Leslie de Barra née Price talks about her role in the Easter Rising. She served in the Hibernian Bank and the GPO. She describes the leaders and how the women left the GPO on Friday 28 April.
Leslie de Barra, née Leslie Price was a member of the Central Branch, Cumann na mBan. Originally Leslie and her section were detailed to be with Commandant Edward Daly in the Four Courts. They got word on Easter Monday morning that Daly did not need them and they were to go home, but as Leslie says, 'I didn't obey orders that day'. Leslie and her close friend Bríd Dixon went straight to the GPO. She was sent by Tom Clarke to the Hibernian Bank which was under the command of Captain Thomas Weafer. On Wednesday, 26 April Weafer was fatally wounded by a British sniper fire. Describing what happened Leslie says,
I heard a very sharp whistle and a bullet came right through the window and it was he who got it in the stomach.
Leslie returned to the GPO. Throughout the week she brought dispatches between the GPO and the Four Courts. The Volunteers had tunnelled through the buildings from the GPO right up along Henry Street. Leslie would go through these buildings, which included Madam Tussaud's Wax Works, in order to get to the Four Courts. Recalling the first time she went through the wax museum she says,
The shock I got when I looked up and saw I'm sure it was Crippen or someone like that looking at me.
On Wednesday the British bombardment began in earnest. The 'Helga' was shelling Liberty Hall and British reinforcements were pouring into the city. Slowly, O'Connell Street was being surrounded. The number of wounded in the GPO began to rise. On Thursday, Clarke asked Leslie would she go to the Pro-Cathedral to fetch a priest to attend to the wounded. James Connolly had been wounded earlier that day and as she says,
'There were neither flies nor anything else going up and down O'Connell Street at the time.
Although terrified, she could not refuse Tom Clarke. When she got to the priest's house Leslie discovered that the priest was less than sympathetic to her plight. After arguing for some time he agreed to go with her.
On Friday the women were called together by Patrick Pearse who told them they had to leave the building. The last person she saw before leaving was Tom Clarke.
He took my hand and said "If you see my wife, tell her the men were wonderful to the ..." and then he stopped. I knew it was 'end' he was going to say but he pulled himself up and he didn't say it.
Leslie and her comrades took the wounded to Jervis Street Hospital and were arrested shortly after. They were taken prisoner to Broadstone Railway Station. The authorities not knowing what to do with the women released them a few hours later.
Leslie de Barra rejoined Cumann na mBan. During the War of Independence she was sent to Cork to organise the movement there. She married Tom Barry, Commandant of the famous 3rd West Cork Brigade Flying Column in 1921. She and her husband fought on the anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War. Leaslie de Barra died in 1984, she was ninety-one years old.
Leslie de Barra was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'Portraits 1916' in 1965.
Title: |
Portraits 1916 Leslie de Barra |
Clip Duration: |
00:16:23 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
"Tell Her The Men Were Wonderful" |
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, Cumann na mBan, GPO, Tom Clarke, Seán MacDiarmada, Patrick Pearse |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Aindrias O Gallchoir (Producer) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
Production Year: |
1965 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
A0501 |
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: |
part/extract |
Colour: |
Black and White |
Sound: |
Mono |
Aspect Ratio: |
4:3 |
Language: |
English (eng) |
Original Language: |
English (eng) |
