CHOMHAIRLE CHONTAE NA GAILLIMHE

MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNTY COUNCIL HELD AT ÁRAS AN CHONTAE, ON MONDAY 25TH APRIL, 2016 AT 2.30 P.M.

CATHAOIRLEACH: Cllr. P. Roche Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway

I LATHAIR FREISIN:

Baill: Cllrs. D. Burke, J. Byrne, I. Canning, J. Charity, B. Connelly, M. Connolly, J. Cuddy, S. Cunniffe, S. Donnellan, A. Donohue, M. Fahy, P. Feeney, G. Finnerty, M. Finnerty, M. Hoade, P. Hynes, D. Joyce, F. Kearney, P. Keaveney, D. Killilea, M. Kinane, M. Maher, E. Mannion, J. McClearn, K. McHugh, Comh S. Ó Tuairisg, Cllr. T. Welby

Oifigigh: Mr. K. Kelly, Chief Executive (Interim); Messrs. L. Gavin, P. Gavican, Directors of Services; Ms. C. McConnell, Acting Director of Service; Mr. M. Owens, County Secretary & Meetings Administrator; An tÚas P. Ó Neachtain, Oifigeach Gaeilge; Ms. R. O’Boyle, Ms. G. Healy, Staff Officers.

Representatives from Mr. & Mrs. Michael & Alice Miller Galway’s Sister County, Mr. & Mrs. Richard & Lois Gundrum Washington County, Mr. & Mrs. Daniel & carol Goetz Wisconsin, USA: Mr. & Mrs. Brian & Hope Krebs

Representative from the Mr. Liam Joyce Galway Association Bedfordshire:

THE CENTENARY OF THE 1916 RISING IN THE COUNTY OF GALWAY 2763

Thosnaigh an cruinniú leis an paidir.

The Cathaoirleach said he was honoured as Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway to chair this special meeting of Galway County Council to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

He said that on this day one hundred years ago, Galway men and women, led by Liam Mellows, secured for the County of Galway and its people an honourable legacy in the 1 events that lead to the foundation of the State. This Special Meeting demonstrates the strong commitment of this Council to honour our County’s role in the events of the 1916 Rising and the contribution of the Galway men and women. The Meeting also complements the Council’s 1916 Centenary Programme for the County of Galway, a comprehensive, balanced and inclusive programme of commemorations that recognises the totality of the history of the period and the diversity that this encompasses.

He said the number and range of events taking place in communities right across the county, reflects the enthusiasm of the County’s people to remember and commemorate the events of 1916 with dignity and respect. He is delighted, as first citizen of the County, that this Council has been in a position to support local communities in their commemorations, ensuring that the tradition of honouring the contribution of our county and its people to one of the founding events of our nation, is passed to a new generation.

He said he is conscious that today is very special and poignant day for the relatives of the Galway men and women of 1916 and it is appropriate that this Council recognises its special significance with a reception for relatives here at Áras an Chontae later this evening.

He said that the Members are joined today by representatives from Galway’s Sister County, Washington County, Wisconsin, USA and he welcomed them to and thanked them most sincerely for accepting the Council’s invitation to attend and participate in its centenary commemorations of the events of the 1916 Rising in the County of Galway. He also extended a warm Céad Míle Fáilte to the representatives of the Diaspora, including the Galway Associations, who had also accepted the Council’s invitation.

The Chief Executive, speaking As Gaeilge, addressed the Meeting as follows:

He said this was a very historic day for Galway County Council, for our County and for our Country. He said that many historic events had taken place in the Chamber of Galway County Council during the 100 years since 1916 and the current Council, Executive and Staff are privileged and fortunate to be the ones to host this historic event today.

He said the Council is honoured to hold this Special Meeting in order to commemorate the courageous feats of our ancestors 100 years ago. We often talk about the special spirit of Galway people and he said this trait has been evident in the citizens of the County for over 100 years.

Forógra ár Linne/Proclamation for Our Time

The Cathaoirleach said that the Proclamation of Ireland, as read by Pádraig Pearse in front of the GPO on the 24th , laid out in 490 words, a set of political and social objectives.

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As part of the 1916 Centenary Programme for the County of Galway, the Council invited a range of our community stakeholders, to imagine a Proclamation of our Time, to build on the values proclaimed a century ago, to reflect on the Ireland of 2016 and re-imagine the Ireland yet to be achieved. The Cathaoirleach welcomed the contributors to the Special Meeting and thanked them for participating in the initiative. The contributors then read the Proclamation for Our Time :-

MOUNTBELLEW & DISTRICT ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION Forógra ár Linne I bpoblacht na hÉireann ins na blianta atá romhainn geallaimid go gcumhdóimid an tsaoirse atá againn ár dtuairimí a nochtadh go neamh-eaglach, gan chosc, gan chlaonadh ach le meas do thuairimí daoine eile agus le aitheantas d’íobairtí na nglúin a chuaigh romhainn.

GALWAY COUNTY COMHAIRLE NA NÓG PEOPLE OF IRELAND, YOUNG AND OLD: in commemorating the of 1916 and the hundred years hence, we call on you to shoulder the responsibility of carrying our country into its second century. The responsibility no longer falls on elite revolutionaries but on each and every one of us – from all backgrounds, classes, creeds, ethnicities.

GREENPARK NURSING HOME We call on Irish men, women and all who share this island of Ireland to commit to the values of equality and the commitment to cherish all of the children of the nation equally as expressed in the proclamation of 1916.

We recognise the unique nature of the Irish people and its influence through generations. This nature is expressed in our sense of community, charity and concern for others and is evident in our work as peace keepers and humanitarian workers throughout the world.

DISABILITY FEDERATION OF IRELAND Having organised and trained her Irish Citizens in our peacekeeping missions, we are now dedicated to ensuring peace and diplomacy to be our highest aim. In recognition of all the Irish Diaspora around the world, we believe in supporting all those in need of assistance where ever they are in the world. Ireland needs to ensure the natural resources of Ireland are shared by the people of Ireland. We ask our government to protect our natural resources to be utilised to the greatest benefit of the people of Ireland whilst protecting the environment for future generations.

YOUTHREACH & WESTERN TRAVELLERS’ YOUTH SERVICES The is entitled to, and hereby claims, the allegiance of every Irish beoir, Irish fein and Irish gothers.

The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its neaghas, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and of all its parts, cherishing all of the gothers of the nation equally, without being burdened by the differences which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.

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LGBTQIA COMMUNITY In the name of equality, justice and fairness, with respect to those who have gone before us and to future generations, we pledge ourselves to the cause of peace, freedom and self- determination on the islands of Ireland.

We recognise the courage, strength and conviction of the people that faced those who challenged the vision of a free Ireland and declare the right of the people to the ownership of Ireland and to the control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.

The Republic ensures cultural, spiritual and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its people. It declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of all its children equally.

GALWAY COUNTY COMHAIRLE NA NÓG We must now assert:  The right of every family to have a home.  The right of every child to be educated, according to their ability.  The right of the sick and vulnerable to be cared for and to have a say in the manner of such care.  The right of our elderly to be appreciated, not for their contribution to our country but for the value they hold in our society.  Our responsibility to put the welfare of our citizens ahead of the accumulation of wealth.

MOUNTBELLEW & DISTRICT ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION Fógraímid gur cearta daonna iad oideachas agus oiliúint don fhostaíocht ach glacaimid leis freisin go bhfuil dualgas orainn cúnamh a sholáthar dóibh siúd nach bhfuil ar a gcumas iad féin a chothú.

Ní mór dúinn ár bpáistí, todhchaí na tíre agus ár sean-daoine, bun-chloch ár sochaí, a chumhdach agus a chosaint.

Geallaimid sochaí a chruthú ina mbeidh daoine slán, sábháilte ina dtithe féin, le cosaint cóir na nGardaí Síochána timpeall orthu i ngach cúinne den tír. Bheimis ag súil go mbeadh cóir leighis tráthúil ar fáil dóibh siúd atá á lorg freisin.

Táimid dóchasach go rialóidh na ceannairí tofa an tír go críonna agus le aire dóibh siúd atá imeallach nó faoi mí-bhuntáiste inár sochaí.

GREENPARK NURSING HOME We demand that our leaders and representatives in society value their positions and do all in their power to earn and maintain the trust of the people, in turn we urge all members of society to participate in a true and honest manner.

We desire a country that offers a future to all its children, and those who leave do so by choice rather than economic necessity.

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As older children of this nation we remind those generations that come behind us of their obligations to cherish those who have gone before them, as those who come after them should also do. We ask that young people consider the legacies of freedom, education, arts, culture, values, community and a deep connection with the environment left to them by previous generations.

DISABILITY FEDERATION OF IRELAND The Republic acknowledges the need to address current inequalities experienced by the population: such as people with disabilities and those in care of the state thereby vowing to implement inclusive policies for all persons living in Ireland, not restrained by decisions fostered by past Governments, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the people of Ireland whose support we seek to prevent discrimination and promote diversity.

YOUTHREACH TUAM & WESTERN TRAVELLERS’ YOUTH SERVICES We acknowledge the good that has come from the patriotism and sacrifice of the topsed generations before us to make Ireland a much better place, and building upon this history, we hope to build a future Ireland built on these aspirations, for all of its neaghas to live happily and in peace.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High Gotar, we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonor it by cowardice, inhumanity, or taking under force.

LGBTQIA COMMUNITY As people who have experienced oppression, marginalisation, and discrimination, we hereby declare our State as respectful of the diversity of humanity.

We respect the right of people to hold different views, providing their actions do not infringe on the rights of others.

The elected representatives and all appointed officials serving the people of Ireland must act in a dignified, transparent and accountable manner and uphold the values, principles and vision of this Proclamation.

We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the people of Ireland, and she shall not be dishonored by acts of inhumanity.

MOUNTBELLEW & DISTRICT ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION Tá ár meas tuillte ag na mílte a thóg an bád bán thar na cianta. Táimid fíor-bhródúil as an obair fhiúntach atá déanta acu i dtíortha éagsúla ar fud an domhain ach go h-áirithe ins na tíortha neamh-fhorbartha. Go leanaimid a ndeá-shampla san obair uasal seo.

DISABILITY FEDERATION OF IRELAND In reflecting on our history, we look forward to making this a better nation for all its people by its people, and to finally prove itself as being worthy of fulfilling its aspiration of being a truly diverse and accepting multicultural democratic society.

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YOUTHREACH TUAM & WESTERN TRAVELLERS’ YOUTH SERVICES We ask that our Government will serve us to the best of their ability by its valour and discipline, and by the readiness of its gothers to stand up and insist on making these values part of a future Ireland.

LGBTQIA COMMUNITY As a State we recommit to the integrity of neutrality and to prove ourselves worthy of the august destiny to which we are called. This Proclamation is for all the people of Ireland and those who seek refuge here.

GREENPARK NURSING HOME We endeavour to pass on this nature to future generations so that their influence continues to make a positive impact on the world. We encourage all to value our country by how we care for others rather than what we have.

GALWAY COUNTY COMHAIRLE NA NÓG Whilst our country is a small one, our international impact has always outweighed its geographical size. We must continue to inspire others through our support of human rights, environmental action and peaceful solutions to conflict.

Fore mostly, we mustn’t take our rights for granted. Rights we did not possess one hundred years ago. Through the thirty-four amendments of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the people of Ireland have realised the changing landscape of Ireland and have helped it to adapt to the modern world.

Let us continue to strive for equality so that all citizens have equal rights.

MOUNTBELLEW & DISTRICT ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION Sínithe ar son Mountbellew & District Active Retirement Association Tom Cunningham, Michael J. Kilgannon, Maureen Meehan, Marian Daly, Julie Reynolds, Chrissie Ruane, Br. Clement Brady

LGBTQIA COMMUNITY Signed on behalf of Galway’s LGBTQIA Community Kiran Emrich, Kathy Walsh, Liz Brosnan, John Corcoran, Nuala Ward, Kieron Smith, Kashie Prendergast

YOUTHREACH TUAM & WESTERN TRAVELLERS’ YOUTH SERVICES Signed on behalf of Youthreach Tuam & Western Travellers’ Youth Services Sabrina Mongan, Brian Ward, Brigid Marie Ward, Conor Ward, John Sugar Ward, Paddy Ward, Rosemarie Ward

DISABILITY FEDERATION OF IRELAND Signed on behalf of the Disability Federation of Ireland Ciara D'Eath, Fionn Angus, Liam Hynes, Fiona Casey, Eileen Daly, Noelle O'Toole, Annie Byrne, John Inman, Josephine Moran

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GREENPARK NURSING HOME Signed on behalf of The Residents of Greenpark Nursing Home, Tuam, Co Galway

GALWAY COUNTY COMHAIRLE NA NÓG Signed on behalf of Galway County Comhairle na nÓg: Francis Olajide, Kelly Creighton, Aisling O’Grady, Emily Warren, Reagan Meagher, Sinead Hilary

The Cathaoirleach thanked the groups for developing their Proclamations and the contributors for presenting excerpts from their Proclamations that reflect their objectives for the Ireland of 2016 and the next generation. He said that the contributions will have enabled those present to both reflect on what we have achieved, imagine our future, to challenge assumptions and commit to continuing to work together for the good of our communities and county while focusing on the legacy we leave for future generations. In April 1916, the creation of an equal society was a significant challenge and it remains a challenge today as it will for future generations, our commitment as a Council, in representing the people of our County and in remaining true to the proud history, created for us by the Galway men and women of 1916, is to recommit to creating a truly equal society in which all of our citizens can flourish, he said.

‘New Dawn’/‘Gealadh an Lae’ Mr. Owens then introduced ‘New Dawn’/‘Gealadh an Lae’ a specially commissioned uileann pipe piece, titled and composed by Ger Fahy, played for the first time at the 1916 State Ceremonial in on Easter Monday, 28th March 2016. The piece of music on the uileann pipes reflects the ties between the County of Galway and Éamonn Ceannt. The piece has been gifted to Galway County Council, for the people of Galway, as part of Galway County Council’s 1916 Centenary Programme for the County of Galway. This piece of music was then played for the enjoyment of those present.

Cllr. Hynes said he was privileged to be present at this historic occasion to commemorate the 1916 Rising and those brave men and women of Galway who took part in the rising.

Cllr. Killilea said it is very important to respect the efforts of our forefathers and he thanked the Cathaoirleach and the Executive for organizing this Special Meeting.

Cllr. M. Connolly extended a céad míle fáilte to all who had accepted the Council’s invitation to this Special Meeting, especially those who had travelled from Washington County. He complimented the staff of the Council, all of the communities, heritage groups and active retirement groups around the County on the splendid events which had been organized during the previous number of weeks. He said that the volunteers of 1916 paid the ultimate price for standing up for their beliefs and it is fitting that they be honoured and remembered.

Comh. Ó Tuairisg and Ó Cualáin also welcomed all present at the Special Meeting and they made reference to the pride which the people of Conamara have in their ancestors and in 7

Padraig Pearse who had visited Rosmuc on many occasions. They said it was very fitting that Teach an Phiarsaigh in Rosmuc had been opened in his memory.

Cllr. G. Finnerty said it was great to see the commemoration ceremonies which took place in South Galway and he expressed the view that without the support of the Council, communities could not have achieved so much to raise awareness of the 1916 Rising.

Cllr. Kearney said there had been a tremendous amount of activity around the Athenry area during the 1916 Rising and he said that those who were arrested and brought to Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales played their part in starting the Irish War of Independence. He said that Elected Representatives have a duty to do the best they can for their areas and for their County. He complimented the signatories to the new Proclamations brought forward at this Special Meeting by the various groups, stating that they were very commendable and it was obvious much work had been put into the preparation of the proclamations. He hoped that the visions of these proclamations will come to fruition in time. He welcomed the visitors from Washington and also relatives of the men and women who took part in the 1916 Rising.

Cllr. McClearn said he was honoured to be present at this Special Meeting and he welcomed all those in attendance from various groups. He said it is important to recognise and respect the amount of work which went into preparing the proclamations.

Cllr. K McHugh said it was hard to put into words the depth of gratitude she felt towards the men and women of 1916 for putting their lives on the line for our freedom and also towards their families for the sacrifices they made. She referred to the raising of the Irish Flag in National Schools and the reading of the Proclamation in the schools which she said was very important and raised awareness among children regarding our heritage.

Cllrs. Feeney and Cllr. J. Byrne said it was evident that a lot of thought and effort had been put into the new proclamations and they thanked all of the groups involved. They felt that the people of Galway owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 700 men who rose out in Galway 100 years ago putting their lives on the line for their families’ future and that the Council and communities have done them justice through the commemoration event held in Athenry on Easter Monday and all the other events held around the County and in Áras an Chontae this year.

Cllr. Fahy thanked Mr. Owens and his staff for all their work in organizing events throughout the county, including this Special Meeting today. He said that this day is a very special day as 100 years ago today approximately 350 volunteers marched from Moyode to Craughwell, through Ballymanagh and Ballyglass, through Fursey Park and into Limepark where they disbanded at approx. 3pm. He also said it was important to remember the work of the women of Cuman na mBan.

Cllrs. Welby and Maher said it was very fitting to honor the people of 1916 at this Special Meeting today. They commended the dedication of Mr. Owens and the Staff of the council for organizing the various events commemorating the 1916 rising, stating that these events have been uplifting for the whole County. They said he was delighted to see the visitors from Washington County and hoped that the Council could in some way repay the hospitality they have shown to delegations from Galway County Council in the past. They congratulated the Cathaoirleach, the Chief Executive, the County Secretary and Staff on organizing today’s Special Meeting. 8

Cllrs. Hoade, Joyce and Cunniffe welcomed all of the people who attended the Special Meeting and also those retired Members of the Council in attendance. They said that many families have close ties with 1916 and this is a very historic Meeting and it is important that we remember the families who suffered the loss of their loved ones who died in 1916.

The Cathaoirleach endorsed the Councillors comments. He also said it was his great privilege to have accepted the kind invitation to the Galway Association Bedfordshire Annual Dinner Dance in February of this year and he thanked Mr. Willie Joyce of the Galway Association Bedfordshire for accepting the Council’s invitation to attend this Special Meeting today.

Mr. Owens acknowledged the kind comments of the Members on the Commemorative Programme, stating that he is only one Member of the Steering Group which is representative of various sections of the Council, including the Heritage Officer, Oifigeach Gaeilge, the Archivist, staff from the Library Service, Community & Enterprise Unit and Conservation. He said he would pass on the compliments of the Members to the Steering Group.

Mr. Owens then invited the Cathaoirleach and the Chief Executive to unveil a limited edition print outlining the image of the leader of the 1916 Rising in Galway, Liam Mellowes. He said his image is outlined using the names of the volunteers and members of Cumann na mBan who were involved in the 1916 Rising in Galway. He said the print would later be displayed in the Atrium of Áras an Chontae along with the images of the signatories to the 1916 Proclamation.

Liam Mellows and the 1916 Rising in Galway The Cathaoirleach then welcomed Dr. Conor McNamara, Lecturer in NUI Galway and 1916 Scholar in Residence, to the Special Meeting. Dr. McNamara presented his Lecture entitled “Liam Mellows and the 1916 Rising in Galway” as follows:

Writing to a friend during his exile in New York in 1919, Liam Mellows, senior commander of the Galway Rebels in 1916, conceded that the men and women he fought alongside in the West would be forgotten for their role in the national struggle:

Many of them are poor - almost all are. Most of them are unheard of, and yet their work for Ireland deserves to be known. It will never be, in our day anyway, in all probability but it is to them the thanks of future generations of the Irish people will be due. They gave their all in silence, seeking no reward and getting none.

Until recently, Mellows’ prediction has largely remained true. Few outside of the immediate families of the Galway Volunteers remembered their role and, even then, their contribution has often been misunderstood. The failure of the Aud to land weapons off the Kerry coast during Holy Week 1916 condemned the Galway Rebellion before it even began; almost

9 seven hundred men with less than thirty rifles could never challenge the Crown Forces in the east Galway countryside. The Rebellion in Galway cast local politics into a particularly bitter confrontation between the followers of John Redmond and the younger members of Sinn Féin. 328 Galway Volunteers were sent to prisons across England and Scotland before being interned in Frongoch, north Wales. Writing on the fiftieth anniversary of the Rebellion in 1966, the Connacht Tribune interviewed a number of veterans and concluded: ‘No bonfires awaited them. The Galway men returned almost unnoticed and made their way quietly to their homes.’ A narrow focus on military aspects of Easter Week is to misunderstand the purpose of the 2016 commemorations. The centenary year holds the promise of an unprecedented popular engagement with compelling aspects of our modern history and, in particular, the ideas and aspirations that motivated Liam Mellows and his comrades. That we as a community, on a local and national level, engage with ideas concerning social equality, discrimination, educational disadvantage, and the plight of those excluded from economic progress is to return to the debates that animated social discourse one hundred years ago. The Rebellion did not take place in a political vacuum; it was a response to the contemporary notions of empire, national identity and the rights of small nations. This centenary belongs to no political group and events and commemorations may be occasions of unease for many within the wider political community. It is only through such awkward debates and communal remembrance, however, can we re-engage once more with our values and priorities as a society. To commemorate should not be to idolise, simplify or lionise - history is not ideology – and to pause and reflect will undoubtedly generate more awkward questions than answers; should this be the case, then 2016 will prove a worthy remembrance to the revolutionary generation.

The plan for Rising in Galway was predicated on the successful delivery to the county of three thousand rifles from The Aud but when the arms landing in Kerry failed, the prospects for a concerted and meaningful rural dimension to the Rising ended. The force of over six hundred men and women which went out in Galway were armed with only about thirty .303 service rifles, a few miniature rifles and about three hundred shotguns. Volunteer Alfie O’Monacháin later explained: It had been arranged that 3,000 of the rifles from The Aud were to reach Galway, and there was a man in Galway ready for each rifle. Everything had been planned with men on the railway to take the rifles at Kerry and distribute them all along the line right up to Galway, but the accidental drowning of three Volunteers in Kerry, my brother Cathal O’Monacháin, Conn Ceitinn and Donal O’Sheehan, and the failure to land the arms and the capture of , upset all those plans.

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The plan for the county had two distinct phases with companies to be armed at central points, returning to their districts to attack police barracks, before proceeding as a larger group into the heavily garrisoned town of Galway. Having carried out the initial phases of the plan, the Volunteers were to link up with other companies from the midlands, ‘along the line of the river Shannon’. The authorities later concluded:

That the Sinn Féin insurrection was so quickly put down and that it was confined to so few districts outside the metropolitan area, must be ascribed to the fortunate arrest of Sir Roger Casement and the failure of the German ship to land the required arms and ammunition. There is no reason whatever to believe that if these arrangements had not miscarried, the in any county would not have held back. In fact, the evidence is all the other way.

The Irish Volunteers in East Galway

While the Irish Volunteers flourished in the rural parts of east Galway, particularly in the Athenry, and Kinvara districts, antipathy towards Sinn Féin, particularly amongst the urban poor, remained profound throughout the revolutionary period. Volunteer Martin O’Regan recalled ‘ was one hundred per cent anti-national at this time’ and Volunteer Thomas Courtney, who fought in the IRA, later told the Bureau of Military History, ‘thinking back over the years, I have come to the conclusion that Galway town was, and in my opinion, still is, the most shoneen town in Ireland.’ Local organizers concentrated their efforts in rural districts of the south and east of the county and Volunteer Peter Howley later noted that he had little trouble in recruiting eighty men from around the Ardrahan district as, ‘there was a continuous war being waged against the landlords and the RIC in county Galway, right up to the formation of the Volunteers in 1914.’

During the initial period of their development, the organization comprised a collection of small dispersed groups and were viewed with bemusement by most ordinary people rather than with any sense of fear or alarm. Rural companies were generally formed by senior IRB men who traveled into neighbouring districts and set up meetings with other IRB contacts to enroll new members with drill and training often organized by ex- servicemen. There was little that was actively conspiratorial about the organization's activities and training exercises were carried out in full view of the authorities with many ex- servicemen perceiving their efforts as a means of encouraging men to join the . Ordinary Volunteers who enrolled in the new force were overwhelmingly the sons of the rural poor, small farmers and rural labourers - young men for whom the camaraderie and companionship of route marches and drill provided a welcome release from the tedium of poverty.

Rural companies occupied themselves with route marches at weekends and tiresome drill practiced on weeknights. Officers were elected by the rank and file contributing to the election of incompetent or uncommitted men for reasons of popularity

11 rather than suitability. Companies had very few rifles leading to frequent problems with boredom and indiscipline as recruits found the excitement which they had anticipated failing to materialize, leading to rapidly dwindling numbers as the novelty quickly wore off for many. The Galway Volunteers received a significant boost in March 1915 when GHQ sent Liam Mellows with Alfie O Monacháin, a Belfast IRB man as his assistant, to help organize and train the Galway units. The arrival of Mellows represented a formative boost to morale and organization in the county and his commitment and charisma made an indelible impression on ordinary recruits. Mellows took lodgings in the town of Athenry and his force of personality made an immediate impact. Volunteer Pádraig Ó Fathaigh later wrote, ‘he was the life and soul of the movement. His magnetic power was amazing and the Galway Volunteers would follow him wherever he led.’ Volunteer Francis Hynes recalled, ‘I, who had the privilege of being one of his most intimate acquaintances often wondered how a man whose inner thoughts were so deep and so serious could always show such careless, I might say irresponsible front, to his casual acquaintances. I will always remember the first night he addressed our company.’

Liam Mellows (1892-1922), who led the Galway Rebels during Easter Week, was shot dead by the on 8 December 1922 in the first round of brutal executions of Anti-Treaty IRA Volunteers carried out by the during the Civil War. He was thirty years of age and had given his entire adult life to the cause of an Irish Republic.

William ‘Liam’ Mellows was born in 1892 in Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire, England. His father was a military officer and Liam and his brother, Herbert, known as Barney, moved to in their childhood. Inspired by their love of Irish history, the brothers became indefatigable organisers for both Na Fianna Éireann boy scouts and subsequently, the Irish Volunteers, formed in 1909 and 1913 respectively.

Of small stature but physically fit, a non drinker or smoker, Mellows’ sole relief from his life’s work of building an Irish Republic was playing his beloved fiddle for friends and comrades. Sent by the Volunteer HQ to organise the Galway Volunteers in March 1915, Mellows’ personal steel was cloaked by his inoffensive character: Volunteer Frank Hynes recalled, ‘My impression of him was that he may be a clever lad - he was about 22 years - but couldn't be much good at fighting... I learned later that he was determined to give his life in the fight.’

The Rising in Galway

The first shots of the Galway Rising were fired just after 7 a.m. on the morning of Easter Tuesday when a group of Volunteers numbering approximately one hundred men attacked the police barracks in the village of Clarinbridge. On reaching the village, the Clarinbridge and Killeeneen companies cut telegraph poles, blocked the main road through the village and partially destroyed the main bridge in the town. A group of Volunteers, some as young as seventeen, rushed the door of the barracks, successfully gaining access to the building

12 with four policemen remaining upstairs and managing to reinforce the first floor of the building, forcing a partial retreat from the attacking party. The parish priest, Fr. Tully, who was saying mass in the village when the attack began, pleaded with Mellows to call off the attack. Mellows refused and called for the barracks to surrender, however, after a number of hours of sniping at the building, the main body of rebels marched the seven miles to the nearby village , leaving a small force to keep the building under intermittent fire. The rebel party took with them three RIC men who had been caught unawares while out on patrol.

As the rebels approached the village of Oranmore, they were joined by the Oranmore and Maree companies and when word reached the town of the large group approaching the village, four police constables on duty barricaded themselves into their barracks. About thirty-five rebels approached the building and tried to rush the door but were greeted with a fusillade of rifle fire from the reinforced windows above. The building was kept under intermittent fire until a contingent of the Connaught Rangers arrived by special train from Galway to relieve the beleaguered police. A fire fight ensued as the police and army charged down the main street, wounding one Volunteer.

Encampment in Athenry

By this time the Volunteers had successfully commandeered a considerable number of motor cars, vans and traps and rather than face the infinitely better armed troops, evacuated towards Athenry. Companies from Derrydonnell, Newcastle, Athenry, Cussaun, Rockfield, Kilconieron, Kiltulla and Killimordaly had been turning out in large numbers at the town hall in the town and over three hundred men were preparing bombs and equipment.

Mellows eventually decided to move camp a couple of miles west of the town to the Athenry agricultural college, cutting telegraph wires in the area, tearing up sections of railway track and commandeering foodstuffs. As the rebels regrouped at their new camp, they heard the first boom from big guns of The Gloucester in Galway Bay. The shelling of the coast between Oranmore and Castlegar continued all week, and the effect on the atmosphere in the rebel camp and the ordinary people in the countryside was immense. Many Volunteers believed their ‘gallant German allies’ had arrived and the booming they could hear was the sound of a naval battle between German U-boats and the British Navy.

The Rebel camp became a hive of activity, and morale amongst the men was high, with women from Cumann na mBan putting on a dance show for the men at night:

Many men who had not been in the Volunteers at all joined up to fight and all were in the best of humour and full of pluck. Several priests, including Fr. Daly of Athenry, visited the farm and heard the men’s confessions. Food was plentiful, and the people of the county were very generous in supplying baked bread, milk, etc.

Frank Hynes, an IRA officer from Athenry, explained the Volunteers’ actions at this point: 13

Anyone reading this account would be inclined to think that we were acting in a rather cowardly manner – why did we not attack the barracks in Athenry? Why did we keep retreating, etc? The Volunteers who were out in Galway numbered between five and six hundred. We had about fifty full service rifles and about thirty rounds for each rifle, about one dozen pikes and a good many were not armed at all, so that if we wasted our ammunition on attacking the barracks, we had nothing to fight with after that.

Gun Battle at Carnmore

While the Volunteers massed at Athenry, about six miles east of Galway town, the Claregalway and Castlegar companies billeted for the night in the small village of Carnmore to await orders from Liam Mellows. When news of their position reached Galway town, a group of Special Constables and RIC formed a convoy and drove to Carnmore to confront them. The confrontation pitted many of the men from each side of the Volunteer divide in Galway town who had been involved in violent feuding following the split in the movement in 1914. Volunteer Mick Newell recalled:

The enemy advanced up to the cross roads and Constable Whelan was pushed by District Inspector Heard up to the wall which was about four feet high, the District Inspector standing behind Whelan and holding him by the collar of his tunic. Constable Whelan shouted, ‘surrender boys, I know ye all.’ Whelan was shot dead and the District Inspector fell also and lay motionless on the ground. They got back into the cars and went in the direction of Oranmore.

March to Moyode

Following the battle at Carnmore, the insurgents made their way to Athenry, joining up with their comrades, taking Constable Walsh, whom they had captured at the police hut at Lydecan. Late on Wednesday evening, over six hundred rebels marched in military formation from Athenry to Moyode Castle, located between Athenry and Loughrea, arriving early on Thursday morning. Hunger began to affect morale, forcing Mellows to address his entire force on Thursday night, asking anybody who wasn’t happy to leave. Ailbhe O’Monacháin recalled, ‘Some men for whom there was no arms, decided to go home and one whole company went away.’

The initial euphoria of the week was beginning to fade as the sobering realization sank in for many that it was only a matter of time before the group would have to face infinitely better equipped British troops. It was obvious that the Volunteer’s chances of putting up any kind of defence were hopeless and rumours began circulating of the imminent arrival of heavily armed troops from . The influential fenian leader from Craughwell, Tom Kenny, had been riding to the rebel camp all week and Volunteer Frank Hynes explained:

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We will give the bearers of these false rumours the charity of our silence, but one in particular who was responsible for most of them was a very prominent republican and a member of the I.R.B. up to Easter Week. This man did his best to get us to give up and go home and have sense. We called an officer meeting and I’m afraid that one or two of our officers were anxious to take him seriously and take his advice and go home. Liam [Mellows] got disgusted and said he would not disband his men. He handed over command to Larry [Lardiner] but Larry would not disband them. Liam, after about an hour took over again.

Disbandment in Limepark As nightfall on Friday fell, Mellows decided to march towards county Clare and attempt to join up with the Clare Volunteers, as rumours circulated that a large forces of British troops were massing in Athenry and Galway. Late on Thursday night, the group left Moyode and marched south to Limepark, an old shell of a big house, near the small village of Peterswell, close to the Clare border. Fr. Feeney, who had been with the Volunteers all week, was now joined by Fr. Thomas Fahy of Maynooth College and the pair pleaded with Mellows to disband his men before the military encircled them. When Mellows refused their pleas, Fr. Fahy persuaded him to allow them to put their case to a meeting of brigade officers and Volunteer Michael Kelly recalled, ‘a discussion then arose mainly between the priest and Mellows. The priest was trying to convince the meeting that, as the Volunteers in Dublin had surrendered, the Galway Volunteers should disperse, as their position was hopeless in the circumstances.’ After Fr. Fahy spoke, Mellows as commanding officer, addressed his men, telling them he would not order them to disband without a fight, but that he was willing to put it to a vote and let them decide their own fate. Only Mellows and his deputy O’Monacháin voted not to disband. Mellows accepted the decision of his men to leave but refused to the end to give an official order to do so. Volunteer Frank Hynes recalled the final conclave:

There was terrible confusion but in the midst of all of it, the rifles were thrown here and there on the ground. When Liam had bidden goodbye to all of them he came up to me, ‘Goodbye Frank’, he said. My only fear was that he would object to me staying with him. I said, ‘I’m staying with you.’ The poor man took my hand in both his and said, ‘God Bless you’. I knew he appreciated it very much because I think I was the only one who bothered about his fate.

Opposition to the Rebels

While the Volunteers mobilized a force of over six hundred men in the east Galway countryside, police in Galway town arrested all known republicans, including most of the Volunteer officers and senior IRB men in the town. Volunteer Thomas Hynes remembered, ‘as far as the city was concerned it was too late to do anything.’ Thomas Courtney, who had been racing around the town trying to organise his company, found Volunteers were unwilling to obey his orders, with many unable to be found. Cut off by rail and road from 15 the rest of the country and with telegraph lines cut, news of rebel activity in the east Galway countryside created a sensation, with rumour and hysteria quickly taking hold. The Connacht Tribune reported ‘on a muggy day, [with a] dry atmosphere and serene sky’:

All in all, one had the vague sense that one was living through an historic hour. That for a day, the town was recalling the stirring days of Emmet and Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the men of ’67, with this taking of police barracks, these conjectural Risings and marchings and the same dependence on primitive methods, the dispatch rider and rumour, which characterised the happenings of those times, as if we were not living in the days of motorcar, telegraph and telephone.

All business premises immediately closed their doors and all work in the town came to an immediate stop. Amid fears of a repetition of events in Dublin, the post office was placed under armed guard by the military and a notice of martial law was posted in the window stating all licensed premises in the urban district were to remain closed forthwith and all persons were to remain indoors between the hours of five in the morning and eight at night.

The sense of isolation was heightened by the erection of barricades on country roads to the east of the town, as Volunteers at Oranmore, Clarinbridge, Kilcolgan and Athenry began hijacking motorcars and horses, preventing reliable news reaching the town, and the situation was compounded when a section of the train line to Dublin was ripped up near Oranmore. On Tuesday afternoon, a public meeting was called by the Urban District Council and attended by over one hundred people in the Town Hall. A ‘Committee for Public Safety’ was duly formed to liaise with and support the Crown Forces and to organize a concerted civilian response. The Committee was chaired by Mártín Mór McDonogh and citizens were urged to offer themselves for enrolment as Special Constables, or ‘in any way the authorities may consider, they may be useful in the present crisis’.

The lack of solidarity for the country ‘refugees’ in the ‘besieged’ town was emerging in other ways and the Galway Express noted: ‘A new type of blockade has been established in Galway. Country people coming from the direction of the recent Volunteer activities have been forbidden to bring any provisions or household supplies home, lest any of these commodities would find their way to the enemy’s camp. The procedure appears to be an effective one.’

Aftermath The Rebellion in Galway cast local politics into a particularly bitter confrontation between the followers of John Redmond and the younger members of Sinn Féin. 328 Galway Volunteers were sent to prisons across England and Scotland before being interned in Frongoch, north Wales. Writing on the fiftieth anniversary of the Rebellion in 1966, the Connacht Tribune interviewed a number of veterans and concluded: ‘No bonfires awaited them. The Galway men returned almost unnoticed and made their way quietly to their homes.’

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Local newspapers were uniform in their condemnation of the Rising and the Tuam Herald described the week’s events as ‘a melancholy exhibition of midsummer madness’ and the rebels as, ‘degenerate sons.’ In an editorial entitled, ‘Poisoning the Well’, the Connacht Tribune explained, ‘The reason we are not all rebels is that we are fortunately sane enough to see that the dreams of Ireland as a sovereign state is hopeless. Attached to England, we must remain.’

Liam Mellows escaped to America following the Rising while his followers had no option but to return to their homes and await the inevitable round up by the Crown Forces. Over the course of the following week, over four hundred men were picked up and interned in Galway jail before being transported to Richmond Barracks in Dublin. Three hundred and twenty-eight Galway men were deported to Frongoch, with the vast majority released at Christmas 1916. In many other parts of the country returning prisoners were received with a rapturous welcome in an Ireland utterly transformed. In Galway, this was not the case and many of the men and their families suffered genuine hardship upon their return. In 1966, Martin Dolan, who knew many of the men involved, interviewed surviving veterans of the Galway Rising for the fiftieth anniversary edition of the Connacht Tribune. He noted, ‘No bonfires awaited them, the Galway men returned almost unnoticed and made their way quietly to their homes.’ Gilbert Morrissey, of the Athenry Company put the subsequent inactivity of his area during the War of Independence down to demoralization following the Rising:

Many of the Volunteers suffered a great deal of hardship subsequent to the Rising of 1916. At that time, a great many of them were in poor circumstances. Many of them were breadwinners for their families and, when they were imprisoned after the Rising, the families suffered. The neighbours at that time were not as sympathetic as they became as the fight progressed, and there were no funds out of which provision could be made towards the amelioration of their conditions. Many of them belonged to the farming class. At the time they were not as well off as they became two or three years later. They could not afford to pay hired men and their crops were left unattended until the general release in December 1916.

Postscript

Leslie Edmonds, who was alleged to have directed the shelling of the Oranmore coastline, was shot dead by the Castlegar Company of the Anti-treaty IRA on 23 July 1922 and his body dumped in the area where the shells had originally landed during Easter Week. The Irish Times noted the killing and commentated that Edmonds was simply unlucky to have driven into an IRA ambush set up for the Free State army and was mistakenly killed in the belief that he was an army officer. In reality, Edmonds had remained a wanted man by the Galway IRA during the six years since the Rising and his death was viewed by the Volunteers as justifiable retribution for his collaboration with the Crown Forces.

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Conclusion

Following the Rising, Mellows escaped to the United States where he spent several unhappy years in New York involved in various capacities with Clan na nGael and other branches of the republican movement. A close friend of Volunteer leader, Patrick McCartan, he was incarcerated in The Tombs Prison in late 1917 for entering the United States without a passport. Incapable of dealing with the intrigue and personal spite frequently indulged in by Irish American republicans, he became seriously depressed and was treated for malnourishment.

While abroad he was elected Sinn Féin MP for both Galway East and Meath North in the General Election of December 1918 and upon his return to Ireland in October 1920, he was appointed to the staff at IRA HQ as director of arms purchases. He was implacably opposed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty and was part of the Anti-Treaty IRA leadership that occupied the in April 1922. Captured in the attack on the complex by the National Army, he was subsequently shot dead in December 1922 in reprisal for an attack by the Anti-Treaty IRA in which Liam Hales, the Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil, was seriously wounded, on Eden Quay, Dublin.

Mellows’ career is a classic example of the disenchantment that developed among a coterie of idealistic republican leaders with the political direction of the Irish revolution. Mellows, like , shared English ancestry, yet possessed a profound sense of the righteousness of the republican cause and could not continence any form of political compromise. Like Pearse, he held a close bond with his only intimate friend, his brother Barney, and both men were devoted to their mothers with whom they shared their ideals for their country. In a letter to an acquaintance in 1919 Mellows wrote with typical lack of ego:

‘You place me on too high a pedestal. Someday you may turn iconoclast and then you will find that, like all idols this one has feet of clay... And after all talk is cheap. It is the deed that counts, and there I have failed lamentably.

...There are men and women in Ireland today, compared with whom I am as nothing, simple, honest, knowing nothing of the maze of politics or the ways of the great world, yet, they cherished in their hearts great ideals and noble aspirations... Dreamers fanatics, intransigents, fools, yes, but unconquerable and sublime.’

The Cathaoirleach thanked Dr. McNamara for his very informative and enlightening lecture detailing the 1916 Rising in County Galway and said it was an honour for the Members of the Council to have him present at this Special Meeting.

Gifts were then exchanged with the visiting delegations from Galway’s Sister County, Washington County, Wisconsin, USA, and the Galway Association Bedfordshire, England.

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Aisling an Phiarsaigh’ le Joe Steve Ó Neachtain Mr. Owens then introduced ‘Aisling an Phiarsaigh’ a poem specially penned by Joe Steve Ó Neachtain for the 1916 State Ceremonial in Athenry on Easter Monday, 28th March 2016 beautifully intertwines the idyllic Conamara setting of Pearse’s Cottage, where characters like Eoghanín na nÉan were created in prose and Pearse’s dream was formulated, with the evocative images of the Rising in Dublin and the changing viewpoints during the period. It explores Pearse’s thoughts during the birth of this ‘terrible beauty’ and his legacy which still lives on 100 years later. The final lines celebrate the pride of this commemoration as envisioned by Pearse in his oration at the grave of O’Donovan Rossa. The poem has been gifted to Galway County Council, for the people of Galway, as part of Galway County Council’s 1916 Centenary Programme for the County of Galway. An tÚas Páid Ó Neachtain, Oifigeach Gaeilge, son of Joe Steve Ó Neachtain, recited the poem.

Aisling an Phiarsaigh

Mar a bheadh splanc ag crádadh sa gcoigilt, atá dóchas ag bíogadh go fóill, i gcroí mionlaigh nár athraigh a meon ná a nglór, san áilleacht iargúil a dtéann grian i dtalamh.

Dúinne is eol monabhar séimh Loch Eiliúrach, ag sioscadh i do chluasa faoi dhíon teolaí ceann tuí, agus tine chlochmhóna ag gríosadh aisling ghlórmhar i do chroí.

Fios agat gurbh é teastas do bháis a bhí greanta i bhForógra na Cásca ach íomhá álainn Eoghanín na nÉan ag tuar gur deora aoibhnis a bheadh in íobairt síorghlas na saoirse.

As broinn fhuilteach Cásca rugadh áilleacht ab áil leatsa bheith saor is Gaelach, ach bhaist sliocht nár thuig an ghin go fealltach le streallta as potaí leapan sul má nocht rois piléar uaisleacht, bród is onóir.

Léiríonn d’uachta, d’óige ár linne, gur saoirse é bród as glór a gcine, bláthaíonn craobh as rútaí a dúchais, má tá splanc sa gcoigilt, níl an tine múchta. Thrí scraith na cille atá fís ag fás chúig scór bliain tar éis do bháis.

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The Cathaoirleach concluded the Meeting by stating this had been a very special day which would not happen again in the lifetime of those present and he reiterated his compliments and thanks to all those who attended and took part in this Special Meeting to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising in Galway. He then invited Mr. Peter Rabbitt, Galway County Librarian to play the National Anthem.

Criochnaigh an Cruinniú Specíalta Ansin.

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