Roinn Cosanta
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ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21. STATEMENT BY WITNESS. DOCUMENT NO. W.S. 1,009 Witness William Buckley, Ballyhampshire, Castlelyons, Co. Cork. Identity. Member of Clan na Gael, San Francisco, 1915 -; 0/C. Castlelyons Coy. I.R.A. 1919 -. Subject. (a) Clan na Gael, San Francisco, U.S.A., 1915 -; (b) Fermoy Battalion I.R.A., Co. Cork, 1919-1921. Conditions, if any, Stipulated by Witness. Nil File No. S.2309 Form B.S.M.2 STATEMENT BY MR. WILLIAM BUCKLEY, Ballyhampshire, Castlelyons, Co. Cork. I was born at Francestown, Castlelyons, quite close to Bawnard House, the home of the Kent family, made famous by 1916, on September 10th, 1886. My parents were farmers. My father was evicted from his holding on September 20th, 1911. I left Ireland for New Zealand in March, 1912. For my first twelve months or so there, I worked at gold mining at Addison's Flats, Westport, West Coast, South Island. Not making any kind of a lucky strike at the gold mining, I moved to the North Island where I found work as a labourer on a waterworks undertaking at Ummatucka Range, where I worked until nearing the end of l914 when I left for U.S.A. I arrived in San Francisco sometime before Christmas, 1914, where I found work on the docks as a longshoreman. I was not very long in San Francisco when I made contact with the Irish crowd there. It was there I joined the Irish Volunteers in 1915 and became a member of Clan na Gael. The Senior Guardian of Clan na Gael in San Francisco at the time was Dan Harnedy. There were about 800 members in the Irish Volunteers in San Francisco at this time. Drilling was carried out in the Knights of the Red Branch Hall, 1133 Mission Street. This hall was taken over by the American Army authorities during the late war. The Volunteers in San Francisco contributed to an Arms for Ireland Fund - the minimum levy on each member was -2- twenty-five dollars, but, many contributed fifty and a hundred dollars. In San Francisco we had about 500 Springfield rifles which were used for drilling. The officers of the Volunteers at this time were:- Captain John F. Waters (his father came from Ballylanders, Co. Limerick); and Captain Tom McNabo. A5 far as I can recollect, I think that one Volunteer from San Francisco took part in Easter Week. He was Michael O'Neill, a native of Kenmare, and he came to Ireland late in 1915. After Easter Week, 1916, Mrs. Sheehy Skeffington and Kathleen Brennan visited San Francisco to get money for the Mansion House Fund. With Dan Harnedy, John F. Waters, Tom MoNabo, Tom Moynihan (Ballyheigue), Hugh O'Connor (Kilcorney) and a number of others, witness (William Buckley "Bronco") helped in every possible way. Several big meetings were held in San Francisco, and the appeals for support for the Fund met with a satisfactory response. These meetings were presided over by Rev. Dr. Yorke, a great Irishman. He was a cousin of Sean McBride, one of the signatories of the 1916 About this time the Volunteers were active in all Irish organisations in the western States. They continued their normal military activities (drilling and endeavouring to secure arms), and, as well, took a prominent part in the establishment of a new organisation - The Friends of Irish Freedom. The prime movers in the formation of this organisation were the Volunteers and Officers already referred to, as well as Jim Sullivan (Castletownbere), -3- Batt Kelleher (Kilcoaney) and Barney Reilly (Cavan). At the end of 1916 I left my job as longshoreman on the docks, because my name was mentioned in evidence given in a case in which de Lacey, Dan Harnedy and William Mullane were charged with planning to obtain the release of Von Schack and Von Bopp (two Germans who had promised to get arms for Ireland) from Angel Island. In this case de Lacey was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment which he served in McNeill's Island, Puget Sound, while the others were sentenced to twelve months in the County Gaol. I then found work with the Western Pacific Fruit Express Company by whom I was employed for one year and ten months. I remember that, while I was employed by the Western Pacific Fruit Express Company, I attended the trial of Barn Shandra and eleven other Indians who were agitating for freedom. These were closely associated with the Irish element, having the same objects - the overthrow of the British Empire. With Frank Dermody (Westmeath) and Paul Bernhardht (French, with an Irish mother), I went to see their trial one day during lunch hour. While we were in the courthouse, Ham Singh, one of the defendants, who was really a British agent, shot Ram Shandra dead while he was talking to his lawyer (Nathaniel Coughlan). Pam Singh was immediately shot by Marshal Holohan, who was of Irish extraction. From the end of 1917 till the end of 1919, when I left the U.S.A. for home, the members of the Volunteers in San Francisco were mainly engaged in efforts to procure arms and funds to enable the I.R.A. at home to carry on the fight. During this period the San Franciso supporters must have purchased between 1,400 and 1,500 small arms of various types and arranged for their transmission to -4- Ireland, mainly through the eastern ports of the U.S.A. A small number of rifles were also purchased - they cost about fifty dollars each - but they were not sent, as it was hard to get a sufficient supply of ammunition for them, being 4570 rifles. The principals engaged in this work at this time were Captain John F. Waters, Captain Tom McNabo, Dan Harnedy, Thomas Moynihan (Ballyheigue), James Sullivan (Castletownbere), Hugh O'Connor and Batt Kelleher (Kilcorney), Barney Reilly (Cavan), Con O'Donnell (Co.Mayo) and witness, William Buckley (Castlelyons). During 1919 there was a chance of getting a large lot of German rifles, with suitable ammunition, which were dumped at Mattamovaz, Mexico. The German in charge was named Erkstrom. I got in touch with Harry Boland at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York, in connection with these stores, and I understand that Mick Collins was made aware of the position, but it later transpired that, owing to some trouble in Mexico, the arms could not be got out of the country. Towards the end of 1919 I decided to come back to Ireland. With the assistance of Ned Boland, Neil Kerr, Junior, Maurice Whelan and Tommy O'Connor, I got a job as a trimmer on the liner, "Cedric", bound from New York to Liverpool. I sailed on the voyage, which began just before Christmas, 1919, and arrived in Liverpool on December 29th. Here I met Neil Kerr, Senior, Ned Flanagan and Steve Lanigan. I left by boat for Dublin that night and arrived at the North Wall next morning, about 7 a.m. This was December 30th, 1919. Before leaving New York I got instructions to contact Mick Collins and to explain the position about the -5- German war material at Mattamovaz, Mexico. I met Mick Collins at, I think, Vaughan's Hotel, Parnell Square. He was accompanied by Tom Cullen. They put me in touch with Barney. Downes to whom I gave a letter of introduction to the men in San Francisco who were in touch with the German (Erkstrom). These were Barney Reilly (Cavan) and Jim Sullivan (Castletownbere). Early in January, 1920, I came borne to Castlelyons where there was a Company of Irish Volunteers already in existence. The strength of the Company was about twenty. The 0/C was Jack Spillane. I immediately joined the Company and took part in all Company activities. I saw that there were very many possible recruits in the district and I began to do a bit of organising. About the, end of April, 1920, the membership had increased to close on eighty. At this stage there was an election of officers, with the following result:- O/C. - William Buckley (witness). 1st Lieutenant - Jim Donovan. 2nd Lieutenant - Denis Long (He later fell ill and was replaced by James Godsell.) Normal drill and training activities proceeded at this time. Some time in June, 1920, Dick Smith, John Barry and John Woods - merchants and farmers in the district - were held up by masked men on their way home from Fermoy. They had about £1,000 in notes on their persons, between them. Dick Smith put up a fight, and the hold-up gang were driven off. The case was reported to the Volunteers in Castlelyons district. They carried out a search of the area. They arrested two men (James Curry and James Murtagh). Both men were from Dundalk. -6- The prisoners were charged with the hold-up. They were tried by the Brigade Staff, and were found guilty. James Curry was sentenced to be deported to England, while Murtagh, who was a young lad and under Curry's influence, was detained. He was sent to work with a local farmer (Cronin, Ballinaglough, Glenville) for some time, and he was then sent home to Dundalk. Following the reprisals by the British military in the Fermoy district on the capture of General Lucas on June 26th, 1920, a party of the enemy, dressed up as civilians, were led to the house of Geoffrey Rice, Strawhall, Fermoy, by an Englishman (Longhurst) who kept a fish and chip shop in Barrack Hill, Fermoy. They bombed and burned the house.