Category: Army

Categories
20th Century Celbridge Army Memories of Celbridge Military History People of Celbridge Scoil na Mainistreach World War I

A Man for Others: Captain Hubert Michael O’Connor, 1887-1917.

Introduction

As the History Squad of 2016 we have decided to tell the story of a local man called Hubert Michael O’Connor. In preparing our school to accept our National Flag we asked pupils to bring in to school any information they might have on relatives who took part in the
Easter Rising of 1916. We first read the name ‘Hubert Michael O’Connor’ in a witness statement of Col. Padraig O’Conchubhair.  Mr. O’ Conchubhair said that he joined the Volunteers in Celbridge where Hubert O’Connor was one of its leading officers. We believe
that Hubert’s life story should be told and his memory kept alive. In researching his story we learned much about the past and came across many questions which we tried to answer. Why would a Volunteer who was in charge of 200 men join the British Army and fight against Germany? Was Hubert O Connor ‘a man for others’? What was it like for Hubert on August 16th 1917, the day he was severely wounded in WW1? Why is very little known about him by the people of Celbridge, his home town?

The Early Years

Hubert was born in Jan. 1887 in a house called The Grove, in Celbridge. This white building still stands and is surrounded by a large housing estate called ‘The Grove.’ His
father Charles was born in Limerick and his mother Marion was from Meath. Charles was a Medical Doctor. The family were Roman Catholic, could all read and write, spoke English and according to the 1901 Census had a female servant called Mary Cuite. Between 1903 and1908, a total of 19 orphans were admitted to the Abbey National School which was situated on the bank of the Liffey, just opposite Hubert’s home. Dublin city, at the beginning of the 20th century, had the largest slums in all of Europe. Orphans came to Celbridge and were looked after locally by families paid to do so. The population of the village stood at 811 in the 1901 census. When Hubert was four years old there was a huge celebration up at the big
house Castletown. Thomas Connolly had ‘Come of age’ and there was a huge party with fireworks and bonfires. Celbridge was a small village with both poor and rich living side by side. There is no evidence that Hubert went to the local Primary School the Abbey but we do know that when he reached 11 years of age he entered Clongowes College, Clane. This was to have a huge affect on his life and beliefs.

Life at Clongowes 1898-1904.

As part of our research, we visited Clongowes College on Feb.4th 2016. There we met Margaret Doyle, History Archivist. She told us about the College, WW1 and Hubert O’Connor. The College, founded by the Jesuits, opened to students in 1814. It is one of
Ireland’s oldest Catholic schools. Hubert, affectionately known as Hugh, started in Clongowes aged 11. His father, Dr. Charles, was the Medical Adviser to the College and also to the girl’s Collegiate College in Celbridge. By this time the family had grown. Hubert now had a younger sister Helen and two brothers Francis and Carl. Hugh was to study at Clongowes and become a vibrant part of its community during the next six years. His fellow students described him as popular, good at rugby and cricket and kind. The whole belief of the Jesuits was to educate a young boy into becoming ‘A Man for Others’. Looking at this boy’s younger life it is clear to see he was on the path to becoming just such a man. Headmaster, Fr. Tomkin wrote, ‘He imbued the school ethos that ‘the highest duty of a gentleman was in every circumstance of life to play the game’.

When Hugh was 15, an important meeting of 3,000 people took place in Celbridge. Patrick Pearse spoke, encouraging all present to learn how to speak the Irish language and urged them to support Irish industries. Dr. O’ Connor, Hugh’s father was elected vice president of the Celbridge Branch of the Gaelic League. Hugh must have been very proud of his Dad. We see that his sister went on to learn how to speak Irish. Did this influence him in joining the Volunteers?

Ms. Doyle told us that John Redmond was a student of Clongowes also. Did this man influence Hugh in future decisions? Like our local man Mr. Redmond went on to attend Trinity College. Mr. Redmond believed Ireland had a right to self-government. He thought that if Irish men joined the British army to fight for Catholic Belgium against the Germans, then when the war was over we would gain Home Rule. Hugh enrolled in Trinity College
when he was seventeen and studied to become a Barrister. He then became part of the Leinster Circuit. Like Mr. Redmond he was interested in politics. Hubert Michael O’Connor contested the East Limerick election in 1910, aged 23 as an Independent Nationalist. He was unsuccessful.

The Irish Volunteers were founded in 1913 in answer to the Ulster Volunteer Force. The U.V.F. did not want Home Rule which John Redmond managed to get passed in the House of Commons in 1912. Hugh was a leading member of the Volunteers in Celbridge which numbered about 200 men. He took part in the Howth gun run and the Kilcoole gun run. About twenty-five rifles and ammunition were taken to Celbridge. The Celbridge Volunteers paraded at Bodenstown where Pearse made his famous address.

With the outbreak of war, Hugh decided to follow the urgings of John Redmond to join up and fight with the hope of gaining Home Rule. The Volunteers were split with the bulk going ‘Redmondite’. Hugh, who was responsible for the rifles and ammunition handed these over to Art O’Connor, who lived in Elm Hall, Celbridge. Hugh enlisted through Trinity College with the Officers Training Corps. The provost of Trinity said he was of fine moral character. He joined the King’s Light Shropshire Infantry, 6th Battalion in Sept. 1914 and was made Captain in 1915. The men were to fight alongside the 60th Division and landed in Boulogne on 22nd July 1915. They served entirely on the western Front. Celbridge had 200 men fighting at the front in 1915 which was a considerably large
part of the male population.

Life at the front consisted of trenches, wire defences and mined dugouts. Conditions never witnessed before existed here. The smells, the mud and the lice made life very difficult. A new type of warfare called ‘siege warfare’ was used. This meant bombard the
enemy trenches first, then charge ‘over the top’. Success was counted in gains of yards rather than miles. In July 1916, at the start of the battle of the Somme, Hugh trained and led a successful raid into the enemy’s trenches. This would have been a terrifying ordeal with hand to hand combat. After the withdrawal he went out into no-man’s-land under heavy gunfire to bring in wounded men. For this gallant action he was awarded the MC for conspicuous bravery. This was written about in the Supplement to The London Gazette, 19th of Augugust 1916. This remarkable action shows his loyalty to his men.

The following year saw Hugh involved with his 6th Battalion in what was to become a slaughter of almost half a million men. This was ‘The Third Battle of Ypres’ or Passchendaele. Conditions led soldiers to call this ‘Hell on earth’. The battle of Langemark
took place on the 16th and 17th of Aug. 1917. It was the second in a list of eight battles. Two days before, the rain poured down for hours. The whole area was a quagmire of mud and broken trees. Corpses lay scattered in the thick Flanders mud. Conditions were so bad that horses and men simply disappeared into water filled craters. On the morning of the 16th fog and battle smoke filled the air and made it hard to see the German troops. Fighting would be
fierce. The 6th Batt. were to attack the village from the right. Hugh, according to his Colonel was in good spirits urging his men forward. They gained their objective and Hugh was organising his men when he was shot in the groin. As he was being carried back to the rear on a stretcher he was hit on the leg. All he wanted to know was how his officers and men were doing. The next day he received the Last Sacraments and died of his wounds. His Col. said he was not in much pain and died peacefully. In his belongings was his pipe cleaner so we know he smoked. He had a rosary, crucifixes and medallions so he must have been religious. He left £157 to his mother and £4 to his soldier servant Pte. Cornelius. He is buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, West Flanders, Belgium.
At the start of this essay we asked was Hubert O’Connor ‘A Man for Others’? We believe everything about him shows he was. Playing cricket and rugby in Clongowes, dragging in wounded men from the battle-field, checking were his men all right even as he was dying and finally thinking of his servant in his will are proof of this.
His death had an impact on his family and we are told ‘It would be an exceptionally heavy blow’ for his father. His friends would not forget him. His name is on the Roll of Honour in Trinity, in Clongowes and in the Four Courts. However Ireland was a changed
country after the war and its people were too busy fighting for Independence to mourn such vast numbers of dead. In time he was forgotten among the 310,000 casualties of Ypres. The search for his past was like looking for a needle in a haystack, but we have told his story and will remember him.

“So here while the mad guns curse overhead and tired men sigh with mud for couch and floor
Know that we fools now with the foolish dead
Died not for flag, nor King nor Emperor But for a dream, born in a herdsman’s shed
And for the secret scripture of the poor.”
By Tom Kettle 1880-1916,
(fellow Volunteer, Barrister and Redmondite).

 

 

Bibliography
Primary Sources:
The Clongownian, 1917 and 1918.
The Kildare Observer,1902.
The London Gazette, Aug. 1916.
Bureau of Military History 1913-21. File S-182.
Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911.
Military Award Records of H.M.O’Connor, Kew, England.
Secondary Sources:
On The One Road, James Durney, Leinster Leader, 2001.
Wigs and Guns, Anthony P. Quinn, Four Courts Press, 2006.
www.scoilnet.ie
www.nationalarchives.ie
http://www.cwgc.org/
www.bbc.co.uk/history

Categories
Army Castletown Memories of Celbridge Military History People of Celbridge Scoil na Mainistreach

Celbridge Roll of Honour

Celbridge Roll of Honour

By Scoil na Mainistreach History Squad.

We decided to base our essay on the men from Celbridge who fought in the Great War. We started by looking at the list of 29 known dead compiled by historian Fionnuala Walshe. (1) We also looked at the Roll of Honour in Christ Church, Celbridge.

We then began to look for some of these men on the Census, in the Kildare Observer archive and on our old roll books. We were amazed to find ten of the dead in our roll books! This then lead us to ask more questions. How many men from Celbridge actually fought? Had many families sent more than one man? What backgrounds did they have? What made them go in the first place? We decided to compile our own Roll of Honour. We also wanted to find out as much about these men as we could and make sure they were not forgotten.

This is the story of our Celbridge Roll of Honour.

 

Recruitment in Celbridge

According to newspaper reports, between 200 and 290 men from Celbridge went to fight in World War 1.(2)

They fought for many different reasons. We saw from the census that many of the men were labourers and we thought they went to earn money; this was called taking The King’s Shilling. Many hoped they would be rewarded with Home Rule. Maybe some went because their friends were going and it would be an adventure which would be over by Christmas! Politicians were encouraging them to go and there was a big recruitment campaign (3)

Many enlisted because they were loyal to the U.K. Colonel Claude Cane said:

“Celbridge, I am proud to say, has as good a record as any place of its size in the Kingdom.” (4)

 

The Dease Family was a wealthy, powerful, Catholic family. Sir Gerald Dease was Chamberlain to the Lord Lieutenant. He was married to Emily Dease (Throckmorton). We think he was a kind and caring man. Once he had a party to celebrate his son William’s marriage. Gerald invited everyone in Celbridge rich or poor it did not matter.

The family was respected around the small village of Celbridge. There is a cross outside the Celbridge church which remembers his death.  Emily and Gerald lived in Celbridge Abbey. When Gerald died she then moved in with her son William to The Cottage, Celbridge. The cottage was more like a mansion than a cottage! She died on the 2/12/1929 aged 87. (5)

We became very interested in Gerald and Emily’s son William Dease. We discovered many Celbridge men followed Major Dease to War. He married  Gertrude Lascelles.(6) Gertrude wrote a letter, in 1915, to The Irish Times and told them that 87 men from Celbridge had enlisted as remounts following her husband Major William Dease.  

She told them that the men, who were promised money to support mothers and smaller brothers or sisters, weren’t getting anything like they expected and on some occasions even nothing! She also said that it was very tough for the families to live with their sons gone fighting in the war. (7)

 

We thought it was amazing that 87 men from the tiny village of Celbridge had followed Major Dease! We wondered was it loyalty to the Dease family that made them go. When reading the letter we thought Gertrude felt responsible for the men.

Maybe they were impressed by William’s cousin Maurice Dease who was the first person ever to be awarded the Victoria Cross in WW1. (8)

William’s brother Arthur Joseph Dease was born in Celbridge in 1871. He was a volunteer ambulance driver and awarded a French Croix de Guerre in 1918. Arthur’s Letters is a website that has letters Arthur sent to his Mother during the war.  These letters tell us a lot about life in the war and also how the men felt about fighting.

 

We noticed that Arthur didn’t really like the Home Rule idea!

He also mentioned multiple times that he was going to meet his brother William in Boulogne. Boulogne was where the Remounts were based. There was also a letter written by Arthur which in summary says that William got a kick in the face by a mule!

(9)

The Remounts worked with horses in World War l. They groomed them, they fed them and they selected and trained the horses. (10)

We felt Celbridge lads would be ideal for the Remounts because Kildare is renowned for its horses and horsemen.

 

 Family Sacrifice

(11)

We discovered many other local families who suffered greatly. Three brothers Edward, Patrick and Thomas Dempsey went to the Great War and none of them came back alive. The Dempseys were a very poor family from Long Lane.

Census records indicate their father Edward could not read or write and neither could his wife Ellen. There were 10 children in the family originally but only 8 survived by 1911. The brothers may have enlisted because they thought their mother would have got the allowances. They were farm labourers and able to read and write.(12)

(13)

 

The Dempsey lads went to our school. We found them on our old roll books.

(14)

 

Local historian Georgie Bagnall got in touch with the descendents of the Dempsey family and showed us photos, letters, documents and cards belonging to the men.

 

 

 

 

The letter is sad because Edward is explaining to his Mam that he couldn’t find out where his brother Thomas was.

 

 

 

Here we see Edward’s family looking for the money owed after his death.

 O’Connor Family

Captain Hubert O’Connor went to fight in the Great War, he also had a brother, Frank, who was in the Belgian army service and a sister who was a Red Cross Nurse.

His family were obviously quite wealthy as he entered Trinity to study law. If he had pursued the profession of law he would have made his mark. He was later associated with the National Volunteers, and probably thought that loyalty would result in Home Rule. He was made an Officer in the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. He was awarded a Military cross for Bravery in the Field. He was then promoted Captain and was on leave at home. He went back and shortly after died in action in Ypres (15)

(16)

  Coincidental meeting of Celbridge Men

An article entitled “A Soldier Family” was published in the Kildare Observer. It said Thomas Connell was injured from shrapnel wounds on his body. He was treated in a hospital in Paris and was treated by Frank O’Connor brother of Captain Hubert O’Connor.(17)

5 or 6 Connell brothers from Celbridge fought! Their father worked in  Celbridge Mill.

(18)

 

Another article tells Sergeant Richard Connell’s thrilling experience in the trenches

(19) 

 The Magan Family.

The Magans were a Protestant family who lived in Castletown.

They were an educated family, they could all read and write. The dad, William could also speak Irish and English.(20)

They were working for Major Connolly of Castletown. Frederick was Major Connolly’s groom. He joined the army and was assigned to the King’s Royal Irish Hussars as a private.(21)

His dad William and his brother Alfred also fought in the Great War. His brother, George, for some reason did not enlist. George was an amazing athlete. He was a famous GAA star and played in the all Ireland final for Kildare and they won! He later went on to be a Garda. We thought this was unusual considering his background.(22)

Frederick died in training and had a huge Military funeral in Celbridge.

His remains were brought from Dublin on a gun carriage covered with a Union Jack. The service was held in Christchurch then his remains were placed back on the gun carriage and brought to Donaghcumper and still lies there today. (23)

 

We came across the sad story of the Buckleys, their mother lost two sons and was left penniless and blind.

  (24)

The Abels sent 3 brothers John, William and George. John served in the R.A.M.C (Royal Army Medical Corps). William served in the R.W.F (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), George served in the R.M.F (Royal Munster Fusiliers). Their Dad was a grocer in Main Street. William was killed 13/11/1916 and George 22/3/18 aged 19. (25)

An Irish Airman

Charles Sheridan was born in Celbridge on 18th/1/ 1900, one of 12 children. We found his brothers on our roll book. His father was a cobbler. They lived at 35 Main Street but later on they moved to Drumcondra. (27) On the 14/7/18 he enlisted in the RFC and he worked as an Air Mechanic until the end of the war. He reenlisted on 17/2/19. He worked as an experimental pilot in Mendlesham Health Airfield. On the 16/8/1921 his aircraft crashed killing him and the pilot instantly. Charles is buried in Tea Lane Graveyard, walking distance from our school. Charles got a military funeral because he was in the air force and people who died before 1921 and who were in the First World War got a military burial (28)

We noticed that a huge slab was covering his grave. We wondered if his family were afraid that people who opposed British rule would interfere with his grave.

 Christ Church

Christ Church (Church of Ireland) is just inside the gates of Castletown. It has a handwritten and a printed Roll of Honour of all the men from that parish that fought in the Great War.  It also has a stone Celtic cross remembering those who died. The names range from ordinary working men like the Abels and  Magans, to  some of the richest like Maurice Cane of Wolstans. The Reverend of Christchurch at the time was J.W. Crozier. He himself went as the chaplain of the 10th Irish Division and fortunately survived. (29)

John Shaw’s grandsons still live in Celbridge. They let us see John’s medals and buttons and hat-badge. We could tell from the Star medal John was a Gunner in the R.G.A. 1914-1915. He also had a compass ring, we’d never seen one before! We discovered that John played for Meath in The Croke Cup! His grandsons are very involved in Celbridge GAA.

 The Big Houses were well represented by their owners and staff. We wrote about Major Conolly and his groom earlier

Wolstan’s was owned by Colonel Claude Cane .When the war started, being a veteran, he wanted to join up. Sadly, he couldn’t as he was too old.(30)

His son Maurice was born in 1882. He went to Eton and Oxfo

rd. Nowadays the Royals would go to Eton! This shows how rich his family were. His family also owned all the land around St. Wolstan’s and the massive house itself. He enlisted in the Canadian Naval Volunteers and then his Father’s old regiment.

Maurice was a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Field Artillery. He was killed firing a machine gun in Flanders 1917. He was married and had one child.(31) There is a beautiful stained glass window in the church in Castletown dedicated to him, paid for by his father.

 

According to our research we think that Maurice Cane went to war not for the money but because he was part of a military family. We think that the family were loyal to the Crown and wanted to help them in any way possible.

We noticed that Hubert. J O’Connor was also killed in the 3rd battle of Ypres within a week of Maurice Cane, we wondered if they were friends.

The third battle of Ypres took place in 1917. It was known as Passchendale. It began with huge guns shelling German lines. Over 4 and a half million shells were fired. After 2 weeks the shelling stopped and the Allies moved in on the 31st July. The Germans soon counter-attacked. Shells and machine guns were fired at them. To make it worse it started raining. The battle lasted 10 weeks! In November the Allies finally controlled Ypres. (32)

Killadoon is owned by the Clements family. There were two representatives from the family, Henry T.W. and Henry Theophilus. Henry served in India and on the Western Front. He got frostbite and a wounded leg and finished the war as a Colonel. His son Henry Theophilus saw action in France and again in World War 2. They fought with the Royal Field Artillery.(33) The Clements family still live in Killadoon to this day.

 

Pickering was owned by Lt. Brooke who died Oct. 7th 1914 from wounds while fighting for the Expeditionary Forces. (34)

 

Richard Maunsell

During our field trip we went to Oakley Park where Richard Maunsell lived. He went to Trinity College and became a barrister.

He enlisted in 1915 as a lieutenant in Kitchener’s Army and in 1917 was awarded an OBE. (35)

His wife Molly was a cousin of William Orpen who was an Official War Artist.

 

 

(36)

 

 Donaghcumper was owned by the Kirkpatrick’s, a very wealthy family. Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick  was born  3/2/ 1897 He left school to enlist and was a lieutenant in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He got very badly wounded. He was awarded a Belgian Croix De Guerre He was a Spymaster later in the war and became a high ranking diplomat. We thought he really looked like a spy! We visited his family grave; they were all in the military some way. He died in Celbridge in 1964 and is buried in Donaghcumper.(37)

We were amazed that so many people had joined up from a small village with a population of around 1500. We were also amazed that so many families sent more than one man. We feel like we got to know these men and their families. These men came from different backgrounds rich to poor, Catholic to Protestant and Private to Colonel. We found it a lot easier to find information about the rich and powerful than the poor. We think poorer people went for the money and richer people for political reasons. We hope that this essay and our Roll of Honour will help us remember all the men from Celbridge who fought in The Great War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(38)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography and References

  1. The impact of the First World War on Celbridge.
  2. Irish Times Monday 9th of August 1915.
  3. Trinity collection WW1 Recruitment posters.
  4. Kildare Observer 18/9/1915.
  5. Kildare Observer 14/12/1929 .
  6. Kildare Observer 11/9/1897.
  7. Irish Times June 4th 1915 – letters.
  8. co.uk.
  9. com.
  10. The story of the First World War for Children.
  11. Leinster Leader 23/10/1915.
  12. Census of Ireland
  13. Our Celbridge Roll of Honour– compiled from Kildare.ie, Christchurch Roll of Honour, Kildare Observer and local knowledge
  14. Register of Abbey Male National School 1873-1905.
  15. southdublinlibraries.ie
  16. War Notes Kildare Observer 7/11/1914.
  17. Kildare Observer December 5th
  18. Kildare Observer October 17th
  19. Kildare Observer March 22nd
  20. Census of Ireland
  21. ie.
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Magan_(Gaelic_footballer)

 

  1. Kildare Observer March 13th 1915
  2. Kildare Observer April 6th
  3. ie.
  4. An Irish Airman Foresees his Death WB YEATS
  5. Census 1901
  6. Charles James Sheridan 276580 Royal Air Force 1900 – 1921 Seamus Cummins.
  7. Irish Times 25/3/1915.
  8. War Notes Kildare Observer.
  9. Kildare Observer 18/5/1917.
  10. The story of the First World War for Children.
  11. com
  12. southdublinlibraries.ie
  13. com

 

  1. The Thinker – On the Butte de Warlencourt by Sir William Orpen
  2. New York Times May 26 1964
  3. Joining the Colours Katherine Tynan

 

We would like to thank Local Historians Jim Tancred, Georgie Bagnall , James Durney , and Breda Konstantin for all their help. We are also very grateful to Reverend Stephen Neill and John Lougheed for allowing us visit and learn about Christchurch, Celbridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
Army Civil War Leixlip Military History People of Celbridge Scoil na Mainistreach

Military Manoeuvres: The Forgotten Battle of Pike’s Bridge 1922.

Introduction

This picture shows children playing soldiers in Leixlip village.[1] Not so many years later and within walking distance a real battle took place with very tragic results. There were many lives lost including a past pupil from our school Anthony O’ Reilly, who was not much more than a boy .We will tell you about daring plans, failed ambushes, violent battle and terrible consequences. This is the story of the forgotten Battle of Pike’s Bridge.

Setting the scene

The War of Independence began in 1919. The Irish used surprise attacks on British forces in Ireland, this type of warfare was called ‘guerrilla warfare’. In response the British sent over soldiers known as the Black and Tans and the Auxiliaries. The most violent day was 21st November when in retaliation for the execution of British spies and Auxiliaries, the Black and Tans fired on the crowd in Croke Park killing 14 people. In July 1921 a truce was called. In October 1921 a group, including Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith, went to London to negotiate a treaty. A treaty was signed forming  an Irish Free State made up of 26 counties. Ireland would have its own army, flag and currency but would remain part of the British Empire. TDs would also have to swear allegiance to the British King.

In 1922 a Civil War began between people who supported the Treaty, led by Michael Collins and those who opposed it led by Eamon De Valera. The events in our essay took place in the  villages of Leixlip and Celbridge during this Civil War.[2]

Mayhem in Kildare

The anti-treaty column in our area was led by Patrick Mullaney, a National School teacher in Leixlip.  The day after the Civil War began, Mullaney was arrested and imprisoned in the Curragh. He escaped in August and took command of several brigades in the Meath and Kildare areas.[3]

Mullaney and his men blew up railway lines, bridges and cut telegraph wires so that messages couldn’t pass through. Of course they needed funding to get guns so they got it from sympathisers, collections, and holdups.  They robbed  post offices, mail vans and even shops. They burnt signal cabins in Leixlip, attacked Lucan Barracks, and cut telephone wires. They actually attacked and damaged bridges that they would have used themselves- Celbridge and Louisa Bridge. They attacked Celbridge Workhouse and  later set it on fire. They robbed a postman of his stamps and money.[4]  They left a trail of destruction throughout Kildare.

Baldonnel Aerodrome

Baldonnel was an Irish Free State Army base which held aeroplanes, cars and ammunition. It was a big target for the anti-treaty side. Mullaney had a heroic plan to take over Baldonnel, steal some planes and bomb Leinster House. He had about 30 Free State soldiers from Baldonnel working with him.  According to local historian Jim Doyle, our past pupil Anthony O’Reilly played an important role in this plan, joining the Free State Army to go undercover to see what was going on.  It was planned to get help from Kildare, Meath and Dublin but this did not happen

“One hundred men were promised from the Dublin Brigade but only twenty turned up” [5]

Eamon De Valera and Todd Andrews

It was called off by Dublin Brigade officer Todd Andrews. It was also called off a second time by Andrews. The plan for the third attempt was to steal arms and vehicles and bomb Beggars Bush barracks. Anthony O’Reilly was ready to open the gate to let them in and two pilots were ready to steal two planes but the reinforcements from Dublin didn’t arrive so yet again Todd Andrews called it off…. Again!!  Mullaney was furious and so was O’Reilly.

“On the night of the third attempt some of the guards at Baldonnel deserted to Mullaney’s column and Mullaney cried when Andrews called it off” [6]

On his way out O’Reilly stole a Lewis machine gun. [ 7]

Celbridge Men

Five of the men in Mullaney’s column were from Celbridge. They were Thomas Cardwell, John Dempsey, Thomas Kealy, Charles O’ Connor and Anthony O’ Reilly. We found their details in the 1911 census and also in old roll books from our school.

Anthony O’ Reilly was the only one of these men executed and we wanted to learn more about him. Local historian Jim Doyle has done extensive research on O’ Reilly and he came to speak to us.

Anthony O’Reilly was born on 13th June 1902. He was born in Celbridge Workhouse. His mother’s name was Bridget O’Reilly. He had a twin sister Julia Mary who died aged one due to convulsions. [8]

He was fostered by the Mullins family.[9]

He went to the Abbey National School in 1911. We can see from the roll he had regular attendance which could mean good health. The confirmation name he chose was Desmond.[10][ 11]

According to Jim Doyle, local oral accounts tell us that Anthony lived with his mother as he grew older and his nickname was the “County Boy”.

Anthony joined the IRA in his teens and was in a column led by Mullaney during the War of Independence

The Military archives provided this information:

Private Anthony O’Reilly
Service number: VR16188
Enlisted: 4th April 1922
Unit: 3rd Infantry Battalion

Previous old IRA service: member of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Meath Brigade.[ 12 ]

[13]

Battle of Pike’s Bridge

On the 1st December 1922 Mulanney’s column stole a car  and took over Grangewilliam House. They positioned themselves in the nearby Graveyard , as it was a good vantage point to see  Pike’s Bridge, the road, canal and railway .Meanwhile a Free State army lorry carrying supplies from Lucan to Maynooth broke down on the road leading to Pike’s Bridge. While trying to fix the truck, they came under heavy fire from Mullaney’s column. The soldiers ran towards the canal seeking cover. They then found themselves being fired at by a Thompson gun and they ran over the bridge. Mullaney’s column seeing this, hopped in the stolen car to ambush them. Two of the men from the lorry were forced to surrender, while the other soldier got away.[14]

“We took the best cover we could get… I then saw armed men with rifles. I and two of my companions were surrounded. One of us escaped. I and my companion Sergeant Montgomery were made prisoners” [15]

Some reports of this battle claim that the shooting came from between the graveyard and the house itself but after our trip to the Grangewilliam we found that it would be practically impossible for that to have happened as it was too far away.

The soldiers were brought to Grangewilliam  and were held there. They were offered food. Meanwhile, the soldier that got away ran to Maynooth barracks and met up with Commandant Ledwith. Ledwith sent for reinforcements from Portobello,                                                           Naas, Trim and Lucan.

At around 13:45 Ledwith, with 12 soldiers he had encountered on the Dublin Train, headed towards Grangewilliam.

They reached Grangewilliam and were immediately put under heavy fire. Two men were separated from the group and one of them, Private Joseph Moran, was shot dead. An hour later reinforcements arrived and surrounded Grangewilliam. Mullaney was forced to flee towards Ballygoran where at around 16:00 they eventually surrendered. [16]

 

It was like a chapter from a Red Indian novel. We crept along under cover until we suddenly saw about twenty men, three of them in uniform…We hesitated…they opened fire…We replied of course and it was all over inside ten minutes.[17]

 

The column was captured, including Anthony O’Reilly. They all knew their upcoming fate.  Arms and ammunition including 21 rifles, a Lewis machine gun, a Thompson submachine gun and  revolvers were recovered.

[18]

Lewis Machinegun as captured during the battle.

Executions and Jail

On 27th September 1922, the Provisional Government granted itself emergency powers so that any person charged with taking up arms against the state or even possessing arms without permission could be tried in a military court and face the death penalty.[19]

 

Corporal Leo Dowling, Corporal Sylvester Heaney, Private Anthony O’Reilly, Private Lawrence Sheehy and Private Terence Brady were sentenced to death for:

“Treachery on the 1st December 1922 in that they at Leixlip assisted certain armed persons in using force against the National troops.”

 

This was the first time men from the National Army were executed for deserting  and was  a warning to other men.

 The men were executed on 9th January 1923 by firing squad. They were buried in Kilmainham Gaol.[20]

The rest of the column escaped execution and were released in 1924. Mullaney was fired from his school but the parents organised a strike in protest and he got his job back. He later returned to Mayo.[21]

Graffiti from Kilmainham Jail
Anti-Treaty document commemorating the members lost as a result of the Battle.

[23]

Meanwhile around the world

Around this time, many interesting things were happening. We noticed alongside reports on the Leixlip Battle in The Irish Times of December 1922 there was a story about Howard Carter discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt. We thought it was strange that we all knew so much about that and so little about events that took place on our doorstep!

[24]

Many  World War II leaders were coming to power.

  • Stalin was appointed General Secretary of the  Communist Party.
  • Hitler  gave a speech to 50,000 national-socialists in Munich.
  • Mussolini  took control of Italy.

 

The strangest fact in 1922 was that the longest attack of hiccups begins: Charlie Osborne gets the hiccups and continues for 68 years, he dies 11 months after it stops. [25]

Cardwell Tragedy

[26]

Less than a week after Thomas Cardwell was arrested for his part in the battle, his family once again were indirectly victims of the Civil War. On 7th December 1922 in Celbridge,  Annie Cardwell  (18), was tragically shot by a lad named Patrick Brady. The incident took place in the Cardwell household when Annie and Patrick were messing around the house with a gun. You see, the Cardwell house was used as an arsenal so there would be some guns locked up and some lying around the house. [27]

“We were pointing the gun at each other and clicking. I put the rifle down behind the door of the room, and Annie and her brother went into the kitchen. When they came back I said I would give her a fright, and I took up the rifle and pointed it at her and it went off. I was thunderstruck when it went off. We were always on the best of terms, and there were no angry words or dispute between us prior to the rifle going off. I immediately went for the priest and doctor. No one regrets the incident as much as I do” [28]

Private Joseph Moran
Service number: VR14685
Enlisted: 4th August 1922 [29]

Joseph Moran was from Kilcock He was shot dead during the battle. He was fired on from  Grangewilliam house.

“Moran was shot about an inch under the eye and the exit wound was found, large and jagged in the back of his neck. The bullet travelled in a downward, backward and outward direction.” [30]

His remains were sent to Kilcock on  3rd December  1922 by motor car for burial. [31]

Return of the Bodies

After the Civil War, De Valera put pressure on the government to exhume the bodies of the  executed men. On  31st October 1924  Anthony O’Reilly was buried in Donaghcomper, Celbridge, alongside the Mullin’s family who had fostered him as a child. About 3,000 people attended.[32]

This was a huge crowd for the burial of an orphan in a small village with poor transport links.

“Business was completely suspended in Celbridge, shops were shuttered and windows were  blinded during the period of the interment…. IRA forces were present under Commandant P. Mullaney….” [33]      

Voyage of Discovery

On  17th February 2017 our History Squad went on a field trip looking at locations that featured in our essay. Our first stop was the Workhouse where Anthony O’ Reilly was born. Next  was Louisa Bridge, blown up by the Leixlip Column. Then we looked at Lidl because one report said the ambushed troops   were brought to Walsh’s pub which was on that site.[34] Then we saw the canal and Pike’s Bridge where the battle took place.

We went under the bridge. We thought that it was amazing how little the scene had changed in nearly 100 years. Then we went to Grangewilliam House.

Pike Bridge, Leixlip

We went into the medieval graveyard in the grounds and we think that’s where the first shots were fired.

Our last stop was the graveyard in Celbridge. We found Anthony O Reilly’s grave and the Cardwell’s plot. It was great day and helped us to know where and how everything happened.

Allegory

We  finish  with a painting called Allegory. It tells us about the Civil War and our story in symbols. We can see destruction, death, despair and disappointment. The Battle of Pike’s Bridge led to the loss of seven young lives. The total death count in The Civil War  has been estimated as 4,000 with  77 executed.[35] Almost a century later people are only beginning to talk about that era. The time has come to talk about all the Forgotten Battle. [36]

Bibliography and References

  1. Richard Moynan, Military Manoeuvers 1891
  2. Unlocking S.E.S.E- Folens
  3. Christopher Lee – A Damn Good Clean Fight http://www.theirishstory.com/2015/01/08/a-damn-good-clean-fight-the-last-stand-of-the-leixlip-flying-column
  4. Seamus Cummins – “A shout in the night” (IRA reports)
  5. James Dunne, BMH,WS1571
  6. James Dunne
  7. Jim Doyle – Local Historian
  8. Jim Doyle
  9. The National Archives of Ireland Census of Ireland 1911
  10. Jim Doyle
  11. Abbey National school – Register and roll
  12. Duty Archivist – Military Archives, Cathal Brugha Barrack
  13. Irish Independent 2nd December 1922
  14. Christopher Lee
  15. Kildare Observer 16th December 1922 Pg.6
  16. Christopher Lee
  17. Irish Times 2nd December 1922 Pg.7
  18. Irish Times 2nd December 1922
  19. Cahir Davitt, BMH.WS1751, Pg. 32
  20. Irish Times 9th January 1923
  21. James Durney – The Civil War in Kildare (Mercier Press 2011) pg 108
  22. wordpress.com
  23. Anti Free State Army Pamphlethttp://hdl.handle.net/10599/9000
  24. Irish Times 2nd December 1922 Pg.7
  25. http://www.onthisday.com, https://www.thepeople-history.com
  26. The National Archives of Ireland Census Forms 1911
  27. Seamus Cummins
  28. Kildare Observer 16th December 1922 pg.5
  29. Duty Archivist
  30. Kildare Observer 16th December 1922 pg. 6
  31. Duty Archivist
  32. Domhnall ua Buachalla-Rebellious Nationalist, Reluctant Governor by Adhamhnán Ó Súilleabháin
  33. Leinster Leader November 1924
  34. Kildare Observer 16th December 1922 pg. 6
  35. http://www.military.ie/info-centre/defence-forces-history/the-civil-war-1922-1923/
  36. Seán Keating -An Allegory- 1924- National Gallery of Ireland

 

  • We are very grateful to local historian Jim Doyle for his wonderful presentation to the History Squad on Anthony O’ Reilly.
  • We would also like to thank Anthony Rogers, owner of Grangewilliam House, for allowing us visit and explore his stud farm where most of the events took place in December 1922.