On landing in Ireland Orson Lucas and a colleague were sent south to scout for the possibility of approaching rebels. At Foxrock they were approached by a group of early morning golfers.
Having landed in Ireland at Kingstown, Orson Lucas and a colleague were sent south to scout for the possibility of more rebels approaching Dublin. In the early morning they found themselves on Foxrock golf course where they were approached by a group of members.
Orson Lucas was not involved in any direct fighting himself and spent some days scouting for any possible reinforcements heading to Dublin. He describes the people outside of Dublin as being friendly and supplying them with food and cigarettes.
Honestly the Irish people then they couldn't have treated us better if it had been their own.
When he was based back in Dublin though, Orson Lucas says the atmosphere was very different towards the British soldiers.
The worst people were the women really particularly around the Liffey. Why I don't know. They did in a way simply detest us.
During his time in Ireland, before heading for France, Orson Lucas says that the morale remained high among his fellow soldiers. Although they were not allowed to send letters home. It was difficult to know what was happening while in Ireland and he never saw a British newspaper. Although there were always rumours and he relied on what he witnessed himself.
Orson Lucas was interviewed during the production of 'Ireland A Television History' on 26 June 1979.
| Title: | Ireland A Television History Orson Lucas |
| Clip Duration: | 00:15:53 |
| Material Type: | Video |
| Clip Title: | "They Said Thank God You Have Come" |
| Series Title: | Ireland A Television History Interivews |
| Information: | Ireland A Television History was a 13 part series written and presented by Robert Kee looking at the complexities of Irish history. The series chronicles Ireland's development from pre-Christian times to the 1980s, with a specific emphasis on the creation of the modern independent Republic and the roots of the Troubles. 'Ireland a Television History', a BBC production was broadcast on RTÉ and BBC at the same time. In an article for the RTÉ Guide, Kee was asked is the series aimed at a British audience? He replied, "No it's aimed at those (mainly in Britain) who are less familiar with the subject than they ought to be; and at those (in Ireland, North and South) who think they know but don't". |
| Local Keywords: | Easter Rising, Easter 1916, 1916, Rising, British Army, Soldiers, |
| Coverage: | Ireland, Dublin |
| Genre: | Factual |
| Topic: | Wars and Conflict |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Gordon Watkins (Interviewer) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1979 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | DX20/00915 |
| 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.
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| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Colour: | Colour |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Language: | English (eng) |
| Original Language: | English (eng) |
