During Easter week 1916, fierce clashes erupted in southeast Galway as local Volunteers mounted attacks on RIC barracks in Clarinbridge and Oranmore.
In 1916, Co. Galway was one of the few regions outside Dublin to see significant action during the Easter Rising. Under the command of Liam Mellows, Irish Volunteer units from Castlegar, Maree, Oranmore, Clarinbridge, Athenry, Claregalway and other localities were mobilized.
Clarinbridge
On Tuesday, 25 April, Mellows led 12 Volunteers to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks in Clarinbridge in southeast Galway. A group of six managed to gain entry to the barracks but were immediately caught in crossfire as the police upstairs in the building opened fire on the six Volunteers who remained outside.
Inside, Michael Callanan was wounded, forcing the Volunteers to exit the barracks quickly. The door was immediately bolted shut behind them.
Outside, the Volunteers used mineral water boxes to barricade all approaches to the barracks and to the village. From behind these makeshift barricades, a large group of Volunteers continued firing on the barracks.
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Meanwhile, nearby, Constable David Manning, who had been cycling from Clarinbridge to Kilcolgan, was ordered to halt by a small party of Volunteers. When he attempted to draw his revolver, he was shot and badly injured before being taken captive. Some reports indicate he was held as a prisoner until Saturday, 29 April, while others claim that he was tended to by nuns immediately after the shooting.
Back at the barracks, Fr Tully, the local parish priest, tried to mediate. He urged the Volunteers to abandon their attack. When they refused, he turned to the police, attempting to persuade them to surrender but they, too, stood firm. The standoff dragged on for several hours.
Ultimately, the Volunteers were unable to take the barracks and decided to march to Oranmore.
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Oranmore
In Oranmore, the local Volunteers, led by Joseph Howley, faced a similar situation. Four or five RIC men had barricaded themselves inside the barracks, while two more policemen were trapped in a nearby house. The policemen involved included Sergt J. Healy and Constables P. Heffernan, P. Smith, D. Foley, J. Hannon, A. Barrett and T. McDermott.
Despite the Volunteers’ best efforts, they were unable to breach the barracks. The arrival of a group of Connaught Rangers escalated the situation into a prolonged gunfight, which eventually forced the Volunteers to retreat.
At this point, they were joined by the Clarinbridge contingent. Together, the two companies of Volunteers destroyed telegraph wires and railway tracks as they retreated.
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There was activity in several other parts of southeast Galway too, during which a number of policemen were taken prisoner.
By the time the Volunteers reached Athenry, their ranks had apparently swelled to between 400 and 600 men, armed with approximately 300 old shotguns, 60 revolvers, 50 service rifles and miniature rifles (with about 30 rounds for each rifle), as well as 60 pikes. This meant that many of the Volunteers were essentially unarmed.
Athenry was deemed too exposed and so the Volunteers marched on.
Moyode Castle
The Volunteers made their way to Moyode Castle, which they easily captured. It was here that a divide between the local leaders came to a head. Liam Mellows saw the rebellion purely from a nationalistic perspective as an insurrection against British rule in Ireland, while Tom Kenny (leader of an agrarian secret society in Galway) sought the seizure of land and livestock from the upper classes as part of the rising, aiming to make a statement about creating a more egalitarian society in Ireland. Mellows prevailed, and no major acts of land agitation were carried out.
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Limepark House
By Friday night, 28 April, the group had made it to the unoccupied (and secluded) Limepark House, where Fr Tom Fahy and Fr Harry Feeney informed the Volunteers that the rising in Dublin had collapsed. They urged the men to disband despite Mellows’ desire for them to hold out.
On Saturday, 29 April, the Volunteers reluctantly secured their arms and many returned home. Some, however, were forced to go on the run, with Mellows escaping to New York.
After the rising
The RIC men who had defended the barracks in Oranmore in 1916 were soon awarded the Constabulary Medal. Their photograph was published in the Galway Express on 15 July 1916, as seen above.
In the aftermath of the rising, more than 300 Volunteers from Galway were arrested and imprisoned, many held in Britain, especially at Frongoch internment camp in Wales. Commandant Joseph Howley, leader of the Oranmore Volunteers, was shot dead by British forces during the War of Independence while conducting IRA operations in Dublin.
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