ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21 ...

2.my uncle in Nenagh, breaking horses. Then I came backhome and remained at home.in 1914, Jim Leydon of Limerick and Mick Brennan andJack Dalton came to our house in Caherconlish, and theystarted the Volunteers. That was my first experience of,or introduction to the Volunteers. Then the RedmondVolunteers and the Split period Came. I was at the Redmondreview of the Volunteers in Limerick. I was in charge ofcaherconlish Company at that. Then the split came andburst up the whole thing. The Limerick City Volunteersgot burst up. A good. share of the Volunteers in Limericksided with Redmond and as we did not agree with theRedmondite view we got out then. The Redmondites hadcontrol of whatever rifles and stuff that were in theBattalion. Caherconlish Company, which was my Company,was part of the Limerick City Volunteer Battalion, we wereonly about seven miles from the city of Limerick.Afterwards when the re-organisation came in 1917, all ourarea around into Castleconnell and out into Croom; on theAdare side, Adare, Patrickswell and all along there, becamethe Mid-Limerick Battalion area.We did nothing until 1916 came. As all the arms andsuch like were controlled by the Limerick City Volunteers,that is, the Battalion to which we were attached and whichhad gone Redmondite, our Company just fizzled out.After 1916, Peadar McMahon, Peadar Dunne andRobby Byrne, (the latter who was shot afterwards in theLimerick Union Byrne was a cousin of Alfie Byrne, T.D.,late Lord Mayor ofDublin-), came out to Caherconlish torue and they asked me to re-organise the Volunteers. I toldthem I would, and we called a meeting of the CaherconlishVolunteers. There were very few attended. I think about