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Reaction in Waterford to 1916

The initial response to the Easter Rising among the wider Waterford populace was not favourable. Waterford Corporation passed no resolution in response to the Rising. Waterford Board of Guardians were the first Waterford local authority to pass a resolution in relation to the Rising and on 3rd May 1916 they passed a resolution stating:

That we the Waterford Board of Guardians desire to place on record our strong condemnation of the foolish and misguided conduct of those persons in Dublin whose insurrectionary action has brought such discredit on our country and has occasioned the loss of so much innocent life and the destruction of property, which we deeply deplore. We strongly condemn Sir Edward Carson as being the cause of the Irish bringing into Ireland arms in the North in defiance of the existing Government. We also wish to convey to Mr. John E. Redmond our full appreciation of his policy and, at the same time, to assure him of our firm support and co-operation in this disastrous crisis.

On the 6th May 1916 the Dungarvan Board of Guardians followed suit, condemning the Rising and expressing their confidence in the

“...policy of Mr. John Redmond as President of the National Volunteers and we pledge ourselves to do all in our power to uphold the peace and goodwill of our Country, and for the interest of peace we call on the Government not to inflict the death penalty in any further cases”.

The imposition of the death penalty had a significant impact on the public response to the 1916 Rising. The initial condemnations and pledges of support for the Government gave way to an increasing disquiet and discontent following the executions of the leaders of the 1916 Rising

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On 19th May 1916 it was proposed at Lismore Rural District Council by Mr. O’Brien and seconded by Mr. McGrath:

"That the sympathy of this Council be extended to the wives, relatives and friends of the men who have been executed in Dublin and elsewhere in the past few weeks by the high handed so called Authority of Military Courtsmartial in Ireland."

A direct negative was proposed by Colonel Cotton who objected to the latter part of the resolution and while this was second by Mr. Galloway, this amendment to the resolution was defeated by 6 votes to 2.

Waterford County Council, while passing a resolution condemning the Rising on 23rd May 1916, did so, blaming the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the lack of support for the Irish Parliamentary Party as causes for the 1916 Rising and calling on the Government to re-think their repressive measures.

"That we deeply deplore the recent attempt at insurrection in Dublin, which has been the cause of so much bloodshed and destruction of property, that in our opinion the responsibility is traceable first to the fact that an armed organisation founded to defy the law and create civil war was allowed by the Government to flourish in Ulster for the past four years, thus setting the very worst example to others, and secondly to the fact that for years every weapon of misrepresentation, malice and false accusation has been directed against the Irish Party by the forces of a faction backed by organs in the press such as the “Irish Independent” in order to undermine the influence of the Party, that deplorable as has been the outbreak we believe that the continuance of repressive measures and military rule in Ireland are calculated to do irreparable harm, and that the whole recent history of Ireland to this moment proves beyond question, as does all previous Irish history, that the only hope for salvation for our Country lies in removing the causes of discontent by the establishment of a broad system of self-government under which we are confident that all sections of our countrymen could work together for Ireland.

The executions led to an increasing disquiet and the formation of an Irish National Aid Association for the families of those involved in the Rising. On 20th June 1916 Kilmacthomas Rural District resolved:

"That we sympathise with the Irish National Aid Association, and we hereby form ourselves into a Branch Committee for this district, to support the appeal for funds to aid the parties and families of the men who suffered by imprisonment and death, by being deprived of their bread-winners, as a result of the recent insurrection."

Dr. Vincent White was elected an officer of the Waterford branch of the Irish National Aid Association and money was collected throughout Waterford City and County. Support began to grow for Sinn Féin in Waterford and a rift between pro-Sinn Féin and pro-Irish Parliamentary Party supporters began to grow and develop into two increasingly violently opposed factions.

In October 1916, John Redmond visited Waterford City and was greeted by a large crowd of supporters. There was some heckling from parts of the crowd but this was quickly stopped by members of the Ballybricken Pig Buyers’ Association, strong supporters of Redmond.

In June 1917, the brother of John Redmond, Major Willie Redmond was killed while fighting with the Royal Irish Regiment and as a sitting MP, his seat in Clare became vacant and a by-election was held. The by-election resulted in a victory for the Sinn Féin candidate Eamonn de Valera. Celebrations of his success in Kilmacthomas led to an outbreak of violence and the arrest of prominent Sinn Féin members Frank Drohan, Geroge Kiely, Patrick Lawlor and Dan Cooney.

By the end of 1917, Sinn Féin had a number of clubs in Waterford. In November 1917, Eamonn de Valera and Arthur Griffith visited Waterford to address a meeting on The Mall. They were paraded across the bridge by Irish Volunteers but stopped by a crowd of Redmond supporters. The Royal Irish Constabulary were forced to intervene to disperse the rival factions. Extra police and troops were brought in and the Sinn Féin meeting was moved to Ballinaneeshagh. A demonstration was held by Redmond’s supporters on Ballybricken Hill that evening.