My grandad was James (Seamus) Kavanagh from 4 Coolevin Road, Dublin 8. He was born on 23rd July 1896. He was 18 years old when he cycled to Howth (on Dublin's North Side where I grew up) on July 26th 1914 with other volunteers and secured a rifle in the gun running from Erskine Childers yacht "The Asgard".
At the time of the Irish rising on Easter Monday 1916, James (Seamus) was a member of Boland's Mill Garrison where Commander-in-Chief of that garrison was Eamon DeValera. Interestingly, grandads best friend was Simon Donnelly also a volunteer and was one of the few who ever escaped from Kilmainham jail. A plaque to this effect in his memory is mounted in the jail at Kilmainham. Grandad was a fluent Irish speaker which I think was a requirement of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the 1913-1916 period. This was an organisation then preceding the IRA. The reason for learning the Irish language was that if gave the members their own national identity. To this end fluent Irish speakers wore the Gold Fáinne in their lapels and less proficient members in their fluency wore a Silver Fáinne. My dad still has my grandads Gold Fáinne from that period.
On Easter Monday 1916, in the morning, Simon Donnelly and other volunteers called to my grandads house at 8 Bishop Street, Dublin. As grandad did not want to upset his mother, he told her that he, Simon and the others were going hiking and doing exercises in the Dublin mountains. Afterwards, in letters exchanged from his prison cell in Wakefield Prison England, grandad apologised to his mother for not telling her of his part in the Easter Monday Rising. On that day, grandad made his way with the others to Grand Canal Street, Boland's Mill, to meet up with the other members of his garrison and the O/C Eamon DeValera. From there he was sent to occupy an area at Mount Street bridge which turned out to be the most successful of the 1916 rebellion against the British. This area of the bridge and Northumberland Road, would have been a main route from Kingstown (now known as Dun Laoghaire) for the British soldiers arriving from England. This turned out to be the area of heaviest fighting with the most deaths - mainly the British "Sherwood Foresters" I am told. Grandad was eventually captured with other volunteers and marched to "Kingstown" for transport to England. He threw a small leather purse, en-route, to a crowd of bystanders with a note enclosed requesting, "Dear Friend - would you please bring this to my mother in 8 Bishop Street" informing her of his capture and safety. Dad still has this purse and its contents.
He was transported to Wakefield Prison and after some months was brought to Frongoch Internment Camp in Wales. The camp was originally built as a whiskey distillery and then used as an internment camp for German prisoners of war in WW1. It was badly burnt and not fit to house so many prisoners, rat infested etc. It consisted of a North and South camp. Grandad became a Captain in the South camp. It is interesting to note that Michael Collins was imprisoned there with grandad. As grandad was not an officer (to begin with) he could not attend officers meetings. It was in Frongoch camp that the IRA was first started. Dad has a lot of the letters exchanged between grandad and his mother at that time, all opened by the censor and needing approval before being passed to prisoners. Dad intends donating all this material to the 1916 museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin. Grandad was eventually released from Frongoch and returned to Dublin.
He was awarded three medals by the Irish Government:
1. 1916 Easter Rising
2. Black & Tan War 1916-1922
3. 1940 medal as Captain in the army
Grandad was requested by the Dept. of Defence to vet the applications for participants in the 1916 rising for veteran pensions. The Dept. of Defence must have valued his opinion and approval of these applicants. A lot of these letters of application are still in my dads possession.
