ROINN COSANTA. 1913-21. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, STATEMENT BY WITNESS. DOCUMENT NO. Witness Seamus; Babington, 95, Main St., Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. Identity. Brigade Engineer, 3rd Tipperary Me. Subject. Activities of Carrick-on-Suir Battn., Tipperary 111. Brigade, I.R.A., 1916-22, Column & Brigade Flying 1920-21. Conditions, if any, Stipulated by Witness. Nil. S.1013. File No Form B.S.M.2 STATEMENT BY MR. SEAMUS BABINGTON, 95 Main Street, Carrick-on-Suir,, Co. Tipperary, In my primary school days in the early part of the century, I think we admired power and strength like most youngsters. The talk then was the sorrow and regret for the defeat of the Boors by the British,, and nearly everyone we listened to was singing the praises of the famous Boer generals, de Wet, etc., etc. I don't think any of my school pals in the hills of Kerry, Kilsarcon national school, Farranfore, had any great love for John Bull, though some admired his strength. Still, all the songs and music played were rebel songs. Fair days and market days were our glory, listening to the ballad singers and buying their sheet songs all the fire of Fenian nature. Sinn Féin used hold annual collections. and we admired the collectors. Otherwise, on the surface, the national spirit was low, The first world war broke out when I left school. There There divided thoughts about the all-powerful propaganda of the British poor Belgium and small nations attacked. Up to then, any man who joined the British army could never appear in uniform; he either remained away or his people sent clothes to his station, the danger being that his uniform would be stripped from him and burned; even his parents, brothers and sisters would do it before neighbours, so much was the British uniform hated, giving a true insight into the spirit of the people. I left my native parish and county in May 1915, and came as apprentice to the drapery trade in a shop owned by my uncle, James Coffey9 Carrick-on-Suir. From a rural farming area to a town is a big difference. The spirit of the people was not very different, except that about -2- eight hundred men in Carrick-on-Suir had joined the British army, many of them members of what they called the National Volunteers Redmond's army. Most of them joined from sheer necessity no industry1 no employment, the very young seventeen, eighteen and nineteen years for adventure, like all youth, very few for the sake of helping England. The national spirit seemed dead or dormant. Frequent British army recruting meetings were held, yet there was some heckling from behind big men. I gloried in this activity. The year 1915 dragged on more recruiting posters and many young men joining the British army. I spent much time buying, sorting, packing wool from local farmers. Early in the New Year, 1916, just after the Christmas holidays, I was stricken down with typhoid or typhus fever. Later my doctor discovered that I had picked up the fever from wool brought from a fever infested area at the time Aheny or Slate Quarries. I remained in my uncle's home for six weeks when I was removed to the fever hospital at Ballylynch for three months. The 1916 rebellion broke out while I was in hospital, and not a soul knew who were the leaders, or had any knowledge at all that such a glorious movement was in existence. As a matter of fact, I never heard in the previous ten months of any movement in touch with Dublin, with that purpose in view. After some fei7 days all patients were notified that, due to shortage of yeast no transport bread was unobtainable and our people would have to bring us out. The Rebellion was over in a week and food supplies came in again. I was released from hospital at end of hay and had to learn to walk again. Sympathy was with the executed men but the wealthy people were all against them, Still youngsters, on reaching the age of sixteen and seventeen, were joining the British army, and the large amount of -3- separation and family allowances coming into the town began a new type of national demoralisation. After an extensive summer and autumn holiday I regained most of my natural health and, when the New Year of 1917 dawned. I had made pals with some young Carrick men who had strong national views birds of a feather come together. One, John O'Keeffe of Castle Street or Greystone Street, pawnbroker's son, and a Paddy Power, a draper's assistant at Comerford Bald wins, later joined in with John Loughman and Tom Hickey who, with Kevin O'Higgins, student in the National University, Dublin, tore down recruiting posters in Dublin, paid £10 fine, apologised, as appeared in the papers then, and returned to Carrick. lie was admired for this act. So, chatting along in February and March, we decided to honour the 1916 men by having a High Mass, with all the priests, on the anniversary of the Rebellion, 21st April, 1917. J. O'Keeffe and I called on an who vie thought had national feelings and took what subscriptions we got. It did not reach £20 after a week's trying but it was enough. We approached the parish priest, Canon Sheehy, who certainly was not a Republican. Week after week he dodged the date this, that and the other excuse. The anniversary date had passed and we decided to force the matter with the parish priest. Tom Mickey and I were appointed to interview him personally. Hickey, who was bold and hot-tempered almost got into blows with His Reverence. The latter said he beat big blackguards in Leeds when he was there and was not afraid of us. I pointed out that the money was subscriptions from his parishioners for the first anniversary Mass for the 1916 leaders and that we intended to send it to Mount Melleray. This quietened him and he fixed a date. We put out one hundred posters in town and local villages and parishes. The day before the Mass he notified us that it would have to be held an hour earlier. We had, as best we could, -4- to re-notify all areas, for during the previous week Mickey and I called on the two convents and Christian Brothers schools. We got a great reception from the Reverend Mother (Hurley) of Carrick at the Mercy Convent, and she promised with a heart and a half to send all day, boarders to the Mass. The Presentation Convent gore non-committal and evasive, end they raised Mickey's temper, for the Reverend Mother, to waive the request, asked him bow was his mother. Don't bother about her! We came to see that the school children are let go to the Mass", and warned her to see that they were. The Christian Brothers, who are always very friendly, talkative and courteous, were like the Presentation nuns perhaps the Inspector might call, etch, but again Mickey said he wanted none of that talk. Yet I always thought that the Christian Brother at that time were as anxious as we were to honour the noble dead, but, of course9 did not want it to be known. The great day came at last. St. Nicholas' spacious church was packed like sardines, and an overflow outside. All shops and offices, etc., were closed. When Mass was over, the majority of the crowd remained outside, and youths holding Republicnn flags first time flown or seen in town were surrounded by a team of R.I.C. who made an effort to capture the flags but the large crowd closed in and they luckily withdrew. This lass was like a national tonic what the 1916 rebellion did for the nation, the High Mass did for the people of Car ick and districts. Right away, it was full time national work. Immediately we, who organised the Mass set out at once to start a branch of Sinn Féin, James Coffey, who was a good pen writer, was asked to write our appeal, and I got a bottle of red ink for it. The appeal, of which I possess a copy, was a simple worded few lines: "We the undersigned wish to join a branch of Sian Féin". -5- John James O'Keeffe and I called in the evenings to people whom we knew or thought were likely to join. Some whom we called on had spoken openly in favour of the Rebellion and Sinn Féin policy, yet a number would not put their names on the paper, but told us they were one hundred per cent. with us. However,we got. adoz. or so old men. We thought they were very old then, yet some were only thirty years. Looking over the past records of that time, I notice the following names: Maurice Mickey, Clerk of the Union, (Tom's father), Dr. Philip Murphy, Medical Hail, Thomas Lynch, Printer, Seán O'Flynn, Journalist, James O'Keeffe, Pawnbroker, John Meagher, Gardener, Thomas McGrath, Grocer1 and Brendan Dowley, Merchant. A few others were in and Out, like in all organisations, and, as ever, youth and age seldom agree. We, from the start, could not find any outlet for our youthful energy. So off again right away in the formation of the first branch in Carrick-on-Suir of what was termed the Sinn Féin Volunteers, With nothing very logical in view but the idea of doing something, Having a reputation for organisation and writing, I was again assigned to the writing of the notices, inviting those whom we thought were the right sort and would be likely to join.