Address at concluding 1916 commemoration ceremony in Athy on 12 April 2016

Athy’s commemoration of the centenary of the 1916 Rising concluded on Sunday 17^th April with a formal ceremony at Emily Square.  The proceedings opened with the following address which I am reproducing as this week’s Eye on the Past.

‘In this the centenary year of the Easter Rising we come together to commemorate with pride and dignity the vision, courage and sacrifices that marked the events of Easter week 1916.  We do so in the knowledge that constitutional nationalism and armed rebellion which fused in the years following the Rising transformed Irish political life.  It led to the first Dáil, the War of Independence and regrettably the Civil War but independence in the face of military oppression by the largest empire in the world was an achievement of historical proportions. 

There are many conflicting interpretations of the Easter Rising and commemorating an armed Rebellion which occurred without the people’s support is always going to be challenging.  Questions may be asked about the legitimacy of the Easter Rising – but it is not for us to justify or condemn but to try to understand.

Insurrection was far from the minds of most Irish men and women at the start of the 20^th century.  In 1798 the United Irishmen inspired by the republican ideals of the American War of Independence and the French Revolution had raised the country in revolt.  Robert Emmet had led a revolt in 1803, the Young Islanders in 1848 and the Fenians in 1867 at a time of agrarian discontent.  All had failed. 

In 1914 the leaders of the Irish Volunteers were secretly organising for an armed revolt.  From the radical socialist James Connolly to the nationalist poet, Padraig Pearse, they were committed to changing Ireland’s political situation.  The execution of the 1916 leaders turned the tide of public opinion and led to a radically new direction for Irish Nationalists.  The effect of the Rising of Easter week 1916 termed by the Irish historian, Desmond Ryan, as – ‘one of the most arresting examples in all history of the triumph of failure’, was as Pearse foresaw to shake Ireland from her sleep of apathy.

Those who had little sympathy with the aspirations of the 1916 leaders while they lived began to change their minds after the executions in Kilmainham jail.  George Russell, the Irish poet better known as AE would write:-

                

                 “Their dream had left me numb and cold,

But yet my spirit rose in price,

Refashioning in burnished gold

The images of those who died

Or were shut in the penal cell.

Here’s to you, Pearse, your dream not mine,

But yet the thought for this you fell

Has turned life’s waters into wine.”

Athy in 1916 was a town which had made a huge contribution in terms of young men who volunteered to enlist to fight overseas in the 1914-18 war.  Another young man born in Russellstown was at that time working in Dublin and as a member of the Irish Volunteers he served under Comdt. Ned Daly in the Four Courts.  Mark Wilson was the only Athy man confirmed to have participated as a Volunteer in the Easter Rising.  Following the surrender ordered by the rebel leaders he was imprisoned in Stafford Detention Barracks.  Today we are privileged to have in attendance his son, also named Mark, who is here with other members of the Wilson family.

It was the bravery of men such as Mark Wilson which helped change the public’s attitude and in time led to the resurgence of Nationalist fervour culminating in the establishment of a Sinn Fein club in Athy in June 1917.  Chairman of that club was local shopkeeper Michael Dooley of Duke Street in whose honour the 1932 Housing Estate on Stradbally Road was named Dooley’s Terrace.  Others associated with the Nationalist cause included  Bapty Maher, Eamon Malone, Joe May, Dick Murphy, Christine Malone, William Mahon, P.P. Doyle, Michael May, Tom Corcoran, Joe Mullery, Julia Dooley, Alice Lambe, Hester Dooley and the O’Rourke and Lambe brothers.

If the Easter Rising was the seminal event in the establishment of the Irish State the involvement of these men and women from Athy in the struggle for independence was a significant continuation of the town’s previous participation in the national struggle which stretched back to the Confederate wars and the 1798 Rebellion.

In our final 1916 commemoration event here in Athy we acknowledge the significance of the contribution of Mark Wilson and others to the shaping of modern Ireland.  While not all of the ideals of the 1916 Proclamation have been realised today, nevertheless in this centenary year it is appropriate for us to acknowledge with pride the part played by the men and women of 1916 in furthering the cause of Irish freedom.’

Thanks to all those who contacted me regarding Athy’s 1966 Commemoration of the Rising.  I am still anxious to see if photographs of that event have been retained by anyone.

Continuing Athy's 1916 rebellion commemorations

On Tuesday nights over the past three weeks Athy’s Community Arts Centre has been a mecca for anyone interested in local events surrounding the Easter Rebellion of 1916.  The series of lectures organised as part of Athy’s commemoration of the Easter Rising has witnessed talks by James Durney, historian in residence to Kildare County Council, Des Marnane, author and broadcaster from Tipperary and Padraig Yeates, author of several books on Dublin’s history.  The final lecture will be given this Tuesday, 12^th April, at 8.00 p.m. by Francis Devine.  His subject ‘From Lockout to Rising, the I.T.G.W.U., I.C.A., Liberty Hall in 1916’  promises to give a detailed account of Dublin’s working men’s involvement in the events of 1916.  Admission to the lecture is free.

The final event in the local commemoration programme takes place in Emily Square on Sunday, 17^th April at 3.00 p.m.  This will be our last opportunity to participate in the centenary events marking the 1916 Rising and to pay our respects to those men and women who played a part in that Rising.  The only Athy man whom it is confirmed participated as a Volunteer in the Easter Rising was Russellstown born Mark Wilson.  His son, also named Mark, together with members of his extended family, will attend the Emily Square ceremonies. 

Athy people can be justifiably proud of the part played by local townspeople in the post 1916 period as the history of emerging Irish nationhood developed.  I have in previous Eyes on the Past mentioned by name those men and women who participated in the struggle for Irish freedom.  Regrettably a comprehensive list of those involved is not available.  How I wish that someone of that generation was recording and noting the events and people of that time and so help to preserve an important part of our local history.  It is gratifying to note that great strides have been made in recent months to make available through the internet various records and documents relating to 1916 and the subsequent War of Independence.  From some of those records I have extracted the names of Athy men and women who were involved in the national struggle.

Christine Malone, with an address in April 1939 at 79 Upper Leeson Street, Dublin was noted as holding the rank of captain in Athy’s Cumann na mBan.  In the early 1980s I was privileged to meet Christine Malone who was then living in Convent View but unfortunately I knew nothing then of her War of Independence involvement.  It was long after her death that I became so aware and so missed the opportunity of learning so much of what has now been lost concerning the activities of the Cumann na mBan in Athy.  Other Cumann na mBan members recorded as attached to “A” Coy 5^th Battalion, Carlow Brigade I.R.A. were Mrs. Julia Dooley, St. Michael’s Terrace, Mrs. May, Woodstock Street and Alice Lambe, Upper William St.

The names of J.J. Bergin of Maybrook and Frank of O’Brien of Emily Square appear prominently in reports of meetings of the National Volunteers following their breakaway from the original Irish Volunteers.  The Athy Volunteers were perhaps the largest such group in County Kildare prior to the Volunteer split and were quite active as confirmed in the following press report of 19^th September 1914. 

‘On Sunday last Athy Volunteers held manoeuvres in the vicinity of the town.  Companys A and B were the white army, Companys C and D the blue enemy.  The latter were the attacking army and having crossed the Barrow towards the Queens County came in touch with the enemy at Bennettsbridge where a “battle” took place.  The Army Medical Nursing Corps displayed great proficiency in dressing “the wounded”.’

The report further noted that the men of Athy were progressing in the art of war.  Soon afterwards the Volunteers would split between the National Volunteers who followed John Redmond and the Irish Volunteers, a much smaller group, who resisted the call to fight in World War I.

A name not previously mentioned was that of Master Thomas Blanchfield who in June 1914 was recorded as the Commander of the Boys Corps of the Irish Volunteers.  This Corps was composed principally of boys from the Christian Brothers School in St. John’s Lane. Other names which I have taken from Cumann na mBan branch records are that of Kathleen Whelan of Ballylinan who was captain of the Ballylinan branch and Mary T. McKenna of Raheen, Ballylinan who was the branch treasurer.

The commemoration events throughout Ireland marking the centenary of the 1916 Rising have been photographed and recorded for posterity.  I wonder if photographs of the 50^th anniversary events in Athy attended by many of the survivors of the War of Independence are to be found today.  I recall seeing a photograph some years ago of some of those men [I can’t recall any women], parading in Emily Square to mark the 1916 Easter Rebellion.  Does anyone have any photographs of the 1966 commemoration in Athy which they would be willing to share?  If you have I would welcome the opportunity of scanning the photographs so that another piece of our local history can be recovered and retained. 

Don’t forget the lecture this Tuesday in Athy’s Community Arts Centre and the closing event of this centenary year’s commemoration in Emily Square on Sunday 17^th April at 3.00 p.m.

Continuing Athy's 1916 rebellion commemorations

The third lecture in the 1916 commemoration series takes place this Tuesday, 5^th April at 8.00 p.m. in the Community Arts Centre, Woodstock Street.  ‘Looters, Deserters and Crime in Dublin in 1916’ is the title of the talk to be given by Dublin author, Padraig Yeates.  Padraig has written several well received books on different aspects of Dublin’s history, the most recent of which was ‘A City in Civil War – Dublin 1921-24’ which was published last year.

A unique part of the evening’s entertainment will be the playing of the uileann pipes once owned by the 1916 executed leader Eamonn Ceannt.  The pipes have been in the ownership of a local man for almost 40 years or more and are a treasured reminder of the 1916 leader who was executed on 8^th May, 1916.  Ceannt’s uileann pipes will be played at the start of Tuesday’s lecture by Tos Quinn who is one of the legendary group of musicians who play traditional music in Clancy’s every Thursday night.  The musical interlude and the lecture promise to give us a very special night in Athy’s Community Arts Centre. 

The final lecture in the 1916 series will take place on Tuesday, 12^th April when Francis Devine, author and historian will speak on the topic ‘From Lockout to Rising, the I.T.G.W.U., I.C.A., Liberty Hall in 1916’.  Admission is free to all the lectures and to the other 1916 commemoration events which will be held in Athy during the next few weeks. 

The Heritage Centre stages ‘A step back in time’ exhibition on Saturday, 9^th April from 12noon to 4p.m.  This takes place in the Heritage Centre and also in Emily Square and will give a flavour of the sights and sounds of the year when the Rebellion broke out in our capital city.

On 14^th April local school children will display their art inspired by the events of 1916 in the Community Arts Centre at 7.30 p.m.  The exhibition will also feature the 1916 Proclamation which the people of Athy will be asked to sign in what I gather is a unique contribution to furthering the ideals of the leaders of the 1916 Rebellion.

The final event in Athy’s 1916 commemorations will be a solemn commemoration to be held in Emily Square on Sunday, 17^th April commencing at 3.00 p.m.  Here the 1916 Proclamation will be read after members of St. Michael’s O.N.E. and St. Brigid’s Pipe band have paraded through the town to the assembly point in Emily Square.  An ecumenical service will be held there following which a wreath will be laid at the Town Hall in memory of those men and women who participated in the Easter Rebellion.  It is hoped that a son of Mark Wilson, the Russellstown born man who was part of the Four Courts garrison during Easter week 1916 will join us on Sunday, 17^th April to lay the wreath.  The ceremony will conclude with the raising of the Tricolour and the sounding of the last post. 

Last week I wrote of the founding of the Sinn Fein Club here in Athy in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising and the execution of its leaders.  The Athy commemoration ceremonies honour not only those who took part in the 1916 Rebellion but also those who in the months and years after 1916 gave of their time and energies to secure the independence of our country.  That the task they had set themselves is not yet finished is no fault of those brave men and women who were members of the IRB, Cumann na mBan or later the reinvigorated Sinn Fein party which was founded as a non military organisation.

When one looks back over Athy’s long history we can see how different generations sought to break the link with England.  Armed conflicts searching back to the Confederate Wars and later still the 1798 Rebellion had Athy folk heavily involved.  The strength of that opposition was considerably weakened over successive generations as poverty and financial dependency compelled many young men to join the British Army.  The Crimean War and the Boer War saw Athy men serving overseas, while the 1914/’18 war saw local church and civic leaders play an active role in encouraging the young men of Athy to enlist in the British Army.

The cause of Irish nationalism reasserted itself in the post 1916 period and Athy through its patriotic men and women such as Bapty Maher, Richard Murphy, Joe May, Eamon Malone and Christine Moloney to name just a few played their part in the armed struggle which we describe as the War of Independence.

Athy's 1916 commemoration lectures

Kildare County Council has produced the third edition of the commemorative programme for this year’s centenary ceremonies in connection with the 1916 Rising.  The programme is built on seven strands which taken together reflect the themes of remembering, reconciling, presenting, imaging and celebrating.

The first strand of State and local ceremonial events focuses on remembering and honouring those who took part in the Easter Rising.  Historical reflection designed to deepen our knowledge and understanding of what happened in 1916 is the second strand.  The Irish language, which had a central place in the ideals of Pearse and many of his colleagues, is intended to be celebrated as another strand of the planned programme for 2016. 

Involving the current young generation in a range of imaginative activities to stimulate historical exploration is another strand of the 2016 programme.  In a sense, this complements the cultural expression theme of the commemoration events which seeks to encourage all community and art organisations to reflect on the events of 1916 and to visualise how those events impacted on the Ireland of the past and how they will impact on the Ireland of the future.

Those last two strands neatly merge into the penultimate strand which under the heading of community participation seeks to encourage the broadest possible community and voluntary involvement in every town and village in the county.  Those who for one reason or another left Ireland to live and work abroad are not forgotten and they are invited to join us in remembering and commemorating the events of 1916.  The programme of events organised throughout the county is quite impressive and copies of the County Council’s programme can be obtained from the local Council offices.

Here in Athy a small group came together some months ago to organise a number of commemorative events for the 1916 centenary.  Between the 22^nd March and the 17^th April we will see a diverse range of activities starting with a lecture series in Athy’s Art Centre on Tuesday, 22^nd March at 8.00 p.m.  This will be the first of four lectures to be held each Tuesday up to the 12^th April, all in the Arts Centre and all starting at 8.00 p.m. In keeping with all other events organised for the 1916 commemoration, admission to the lectures is free.

The lecture series is as follow:-

                        22^nd March      James Durney, Author and Historian

                                                ‘Foremost and Ready – County Kildare in 1916’

                        29^th March       Dr. Des Marnane, Historian and Author

                                                ‘Saving the Honour of Tip – Tipperary in 1916’

                        5^th April           Padraig Yates, Author and Historian

                                                ‘Looters , dissenters and crime in Dublin during 1916’

12^th April         Francis Devine, Author, Historian and currently editing a special 1916 issue of the Journal of the Irish Labour History Society

‘From Lockout to Rising – The ITGWU, ICA, Liberty Hall and the 1916 Rising’

The lecture on the 5^th April will feature an extra unique element.  Eamon Ceannt’s uilleann pipes will be played by Tos Quinn at the start of that lecture.

The other 1916 events include an ‘Athy in 1916’ exhibition in the Heritage Centre and a theatrical presentation in the Arts Centre by Athy Musical and Dramatic Society exploring the lives of the 1916 leaders through music, song and poetry.  Other events are planned and will be listed on the programme which will issue shortly. 

The final event will take place in Emily Square on Sunday, 17^th April with the reading of the proclamation, the unveiling of a plaque and the raising of the Tricolour.  Local clubs, groups and individuals will be invited to parade behind pipers from the four main approach roads leading into Athy and gather in Emily Square for the final solemn ceremony.  This final ceremony will be attended by Mark Wilson, a member of the 1955 winning Dublin football team whose father, a native of Russellstown was a member of the Four Courts Garrison in 1916.  Mark Wilson is the only Athy man whom I have been able to identify as a participant in the Easter Rebellion on the side of the Irish Volunteers.  It is quite possible given Athy’s history of military enlistment that some Athy natives bore arms as members of the British armed forces in Dublin during the Easter rising.

All will be remembered during this centenary year.             

Athy's 1916 commemoration events

The period 1914-1923 was a defining period in Irish history with a series of events which changed the course of our history and led to the foundation of the State.  The First World War, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War were events marked by heroism and blood sacrifice.  We are now well into what is referred to as the decade of commemoration and in this the centenary year of the 1916 Rising events will be held throughout the country to commemorate that rising. 

Commemoration is a well established practice in Ireland ever since the centenary commemoration of the 1798 Rebellion.  Such commemorations while focusing on the events of the past act as an encouragement to historical research and inevitably lead to reinterpretation of our shared history.  This is particularly true insofar as the 1916 Rising is concerned given the high volume of material which is now being made available both digitally and otherwise to the general public.  Added to the records of the Bureau of Military History made available some years ago are the huge volume of military pension applications which enormously increase our understanding of past armed struggles. 

The National Commemoration Programme is understandably centred on Dublin, which programme will be inclusive and non partisan, inclusive in the sense of acknowledging the various traditions which are part of Ireland’s history.  This requires not only the Irish national story to be told but also the key events affecting Northern Ireland such as the Ulster Volunteers, the Larne gun running and the Somme, all of which are part of the Irish historical experience.

Commemorative events give us an opportunity to reflect on the past and to broaden our understanding of those events which we commemorate and so better our understanding of their historical context.  On this island of Ireland we have a shared history, even if our understanding and appreciation of that complex history as between Northern Ireland and the Republic at times reflects divergent traditions.  However when we commemorate our historical past, whether at national or local level, we must take account of those divergent traditions, thereby ensuring that the commemoration itself does not create further tension and disagreement. 

Here in Athy the 1916 Rebellion will be remembered in a number of events planned to take place next March and April.  The town’s only links with the events in Dublin in 1916 is through Mark Wilson, a young man born in Russellstown just outside the town in 1891.  At 25 years of age he was a member of the First Battalion Dublin Brigade which under the command of Ned Daly fought in the area of the Four Courts during the Easter Rebellion.  Wilson and his comrades were subsequently captured and in a statement made by Maynooth volunteer Patrick Colgan, Wilson was described as ‘a source of great encouragement’ to other volunteers who like Wilson were imprisoned following the Easter Rising.  Athy man Mark Wilson who died in Dublin in 1971 will be honoured during the 1916 commemorations. 

The Athy commemorations will commence on Tuesday 22^nd March with the first of four lectures, all of which will be delivered in the town’s Arts Centre at Woodstock Street.  The opening lecture will be given by James Durney who was appointed last year as historian in residence to Kildare County Council.  His talk ‘Foremost and Ready - Kildare in the 1916 Rising’ will examine in detail the part played by Kildare men and women in the Rebellion of 1916.  On 21^st March Dr. Des Marnane who has written extensively on the history of County Tipperary will give his lecture under the intriguing title ‘Saving the Honour of Tipperary!! Tipperary in 1916’.

The following Tuesday, April 5^th, Dublin author and historian Padraig Yeates who has written a number of well received books on different aspects of Dublin history will give a talk under the title ‘Looters, deserters and crime in Dublin during 1916’.  The final lecture in the series will be given on Tuesday 12^th April by Francis Devine, Trade Unionist and author.  The subject will be James Connolly.  All lectures start at 8.00 p.m. in the Arts Centre and admission is free. 

As part of the 1916 commemoration a series of events will start in Athy on Saturday 9^th April and end on Sunday 17^th April.  These will include an ‘Athy in 1916’ exhibition in the Heritage Centre, as well as a drama presentation and a performance by Athy’s Music and Dramatic Society.  Other events still in the planning stage will be announced later.  The commemoration events will finish on Sunday 17^th April with the reading of the Proclamation and the raising of the Tricolour symbolising the birth of the nation state.