“The road to sweet Athy”, no matter from
which direction you travel, can be measured in terms of lives lost in road
traffic accidents. Some of us can recall
accidents extending back over 50 years ago or more, but here and there along
the roadside can be seen the visible reminders of long forgotten
tragedies. Is there anywhere a more
poignant reminder of a roadside death than the memorial to Frances Ramsbottom
on the Stradbally Road just beyond Lennon’s Bridge. Mrs. Ramsbottom was killed in May 1916 when
the cart in which she was travelling overturned. She was travelling to her home in Fossett
after shopping in Athy and died almost immediately after the fall. What is remarkable about her accident is that
almost 90 years later the place where she had that unfortunate accident is
marked with a small stone memorial in which flowers have been placed on a
regular basis in recent years.
Other local
roadside memorials have not been tended as carefully as Mrs. Ramsbottoms and
indeed in many instances the neglect of years has caused some of these
memorials to disappear. I am
particularly reminded of a memorial which was once to be found at Rosestown at
the spot where Sylvester Sheppard, a young Monasterevin man, was shot dead in
an encounter with government troops on Sunday, 4th July 1922, just
shortly after the Civil War started. I
understand that the late Paddy Joe Murphy of Levitstown tended the memorial
during his lifetime, but on a recent visit to the site I found that the memorial
had disappeared. It would be a pity if
nothing was done to restore the roadside memorial to this young man, after whom
the Fianna Fáil Cumann in Monasterevin was named.
Another roadside
memorial which I had passed on many occasions without noticing it, is located
on the Athy / Carlow road. Indeed on
first becoming aware of its existence some months ago I kept a careful lookout
for it whenever I drove to or from Carlow.
I could not find the memorial until yesterday when returning to Athy I
stopped my car near Maganey and walked the narrow road keeping a watchful eye
on the speeding cars which threatened at every bend to put a premature end to
my search. Eventually I found the
memorial located at the side of the road where Tommy O’Connell, Officer Commanding
Carlow Brigade I.R.A. was accidentally killed on 31st August
1924.
I had begun my
search some months earlier when a letter arrived from Dorset in England
enquiring if a memorial had ever been erected to the memory of the
correspondent’s grandfather. Intrigued
by the enquiry I followed up the matter and found that Athy resident Betty
O’Donnell had a lot of information on O’Connell who succeeded Eamon Malone of
Barrowhouse as O.C. of the Carlow Brigade.
Previously, Tommy O’Connell held the position of Vice O.C. of the
Brigade comprising six Battalions of which the 5th Battalion area
included Athy, Kilkea, Castledermot, Ballylinan and Barrowhouse. When the Civil War broke out Tommy O’Connell
took the anti-treaty side and was imprisoned.
He escaped from jail and for quite a long time was on the run. He survived the Civil War but did not feel
able to return to his hometown of Edenderry until about six weeks before his
untimely death. Like many others who
fought in the War of Independence or in the Civil War his health had been
impaired as a result of the long periods spent on the run. Before the commencement of hostilities he had
worked as a French polisher and I believe that he was so employed again by Thomas
Prendergast, Furniture Manufacturer of Carlow at the time of his death.
From the details
given at the inquest, presided over by Dr. Jeremiah O’Neill of Athy, it would
appear that the former I.R.A. leader accompanied two friends as they travelled
by car to Garyhill, Bagenalstown. On the
return journey Christopher Pentony of New Road, Edenderry was driving and near
to Maganey Railway Station a tyre burst and the car swerved to the right, hit
the embankment, overturned and pinned Pentony and O’Connell underneath. James McDonald who was sitting in the back
seat was thrown free and he went for assistance.
Martin Fleming who
lived in the area gave evidence at the Coroner’s Court of being awakened by
McDonald around 3.00 a.m. He went with
him to the nearby house of Michael Carolan but got no-one there. Both men then returned to the scene of the
accident, with Fleming carrying a lighted candle which he was told to quench as
petrol was spilling from the crashed car.
Unable to right the car, Fleming ran to Anthony’s house some distance
away and with the help of Mr. Anthony and his son succeeded in turning over the
car. Dr. Francis Brennan of Castledermot
who was called to the scene pronounced Tommy O’Connell dead.
News of
O’Connell’s tragic accident was received in Athy and surrounding area with
great sadness. The Nationalist and
Leinster Times reported that “the windows
in Athy were shuttered all day on Monday in token of sympathy and great numbers
joined the funeral cortege as it passed through the town on its way to
Edenderry.”
Athy Urban District
Council passed a vote of sympathy at its meeting that Monday night which was
chaired by Thomas Corcoran and attended by Peter P. Doyle, Frank Jackson, James
Dargan and Thomas O’Rourke.
Tommy O’Connell
was buried at Monasteroris on Tuesday, 2nd September 1924. Death notices were inserted in the
Nationalist and Leinster Times by several groups with which he had been
associated including the Officers and Men of the 1st Battalion
Carlow Brigade. The Brigade staff
inserted another notice, as did the Carlow Cumann na mBan. Before the end of September 1924 a public
meeting was held in Carlow for the purpose of raising funds to erect a memorial
to the former I.R.A. Commander.
Last week as I
examined the roadside memorial which lay concealed from inquisitive eyes by
overgrown briars I read the inscription on the stone base into which a cross
had been set.
“MRS. KEARNEY PRESENTED
THIS MEMORIAL CROSS
TO THE STAFF OF THE I.R.A.
CARLOW BRIGADE TO BE
ERECTED WHERE THEIR
GALLANT O.C. ACCIDENTALLY
LOST HIS LIFE 31ST
AUGUST 1924
GO NDEINIMID
DIA TROCAIRE AR A ANAM”.
Who I wondered was
Mrs. Kearney and whatever happened the public subscription which was to fund
the O’Connell Memorial? Maybe someone
can help me with these questions. In the
meantime the roadside memorial to Tommy O’Connell will be re-visited again to
ensure that the name of this once brave soldier can be seen and when seen,
remembered with pride.
The same hopefully
will also be the fate of the Sylvester Sheppard Memorial site at Rosetown.
Thank you. I am Tommy O'Connell's niece.
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