"We Had Hoped As The Executions Had Stopped For A While That Himself And Connolly Were Going To Escape"
Min Ryan was born in 1884 in Tomcoole, County Wexford. In this interview Min talks about how she and her family became involved in the Republican movement. Around 1905/1906 she came to Dublin to study and it was around then that she first met Seán MacDiarmada who was,
A very nice young fellow, very interesting and amusing, considering he wasn't a university man.
Min went to London in 1909 to continue her studies. In 1914 she obtained her teaching degree and returned to Ireland and lived with her older sister Mary Kate in Ranelagh. Every Sunday night the sisters would entertain their nationalist friends including Seán T O'Kelly, Seán MacDiarmada and Liam O Briain to name a few. Min and Seán MacDiarmada soon became close. One person who did not attend their evenings was Patrick Pearse who Min says
They looked up to very much but would be looked on more or less as a spoil sport.
In April 1914 Min Ryan was a founding member of Cumann na mBan. The Ryan sisters moved to Ranelagh Road and their house became a centre of IRB activity. On Holy Thursday, Min delivered a dispatch from Seán MacDiarmada to the Volunteers in Wexford with word that the Rising was going to take place on Sunday.
Min and her younger sister Phyllis and their brother Jim all served in the GPO during the Rising. Min and her sister delivered dispatches to the other outposts and worked in the kitchen in the GPO. She recalls a conversation with Tom Clarke one evening where he told her that although the leaders would most certainly die, they would live and it was their duty to explain to the Irish people why they had fought.
As a leader and signatory of the Proclamation, Seán MacDiarmada was tried by court martial and sentenced to death. Min received word that he wished to see her and Phyllis in Kilmainham.
We had hoped very much as the executions had stopped for a good while that himself and Connolly were going to escape.
Min recalls the final visit in his cell in Kilmainham where they talked about everything that had happened during the Rising, anything but his impending execution. Soon their time was up and they said goodbye. Seán MacDiarmada was executed on 12 May 1916.
After the Rising she was sent to America on behalf of the Republican movement to report to John Devoy about what had happened during Easter week. John Devoy was leader of Clan na Gael, the Irish-American group who helped fund the Rising.
In 1919 Min married Richard Mulcahy, Chief of Staff of the IRA and during the War of Independence Min was a member of the Executive of Cumann na mBan.
Min Ryan was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'Portraits 1916' on 27 November 1965.
| Title: | Portraits 1916 Min Ryan |
| Clip Duration: | 00:38:08 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | "We Had Hoped As The Executions Had Stopped For A While That Himself And Connolly Were Going To Escape" |
| Series Title: | Portraits 1916 |
| Information: | Portraits 1916 is a collection of interviews made for television recording the personal memories of women and men who took part in the Easter Rising. In the early 1960s Telefís Éireann (RTÉ Television) began to record interviews with people who had taken part in the Easter Rising and the War of Independence. Individuals were interviewed under a working title of 'The Survivors'. The first of these interviews were organised by Jack White and recorded at the television studios in Donnybrook on 31 August 1964. Further recordings were organised by James Plunkett with the same working title of 'The Survivors' although none of these interviews were broadcast as full programmes. In 1965 meetings were held to discuss what Telefís Éireann should do to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Veterans continued to be interviewed despite the fact that no decision had been made as to what type of programme, if any they could be used in. James Plunkett did not see 'The Survivors' recordings working as individual programmes. In April 1965 producer Aindras O Gallchoir took over the project continuing to organise recordings with the initial intention of using the interviews to create one programme. By September Aindras O Gallchoir decided to produce seven thirty minute documentaries on the leaders of the Rising but many more people needed to be interviewed. This new project had the working titles of 'Portraits 1916' and 'Seven Signatories'. With very little time over thirty people were interviewed for this series. The interviews took place mainly in studio between October 1965 and January 1966, with the exception of Kathleen Clarke and Leslie Bean de Barra. These interviews would eventually form the basis for the series 'On Behalf of the Provisional Government' which was first broadcast in 1966. The interviews recorded form an extensive record of the events and the people involved in the Easter Rising, and were never broadcast in their entirety. Presented here under the title of 'Portraits 1916' are the personal recollections of men and women who took part in or witnessed the events of the Easter Rising. |
| Local Keywords: | 1916, Easter 1916, Easter Rising, IRB, Cumann na mBan, Seán MacDiarmada, Phyllis Ryan, Jim Ryan, GPO, Kilmainham Gaol |
| Coverage: | Ireland |
| Genre: | Factual |
| Topic: | Wars and Conflict |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Aindrias O Gallchoir (Producer) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1965 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | 94D00026 |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | whole |
| Colour: | Black and White |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
