"There Was Slaughter In Dublin"
Tom Devine was a member of 'E' Company, 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, Irish Volunteers. He mobilised on Easter Sunday at the old St Enda's school, Oakley Road and he recalls how he felt when they heard of MacNeill's countermanding order,
I marched out with my .22 rifle, a blanket and days rations... We went home very upset.
Believing that the Rising was taking place that weekend he neglected to finish maintenance work on a gas plant in the laundry where he worked, and so on Easter Monday morning he went in to work to finish the job. At lunchtime he heard that the Rising had indeed begun. Despite all his efforts Devine could not locate his comrades in 'E' company. He made his way to O'Connell Street and gained entry into the General Post Office where to his surprise he found his Commanding Officer Liam Tannam.
He recalls asking James Connolly for his help adjusting the straps on his bandolier. Devine had not met Connolly before and did not know what he looked like and was quite embarrassed when he found out later that day just who had come to his assistance,
When the raw recruit asks the Commandant-General to fasten his straps it's a horse of another colour.
Throughout the week Devine was chosen to go to a number of outposts including Fairview and Henry Street but was then called back to the GPO. By Friday it was no longer possible to remain in the GPO and Devine remembers Pearse addressing the garrison telling them they would have to evacuate their position. An advance party led by 'The' O'Rahilly would have to make their way to Moore Street to attack the British barricades in order to let the main body make their way through to Williams and Woods Factory. Devine was chosen to go and describes what happened,
I think they waited til the last of us came round the corner from Henry Street and they let it all loose on us... An awful lot fell near me.
On Saturday Pearse ordered the surrender and Tom Devine and his comrades were marched to the Rotunda and kept overnight out in the open. This was to have a profound effect on his health for the rest of his life. Devine recalls seeing some British soldiers making fun of Tom Clarke and the arrival of the detectives from Dublin Castle. From there they were brought to Richmond Barracks and Devine was placed in a room with Seán MacDiarmada who he describes as being,
Quite gentle, calm. He was a very fine man indeed.
Devine was held in Richmond Barracks for eight days. Due to his age, he was only seventeen years old at the time, he was released. Although he rejoined his company after his release, owing to health reasons Tom Devine did not play an active role in the War of Independence or Civil War, although he did continue to do support work for the Republican movement. He died in 1969, at the age of seventy-one.
Tom Devine was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'Portraits 1916' on 23 January 1966.
Title: |
Portraits 1916 Tom Devine |
Clip Duration: |
00:24:05 |
Clip Title: |
"There Was Slaughter In Dublin" |
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, 3rd Battalion, GPO, The O'Rahilly, James Connolly, Seán MacDiarmada, Richmond Barracks |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Aindrias O Gallchoir (Producer) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
Production Year: |
1966 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
94D00025 |
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) |
