Ballylanders and Kilfinane ‘War’ women subject of new book

Kilfinane author, Angela Hennessy has collected the accounts of 17 women from the East Limerick area who fought during the years of the War of Independence and beyond, in a brand new book, published by the Kilfinane Coshlea Historical Society.

The book, which Angela wrote during lockdown in 2020, was launched last Sunday week at Davy’s Cottage in Ballinvreena by Kilfinane’s Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, news editor at the Irish Examiner.

At the celebration, a plaque, designed by Paul Ó Farrell, was also unveiled by Ms O’Shaughnessy. The plaque commemorates the women who took part in the War of Independence.

It is the culmination of a year’s work researching historical records online from the military archives, to bring to light the stories of the brave women who assisted their comrades’ work in the early years of the Republic.

‘Women of the Revolution in South-East Limerick 1914-1923’ is Ms Hennessy’s first book. Angela, who is an active member of the local Historical Society, spoke to TheAvondhu about the stories of the women who undertook the dangerous work alongside the men in the early part of the last century.

“We as a society decided in early 2020 that our project this year was to commemorate the women of the War of Independence. As lockdown continued, I realised I could do a lot of research online, and particularly when I saw that the pension files were online.”

In 1924 the first pension legislation was passed for applicants who were ‘ killed or wounded as the case may be’, as well as dependents and widows, between April 1916 and September 1924. Women could not apply for a pension until 1934, and then if they could prove they were in active service during those same years.

“In their applications, they gave details of their service - what is known as ‘active service’. Their active service was not considered as crucial, so no matter what they did they could only qualify for two of the lowest grades of the pension, D or E.

They began to apply in 1935, but most were not granted until 1942 or 43, but not many were successful.”

Angela found the records of 17 women who were in ‘active service’ in the locality.

“There were four Clancy sisters from Cush, near Kilfinane. There was Nora Duane, Cush and Catherine Noonan née Finn, Kilfinane. There was also Mae Burke from Knockanevin and eight women from Ballylanders. Then, we also had Mae Moloney from Lackelly, and a Nurse O’Sullivan from Tipperary.”

“Nurse O’Sullivan was from Grantstown in Tipperary, but she threw in her lot with the East Limerick brigade, and went around with the volunteers as a Red Cross nurse, actually treating people on either side. For example, in the Kildorrery Ambush there were wounded Black and Tans, and she tended to some of them.”

DANGEROUS MISSIONS

Angela had a lot of the stories of the women corroborated in witness statements of the men. The curiosities of Irish names and historical research came to light, as she sought records of the aforementioned nurse - Bridget Mary O’Sullivan - only to eventually find out that she was known as ‘Babs’ all her life in Tipperary, and no one knew of a so-called ‘Bridget Mary’!

“I was able to crosscheck a lot of the information from the witness statements - that’s actually where I came across Babs O’Sullivan. The witness statements are also in the the Bureau of Military Archives, and mostly came from men in the late ‘40s and the early ‘50s. Active men who still had commanding roles in the IRA at the time.”

The kind of work women did between 1916 and 1924, and sometimes even beyond that, included keeping safe houses, scouting and taking dispatches. Angela reports that not many women were killed in action, but the missions they took were dangerous regardless.

“One of the women, Catherine Noonan, she was a member of Cumann na mBan and got a job in the creamery. Dispatches were brought to her at work, and after work she would deliver them here, there and everywhere, and so she would often be cycling home after curfew.

“Another of the women, Mae Burke, worked in the Post Office, and she used to copy the notes from the British. One of those notes was found on an IRA member, and consequently Mae was sentenced to two years in Mountjoy. She later escaped, on or around the 21st October 1920”.

On the day, another plaque was unveiled by guest speaker, historian and author, Tom Toomey, who has written extensively on the War of Independence.

The fascinating lives of these 17 women are recounted in Ms Hennessy’s book, which is for sale on the Kilfinane Coshlea Historical Society webpage, as well as in selected locations.