"We Were Hoping For The Best"
In this interview Rónán talks about his father's early life. Éamonn Ceannt was born in Ballmoe, County Galway in 1881. His father James Kent was a constable in the RIC and due to his work the family moved around Ireland before finally settling in Dublin on his retirement.
Éamonn Ceannt attended the O'Connell School, North Richmond Street. This school was run by the Christian Brothers and many of those who were later involved in the Irish revolutionary movement were pupils. On finishing his education Éamonn Ceannt worked as a clerk in the Treasury Office in Dublin Corporation.
Rónán remembers his father was a keen Irish speaker. He was a member of the Gaelic League and taught Irish language classes. It was through his teaching that he met Áine Ní Bhraonáin (Aine Brennan). The couple married in June 1905 in St James' Church, James' Street and according to Rónán 'was the first marriage in the Irish language for 100 years in Dublin.' The following year Rónán was born in Reuben Avenue, near Dolphin's Barn.
Rónán recalls that his father had a number of hobbies. He was a keen gardener and loved music. He was an accomplished uilleann piper and also played the violin.
Éamonn Ceannt joined the Irish Volunteers on the formation in November 1913 and as Rónán says.
From the time he joined the Volunteers we didn't see that much of him as we had before.
The last time Rónán saw his father was on the morning of Easter Monday. He insisted that Áine, Rónán and Áine's mother leave the family home as it was located between the South Dublin Union (SDU), which Éamonn was to occupy and Wellington Barracks on South Circular Road and he feared they could be caught up in the fighting.
We set off as if we were going to a picnic, much to my grandmother's annoyance. She didn't want to move out.
After the surrender on 30 April, the Volunteers were taken to Richmond Barracks. Detectives from Dublin Castle identified the leaders or those they believed were prominent in the movement. Ceannt was Commandant of the 4th Battalion and a signatory of the Proclamation and was tried by court martial.
After the first executions on 3 May public opinion began to change. Rónán recalls that the newspapers reported that Ceannt, with two others were sentenced to three years penal servitude. Despite being so young Rónán knew this was not true.
Even at that time I realised that was a little bit too much to hope for.
Éamonn Ceannt was executed on 8 May 1916. Although devastated at the death of his father, Rónán remembers that he and his mother found some solace in the fact that there was a lot of support from the people.
There was so much excitement and so forth going on, I mean so many masses and so forth were being said that one was buoyed up at the time.
Rónán Ceannt was the only child of Éamonn and Áine Ceannt. He later became a solicitor. Rónán Ceannt died in January 1974, he was sixty-seven years old.
Rónán Ceannt was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'Portraits 1916' on 21 November 1965.
Title: |
Portraits 1916 Rónán Ceannt |
Clip Duration: |
00:18:36 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
"We Were Hoping For The Best" |
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, Gaelic League, Irish Volunteers, South Dublin Union, Kilmainham Gaol |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Aindrias O Gallchoir (Producer) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
Production Year: |
1965 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
94D00029 |
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) |
