Compiling a list of men/women who served during the War of Independence

This Thursday, 19th August, the Church of Ireland Centre off Offaly Street will host an exhibition of Athy’s industrial, agricultural and sporting heritage. It’s described by it’s initiator, Dr. Ann Murphy, as a ‘modest exhibition put together over a period of three months by enthusiastic hunter gatherers and local knowledge holders’. I have seen parts of the exhibition and can only describe the work done by Dr. Murphy and her team of helpers as a truly wonderful contribution to our understanding of local work practices of past years. The exhibition will include coverage of some of the long-lost local industries such as milling and brick making, two industries which with malting for so long provided the bulk of the jobs available in Athy. Hannons Mills at Duke Street and Ardreigh closed down in the early 1920s, while the last of the Athy brickyards, of which there were approximately 12 at one period, closed down in the early 1930s. The exhibition will give all of us living in Athy an opportunity to appreciate the town’s commercial and industrial heritage, as well as Athy’s notable sporting heritage. I haven’t seen any of the sporting club’s contributions, but their stories are a valuable part of the patchwork which makes up Athy’s history and must be seen as an important part of the town’s story. The exhibition runs from Thursday 19th August for four days, 6pm to 8pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 3pm to 5pm on Sunday. Admission is free. Another part of the story of Athy and district as we journey through the Decade of Commemoration requires an accurate listing to be taken of those men and women who participated as volunteers or as Cumann na mBan members in the War of Independence. Clem Roche and I have done some research in this area and the commemoration committee in Kildare County Council are currently finalising, in advance of publication, a complete list of those patriotic men and women of a century ago. One of the first interviews I carried out when I returned to Athy in 1982 was with Patrick Keogh of Churchtown. Himself a volunteer and a member of the Athy Company Carlow Kildare Brigade, Patrick gave me the names of those men whom he remembered as fellow volunteers. I was struck by his description of some of those volunteers as ‘truce men’ meaning that they joined the Volunteers after the truce came into effect and hostilities had ceased. Around the same time I interviewed Mrs. Hester May who played a very significant part during the War of Independence and whose husband Joe prior to their marriage was one of several Athy men imprisoned during that war. Both Patrick Keogh and Hester May provided important details in relation to local events of that time, as well as helping me to compile a list of the men and women who played their part in the fight for Irish freedom. One man who was not mentioned by either of my interviewees was John Byrne. I came across John’s name when researching volunteer activities in this area and discovered that he was tragically killed while an attempt was being made to destroy the abandoned R.I.C. barracks at Luggacurran in April 1920. I had mentioned John’s name in previous articles seeking information but it is only within the last few weeks that I have got background details on the young man from Gracefield, Ballylinan. Gerry Mulhall, formerly of Ballylinan and now of Carlow, contacted me to advise that his relation John Byrne was a Lieutenant attached to the Laois Battalion and on the night of his death was accompanied by Thomas Dunne, a Dublin man, Joseph Hyland of Coolglass, Wolfhill and Peter Hunt, address unknown. John was killed while two of his colleagues were injured. John Byrne was buried in Rathaspick, Ballylinan and Gerry tells me that a War of Independence medal with bar is to be posthumously awarded for John’s services. There may well be many more men and women whose services during the War of Independence have not been recognised and for that reason in advance of the Kildare County Council’s book publication it is important to identify each and every member of the local Volunteers and local members of Cumann na mBan. If you know of any family member or anyone else who should be included in the list of Volunteers or Cumann na mBan members might I encourage you to pass that information on to me. We all have a responsibility to remember those who have gone before us and to pass on to future generations our community’s own story. This applies not only to War of Independence events and personalities, but also to the more mundane aspects of daily life as evidenced in the recollections of our industrial, agricultural and sporting heritage. The coming weekend exhibition promises to give us an opportunity to look back at the diverse makeup of our community’s daily life of a generation ago. Do visit the exhibition in the Church of Ireland Hall which finishes at 5pm on Sunday, 22nd August.