"Reynolds garrison opened up rapid fire"
By Wednesday 26 April, British reinforcements began to descend on Dublin city. The gunboat Helga sailed up the Liffey and shelled Liberty Hall. Brigadier-General Lowe, Commanding Officer of the British forces decided to isolate the General Post Office from the Volunteer strongholds. As the fighting intensified some Volunteers in the outposts in O'Connell Street were ordered to return to the GPO.
Cormac Turner describes how the British forces attacked his position Hopkins and Hopkins with both machine gun and sniper fire. At one point they were under such heavy attack that they could not stand up.
"I ate my first meal of the day lying flat on the floor."
John O'Connor,a member of the 1st Battalion was in position in Jameson's Distillery in Smithfield. He remembers that while the men were barricading the building they found not only small bottles of whiskey but also Cuban cigars, which they shared with their comrades in the outposts around the Four Courts.
Michael Hayes was a member of 'C' Company, 3rd Battalion and served in Jacob's Biscuit Factory under Commandant Thomas MacDonagh. He remembers that the garrison were short of arms and he was ordered by MacDonagh to go out and call on men who lived in the area who had not turned out to get their weapons .
Volunteer Seamus O Tallúin, 1st Battalion was arrested early on and describes his treatment after his arrest when he was being held prisoner in Arbour Hill.
Prionsias MacAonghusa describes the arrest and execution of the pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington in Portobello Barracks on the orders of Captain Bowen-Colthurst.
Desmond Ryan recounts how after finally arriving at Kingstown, the Sherwood Foresters, reinforcements from England split up and began their advance into Dublin city, one regiment making there way towards Mount Street bridge right into the firing line of Lieutenant Michael Malone and his men who were in position in No. 25 Northumberland Road and Clanwilliam House.
Captain Simon Donnelly who was in Boland's Bakery describes how once they got word that the British had landed at Kingstown they prepared themselves for battle, reinforcing vulnerable positions.
Tom Walsh, a member of 'B' Company, 3rd Battalion fought in Clanwilliam House and describes how he was knocked out when he fired his weapon for the first time. The British soldiers trying to cross Mount Street Bridge were easy targets for the Volunteers who fired volley after volley into the wave of men that kept charging.
"This gave the impression of a giant human khaki-coloured caterpillar."
Title: |
The Week of the Rising : Wednesday |
Clip Duration: |
00.28.57 |
Clip Title: |
"Reynolds garrison opened up rapid fire" |
Series Title: |
The Week of the Rising |
Information: |
Using interviews with many men and women who had participated in the Easter Rising, the radio series 'The Week of the Rising' chronicled the events of that week in April 1916. It was one of many programmes produced to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising. The series was broadcast over eight consecutive nights, each episode being a day by day account of the events beginning with Easter Sunday and Eoin MacNeill's countermanding order right through to the surrender on Sunday 30 April. As presenter Proinsias Mac Aonghusa the series "Is not a definitive history of the Rising. We make no judgements, we do not claim to tell the full story. We present for a new generation the story of what happened as the men and women made history that Easter Week describe it themselves." The interviews of at least twenty-five veterans were used in the production of this series including Nora Connolly, Simon Donnelly, Paddy Buttner, Emily Hanratty, Michael Hayes, Cormac Turner, John O'Connor and Margaret Skinnider to name a few. 'The Week of the Rising' was presented by Proinsias Mac Aonghusa and was broadcast from 10 April until 17 April 1966. |
Local Keywords: |
1916, 1916 Rising, Easter, Easter 1916, Liberty Hall, Helga, Turner, Four Courts, O'Connor, Jacob's, Michael Hayes, Seamus O Tallúin, Sheehy-Skeffington, Mount Street, Michael Malone, Sherwood Foresters, Tom Walsh, George Reynolds, Clanwilliam House, Ryan |
Coverage: |
Ireland |
Topic: |
Wars and Conflict |
Contributor(s): |
Proinsias Mac Aonghusa |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
First Broadcast Channel: |
Radio Éireann |
Broadcast Date: |
13/04/1966 |
Production Year: |
1966 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
LQD0170A |
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 |
Sound: |
Mono |
Language: |
English (eng) |
