Pictured: Guest speaker Honor O Brolchain and tutor Rachel McNicholl. Photo by Aileen Hunt.
Ringsend College will be putting together and publishing a booklet of stories, photos and memorabilia from the Remembering 1916 course that was compiled and arranged at the Ringsend College writers’ class from the months of January to May 2016, each Friday morning.
Each participant in the class had to research their chosen subjects on the history of the Easter Rising through stories of lesser known figures, personally loved and locally known heroes whom they sought to write about!
The booklet is called a Hatful of Stories and it has been facilitated and organised by the tutor and editor of the writers’ group at Ringsend College, Rachel McNicholl.
Pictured: Hat worn by Jack Plunkett in GPO, with bullet hole. Courtesy of Honor O Brolchain. Photo by Aileen Hunt.
The booklet has been divided into four sections, with the first section covering the local landmarks and places historically associated with the Easter Rising. The second section of the booklet includes biographies of the different individuals, who were researched and written about by the students, for their part in 1916. Contributors to this booklet are locals from the Ringsend and Irishtown community.
“The idea was to capture stories in living memory, for those who remembered family members and relatives who were alive in 1916. These biographies are of people the students had some connection to. Some of our pieces were inspired by what we saw on the NewsFour website,” said Rachel McNicholl.
The third section of the booklet concentrates on stories from the Irish War of Independence 1919-1921 and the final section concerns student reflections and comments on outings to both the Rotunda Hospital and the Pearse Museum at St. Enda’s Park.
There were two guest speakers invited to these classes. Honor O Brolchain (grand-niece of Joseph Plunkett) provided the students with slides, photos and told stories to the students. Brian Siggins (a local historian) brought along some documents to show the students including information on how Éamon de Valera had once applied for a job at Ringsend College.
Included in this booklet there are stories covering a wide variety of characters, many of whom survived the fighting of Easter 1916 and this booklet speaks of the aftermath and the life these men and women lived subsequently.
Pictured: Laura Butterly with her grandfather Patrick Murtagh’s medals. Photo by Rachel McNicholl.
This collection features a fictional short story about Clarissa Palmer from the writers’ group set at the battle of Mount Street Bridge. Also featured is the story of former 1916 Volunteer Arthur Shields, who was raised in a Protestant household in Portobello, fought in the GPO with the besieged rebels and later pursued his career as an actor with both the Abbey and with various Hollywood movie studios.
Shields subsequently went on to become known for his roles in such films as The Quiet Man and the film adaptation of the Plough and the Stars. This piece was written about Arthur Shields and is entitled The Emerald Rebel and the Hollywood Hills, and was wonderfully researched by Louise Whelan.
One piece was written by Gerry Stewart on fellow Marist Christian Brother and Irish Volunteer Peter Flood, and his role in the Rising and his transition to becoming a Marist Brother. Another piece covered the life of Margaret Keogh of Stella Gardens who was the last victim shot dead during the Irish War of Independence.
“It will be a booklet for students of the scheme and the relatives of the people they wrote about. We are hoping to release it in September, but an exact date has to be decided,” added Nicholl.
For further information on Ringsend College or the booklet, contact Maria Riordan at 01-6684871. There will be special days for enrolment in the college courses during early September. The college also facilitates reading classes, numeracy classes, and computer classes for all who are interested.
By Robert Fullarton
