|
member of Irish Volunteers
(founded by
his uncle The O'Rahilly 1913),
he was in 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade,
though at St.Enda's
there is a list of St.Enda's
boys in Dublin Brigade, he is not on it,
was with The O'Rahilly
at Howth gun-running (which The O'Rahilly organised), 26th July 1914, age 18 yrs,
fought in GPO in
1916 Rising
with his uncle
The O'Rahilly
and his old teacher and mentor Pearse,
he was one of
a number of St.Enda's boys who fought with Pearse,
his uncle The O'Rahilly was the only 1916 leader killed in action,
he appears in one list as in the Irish Volunteers,
Boland's Mills
garrison,
unit B III,
however he fought in the GPO with his uncle,
when he heard
1916 Rising
begun Mon 24th Apr 1916, age only just 20 yrs,
he went to GPO Mon night to join The O'Rahilly,
drove the family De Dion
on various excursions for supplies,
returning to the GPO,
his mother Nell went in, persuaded him to come home Tue night
[O'Rahilly, 1991],
Pearse said to Dick:
"You had better go home. If anything happens your uncle, there will be no man there"
[Mac Eoin, 1980],
but he went back Wed, on Wed it became too dangerous to leave the GPO,
on Fri, he writes in [Dick, 1916], with the GPO in flames,
"O'Rahilly again appears, comes over, and tells me to join
Desmond Fitzgerald
down in the restaurant. The GPO is about to be evacuated.
With a cheerful wave of his hand, and a smile, he steps quickly down the smoke-filled stairs.
Little did I know that this was the last time I was ever to see him alive",
The O'Rahilly was shot on Moore St later Fri night,
Dick stayed to the end with the main garrison in the GPO,
they surrendered Sat afternoon, 29th Apr 1916
(family story that he got down as far as Trinity College before capture),
he was jailed in Kilmainham,
"Richard Humphreys, 54 Northumberland Rd"
among those deported to Britain from Dublin quay on cattle boat,
Fri nite, 5th May 1916, arriving
Holyhead
in the small hours of Sat,
taken by train to
Wakefield Military Detention Prison,
Yorkshire, arriving Sat 6th May,
see
[Dublin Evening Mail, 13th May 1916]
and
[Irish Times,
May 14, 1916],
Nell went to morgue, told both her brother and her son were dead,
would need 2 coffins [Aodogán],
some days before family found out he was still alive,
Nell made big fuss about his youth to get him released, gave impression he was only about 16,
"of course it was just propaganda"
[Aodogán],
in [Dick, 1916]
he prophetically wrote:
"England has triumphed once again, but .. this fight has shaken her as she has never
been shaken before. Next time the whole country, and not Dublin alone will join the fray",
not sure if sent to
Frongoch
after Wakefield,
released think in the general amnesty in 1917,
when he came back
his family asked him what prison was like,
"Not bad - it was much better than Clongowes!",
in
War of Independence 1919-21
he was in 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade
IRA
(same as Emmet),
he wrote for The Irish Cyclist and Motor Cyclist
under the name "Ricardo", mainly 1919-22 (all through War of Independence),
arrested in raid by British military on their house 1919,
jailed Mountjoy,
freed,
he was
in Paris in Jan 1920
[The Irish Cyclist and Motor Cyclist],
arrested again, jailed,
on big hunger strike of Apr 1920, 12 days
(his group were on hunger strike for the right to a trial
- no charges had been preferred against them),
injured his health,
freed,
went down country to recover;
stayed in his granduncle John Mangan's
house Gourbane, Shanagolden, Co.Limerick,
he was there
when Shanagolden was attacked
by the Black and Tans, Aug 1920,
studied law at Four Courts,
called to bar Nov 1920 (BL), but never practiced,
Tommy O'Brien
says Dick was going to be a
barrister, but could not bring himself
to practice in the Free State courts,
British raid on Ailesbury Rd
1920, he was arrested, studying law at time, decided to fight case,
they couldn't prove theirs, acquitted,
but he was finished with the IRA for recognising the court,
[Lavelle, 1961]
says he was in prison Apr 1921,
took part in
motorcycle and motor sport
from at least 1920-7,
including riding in the
Isle of Man TT 1921,
took no part in Civil War (1922-3),
went into business end-1922,
as "O'Mara Rubber Co", based
at 79 Dame St, Dublin,
agreement dated 9th Oct 1922,
the rest of the family was jailed after
Free State raid on Ailesbury Rd in the Civil War, Nov 1922,
think he was NOT imprisoned in Civil War,
in the spring of 1923, when the entire family except Dick were in jail,
a party of Free State soldiers threw a hand grenade into the hall of
Ailesbury Rd,
only caused minor damage,
think this may be same episode as the one remembered where
"the Free Staters tried to burn down Ailesbury Road, but were unsuccessful"
[Nell's obituary],
|
