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ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21. STATEMENT BY WITNESS. 1417 DOCUMENT NO. W.S. Witness Martin Ryan, Kilcroan, Kilsallagh, Castlerea, Co. Galway. Identity. Battalion Vice-Commandant. Subject. Activities of Ballymoe Company, Glenamaddy Battalion, North Galway Brigade, 1917-1921. Conditions, if any, Stipulated by Witness. Nil. File No S.2749. Form B.S.M.2 STATEMENT BY MR. MARTIN RYAN Kilcroan, Kilsallagh, Castlerea, Co. Galway. I was born in the month of June 1889, at Kilcroan, Kilsallagh, Castlerea, Co. Galway, and educated at Kilcroan National School until I reached the age of about 15 years. I attended the same school during winter months for a few years afterwards. My first association with the Irish Volunteers was in the year 1917. I cannot be more exact with regard to the date. The place was Roscommon town. I remember that I got an invitation to attend a meeting there called for the purpose of reorganising the Volunteers. Accompanied by John Harte from my own locality and Owen O'Neill and Michael Hurley from the Glynsk area, I attended the meeting which on a was held Sunday in a hall in the town. The organisers, as far as I remember; were either Dublin men or they came to the meeting from Dublin. I remember distinctly that there was a force of about 20 R.I.C. outside the hall while the meeting was in progress. They did not interfere with us during or after the meeting, but of course they would know us again. The Ballymoe company was formed soon after, and I became a member of it. It then belonged to Castlerea Battalion. I remember that at this time Ernie O'Malley was organising the Volunteers in South Roscommon and that I attended an officers' training class which he held at South Park, between Castlerea and Ballymoe. It lasted about a fortnight and I picked up a good deal of drill and some useful hints on the use of cover and other things which I now forget. I remember hearing that shots were exchanged at this time 2. (1917) in the village of Ballymoe, between O'Malley Ernie and three R.I.C. men. O'Malley himself told of the me incident. It was on an occasion when I had the Balllymoe and Glynsk companies mobilised near the Parish Church at Glynsk for O'Malley to come and give them some drill exercises. He told me he was on his way from South Roscommon to do so and that in passing through the village of Ballymoe he was ordered by three R.I.C. men to halt and put his hands up. He left down his bicycle and drew a revolver. The three R.I.C., who had their rifles slung on their shoulders, ran and took cover. He fired in order to scatter them and get away. He could have killed them had he wanted to ho so. He left his bicycle and got into a wood. They Several fired rounds at him when out of range of his revolver. One of the three, named McHugh, was very anxious to hit him. O'Malley eventually got away, but did not come to Glynsk that night. When Ireferred to the officers' training class held by Ernie O'Malley, I should have mentioned that part of my own training as an officer was the drilling of two companies (roughly about 100 men) in the village of Ballymoe, right opposite the entrance to the R.I.C. Barrack, under the supervision of O'Malley. I was nervous in case I would make a mistake in the words of command, but O'Malley stood by my side and prompted me when he thought I needed the prompt. I marched the men past the R.I.C. Barrack, gave them 'about turn', halted them outside the barrack door, them 'left gave or right turn, form fours, re-form two deep, or right le9t turn again, quick march' and repeated it all with three R.I.C. constables and a sergeant looking on. I remember that O'Malle told me to ignore them completely, which I did. The sergeant did not ignore me. When he got the chance he spoke to me, pointing out that I was violating the law and that it was a 3. serious matter. Again, O'Malley told me not to mind him and I carried on with the work. I remember very on some clearly of these occasions in Ballymoe that Jack Brennan, O/C. of the South Roscommon Brigade, sang "The Peeler and the Goat" for the benefir of the R.I.C. I shall never forget his imitation of the goat. He had a good voice and the song re-echoed through -out the woods. He wore uniform at the time 1917 I would say. About this time we had many hand-to-hand fights with the R.I.C. in Ballymoe, and sometimes we pelted them with stones. I remember one night I was returning from O'Malley's Class at Southpark when I was held up by three R.I.C. near Ballymoe. I was on a bicycle and, just after I had passed them, they ordered me to halt. They were standing on the roadside with their rifles slung by their straps over their shoulders. I dismounted from the bicycle and pulled a I kept revolver. them covered, but did not speak. They made no whatever move and when I saw that they did not intend to do so, mounted my bicycle and cycled home. I would say that they were a bit 'windy' from the time O'Malley fired on them. I cannot be sure of the date, but I think it was early in 1918 that Kilcroan company, which afterwards became D/Coy. of the 2nd (Glenamaddy) Battalion, Tuam or North Galway Brigade was first formed. The organising work was done by Colm O'Gaora a native of Connemara. The strength was about 40 and the company officers were:- Captain, John Hanly; 1st Lieutenant, John Burke; 2nd Lieutenant, Michael O'Brien. Colm O'Gaora organised the Glenamaddy Battalion which consisted of the following companies Kilcroan, with John Hanly captain all the time to the Truce. It was sometimes known as he Ballymoe Company. 4. Glenamaddy Captain Frank Mahon to some time in 1920. Patrick Treacy from then to the Truce. Kilkerrin Captain Brian Cunniffe all the time. Kilbegnet Captain John McDonagh do. Glynsk Captain Thomas Burke do. Williamstown Captain Patrick Noonan do. Polredmond Captain John Glennon do. Kiltevna Captain Roger Rabbitte do. Dunmore Michael Ronan to early l92O. Thomas Mannion from then to Truce. Clonbern Captain John Mahon all the time. The battalion staff were:- Commandant, James Moloney; Vice-Commandant, Martin Ryan (myself); Patrick Adjutant, Treacy and Martin Mannion. I cannot recall dates. the Q.M., John Knight; Medical Officer, Dr. Dunmore; Mangan, Police Officer and I.O., Thomas Concannon; Dentist; Liam Moran, Dunmore. Brigade staff were:- Commandants Michael Moran to his death in 1920; Con Fogarty to January or February 1921; Patrick Dunleavy from then to the Truce. Vice Commandant none. Adjutant, Thomas Tarmey; Quartermaster, Patrick Conway; Engineer Michael Joseph Ryan. In the years 1917 and 1918 a good deal of organizing work was done in the battalion area. Dispatch routes were especially organised. Arrangements were made for dispatches to Dublin through a guard of a train. He brought dispatches to Dublin from Dunamon railway station when the time came for such work, and continued to do so up to the Truce. An odd time we found a Volunteer who had ,some of 'drilling experience and made good use of the experience. For example, Volunteer John Harte had been in the R.I.C. and resigned from that force. He was a very good instructor. 5. There was a very strong Sinn Fein Club in the parish of Kilcroan. Almost every adult in the parish was a member. I was one of two The chairman was its secretaries. Thomas Keaveney, long since deceased. Meetings of the Club were held in the house of Bernard Mitchell of Ballyglass. The people of the parish were almost one hundred per cent in favour of the Sinn Fein candidate Dr. Brian Cusack in the General Election of 1918. I myself was one of the organisers of Sinn Fein in the Kilcroan and Ballymoe area. The task was easy as the great majority of the people were in our favour. It was easy to organise them and they did everything asked of them I think it was in 1919 thatarms, shotguns mainly, were collected from their owners. Host people gave them cheerfully to the Volunteers. The job was done by each company captain in his own area. We got word from friendly people that the R.I.C.. were about to collect their guns and the Volunteers moved in the matter before the R.I.C., who scarcely collected a gun in the battalion area. Company officers had orders to get the guns by peaceful means and to be courteous to the people. I was a marked man by the R.I.C. from 1917, but it was not until 1919 that they started raiding my house to arrest me. I went every Sunday to Mass in Ballymoe, armed with a revolver. Fr. Peter advised not Donnellan, Ballymoe, me to go Mass. In spite of this advice I continued to go until one Sunday in 1919 the date of which I cannot remember. On that Sunday, when I was about to leave the church after Mass, one of altar boys he told me that Fr.

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