Last Tuesday saw the launch of ‘Proclaiming the Republic: North Wexford & the 1916 Rising’, written by myself and Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (a local historian and a Sinn Féin county councillor in Wexford). Technically, much of the book was actually written by people from North Wexford who took part or witnessed the events of 1916. This included the seizure of Enniscorthy, Ferns and the surrounding area in the name of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic. Seamus Ó Dubhghaill, Adjutant of the republican garrison wrote and posted up a proclamation in Enniscorthy. He later wrote:
“I issued a proclamation, proclaiming the Republic, and calling on the people to support it and defend it.“
Unfortunately this proclamation, probably the most important document of 1916 in Wexford, is now lost (and not just important to Wexford obviously). The book includes a foreword by Ruan O’Donnell.
The North Wexford connections go beyond the local activity in 1916. It include the likes of Máire Deegan, Min Ryan and her sister Agnes (who left Cumann na mBan in Belfast to come down to Wexford for the Rising), James Corcoran of the Citizens Army (killed in action in St Stephen’s Green) and, of course, the Mellows family. Liam Mellows provides another Belfast connection as the city companies were to travel to Connacht to fight under him. His mother Sarah was a founding member of Cumann na mBan.
The inimitable Robert Ballagh officially launched the book in Gorey library, and endorsed the book as “...once and for all, it nails the lie that The Easter Rising was simply a Dublin affair.” He was also highly critical of the current government’s commemorative plans for 2016.
Production of the book was supported by Wexford county council and proceeds are going to a local mental health charity, talk.to.tom. It will mainly go on sale locally in Wexford (about 130 pages, softback, with some colour, price is around €10). I will try and get up kindle and/or PDF versions online in the near future. In the meantime, a limited number of copies can be purchased from me (send me a message via my gmail address, which is just jjconeill with the usual @ and gmail.com) including where you are – postage should be €2.50 in Ireland, €5 elsewhere). I’ll update about the kindle/pdf versions as I work it out.
The Treason Felony Blog 