One hundred years ago today, on Wednesday evening, March 7th 1923 the thick steel plate being held up in the photograph by the late Derry Brick was part of the mine around which the nine IRA Volunteers were tied and blown up by Free State forces at Ballyseedy.
At the time of the first screenings of Pat Butler’s revealing ‘Ballyseedy’ documentary in November 1997 and in March 1998, Derry rang me during the week before the second showing and asked if I’d like to take a photograph of ‘a piece of the Ballyseedy mine’ and we arranged to meet at the monument.
Distorted and Holed
The steel plate was around nine inches square and a good half inch thick and much heavier than it looked at a glance.
It was distorted, with a hole blown in it and it was found on Brick’s land along with other bits and pieces of blast debris in the neighbouring Caherbreagh by his father Patrick while out walking the fields in the days after the widely acknowledged, worst atrocity of the Irish Civil War.
As centenary commemorations are taking place these days in Knocknagoshel, Ballyseedy and at the Republican Graves in Kilbanivane Cemetery there is much more ‘mixing’ going on.
Another Considerable Step
When the monument in Knocknagoshel was unveiled at Talbot’s Bridge in the winter of 2013, the invited speaker, Jimmy Deenihan, TD emotionally announced the presence of Paudie Fuller the son of Stephen Fuller – the miraculous, sole survivor of the Ballyseedy Massacre.
Deputy Deenihan said that Mr. Fuller’s presence there on that day was courageous and a huge step on the long road to reconciliation.
On Sunday, in Knocknagoshel, there was another considerable step taken in that direction when Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and William O’Connor from Ardfert greeted each other warmly before they jointly placed a wreath at the monument there.
Echo of Gunfire
Mr. O’Connor’s uncle, Private Laurence O’Connor from Causeway was one of the Free State soldiers killed in that mine explosion on Tuesday, March 6th 1923.
Harmlessly ironic and much remarked on was the echo of gunfire from the local clay pigeon shooting grounds as Ms. McDonald and Mr. O’Connor chatted by the monument.
The Knocknagoshel commemoration was always a Fine Gael gig because of how the political fault lines were set down by events like that and Ballyseedy and the poisonous, family sundering, brother against brother climate of that time.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder
On Saturday in Knocknagoshel, Fianna Fail Minister for Education Norma Foley stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the monument with her Fine Gael government colleagues like Brendan Griffin TD and West Limerick’s Patrick O’Donovan, TD.
And, as he did a decade ago, the keen eyed Mr. Deenihan seized the opportunity of furthering the cause of reconciliation and pointed out Jimmy O’Connell’s presence in the gathering.
The Castleisland native’s uncle Michael O’Connell was one of the men blown up in Ballyseedy by that mine of which the steel plate in the photograph was part 100 years ago today.
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