Cyril Willingham, a member of the Sherwood Foresters sent from England to suppress the Easter Rising describes the intense fighting at Mount Street Bridge and the South Dublin Union.
On Wednesday 26 April the 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions, Sherwood Foresters arrived at Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) in order to put down the Rising. The regiment was made up mostly of raw recruits with very little training. Cyril Willingham, a member of 'B' Company, 2/8th Battalion recalls that it was not long before his company was under attack.
We came to a canal bridge and there met very stiff opposition.
Willingham and his comrades had marched right into the path of Lieutenant Michael Malone and his small group of men who were in position covering Mount Street Bridge. The battle raged for hours. The Volunteers in Clanwilliam House held the advantage. As Willingham says the house was 'three or four stories high and commanded four roads'.
Eventually the military succeeded in crossing the bridge and attacked the house with bombs forcing the Volunteers to evacuate. Although they took the position, the military suffered severe losses including Willingham's Commanding Officer.
My Company Officer, Lieutenant Daffen was saying something to me and he got two shots straight to the head and I think myself lucky I wasn't caught one of them.
The next day the 2/8th were ordered to make their way to the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, headquarters of the British forces. Unknown to them the Volunteers under Commandant Éamonn Ceannt had taken over the South Dublin Union (SDU), a vast complex of buildings which they had to pass. As soon as they neared the Union they came under attack.
We was told to give covering fire if it was at all possible. But we couldn't give a lot of covering fire.
Willingham was engaged in yet another intense battle but unlike Mount Street, the British forces failed to take the SDU.
By Friday Willingham's Company were sent to Galway to round up the Volunteers who had mobilised to fight. Having experienced such heavy fighting already Willingham says, "We thought we were going to have a real battle there". When they arrived at Moyode Castle, they found the place deserted, the Volunteers having heard the military were on their way had disbanded.
Over the next few weeks Willingham accompanied the local RIC in rounding up suspected rebels.
Cyril Willingham was interviewed during the production of 'Ireland A Television History' on 24 September 1979.
Title: |
Ireland A Television History Cyril Willingham |
Clip Duration: |
00:13:43 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
"It Was A Proper Ambush" |
Series Title: |
Ireland A Television History Interviews |
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: |
1916, Easter Rising, Easter 1916, Rising, British Army, British Soldiers, Clanwilliam House, South Dublin Union, Galway |
Coverage: |
Ireland, Dublin |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Robert Kee (Interviewer) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
Production Year: |
1979 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
DF429 |
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: |
Colour |
Sound: |
Mono |
Aspect Ratio: |
4:3 |
Language: |
English (eng) |
Original Language: |
English (eng) |
