1916 AND YOU 1916 AND YOU Uncovering history: how you too can use the 1916 archives

The story of our nation — and your family’s role in shaping Get your it — is just waiting to be discovered, writes Paul Melia white gloves

HERE’s no shortage of records available on at the which outline the role that ordinary people played in the Easter 1916 Rising. new Military TThey include Ireland’s military archives, some 300,000 pension records and witness statements taken by the Bureau of Military Archives History, a special project which started in 1947 to capture the recollections of those involved. THE Military Archives will In all, statements were taken from 1,773 move to a new home as part witnesses. As a lot of veterans were alive when of the Government’s 2016 the project began, information on the identity Centenary Programme. of leaders, their family members and even the New archives are under British Army officers involved is available. construction at Here, we outline ten ways to find out more Barracks in Rathmines, about your family’s history: , and are expected to be completed by the end of Gather as much information as possible the year and opened to the 1 about the person you are researching. Their public in advance of the 1916 name, age and address are very important. You commemorations. should also try and sketch a family tree, as you The project includes a new might not have just one relative involved. Setting building for the storage of out all you know at the start can help focus your archival material, which search. includes the Military Service Pensions Collection The first port of call is the 1911 Census. (1916-1923), Bureau of Military 2 Free to search online, you can use your History (1913–1921), the Maps, relative’s name and address to search. This will Plans & Drawings Collection, provide information on their occupation and Irish Army Census Collection ages, their religion and siblings. You can also (1922), images and copies learn what type of home they lived in, and if A www.militaryarchives.ie of magazines including An there were sheds or barns attached. search for Thomas Browne tOglach Magazine (1918–1933) brought up a detailed 38-page and Irish Volunteer Magazine Once you have identified your relative, document on the Mayo man, a (1914–1916). 3 you might be interested in finding out member of Óglaigh na hÉireann An adjoining building if they married or had children. The General will be refurbished to house Register Office in Dublin holds this offices, visitor facilities, information, and you can check if a record is STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FINDING OUT YOUR including a reading room held at www.irishgenealogy.ie. HISTORY USING THE MILITARY ARCHIVES Watch more online at for researchers, and a conservation laboratory to Church records are also useful, as they HERE are hundreds of thousands of A synopsis of the records is independent.ie/1916 allow for the preservation of 4 may also include additional details such as Tfiles held in the Military Archives, Q highlighted, along with the records. documents and artefacts. the names of godparents, which can help paint ranging from personal accounts to In this case, it relates to Mary Browne’s At the Military Archives, Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines: (l to r) Currently, the public can a picture of your ancestor’s friends and family records of those who received a pension application for a pension in respect Pádraic Carney, Principal, St Louis Senior Primary School; (standing) access the reading room on circles. for their service. Here is a step-by-step of her husband. It includes a report Tristan Kessopersadh, Shuting Wang, Diana Kola, Heinz Ballebar, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and guide to finding out more about your from An Garda Síochána outlining her Solomon Traynor; (seated) Caoimhe Greene, Repository Manager, Thursdays. Eight places are Check the military records, with thousands family. circumstances and material relating to her CQMS Tom Mitchell and Charlie Casey Carney. STEVE HUMPHREYS provided, but the new 5 available at www.militaryarchives.ie. daughters. building will include 16 Go to www.militaryarchives.ie. Then spaces. The first collection to check is the Military Q choose ‘collections’ on the right hand However, not everyone who played 6 Service Pensions Collection. It awarded an side of the screen, and then ‘Military Q a part in the War of Independence annual payment to those who fought but also Service Pensions Collection’. Click through sought a pension. But almost 69,000 HOW ONE WOMAN their families. But not everyone who took part until you come to a search page. received medals, including the 1916 Medal, DISCOVER Republican Brotherhood, they DISCOVER FOUGHT THE BRITISH sought a pension, most notably Eamon de Valera. honouring their service. intended for the Rising to begin — AND THEN FOUGHT TO GET HER ‘ILLOGICAL’ On this page, you can choose to search ’S in Dublin the following day, There’s also a map of all the sites where Q the entire collection, or pension The next place to look is LETTER TO SEAN T. Easter Sunday, and so needed MILITARY PENSION FOR BEING A WOMAN! 7 action took place between April 23 and applications and awards. There are also Q www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie to be in the city centre. April 29, 1916. It locates veterans and highlights records concerning members of the IRA (inset) which outlines the actions of all O’CEALLAIGH FOR The , formed SCHOOL teacher payment to a woman. their positions. Some may have been in a number and their activities, those in Cumann na veterans, including those who did not apply HIMSELF AND HIS in November 1913 and led by Margaret Skinnider In March 1925, of locations during the week. mBan, the Irish Citizen Army and for a pension. BROTHER THE NIGHT Eoin MacNeill, planned to was just 24 years old she was told her Fianna Éireann. A BEFORE THE RISING mobilise and conduct military on April 27, 1916 when application was being The Bureau of Military History, which list of veterans with This includes exercises on Easter Sunday, she led five men on a refused because the 8 covered those involved in the Rising and recognised military Q an index of N Easter Saturday, April but the IRB had other plans mission to “destroy pensions act only War of Independence, can also provide more service is also witnesses. All you have O22 1916, Patrick Pearse — instead of completing houses in Harcourt applied to “soldiers as detail on your relative’s activities during the included, which could to do is enter a name or wrote a letter to a colleague in exercises, it intended to mount Street” to stop the generally understood week. It includes personal statements and first- be the first place place. the Irish Volunteers, Sean T a rebellion. British Army from travelling into in the masculine sense”. hand accounts of the action, as well as voice to check. There are O’Ceallaigh, seeking a favour. Learning of the plans, and the city. Ms Skinnider, who spent seven recordings and pictures of sites at the centre of records for around Just make sure “Could you put my brother fearful that the Volunteers She was shot twice in the weeks in St Vincent’s Hospital the Rising. 2,600 people, which Q you narrow the and myself up tonight?” he were not sufficiently armed to shoulder, and once in the back, being treated for her wounds, will all be released search wherever asked. “It is important that take on the might of the British during the ensuing battle. But she re-applied again under the Army Some 150,000 Irishmen served in the by next Easter, with possible. For example, we should be in town. If you Army, MacNeill cancelled the was refused a military pension Pensions Act 1932-1937, which 9 British Army during World War 1, some of more than 13,000 files ‘Michael Collins’ cannot, can you get some military exercises, saying for her service — because she was had changed the criteria by whom were involved in fighting the rebels. Their already published. returns 1,292 results, friend to do it? Please let me the Volunteers had been a woman. which pensions were awarded. military records can be found through so try and have as much detail as possible know by bearer.” “completely deceived”. Born to Irish parents in Then, she wrote that she www.ancestry.co.uk. If you choose to search the pension to get better-quality results. The note was sent from St On April 23, Easter Sunday, Scotland in 1893, she served at was unable to write on the Q applications and awards, the more Enda’s in Rathfarnham, the leaders met in Dublin and Liberty Hall, Harcourt Street, St blackboard for any length of Files of the Dublin Metropolitan Police detail you provide, the better. Another valuable resource is the school founded by Pearse insisted that the Rising went Stephen’s Green and the GPO. time, or to do work involving 10 are also being released through the Q Easter 1916 Applicants at Action sites, which was almost 10kms ahead, which happened the But records held by the her right arm. A member of the National Archives, which outline the secret If you type in ‘Browne’ as the surname, also on the website. This highlights each outside of Dublin. following day, Easter Monday. Military Archives show that her Irish Citizen Army and Cumann surveillance carried out by police forces against Q 13 results are returned. If you are part of the country where events took place, The pair needed As a result of MacNeill’s claim under the Army Pensions na mBan, she was awarded a what it called “extremists”. Some 230 people are specifically seeking Thomas Browne, from involving 2,400 people. accommodation because order, the Rising was almost Act 1923 was refused because it pension in November 1937, and mentioned in dispatches. Mayo, a single record is returned. PAUL MELIA as members of the Irish entirely confined to Dublin. would be “illogical” to make a died in October 1971.

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St Louis Senior DISCOVER WHERE TO GET WORLD Primary WAR ONE RECORDS School AS many as 150,000 Irishmen pupils Tristan HOW YOUR fought for the British Army in Kessopersadh ANCESTORS LIVED World War One, and there is a and Shuting Grandad was a revolutionary! The National Archives of range of records available, some Wang taking Ireland holds the censuses of which are available for free. a closer look of 1911 and 1901. They are They include the services at a statue available free of charge records held in the UK, which of an Irish and Barry Andrews talk to John Meagher to search at www.census. include information about a Volunteer at nationalarchives.ie along with soldier’s military service from the Military some records from 1821 to 1851. when they enlisted to their Archives You need basic details to about their grandfather, Todd Andrews discharge or death. It also search, including a name and includes the name, age, place of STEVE HUMPHREYS area where your ancestor lived. birth, occupation on enlistment, The more detail the better. marital status, physical If you look for ‘Murphy’ description, medical history and more than 55,000 forms are awards. available. If you include the The records can be accessed What is the 1916 county ‘Leitrim’, it reduces to for free in person at the UK 309. If you only look for women, National Archives in Surrey. it drops to 152. If you include A joint project between the Family Tree Project? Manorhamilton, it falls to National Archives and seven. www.ancestry.co.uk includes all A KEY strand of the ‘Ireland census, military archives and Lots of detail is available, 2.75 million surviving records, 2016: Centenary Programme’ church and civil records. including the name, age, sex, which can be searched online is the 1916 Ancestry Project, The project also aims for religion, occupation, marital for a fee. which aims to encourage all pupils to engage with local status, county or country A voluntary project to list primary and post-primary pupils historical societies which can of birth of the head of the Ireland’s veterans is also at to trace their family tree back to be a rich source of information. household. Also mentioned is www.worldwar1veterans.com, 1916. In addition, there is also whether people could read and and memorial records listing There are lots of resources information available about the write, speak Irish or if they those who died can be found available, some of which are free. 150,000 men who fought for the suffered from a disability. through the Commonwealth They include the 1901 and 1911 British Army in World War 1. War Graves Commission at www.cwgc.org. Some 9,000 wills left by DISCOVER and Church of Ireland dioceses Births, Marriages and Deaths are soldiers can also be found in Kerry and parts of Cork, available at the General Register at http://soldierswills. CHURCH AND Dublin and Carlow. Office in Dublin. But registration nationalarchives.ie. COUNTY ARCHIVES For baptisms, the name of the only became compulsory in child, parents and godparents 1864 for Catholic marriages, CHURCH and civil records are is recorded, along with the and as many as 15pc of these also a useful tool to help trace family address. Marriage events were not recorded in your family history, as they records often include the the early years, meaning some contain details of births, deaths names of the spouse’s parents information is missing. and marriages. and occupations. Not all are You can obtain the Index Some church records are now available online, so your local online, which allows you to see available to search free of charge church or library is a good start if a family member’s certificate at www.irishgenealogy.ie, when searching. is available, and obtain a including records for Catholic The official State records of photocopy for €4.

Politicians and 1916: Our relatives plotted the Rising Watch more online at on his independent.ie/1916 father, Edward Byrne WATCH Ryan Tubridy talk about his MANY Irish men were fighting on family tree and the extrordinary life of his the side of the British army in the grandfather Christopher Stephen “Todd” Great War when the Andrews in a special video to accompany this broke out, including the father of Barry Andrews (left) with a supplement. See it at independent.ie/1916 along veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne. picture of his grandfather Todd with other great images and video clips including “My father signed up [for the army] Andrews and Eamon de Valera, a visit to the Military Archives in Dublin. in 1913 as much for adventure as while Ryan Tubridy holds a anything else,” he recalls. picture of Todd Andrews. Like many Irishmen who served STEVE HUMPHREYS in the trenches, Edward Byrne did Nora Owen Eamon Sean not like to talk about what he had on her O’Cuiv Haughey seen. “But he spoke to me about it grand-uncle, on his on his YAN TUBRIDY does not have reminders of it all around from and was shot at [during the Ryan Tubridy’s first cousin, played in the early years of the died, but I remember him well. once,” his son says. “I was sitting Michael Collins grandfather, grandfather, mince his words when us, and the buildings of O’Connell War of Independence].” the former Fianna Fáil TD Barry State. “He was a dyed-in-the-wool Once, as for a laugh, when I was at home writing a school essay and “MICHAEL Collins Eamon de Valera Sean Lemass R asked why it is that some Street resonate with history.” His other grandfather, Sean Andrews, is also captivated by Republican, right up until the day in London, I sent him a postcard my father asked what it was about was 26 in 1916 and had “HE’S portrayed as this FORMER school students say they don’t like His grandfather on his Tubridy, also fought for Irish 1916 and the role Todd Andrews he died,” he recalls. “I had begun with a photo of the Queen on it.” and I said, ‘War’, and he picked returned from England where he very serious, sombre man but he Sean Lemass was just 17 when he history. “They think they don’t mother’s side, Christopher freedom, and Tubridy learnt a lot (also, of course, his grandfather) my first year at UCD when he Andrews studied history it up and said, ‘This isn’t what it had been living. He was maturing was a very lively raconteur with a saw action in the GPO in Dublin like history,” the Late Late Show Stephen “Todd” Andrews, was about him when he took part in at college and went on to be a was like at all’ and he proceeded as a man and as a leader and great sense of humour. in 1916 and his grandson, Sean is host says, “but often it’s because taught by Patrick Pearse at St the TV show, Who Do You Think SIMPLE FAMILY TREES ARE EASY TO BUILD... history teacher before entering to tell me about the horrors of the those qualities would be very “During the Rising, de Valera proud of his involvement in the they don’t have a history teacher Enda’s School in Rathfarnham, You Are? public life (he is now the chief trenches. much in evidence years later was stationed where Pearse Street Rising. who truly engages them, someone Dublin. He used to recall coming “Like my mother’s father, he SEAN TODD executive of the GOAL charity). “Rats were everywhere so during the War of Independence. station is now. He was exhausted “He very rarely talked about who makes the past come alive.” home one day to find Pearse in was on the Anti-Treaty side. I “The beauty of history is that the men tried to keep their “I always knew we were related and he spotted an idle train his part in the Rising,” the former The broadcaster has long been the parlour of his parents house learned a lot about my family TUBRIDY ANDREWS it’s never black and white and sandwiches safe from them by to him but it was only in my late carriage nearby and managed to Fianna Fáil TD says. taken by history, especially those discussing school fees. tree and I think one of the most 1916, in particular, is rich with storing them in their pockets. But teens when my mother started to get in for a sleep. When he woke “He was of that generation who seismic years between 1913 and Todd Andrews was just 15 invaluable things you can ever complexity. For a long time, the rats got clever, and my father talk to me about him. up, he thought he had died and didn’t share every facet of their 1923 when the country’s fortunes when the Rising happened and do is to find out about your own the history taught in schools would wake up after a few hours’ “His death had been too gone to heaven because he saw lives with others. The various changed forever and he believes although he would play no active family tree and get a sense of PATRICK CATHERINE DAVID didn’t look at all sides but it does sleep and find a rat in his pocket painful for her. She was 10 at cherubs in the sky. archives really give a sense of the the events of Easter 1916 were part in that conflict, he would those relations of yours who have TUBRIDY ANDREWS ANDREWS now and today’s students are eating his food. I remember the time and she had seen him “What he actually saw were role he played that Easter.” pivotal. fight in the War of Independence gone before.” fortunate for that.” my mother coming home from shortly before his assassination. cherubs in the ceiling of the Sean Haughey was 10 when “The importance of the Rising and for the Anti-Treaty side With the centenary of 1916 Meanwhile, Ryan Tubridy, shopping, and he stopped talking He went to hug her and she carriage, which had been used for his grandfather died. “I’ve vivid cannot be overstated and I would in the Civil War. “There’s a almost upon us, now is an who is making a television immediately.” remembered saying to him that a Royal visit. Years later, when he memories of his comrades from urge everyone, young and old, to window above the Burger King in excellent time, he reasons, for RYAN BARRY documentary on 1916, says the Years later, Gay Byrne made a she was too old for hugs. He was President, he would travel in 1916 lining O’Connell Street for learn as much as possible about O’Connell Street and that’s where school students to investigate ANDREWS Rising should be celebrated “with documentary on Edward called meant an awful lot to her.” this carriage.” his funeral.” it. Those of us who live in Dublin my grandfather was shooting their families’ pasts. TUBRIDY pride and dignity”. Father’s War.

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