Tag Archives: Achill

Three Candles Press

On this day 1976 RTE aired a documentary about Three Candles Press on Radio na Raidio na Gaeltachta. Founder, Colm O’Lochlainn was one of the original members of Scoil Acla and a friend of Emily’s. In 1926 he founded Three Candles Press. Each candle represented one of the principles of truth, wisdom and knowledge. The business, was ahead of its time in the way it put the quality of its work and care of its employees ahead of profit.

His real love over printing and the politics of the Revolutionary period, which he was involved in for a time, was music and the collection of Irish Ballads, which he made his life’s work. Along with his friend Seamus Ennis, contributed greatly to the collection and retention of tunes that may have, without their intervention have got lost in the mists of time.

Sources

William Gerard O’Loughlin was born in Dublin on the 11th of October 1892. His father John O’Loughlin was a travelling sales representative for a printing company. His mother was a Delia (Bridget) Carr from Limerick City whose family were wealthy and in the printing business...Read more

https://www.rte.ie/radio/doconone/646828-documentary-podcast-colm-olochlainn-three-candles-published

Dublin Evening Mail 13 October 1961

https://www.dib.ie/biography/o-lochlainn-colm-a6392

Seamus Ennis 1919 – 1982
Our Founders

War on Achill in 1920

In the summer of 1920 there was an escalation of conflict between the Crown forces and the IRA. Ordinary civilians were often targeted as reprisals for

This triggered a grave escalation of the conflict as the new forces carried out reprisals on the civilian population for IRA attacks – in the summer of 1920 burning extensive parts of the towns of Balbriggan and Tuam for example. The IRA in response formed full-time Flying Columns (also called Active Service Units), which in some parts of the country became much more ruthless and efficient at guerrilla warfare.

Purteen, Keel where the marines landed in 1920

Alongside the limited armed campaign there was significant passive resistance including hunger strikes by prisoners (many of whom were released in March 1920) and a boycott by railway workers on carrying British troops.

https://www.theirishstory.com

Another way of passive resistance was refusing to provide troops with food and other necessities, as was the case on Achill in summer 1920.

MARINES ON ACHILL

A detachment of 25 marines landed at Purteen Harbour, Keel, Achill, and occupied the local coastguard station. they were refused supplies at the shop of Miss M’Hugh and Lr. Achill Co-op. Society. A man bringing turf to the coastguards was turned back. Posters warning the people against dealings with the marines were torn down by the officer.

Irish Independent 30 June 1920

Sources

https://www.theirishstory.com/2012/09/18/the-irish-war-of-independence-a-brief-overview/#.XvpGSfJ7nVo

Irish Independent 30 June 1920

The Sphere 07 July 1951

Flu on Achill

Just as 1918 turned into 1919 the third wave of Spanish Flu stuck the country. The far reaches of Achill was no exception. Glancing through the death records on Achill of early 1919 the majority of deaths were either influenza or related illnesses such as pneumonia. Nobody had medical attendant, as few could afford a doctor. It was a rough winter on the island as it was most places in rural Ireland. Food was in short supply after the end of the war.

Due to the shortage of medically trained, people had to care for their ailing loved ones at home. Emily if she was not in working in Dublin, no doubt would have selflessly attended to the sick, just as she did in the Typhus outbreak of 1913. The district nurse in Achill at that time was Linda Kearns, who like Emily was a Republican and who was involved in the 1916 Rising.


Linda Kearns, a district nurse in Achill in the epidemic, lost no patients to the flu, and attributed her success to her ‘use of poitín as medicine’.

The use of alcohol as medicine during the flu epidemic was not uncommon as there was no other cure.


D.W. Macnamara, who was a junior doctor in the Mater during the outbreak, reflected that whiskey or brandy in ‘heroic doses’ had been a particularly popular option among ‘the older men’.

Sources

Dublin Evening Telegraph 13 January 1919
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp

Cultures of Care in Irish Medical History, 1750–1970. Edited By Catherine Cox; Director, Centre for the History of Medicine, University College, Dublin. Maria Luddy; Professor of Modern Irish History, University of Warwick