Fianna Éireann Scout Joseph Coughlan (aged 14) of Sunfort near Liscarroll (Sunfort Hill)
Date of incident: 30 April/1 May 1921
Coughlan, aged 14, was shot and mortally wounded at Sunfort Hill (just north of Liscarroll) by soldiers of the East Lancashire Regiment while he was acting as a guide for an IRA advance party, whose members ran away when challenged by the troops. Sunfort Hill was only about 200 yards from Coughlan’s residence. One report claimed that he had failed to obey a military order to halt and had been shot for that reason. The earliest newspaper reports misidentified the dead youth as Joseph Cotter.
Patrick O’Brien, Vice O/C of the Charleville Battalion, later reported that ‘on May Eve a trench was being opened about a mile from the village of Liscarroll, and some of the [IRA] parties on their way home after completing the work were intercepted by a military patrol which killed a young lad . . . only about 14 years of age’.
Death Certificate of Joseph Coughlan
Coughlan was the grandson of Mary and John Dennehy of Sunfort and lived with them; John Dennehy was an agricultural labourer.
Sources:
Dr Andy Bielenberg, UCC, and Professor Emeritus James S. Donnelly, Jr, UW-Madison at the Cork Fatality Register, 1919-23
Na Fianna Éireann in Cork city and the fight for Irish Independence (1910-1921) by Colmán de Róiste
“This book offers a thoroughly researched and detailed account into the formation and development of Na Fianna Éireann in Cork city during a turbulent but fascinating period of Irish history.
Through access to the recently discovered personal notes and correspondence of his Grandfather Denis Woods, a former Fianna Company Commander in Cork city, the author Colmán de Róiste presents a unique insight into the membership and activities of this important military support organisation for the Cork IRA throughout the bloody fight for Irish Independence.“
One of the most remarkable women of her generation, was how the President, Mr. de Valera, described Countess Markievicz, when he unveiled a plaque to her memory at Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital, Dublin, where she died.
The President, who spoke in Irish and English, recalled visiting the Countess in the hospital after she had undergone an operation. Though obviously in pain, he said, she was still the grand person she had always been.
Seeing her in pain and in a public ward, Mr. de Valera said he thought she might not have been as comfortable as she could have been and suggested to her that she might like to go to some other part of the hospital, where she would be more comfortable. “She was angry with me for making the suggestion” said Mr. de Valera. She seemed to think that he was suggesting that what was good enough for the ordinary people was not good enough for her.
That attitude on the part of the Countess, did not surprise him, said the President. It was not the first time that she had put aside wealth, ease and situation, as she had done in the service of the workers who badly needed help. She was not merely willing to help them but wanted to be identified with them.
Those of their own generation said Mr. de Valera, would certainly not pass the memorial without thinking of her. The younger generation, on passing by, might be induced to learn of what she and other Irishwomen of her generation did for the cause of Irish freedom and in helping the poor.
The plaque, which was provided by the Fianna memorial committee, is inscribed in Irish and English as follows:
“In memory of Countess Markievicz, Gore-Booth, Sligo: President of Fianna Eireann. A valiant woman who devoted her life to the cause of the Irish people, and who died in this hospital on 15th July, 1927.”
Welcoming Mr. de Valera, Mr. Eamon Martin, founder-member of Fianna Eireann, Dublin Brigade Commandant of the Fianna in 1916, and Fianna Chief of Staff, 1917-1921, said that they, “the comrades of Countess Markievicz, were proud of the fact that, under her inspiration, they were the pioneer army of their own resurgent times”.
When Madame became ill and sensed, as he believed she did, that she was nearing her death, “she had chosen to come to a public ward in the hospital so as to be amongst the people for whom she had so long laboured”.
Because they had been aware of the President’s recent illness, said Mr. Martin, their committee had been reluctant to impose any great strain upon him. They would have been more than content had he agreed to perform the simple unveiling of the plaque, but Mr. de Valera had insisted that he could not allow the particular occasion to pass without paying his spoken tribute to Madame.
On arrival at the hospital, the President was greeted by Mr. Eamon Martin, Mr. Paddy Campbell, president, Cumann Naisiunta na Sean Fianna; Mr. Eugene Kelly, chairman, Fianna Memorial Committee; and Professor W. J. E. Jessop, representing the hospital’s board of governors.
The Presidential Salute was played by St. Brigid’s Band, Blanchardstown. After the unveiling ceremony, the Last Post and Reveille were sounded, and the National Anthem was played.
The members of the Fianna Memorial Committee who arranged the erection of the plaque are:
Mr. Eugene Kelly, chairman,
Eamon Martin,
Liam Timmins,
Joe Valentine,
Frank Sherwin,
Jim Carroll,
Christy Keogh (secretary),
Patrick Campbell,
James O’Byrne,
Martin Humpton,
Michael Kelly,
Edward Kelly.
The colour party at the ceremony consisted of Mr. Christopher Doyle, Mr. A. McDonnell, Mr. Christopher O’Reilly and Mr. James O’Byrne.
The Secretary of the Department of Labour, Mr. Tadhg O’Carroll, attended the ceremony (the Countess was the first Minister of Labour).
The attendance included Ald. Sean Moore, T.D.; Mr. David Andrews, T.D.; Cllr. Gerry Dunne, Mr. Paddy Brennan and Mr. T. Watkins, South Dublin Brigade, I.R.A; Col. E. C. Hicks, secretary, Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital; Miss Katherine Brennan, matron, Mr. W. G. Fegan, representing the hospital medical staff; Mr. Cathal O’Shannon, Mrs. Nora Connolly-O’Brien, and Father Tom Walshe, O.P., chaplain, Dublin Brigade, Old I.R.A.
Earlier yesterday units of Cumann Naisiunta na Sean Fianna from Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Armagh, Dundalk and Nenagh, attended a commemorative Mass for the Countess in St. Andrew’s Church, Westland Row.
The Mass was celebrated by Rev. Colman O hUallachain, O.F.M., whose father, Gearoid O hUallachain, was a close personal friend of the Countess, and succeeded Eamon Martin as Dublin Brigade Commandant of the Fianna in 1916.
The President was represented at the Mass by his Senior A.D.C., Col. Sean Brennan.
Following the Mass, members of the Fianna formed up behind the National Flag and the flag of Fianna Eireann and marched to the plaque unveiling ceremony.
With military ceremonial the Service Certificate of Countess Markievicz, founder and Chief Scout of Fianna Eireann, was formally presented to Mr. MacBride, Minister for External Affairs, who received it on behalf of the Government at the National Museum.
Military honours were accorded by the 26th (Fianna), Battalion, F.C.A., while there was a big turn-out of members of the National Association of Old Fianna Eireann, which sponsored the ceremonies.
Mass was celebrated for deceased members of the Fianna by Rev. Father Ardiff, in the Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin Castle. The Battalion and the Association members then marched to the Museum, where a large crowd watched the ceremony. Lieut. H. MacNeill (F.C.A.), son of Major-Gen. H. MacNeill, G.O.C., Eastern Command, had the honour of carrying the original Fianna standard at the head of the parade.
Mr. Eamon Martin, President of the Association, making the presentation to Mr. MacBride, said that it was very appropriate that the Minister, who was one of Countess Markievicz’s boy-soldiers in the ranks of the Fianna, should accept the Certificate on behalf of the nation to which she rendered such unceasing and devoted service. This woman, he said, had “the foresight and the courage to launch a militant organisation which was to pioneer the trail for the glorious years which followed, and which witnessed the resurgence of their people“.
They could not pay a more fitting tribute to the memory of “Madame” than by renewing the pledge they took on joining the organisation which she founded. Let them resolve, once again, he said, that they would never relax in their efforts until every inch of their soil was rid of the occupation forces of an alien Government.
Mr. MacBride, replying, thanked the Association on behalf of the people and the Government for presenting the Certificate as a token to the memory and service of Countess Markievicz. Few people did as much to raise the flag of national freedom and of economic and social freedom as she did, and it was fitting that in these days they should have presented to the nation a reminder of the ideals of Fianna Eireann so that they might guide them in the tasks that lay ahead of the nation.
“I hope,” said Mr. MacBride, “that this token and this ceremony to-day will help to keep before our minds -the tasks which have yet to be achieved the task of securing the territorial unity of our nation which has been denied us by those who formerly occupied this country, and the task of making effective the pledge which this nation gave to guarantee equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens.”
Mr. MacBride appealed to the people to unite steadfastly in their determination not to rest until they had secured their ultimate national objective the re-unification of Ireland as the Republic of Ireland.
After the ceremony outside the Museum, the parade marched to St. Stephen’s Green, and a halt was made to observe a short silence outside the College of Surgeons, where Countess Markievicz was second in command in the 1916 Rising.
The final ceremony was outside 34 Camden St., where the first sluagh of Fianna Eireann was formed in 1909. Here a wreath was placed on the door by Mr. E. de Valera, T.D., who inspected a guard of honour of veterans of that first sluagh.
Among those present were Major Gen. MacNeill; Lieut.-Col. H. L. Murphy, Staff Officer, F.C.A., Eastern Command; Lieut.-Commander C. B. O’Connor, Naval Service; Lieut. P. Dalton, O.C. 26th (Fianna) Battalion, F.C.A.
Countess Markievicz’s service certificate is to be preserved in the Museum among the other relics of the 1916 Rising.
A rare Fianna Eireann Certificate of Service presented to Thomas Murphy (with an Irish translation that looks like Tomás O’Murcádá) in fine condition.
This was recently for sale (with a number of Thomas’s medals) at Whyte’s Auction House in Dublin.
Whyte’s wrongly identified it as a 1959 Fianna Certificate of Service, presumably they assumed it was issued during the Golden Jubilee of the Fianna’s foundation that year. The Fianna Certificates of Service were first introduced in 1945, with the first batch (of approx. 300 certificates) being presented to former members at an event at the Oak Room, Mansion House in Dublin on Sunday 30th September 1945. A number of certificates were also presented to relatives of deceased members. A parade through Dublin to the Mansion House preceded the event.
Announcing the intention to present certificates to former members, Eamon Martin declared that “the project conceived many years ago has come to fruition and [is] now made possible by that unity of purpose which has become the dominant feature of the efforts of the old comrades through the National Association of Old Fianna”.
A re-union dinner was held the night before (Saturday 29th September 1945) at Clery’s Restaurant, Dublin. Approximately 500 Fianna veterans and their partners attended. Some of those who attended on the night included Alderman P.S. Doyle, T.D., Major General Hugo MacNeill, Garry and Paddy Holohan, Sean Prendergast, Robert Holland, Ina Connolly Heron, Eamon Martin, Patrick Joseph Jordan, Seamus Kavanagh, Niall MacNeill, Joseph Reynolds, Christopher ‘Kit’ Martin, Sean Nugent, Michael Oman, Seamus Pounch, Nora Connolly O’Brien, Seamus Reader, Frederick Schweppe and Frank Thornton.
Set of medals attributed to Thomas Murphy, Fianna Eireann
Having carried out a quick investigation of former members of Na Fianna, I have uncovered two Thomas Murphys that might fit the bill of the recipient.
The first one is the likely candidate; Thomas Murphy who lived at “Stella Maris”, 39 Tivoli Terrace East, in Dun Laoghaire and he was 2nd Lieutenant ‘E’ Company, 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade Fianna Eireann 11th July 1921
He received his certificate on 30/09/1945 at the above-mentioned event.
Thomas Murphy is included in the Dun Laoghaire Fianna Eireann group photograph below:
On Monday, 24th April 1916, the Irish Volunteers in South Galway answered the call to arms and mobilised.
And on Sunday 24th April 1965 forty-nine years later, a monument was unveiled to their courageous leader Liam Mellows.
The monument unveiled and blessed near where Raftery, the poet, is buried at Killeeneen, Craughwell, is a simple stone structure surmounted by a cross.
It was unveiled by one of the volunteers and former T.D, and County Council official Mr. Mattie Niland, Kilcolgan and blessed by Father Desmond Carroll C.C. Clarenbridge.
Mr. Niland outlined for the big crowd of volunteers, I.RA. veterans and Cumann na mBan, the history of the Easter Rising in South Galway.
On Easter Monday the volunteers mobilised and on Easter Tuesday the Kilcolgan and Clarenbridge Company attacked Clarenbridge Police Barracks.
They moved on and were joined by volunteers from Maree and Oranmore in an attack on Oranmore Police Barracks. From there, they marched to Athenry and took up positions at the Agricultural College.
Mr. Niland said the monument was meant to commemorate the courage of these men and their leader Liam Mellows, who organised the insurrection in South Galway.
The committee responsible for the monument, which was designed by Messrs. Regan’s, of Loughrea and erected by Mr. Patrick Ruane, Craughwell, was led by Mr. Jim Barret (Chairman), Athenry; Mr. Frank Fahy (Secretary), Templemartin, Craughwell; Mr. Patrick Cloonan (Treasurer), Craughwell and former T.D. Mr. Stephen Jordan, Athenry.
Three members of Cumann na mBan, who also took part in the Rising in South Galway, were also present. They were: Mrs. Mary Rabbitte, Killeeneen, Craughwell; Mrs. Bridget Ruane, Castlelambert, Athenry and Mrs. Kate Armstrong, Kilcolgan.
The music at the ceremony was supplied by the Tony Cunningham Accordion Band, Ardrahan. Mr. Cunningham, who founded and conducts the band, has two of his children in it, Anna and Michael. Also in the band were: Breda Holland, Noel Geoghegan, Mary Curtin, Anne Lane, Martin Killey, Martin Morgan, Geraldine and Edal Silver, Michael Mullins and Gerard Curtin.
Inheritance and Remembrance Collection, University of Galway Digital Library. Photograph of veterans at the unveiling of the Liam Mellows memorial, Publisher = “University of Galway”, Asset Id 3718, Archival Record Id https://digital.library.universityofgalway.ie/p/ms/asset/3718
Frank Glasgow was born in 1902 in Limerick City. In his teens he joined Fianna Eireann, and served with the mid-Limerick Brigade. During the Tan War he was captured by the British and interned at Wandsworth Prison, where he went on hunger strike for 23 days before he was subsequently released.
He had been a close friend of Terence MacSwiney and other prominent Munster republicans.
It was said that his first love was the Irish language, and he was a member of the Gaelic League’s executive for many years. In paying a tribute to Frank Glasgow, Limerick Mayor P. Kiely stated that “he had been closely associated with the language revival since he was 17 years old, and only recently when I questioned him, he said he was a fluent English speaker at 17 but dropped it completely and has practically spoken in his native tongue since.”
He was associated with the Fianna Fail party since its foundation in 1926 and in his later years he served as a Limerick City councillor, from 1950 onwards, including one term as Mayor, in 1961 when the incumbent Mayor Mr. Donogh O’Malley was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance. He was estimated to have spent half his lifetime in the public service, in one form or another.
He was also heavily involved in local cultural organisations such as the Limerick Art Gallery committee, Féile Luimnigh and the Limerick Choral and Operatic Society.
Frank Glasgow died at the age of 71 on 30th January 1973.
Glasgow Park in Limerick City was named in his honour and in 2021 a memorial stone was unveiled at the entrance to the park.
Pictured are Jerry Ryan, Jacinta Glasgow, Margaret Glasgow and Eileen and Darren Moloney pictured with the new memorial erected in Glasgow Park. Picture: Keith Wiseman and I Love Limerick.ie
Portrait of Roger Casement by Irish Artist Sarah Purser (1848-1943)
There are many in Limerick who have personal recollections of Roger Casement: the great patriot came to Limerick in late 1913 to initiate the Volunteer Movement. One of these was Councillor Frank Glasgow. Frank was a small boy of 11 at the time, but even now, after a lapse of over half a century, he has a clear remembrance of Casement’s impressive figure and powerful personality.
Casement, during his Limerick visit, found time to call on the Fianna Eireann boys, who at the time had their headquarters in the Fianna Hall, Little Barrington Street.
As he walked up the Hall on his inspection, four of the Fianna boys from a position on the stage signalled to him in semaphore “Welcome to Sir Roger Casement“. The group included Frank Glasgow, Brian O’Brien of the City Printing Company and the late Gerard Christy, who afterwards was Organiser for Cumann na nGael.
So impressed was Casement by his reception that he later made a present of a tent to the Fianna boys of Limerick.
Many of the boys who were assembled that day in the Hall in Little Barrington St. were later prominent in the struggle for Irish independence and some of them gave their lives for the cause.
FRANK GLASGOW
Frank Glasgow became a member of Fianna Eireann in 1911 and over the past half-century the language movement has found in him an ardent advocate. Sean Heuston who, incidentally, was his tutor, in semaphore for Casement’s visit in 1913, became Secretary of the Gaelic League in 1912, and on his advice Frank joined the Eire Og classes.
Among the prominent workers in the language movement at that time were Seamus McMahon, N.T.; Seosamh Purcell, Liam O’Sullivan and E. B. Duggan, and after them came Seamus Gubbins, Seoirse Clancy and many others.
Frank won a Scholarship to the Gaeltacht 1920 and studied in the Ballingeary Irish College and a number of other institutions in the Fior Gaeltacht.
In the years between he has acted in the local branch; he was secretary in 1923, treasurer in the ‘forties and President in the late ‘forties and early ‘fifties.
To bring Irish into public life, he successfully contested the City Council elections in 1950 and was instrumental in having two other Irish speakers also elected, Sean Walsh and Christy Keyes.
In 1955, a record number of Irish speakers were elected to the Council, and with Frank Glasgow were Jack Danagher, Padraic Mulcahy and Christy Keyes.
In the last contest, Frank worked successfully for the election of Jack Danagher and Mrs Frances Condell when, owing to pressure of parliamentary work, D. В. O’Malley resigned the mayoralty in 1961. Frank Glasgow was a popular choice for the honour.
The above account appeared in the Limerick Leader newspaper in 1963.
The History of Na Fianna Éireann 