Rebellion Walking Tour. The History. The Activities of The 5th Battalion of National Volunteers in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, and the surrounding areas, between Monday 2. April and Sunday 3. April, 1. 91. 6. The rising was the turning point in the Irish nation's outlook on sovereignty. It represented a change in the people's desire for home rule, to a complete break away from Britain. Robert William 'Bob' Benson (9 February 1883 – 19 February 1916) was an English professional footballer, who played as a full back. Born in Whitehaven, Cumbria he. CASTES IN INDIA: Their Mechanism, Genesis and Development. Paper presented at an Anthropology Seminar taught by Dr. Tweet more articles like this. Way Back When in May 1916 updated: May 07, 2016, 11:00 AM By Betsy J. The teenage starlet’s name is not well known today.
It has a huge symbolic importance in Ireland history, and despite being a failure, it set down the ground work for the War of Independence, 1. However it is usually only the events in the city centre, such as the taking of the Four Courts by 1st battalion, or the Jacobs factory by the 2nd battalion that get mentioned in the History books. The successful battle at Ashbourne however is often referred to only in passing. It was one of the few rebellions outside of Dublin. Others took place in Galway, Cork, Wexford, Louth and Tipperary however the fight at Ashbourne was the biggest, and more importantly one of the only successful ones. This article is an exploration of the Easter rising, in Ashbourne Co. The Easter Rising (Irish:The action was carried out by the 5th battalion of the Dublin Brigade, known in the area as 'The Fingal Volunteers'. The commandant in charge of these (roughly 6. Thomas Ashe, a high ranking member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an active member of The Gaelic League and had recently been promoted to Battalion Commandant shortly before the rising. Mulcahy was in the area with his own orders and only met up with Ashe by chance. He was in the Fingal area with two other men from 'C Company', with the objective of cutting communication lines at Howth junction which allowed communication with Britain. Afterwards they were supposed to return to Dublin, however, one of Mulcahy's men was mistakenly captured by Ashe's 5th Brigade. Ashe and Mulcahy, both members of the Keating Branch of the Gaelic League, had become friends in the years previous, and now met again, through this mistaken capture. Ashe appointed Mulcahy as his second- in command, and together they would lead their assault on RIC in the area. The New Zealanders advanced alongside the British towards the German-held village of Flers in the first ever attack supported by tanks. Battalion Quartermaster (BQM) was Frank Lawless. Other members of the Lawless family also were also involved such as Jim Lawless and Joe Lawless. Charlie Weston and Ned Rooney were, like Jim and Joe, officers put in charge of sections of the Battalion, when it had been split into 4 columns. Dick Hayes was the units Medical Officer, and also held the roles of Adjutant and Intelligence Officer. From the beginning of the rebellion, 5th Battalion were poorly armed with an assortment of different weapons, generally riffles, and ammunition was scarce. Some were also members of the IRB, but were still inexperienced in warfare, and basic battle tactics. IRB members had been urged to join the Volunteer Force by their leaders, as their superiors set about infiltrating the leadership of the Irish Volunteers, as they had done with the GAA in the 1. In contrast, the RIC was well armed with no shortage of ammunition. A large amount of its recruits were also Irishmen, enticed to join the force, as they and their families needed an income. They were highly trained, and required to reach high physical and educational standards. Ashe with his force of about 6. Captain Dick Coleman to Dublin City. From the same order Ashe was instructed to raid nearby barracks', which would hopefully release some of the pressure on those fighting in the City. On Wednesday the Fingal Volunteers raided RIC barracks' in both Swords and Donabate. This allowed them to confiscate many weapons including 1. Afterwards successful attempts were made to destroy rail communication at Donabate, and telegraph lines at Swords. The men proceeded to Rogerstown. Morale was high at this point, as the units . A number of other local volunteers in the Swords and Donabate area joined with the Fingal unit as they passed through. That night, after the fall of darkness the unit moved on the barracks at Garristown with a plan in place for another raid. However after bursting their way into the barracks, they found it deserted. This was because word spread of the previous raids, and the police at Garristown were relocated to nearby barracks' as reinforcements. Instead Ashe and Mulcahy led the men to Baldwinstown, where they set up camp for the night. Those who weren't fully dedicated to the rising and those who were considered too old or too young were sent home. This left about 5. The Battalion moved on towards Ashbourne, and base camp was made in an unused farmhouse between Garristown and Ashbourne. On Friday, the day of the battle at Ashbourne, Ashe split his unit into four sections which acted like flying columns which would become famous in the War of Independence. The mission of the day was to destroy the Midland Great Western Railway (M. G. W. R) line which went through Batterstown. Intelligence suggested British troop reinforcements were being sent from Athlone into Dublin, and they hoped to sabotage the line disrupting the flow of troops in the city. Three sections left the camp at 1. The forth section under Jim Lawless remained to guard the camp and there, they assisted the Battalion Quartermaster (Frank Lawless) in gathering supplies and rationing food. Dick Hayes drove the only motor car in which he carried his medical supplies. The convoy was led by two scouts from the first section who cycled ahead of the rest as 'spotters'. Behind them travelled the rest of the 1st section, commanded by Charlie Weston. Ashe and Mulcahy travelled with the middle section commanded by Ned Rooney. The route of the 3. Rath Cross north of Ashbourne, and Ashe agreed if the RIC barracks there had not already been evacuated, then it should be captured before continuing, allowing the Battalion to add more firearms to their arsenal. The scouts approached quickly on their bicycles, and managed to disarm the duo, and marched them to the rear section. Ashe now ordered the men off their bicycles and for Section 2 and 3 to take cover where they stood, on the by- road just North of Rath Cross. Ashe and Mulcahy now proceeded with Weston's section, and from an embankment on the opposite side of the road than the barracks, Ashe shouted to the police occupying the barracks, demanding they, . Those inside replied to Ashe's demands in the form of rifle fire in his direction. Ashe dived for cover as the section returned heavy fire on the windows, as the battle of Ashbourne began. Ashe went back to his men, got them under cover, and the battle began in earnest. Some of the rebels got onto the footpath along the road, behind the fence in front of the barracks, and behind the fence on the opposite side of the road, whilst some others were on the north side of the Barracks. Some were behind a wall which was on the south- west side of the crossroads. For the next 3. 0 minutes the fire fight continued and later it became evident that the police suffered a number of causalities. Section one had two home made canister grenades with them and one was thrown at the barracks, but landed short, blowing a hole in the ground in front of the barracks. Perhaps the explosion damaged the police morale, or perhaps their surrender was only a stalling technique, but never the less, a cease fire was called on both sides. It was approximately 2 pm, and a convoy of police had just arrived from Slane in as many as 2. The police, believing they had just driven into an ambush, dived from their vehicles into the nearby ditches, and anywhere else they could find cover. The volunteers had the element of surprise, and in these initial moments RIC Sergeant Shanagher and a number of others were killed, including civilian police drivers. Ashe's force. In fact, the next day, newspaper articles would estimate Ashe's numbers as 2. The heavy fire coming from the panicked police was flying in the direction of Ashe and Mulcahy at the barracks. Sections two and three were still awaiting orders and were oblivious to the numbers of police that had arrived. With all this heavy fire, they felt it necessary to move from their position at the rear of the barracks, to an adjoining ditch facing the direction the fire was coming from. Mulcahy met up with them to give them their orders, and reassure them. He told them 4th section had been sent for back at base camp, and together Mulcahy and the men from 2nd and 3rd raced across an open field, risking being shot to meet with Ashe. He informed the men of their orders. Section two, and half of section 3 were to go with Mulcahy to reinforce those of section one, who were involved in the heavy fire fight at the crossroads. The other 7 men of section 3 were directed, by Ashe, to a position in the rear flank of the police to wait for section four. The police returned fire, and one of the seven is believed to have received a gun shot wound to the head. Another had to bring him for medical help, which left only five men at the rear. Only three of these had rifles, the other two shot guns. The RIC, outnumbering them in both numbers and ammunition kept them pinned down. Suddenly, movement behind the five led them to spin around and shoot at something creeping behind them, and then drop to the ground to dodge the retuning bullets. Little did they know but the force behind them was actually Mulcahy, leading the 4th section. Amid the confusion, they had mistaken each other for the enemy, and further more wasted almost all of their valuable ammunition. Meanwhile Joe Lawless and another Volunteer, who had made there way back to the dressing station in desperate need of ammunition, managed to acquire a total of 2. On their way back however, eleven police emerged from the ditches, with hands in the air, surrendering. Those of Section four at the rear, now led by BQM, Frank Lawless, had pressed forward on the police, forcing them towards the main body of Volunteers at the crossroads. The commander of the RIC convoy was District Inspector Harry Smyth.
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