"I Happened To Be Sentenced To Be Shot, Which Was A Great Surprise To Me"
Maurice Brennan was a member of 'B' Company, 1st Battalion, Irish Volunteers and fought in Cabra during the Rising. He was arrested during the week near Mountjoy Gaol and was brought to Richmond Barracks after the surrender.
He was held in the same room as Éamonn Ceannt, Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion in Richmond Barracks. Brennan says that although he had seen Ceannt many times before this was the first time he actually spoke to him.
He tried to cheer us up by saying 'Whatever happens you I'll be executed, but I think that they won't go that far with you'.
The men were tried by court martial and taken to Kilmainham Gaol to await their sentence. Brennan talks about the last time he saw Ceannt. It was on the morning of Sunday 7 May while attending mass in the chapel in Kilmainham Gaol. Also there were Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston and Con Colbert. Later that day their sentences were delivered,
The officers came along and your sentence was read out to you. I happened to be sentenced to be shot, which was a great surprise to me.
Unlike Ceannt, Brennan's sentence was commuted. He was transported to England and was imprisoned in Portland, Lewes, Parkhurst and Pentonville Prisons. Éamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston and Con Colbert were all executed on Monday 8 May 1916.
Maurice Brennan was released from prison in June 1917 and rejoined his company. He took the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War. He died in 1972. He was seventy-nine years old.
Maurice Brennan was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'Portraits 1916' on 16 January 1966.
Title: |
Portraits 1916 Maurice Brennan |
Clip Duration: |
00:07:18 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
"I Happened To Be Sentenced To Be Shot, Which Was A Great Surprise To Me" |
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, Éamonn Ceannt, Kilmainham Gaol |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Aindrias O Gallchoir (Producer) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
Production Year: |
1966 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
94D00028 |
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) |
