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Waterford & 1916

JJ "Ginger" O'Connell was appointed an organiser of the Irish Volunteers by Eoin MacNeill and in April 1915 he visited Waterford. The Irish Volunteers in Waterford were led by Seán Mathews and included Willie "Liam" Walsh, Peader Woods and Patrick Brazil. In Dungarvan, the Irish Volunteers included: Patrick Ormonde; George Lennon; Jimmy Fraher; Peter Cullinane; Thomas Parsons; Michael Morrissey; Patrick Croke; Pax Whelan; Joseph Wyse, PC O'Mahony and Phil O'Donnell.

Pax Whelan, a member of the Irish Volunteers in Dungarvan was among the group of Waterford Volunteers present at the funeral of O'Donovan Rossa in August 1915. A requiem mass was held for O'Donovan Rossa at Waterford Cathedral and this was attended by the Mayor and members of Waterford Corporation.

Pádraig Pearse and JJ O'Connell came to Waterford in November 1915 to attend the Manchester Martyrs Commemoration and took the opportunity to meet with Seán Mathews and JD Walsh to tell them about the proposed Easter Rising. Pearse was told that Waterford City could raise 30 men but with only a couple of rifles and some revolvers and as a result Seán Mathews reported that Pearse told them they did not have enough to fight in Waterford and should go to Wexford and join the volunteers there. According to Nicholas Whittle in Tramore, in his statement to the Bureau of Military History, he contacted Patrick Brazil in Waterford City to let him know that he knew where he could get arms that had been decommissioned by the National Volunteers.

In January 1916, PC O'Mahony, a member of the Irish Volunteers, who worked in the Post Office in Dungarvan was visited by Liam Mellows in Dungarvan and he told him that there were 21 men available in Dungarvan and they had some arms - they were directed to go to Waterford to assist Seán Mathews.

On Thursday April 19th Maeve Cavanagh was asked by James Connolly to go to Waterford and meet with Seán Mathews to tell him that Dublin would be Rising on Easter Sunday at 6.30pm. She met Marie Preolz at the train station and she took a message from Sean McDermott to PO O'Mahony in Dungarvan with the news - he was on night duty in the Telegraph Office. On the 21st April Seán Mathews called his men together with orders that they were to mobilise on Easter Sunday at 6.30pm with arms and rations. On Easter Saturday Eoin MacNeill called off the Rising and JJ O'Connell travelled to Waterford to inform Seán Mathews and then travelled to Kilkenny to demobilise the men there. Willie "Liam" Walsh from Waterford City was to attend the annual GAA Congress in Dublin and it was decided he would try and find out what was happening and would wire Peader Woods "going to Fairyhouse Races" if the Rising was off and "Going to Waterford" if the Rising was to go ahead. He could find no news and wired on Easter Monday at 11.30am that the Rising was off.

In the meantime, Maeve Cavanagh was again dispatched on Sunday night from Dublin with a sealed envelope to take to Waterford and on Monday morning she travelled with her brother to the Metropole Hotel as the people in the hotel were sympathetic and Seán Mathews was sent for. He went to consult his men and came back to say that the Volunteers were out in Dublin. The Waterford Volunteers assembled and approached the Waterford General Post Office to find it occupied by the Royal Irish Constabulary and British troops. Seán Mathews then asked Maeve Cavanagh to go to Kilkenny to mee up with JJ O'Connell to see if there was a possibility of the Waterford men joining an action there. Due to the cancellation of the trains she was unable to get to Kilkenny until Wednesday and returned with a dispatch from JJ O'Connell saying there was no possibility of action.

In Dungarvan PC O'Mahony had received the telegraph from Willie "Liam" Walsh confirming a cancellation of the Rising and no further dispatch was received. However, he was on duty at the Post Office at 8pm where he found a note stating that all communication with Dublin had broken down and having decoded a police telegram advising an ammunition train with a small military guard would be passing through Dungarvan that night he assembled 12 men to ambush this train two miles outside Dungarvan. The only train that passed was a goods train and having stopped and searched it they sent it on its way.

PC O'Mahony was arrested along with Dan Fraher, Phil Walsh and Peter Raftis. Willie "Liam" Walsh and James Nowlan who were in Dublin but unable to get through the barricades to join the action were also arrested on 1 May when they returned to Waterford. They were all detained for 3 weeks and released without charge.

A Brief outline of 1916 Waterford events