Civil War was a reality once those opposed to the Treaty landed German arms at Helvic Head in Co. Waterford on 2nd March. By then the country was inexorably moving towards war and it was a war which would not end until May of the following year. In the intervening period many young men would die, sometimes brutally and almost always needlessly. Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera, one time colleagues in the fight for Irish independence but on opposite sides of the Civil War factions, following the treaty debate of December 1921 entered into a pact in May 1982. They agreed on a Sinn Fein panel of candidates drawn from pro-treaty and anti-treaty sides to contest a general election which was scheduled for Friday, 16th June. On that day yet another young man was to die in South Kildare exactly thirteen months after a botched ambush had claimed the lives of Connor and Lacy in Barrowhouse. Thomas Dunne was a young man described by the doctor who attended at the scene of the shooting as “a hard working, decent, respectable, young fellow”. He was one of a party of four anti-treaty soldiers who on the evening before the General Election took over the Sinn Fein hall in Castledermot. The hall was commandeered in order to establish a Barracks in Castledermot which the anti-treaty troops intended to use as a base for patrolling the area. Both treaty and anti-treaty sides were anxious to extend their control throughout rural Ireland and those opposed to the Treaty sought to do this by providing a militarised police force in as many localities as possible. Particular concern had been expressed at the increased lawlessness in South Kildare during the early months of 1922 and a daring daylight robbery at Ballycullane in early June had prompted the anti-treaty side to establish a barracks in Castledermot. The Garda Siochana set up by the Government some months earlier had not yet arrived in the area and the IRA (both treaty and anti-treaty) were undertaking law enforcement duties in the locality. Mr. O’Gorman, Manager of the Hibernian Bank in Athy was held up at Ballycullane at about 2.00pm on a Monday afternoon as he was returning from the banks Ballitore branch office. Driving his newly acquired motor cycle and accompanied by the bank porter in the side car he had no option but to stop when ambushed near Ballycullane Wood by three masked men armed with revolvers. A sum of £170.00 was stolen on that occasion. On the evening before the 1922 general election polling day Sgt. John Dempsey of F. Company 5th Battalion Carlow Brigade IRA, accompanied by Volunteers Thomas Dunne, Peter Brien and William Kinsella, took over the Sinn Fein hall in Castledermot. They were ordered to do so by Captain P. Kavanagh of Castledermot who in turn had received his instructions from Commdt. Thomas O’Connell of the Carlow Brigade. On the following morning about 14 or 15 pro-treaty troops under the command of Brigadier Adjutant Lillis of Carlow arrived in the village of Castledermot. Statements made by Volunteers Peter Brien, William Kinsella and Sergeant John Dempsey indicated that the pro-treaty troops passed the Sinn Fein hall in a lorry travelling from the Carlow direction. The lorry travelled towards the chapel and stopped about 200 yards from the Sinn Fein hall. Captain A. Nolan got out of the lorry and walked back to the hall and on entering saw that it was occupied by anti-treaty soldiers. He returned to the lorry but almost immediately came back again to the hall when he was refused entry by Volunteer Peter Brien. Within minutes, according to the statement of the anti-treaty Volunteers, the lorry containing the soldiers returned and 14 or 15 men jumped down and rushed through the door of the Sinn Fein hall firing shots. The statements made by the pro-treaty soldiers those who entered the Sinn Fail hall gave a somewhat different version of events. Paddy Cosgrave, a resident of Castledermot, and Brigade Vice Commdt. of the treaty troops stated he entered the Sinn Fein hall with Lillis, Captain F. Lawler and another un-named officer who may have been the earlier mentioned Captain Nolan. Cosgrave was behind the other three officers as they went in, but was able to see four anti-treaty soldiers inside the building, two of whom he said were armed with shotguns in the “ready position”. After he entered the hall he heard three shots, the first of which he believed was fired by Captain Lawler. It was then, according to Paddy Cosgrave, that the soldiers in the lorry jumped down and rushed into the hall. Cosgrave saw Thomas Dunne turn away and stumble towards the back door. He had been mortally wounded and was to die within minutes. Captain F. Lawler who fired the fatal shot was an experienced soldier who had fought during the Easter Rising. He confirmed that he was the first to enter the Sinn Fein hall, accompanied by Lillis and Cosgrave. He had a revolver in his hand and was about to cock it when his thumb slipped and the revolver went off. He turned the revolver towards the ground and attempted to cock it again when “it slipped again and the second shot was discharged”. No explanation was offered for the third shot heard by his companion Paddy Cosgrave. Which of the shots allegedly accidentally fired by Lawler killed Thomas Dunne was never determined. What is known is that Adjutant J. Lillis, having been informed by a local man, Patrick Walsh, that the anti-treaty side had taken over the Sinn Fein hall, decided in consulting with Paddy Cosgrave to have them ejected. Dr. Francis Brannan was immediately called to the scene but the unfortunate young man Thomas Dunne was already dead. That night an inquest was held by Dr. M.F. Kenna, Coroner for South Kildare following which the jury chaired by William J. Dalton brought in the verdict of “death from shock and hemorrhage caused by the piercing of the aorta by a bullet accidentally discharged in a Sinn Fein hall.” On the following Sunday afternoon Thomas Dunne’s funeral procession left Castledermot for Carlow headed by the Clashganny Pipers and the Athy Fife and Drum bands. Volunteer Thomas Dunne was buried in the Republican plot at St. Mary’s cemetery, Carlow town. Less than three weeks after Thomas Dunne’s death another young man was killed in the village of Castledermot. The story of how Volunteer Lawrence Sweeney of Dundrum, Co. Dublin met his death on the same day as Sylvester Sheppard was shot in nearby Rosetown is a story for another day.

Photograph of Cast of second production of 'Dick Whittington' - 1950s

PHOTOGRAPH OF CAST OF SECOND PRODUCTION OF 'DICK WHITTINGTON' - 1950S

Another Athy Musical Show photograph this week.  Those pictured are members of what appears to be a second and later production of Dick Whittington, the show which was first put on in the Town Hall in 1947.  I recognise many of the faces in the photograph and guess that the show was put on sometime towards the end of the 1950’s.  Let me hear from you if you remember the show in question or if you can put names to those captured on film all those years ago.

Next week I plan to return to the photograph which featured in Eye on the Past No. 516.  It was of a school trip to Independent House Dublin in 1959 and I have got many replies to my offer of a book prize for the first person who correctly identified the 59 or so souls pictured on that day.  More about that next week.  In the meantime I have run out of photographs of Athy Musical Shows of the past and if there is anyone out there who has any other photographs of the shows of past years, I would welcome the opportunity of featuring them in future articles.

Harking back to the old ballads of Athy which I mentioned some weeks ago a former neighbour wrote to me about the legendary Barney Davis.  Barney it was who composed “Doctor Don Roderick de Vere” and also “The Girls from the Pea Factory”  and was one of the principals in many of the musicals of the 1940’s and earlier.  In the photograph shown two weeks ago of the 1947 Dick Whittington Show Barney was photographed fourth from the left in the front row holding his cat suit.  He was the cat in the 1947 show and I see that a well known present day resident of William Street played the same part in the later production which is the subject of this weeks photograph.  Barney Davis by all accounts was a most popular fellow and usually brought the house down with his ability to walk on his hands while playing the role of Dick Whittington’s cat.

My correspondent referred to a man whom he regarded as Athy’s rhymer supreme.  He was known to all and sundry in Athy as Archie Sullivan who although born in Dublin he lived in Athy from the early 1930’s.  A cobbler by trade Archie was the author of many local ballads composed to record events and individuals which for one reason or another caught the public imagination.  I rely entirely on my friend’s recall of Archie’s ballads as I have never previously come across them.  Who remembers “O’Hara’s Goose” which told the story of Barney O’Hara’s prize of a goose won at a card game which turned out to be a swan!  The bird still posing as a “goose” was offered as a prize in a series of card games which were played out in local pubs before it eventually passed to an unsuspecting winner.  Another ballad attributed to Archie Sullivan told of the characters working in the asbestos factory in the 1950’s.  It was called “The lads from the Asbestos”.   The affairs of the local Urban District Council in the aftermath of World War II provided Archie with background for another ballad in which a central role was played by the legendary Tom Carbery of St. Martin’s Terrace.

I don’t have the words of any of Archie Sullivan’s ballads, but hopefully some of my readers can recall them and so help record for evermore the work of a man described as the rhymer supreme of Athy.

Many thanks to those who contacted me in response to the request for information regarding the relations of Robert Foster and Stephen Leonard.  As a result of your help I have been able to answer in some considerable detail the queries which emanated from two English readers.

In the meantime keep sending in any information or material you might wish to share with other readers of this column regarding the musical shows of the 1940’s and 1950’s.

Photograph of Cast of 'White Bread and Apple Sauce' - 1945

As promised I have another photograph of a 1940’s musical gracing this weeks Eye on the Past. It is a photograph of the cast of “White Bread and Apple Sauce” put on in the Town Hall in 1945. The producer was Stanley Ilsley who is pictured in the front row 3rd from the left. Ilsley was one half of the famous theatrical partnership of Ilsley and McCabe which for decades played a prominent role in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Again this week I am looking for readers help in naming those pictured on the Town Hall stage of 57 years ago. There are several faces in the photograph which I can recognise and it is amazing how some of them show so little changes over the years. One can’t say the same about Irish society during the last half of the century. I was reminded of this last week as I listened to a discussion on the radio about women having to give up their jobs on marrying. We always think of teachers and civil servants in that context but I was reminded of an interview I had a few years ago with an Athy woman living in England who emigrated over 40 years ago. She got married in Athy in 1950 and at the time worked in the pea factory in Rathstewart. She told me that she was required to give up her job the day before she got married. Whether this was at the behest of the unions or of the employers I cannot say but it does seem in hindsight an extraordinary harsh rule. But of course working society in 1950 was so different than today. Can you imagine a factory worker nowadays asking his boss as a favour for a half day or a full day off work so that he or she could get married. That is what a prospective groom had to do 50 years ago. My informant recounted for me how her boyfriend who worked in the Asbestos factory got one day off for his wedding on the strict injunction “to be back here on Thursday morning”. For you see Wednesday was the day set aside in St. Michael’s Parish Church for working men and women to marry. The weddings took place early in the morning, some as early as 7.30am. There was no such thing as an afternoon Church ceremony and the simple ceremony was followed, if you were lucky, by a reception in the bride’s home. With the World War not long over and rationings still something to be contended with, lucky was the family which had boiled ham for family and friends invited to the wedding reception. Miss Mape’s shop in Duke Street was always a popular venue for the local girls when they wanted to get a new coat or hat for a wedding. Her dress shop’s popularity owed much to Ms. Mape’s willingness to “keep a book” and mark off the payments made each week long before the wedding came off. Who remembers “Footie” O’Gorman, supplier of hams for local weddings and funerals. His shop was in Duke Street where Kane’s are now located and while I don’t recall him his name is forever associated in my mind with the advice he gave to a young man about to be married, “make sure you get off at Naas” [work it out for yourself!]. Writing of the old days [and not so old days] in Athy I am reminded that Mary Browne, the famous fish seller who graced Emily Square every Friday for many years died in 1996, aged 98 years. No doubt many of you will remember Mary. Does anyone have a photograph of Mary and her famous fish stall which I could copy? Walking up Church Road last week I saw that the unusual bungalow built by Dr. John Kilbride when he married in 1926 has been demolished and replaced by a block of apartments. Dr. John was son of Dr. James Kilbride who lived in Athy Lodge where Dr. Joe and Mrs. O’Neill now live. The bungalow was built by Jim Lawler’s grandfather, Edward Lawler, and was unusual as it was built of asbestos sheets imported from England. The bungalow which Dr. John and his wife lived until they moved into Athy Lodge was called “Athmore” comprised of the first letters of Athy and the last letters of Tramore. Dr. John was a native of Athy, while his wife was from Tramore and it was to Tramore that both returned when Dr. John Kilbride retired. The unexpected passing of Thomas “Tanner” Bracken last week severed another link with Athy’s past. “Tanner” was a member of an old Athy family and for nearly 50 years he worked in the Asbestos factory with his late brother Willie. Both were members of the C.Y.M.S. in the days when it had its premises in Stanhope Street and later still in St. John’s Hall. “Tanner” and his brother Willie were part of the fabric of my memories of youth and his death deprives us of an Athy man, gentle in his ways who in his own quite way left his mark on the local community.

PHOTOGRAPH OF CAST OF 'WHITE BREAD AND APPLE SAUCE' - 1945

As promised I have another photograph of a 1940’s musical gracing this weeks Eye on the Past.  It is a photograph of the cast of “White Bread and Apple Sauce” put on in the Town Hall in 1945.  The producer was Stanley Ilsley who is pictured in the front row 3^rd from the left.  Ilsley was one half of the famous theatrical partnership of Ilsley and McCabe which for decades played a prominent role in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin.  Again this week I am looking for readers help in naming those pictured on the Town Hall stage of 57 years ago.  There are several faces in the photograph which I can recognise and it is amazing how some of them show so little changes over the years.  One can’t say the same about Irish society during the last half of the century.  I was reminded of this last week as I listened to a discussion on the radio about women having to give up their jobs on marrying.  We always think of teachers and civil servants in that context but I was reminded of an interview I had a few years ago with an Athy woman living in England who emigrated over 40 years ago.  She got married in Athy in 1950 and at the time worked in the pea factory in Rathstewart.  She told me that she was required to give up her job the day before she got married.  Whether this was at the behest of the unions or of the employers I cannot say but it does seem in hindsight an extraordinary harsh rule.  But of course working society in 1950 was so different than today.  Can you imagine a factory worker nowadays asking his boss as a favour for a half day or a full day off work so that he or she could get married.  That is what a prospective groom had to do 50 years ago.  My informant recounted for me how her boyfriend who worked in the Asbestos factory got one day off for his wedding on the strict injunction “to be back here on Thursday morning”.  For you see Wednesday was the day set aside in St. Michael’s Parish Church for working men and women to marry.  The weddings took place early in the morning, some as early as 7.30am.  There was no such thing as an afternoon Church ceremony and the simple ceremony was followed, if you were lucky, by a reception in the bride’s home.  With the World War not long over and rationings still something to be contended with, lucky was the family which had boiled ham for family and friends invited to the wedding reception. 

Miss Mape’s shop in Duke Street was always a popular venue for the local girls when they wanted to get a new coat or hat for a wedding.  Her dress shop’s popularity owed much to Ms. Mape’s willingness to “keep a book” and mark off the payments made each week long before the wedding came off.  Who remembers “Footie” O’Gorman, supplier of hams for local weddings and funerals.  His shop was in Duke Street where Kane’s are now located and while I don’t recall him his name is forever associated in my mind with the advice he gave to a young man about to be married, “make sure you get off at Naas” [work it out for yourself!].

Writing of the old days [and not so old days] in Athy I am reminded that Mary Browne, the famous fish seller who graced Emily Square every Friday for many years died in 1996, aged 98 years.  No doubt many of you will remember Mary.  Does anyone have a photograph of Mary and her famous fish stall which I could copy?

Walking up Church Road last week I saw that the unusual bungalow built by Dr. John Kilbride when he married in 1926 has been demolished and replaced by a block of apartments.  Dr. John was son of Dr. James Kilbride who lived in Athy Lodge where Dr. Joe and Mrs. O’Neill now live.  The bungalow was built by Jim Lawler’s grandfather, Edward Lawler, and was unusual as it was built of asbestos sheets imported from England.  The bungalow which Dr. John and his wife lived until they moved into Athy Lodge was called “Athmore” comprised of the first letters of Athy and the last letters of Tramore.  Dr. John was a native of Athy, while his wife was from Tramore and it was to Tramore that both returned when Dr. John Kilbride retired. 

The unexpected passing of Thomas “Tanner” Bracken last week severed another link with Athy’s past.  “Tanner” was a member of an old Athy family and for nearly 50 years he worked in the Asbestos factory with his late brother Willie.  Both were members of the C.Y.M.S. in the days when it had its premises in Stanhope Street and later still in St. John’s Hall.  “Tanner” and his brother Willie were part of the fabric of my memories of youth and his death deprives us of an Athy man, gentle in his ways who in his own quite way left his mark on the local community.