15 October 2015 I Irish Independent Irish Independent I 15 October 2015

Uncovering history: how you too can use the 1916 archivesThe story of our nation — and your family’s role in shaping it — is just waiting to be discovered, writes Paul Melia

1916 AND YOU

THERE’s no shortage of records available which outline the role that ordinary people played in the Easter 1916 Rising. They include Ireland’s military archives,

some 300,000 pension records and witness statements taken by the Bureau of Military History, a special project which started in 1947 to capture the recollections of those involved.

In all, statements were taken from 1,773 witnesses. As a lot of veterans were alive when the project began, information on the identity of leaders, their family members and even the British Army officers involved is available.

Here, we outline ten ways to find out more about your family’s history:

1 Gather as much information as possible about the person you are researching. Their

name, age and address are very important. You should also try and sketch a family tree, as you might not have just one relative involved. Setting out all you know at the start can help focus your search.

2 The first port of call is the 1911 Census. Free to search online, you can use your

relative’s name and address to search. This will provide information on their occupation and ages, their religion and siblings. You can also learn what type of home they lived in, and if there were sheds or barns attached.

3 Once you have identified your relative, you might be interested in finding out

if they married or had children. The General Register Office in Dublin holds this information, and you can check if a record is held at www.irishgenealogy.ie.

4 Church records are also useful, as they may also include additional details such as

the names of godparents, which can help paint a picture of your ancestor’s friends and family circles.

5 Check the military records, with thousands available at www.militaryarchives.ie.

6 The first collection to check is the Military Service Pensions Collection. It awarded an

annual payment to those who fought but also their families. But not everyone who took part sought a pension, most notably Eamon de Valera.

7 There’s also a map of all the sites where action took place between April 23 and

April 29, 1916. It locates veterans and highlights their positions. Some may have been in a number of locations during the week.

8 The Bureau of Military History, which covered those involved in the Rising and

War of Independence, can also provide more detail on your relative’s activities during the week. It includes personal statements and first-hand accounts of the action, as well as voice recordings and pictures of sites at the centre of the Rising.

9 Some 150,000 Irishmen served in the British Army during World War 1, some of

whom were involved in fighting the rebels. Their military records can be found through www.ancestry.co.uk.

10 Files of the Dublin Metropolitan Police are also being released through the

National Archives, which outline the secret surveillance carried out by police forces against what it called “extremists”. Some 230 people are mentioned in dispatches.

SCHOOL teacher Margaret Skinnider was just 24 years old on April 27, 1916 when she led five men on a mission to “destroy houses in Harcourt Street” to stop the British Army from travelling into the city.

She was shot twice in the shoulder, and once in the back, during the ensuing battle. But she was refused a military pension for her service — because she was a woman.

Born to Irish parents in Scotland in 1893, she served at Liberty Hall, Harcourt Street, St Stephen’s Green and the GPO.

But records held by the Military Archives show that her claim under the Army Pensions Act 1923 was refused because it would be “illogical” to make a

payment to a woman. In March 1925,

she was told her application was being refused because the pensions act only applied to “soldiers as generally understood

in the masculine sense”. Ms Skinnider, who spent seven

weeks in St Vincent’s Hospital being treated for her wounds, re-applied again under the Army Pensions Act 1932-1937, which had changed the criteria by which pensions were awarded.

Then, she wrote that she was unable to write on the blackboard for any length of time, or to do work involving her right arm. A member of the Irish Citizen Army and Cumann na mBan, she was awarded a pension in November 1937, and died in October 1971.

THE Military Archives will move to a new home as part of the Government’s 2016 Centenary Programme.

New archives are under construction at Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines, Dublin, and are expected to be completed by the end of the year and opened to the public in advance of the 1916 commemorations.

The project includes a new building for the storage of archival material, which includes the Military Service Pensions Collection (1916-1923), Bureau of Military History (1913–1921), the Maps, Plans & Drawings Collection, Irish Army Census Collection (1922), images and copies of magazines including An tOglach Magazine (1918–1933) and Irish Volunteer Magazine (1914–1916).

An adjoining building will be refurbished to house offices, visitor facilities, including a reading room for researchers, and a conservation laboratory to allow for the preservation of documents and artefacts.

Currently, the public can access the reading room on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Eight places are provided, but the new building will include 16 spaces.

Get your white gloves on at the new Military Archives

ON Easter Saturday, April 22 1916, Patrick Pearse

wrote a letter to a colleague in the Irish Volunteers, Sean T O’Ceallaigh, seeking a favour.

“Could you put my brother and myself up tonight?” he asked. “It is important that we should be in town. If you cannot, can you get some friend to do it? Please let me know by bearer.”

The note was sent from St Enda’s in Rathfarnham, the school founded by Pearse which was almost 10kms outside of Dublin.

The pair needed accommodation because as members of the Irish

DISCOVER HOW ONE WOMAN FOUGHT THE BRITISH

— AND THEN FOUGHT TO GET HER ‘ILLOGICAL’ MILITARY PENSION FOR BEING A WOMAN!

Republican Brotherhood, they intended for the Rising to begin in Dublin the following day, Easter Sunday, and so needed to be in the city centre.

The Irish Volunteers, formed in November 1913 and led by Eoin MacNeill, planned to mobilise and conduct military exercises on Easter Sunday, but the IRB had other plans — instead of completing exercises, it intended to mount a rebellion.

Learning of the plans, and fearful that the Volunteers were not sufficiently armed to take on the might of the British Army, MacNeill cancelled the military exercises, saying the Volunteers had been “completely deceived”.

On April 23, Easter Sunday, leaders met in Dublin and insisted that the Rising went ahead, which happened the following day, Easter Monday.

As a result of MacNeill’s order, the Rising was almost entirely confined to Dublin.

DISCOVERPATRICK PEARSE’S LETTER TO SEAN T. O’CEALLAIGH FOR HIMSELF AND HIS BROTHER THE NIGHT BEFORE THE RISING

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FINDING OUT YOUR HISTORY USING THE MILITARY ARCHIVES

THERE are hundreds of thousands of files held in the Military Archives,

ranging from personal accounts to records of those who received a pension for their service. Here is a step-by-step guide to finding out more about your family.

Q Go to www.militaryarchives.ie. Then choose ‘collections’ on the right hand

side of the screen, and then ‘Military Service Pensions Collection’. Click through until you come to a search page.

Q On this page, you can choose to search the entire collection, or pension

applications and awards. There are also records concerning members of the IRA and their activities, those in Cumann na mBan, the Irish Citizen Army and Fianna Éireann. A list of veterans with recognised military service is also included, which could be the first place to check. There are records for around 2,600 people, which will all be released by next Easter, with more than 13,000 files already published.

Q If you choose to search the pension applications and awards, the more

detail you provide, the better.

Q If you type in ‘Browne’ as the surname, 13 results are returned. If you are

specifically seeking Thomas Browne, from Mayo, a single record is returned.

Q A synopsis of the records is highlighted, along with the records.

In this case, it relates to Mary Browne’s application for a pension in respect of her husband. It includes a report from An Garda Síochána outlining her circumstances and material relating to her daughters.

Q However, not everyone who played a part in the War of Independence

sought a pension. But almost 69,000 received medals, including the 1916 Medal, honouring their service.

Q The next place to look is www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie

(inset) which outlines the actions of all veterans, including those who did not apply for a pension.

Q This includes an index of

witnesses. All you have to do is enter a name or place.

Q Just make sure you narrow the

search wherever possible. For example, ‘Michael Collins’ returns 1,292 results,

so try and have as much detail as possible to get better-quality results.

Q Another valuable resource is the Easter 1916 Applicants at Action sites,

also on the website. This highlights each part of the country where events took place, involving 2,400 people.

PAUL MELIA

A www.militaryarchives.ie search for Thomas Browne brought up a detailed 38-page document on the Mayo man, a member of Óglaigh na hÉireann

1916 AND YOU

At the Military Archives, Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines: (l to r)Pádraic Carney, Principal, St Louis Senior Primary School; (standing) Tristan Kessopersadh, Shuting Wang, Diana Kola, Heinz Ballebar, Solomon Traynor; (seated) Caoimhe Greene, Repository Manager, CQMS Tom Mitchell and Charlie Casey Carney. STEVE HUMPHREYS

Irish Independent 1916 Youth and Imagination Programme | 54 | Irish Independent 1916 Youth and Imagination Programme

Watch more online at independent.ie/1916

DISCOVERHOW YOUR ANCESTORS LIVED

A KEY strand of the ‘Ireland 2016: Centenary Programme’ is the 1916 Ancestry Project, which aims to encourage all primary and post-primary pupils to trace their family tree back to 1916.

There are lots of resources available, some of which are free. They include the 1901 and 1911

census, military archives and church and civil records.

The project also aims for pupils to engage with local historical societies which can be a rich source of information. In addition, there is also information available about the 150,000 men who fought for the British Army in World War 1.

15 October 2015 I Irish Independent Irish Independent I 15 October 2015

R YAN TUBRIDY does not mince his words when asked why it is that some

school students say they don’t like history. “They think they don’t like history,” the Late Late Show host says, “but often it’s because they don’t have a history teacher who truly engages them, someone who makes the past come alive.”

The broadcaster has long been taken by history, especially those seismic years between 1913 and 1923 when the country’s fortunes changed forever and he believes the events of Easter 1916 were pivotal.

“The importance of the Rising cannot be overstated and I would urge everyone, young and old, to learn as much as possible about it. Those of us who live in Dublin

have reminders of it all around us, and the buildings of O’Connell Street resonate with history.”

His grandfather on his mother’s side, Christopher Stephen “Todd” Andrews, was taught by Patrick Pearse at St Enda’s School in Rathfarnham, Dublin. He used to recall coming home one day to find Pearse in the parlour of his parents house discussing school fees.

Todd Andrews was just 15 when the Rising happened and although he would play no active part in that conflict, he would fight in the War of Independence and for the Anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. “There’s a window above the Burger King in O’Connell Street and that’s where my grandfather was shooting

ANCESTRY PROJECT ANCESTRY PROJECT

Grandad was a revolutionary!

from and was shot at [during the War of Independence].”

His other grandfather, Sean Tubridy, also fought for Irish freedom, and Tubridy learnt a lot about him when he took part in the TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?

“Like my mother’s father, he was on the Anti-Treaty side. I learned a lot about my family tree and I think one of the most invaluable things you can ever do is to find out about your own family tree and get a sense of those relations of yours who have gone before.”

With the centenary of 1916 almost upon us, now is an excellent time, he reasons, for school students to investigate their families’ pasts.

Ryan Tubridy’s first cousin, the former Fianna Fáil TD Barry Andrews, is also captivated by 1916 and the role Todd Andrews (also, of course, his grandfather)

played in the early years of the State. “He was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican, right up until the day he died,” he recalls. “I had begun my first year at UCD when he

died, but I remember him well. Once, as for a laugh, when I was in London, I sent him a postcard with a photo of the Queen on it.”

Andrews studied history at college and went on to be a history teacher before entering public life (he is now the chief executive of the GOAL charity). “The beauty of history is that it’s never black and white and 1916, in particular, is rich with complexity. For a long time, the history taught in schools didn’t look at all sides but it does now and today’s students are fortunate for that.”

Meanwhile, Ryan Tubridy, who is making a television documentary on 1916, says the Rising should be celebrated “with pride and dignity”.

Ryan Tubridy and Barry Andrews talk to John Meagher about their grandfather, Todd Andrews

AS many as 150,000 Irishmen fought for the British Army in World War One, and there is a range of records available, some of which are available for free.

They include the services records held in the UK, which include information about a soldier’s military service from when they enlisted to their discharge or death. It also includes the name, age, place of birth, occupation on enlistment, marital status, physical description, medical history and awards.

The records can be accessed for free in person at the UK National Archives in Surrey. A joint project between the National Archives and www.ancestry.co.uk includes all 2.75 million surviving records, which can be searched online for a fee.

A voluntary project to list Ireland’s veterans is also at www.worldwar1veterans.com, and memorial records listing those who died can be found through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at www.cwgc.org.

Some 9,000 wills left by soldiers can also be found at http://soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie.

WHERE TO GET WORLD WAR ONE RECORDS

WATCH Ryan Tubridy talk about his family tree and the extrordinary life of his grandfather Christopher Stephen “Todd” Andrews in a special video to accompany this supplement. See it at independent.ie/1916 along with other great images and video clips including a visit to the Military Archives in Dublin.

Watch more online at independent.ie/1916

MANY Irish men were fighting on the side of the British army in the Great War when the Easter Rising broke out, including the father of veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne. “My father signed up [for the army] in 1913 as much for adventure as anything else,” he recalls.

Like many Irishmen who served in the trenches, Edward Byrne did not like to talk about what he had seen. “But he spoke to me about it once,” his son says. “I was sitting at home writing a school essay and my father asked what it was about and I said, ‘War’, and he picked it up and said, ‘This isn’t what it was like at all’ and he proceeded to tell me about the horrors of the trenches.

“Rats were everywhere so the men tried to keep their sandwiches safe from them by storing them in their pockets. But the rats got clever, and my father would wake up after a few hours’ sleep and find a rat in his pocket eating his food. I remember my mother coming home from shopping, and he stopped talking immediately.”

Years later, Gay Byrne made a documentary on Edward called Father’s War.

Gay Byrne on his father, Edward Byrne

Nora Owen on her grand-uncle, Michael Collins “MICHAEL Collins was 26 in 1916 and had returned from England where he had been living. He was maturing as a man and as a leader and those qualities would be very much in evidence years later during the War of Independence.

“I always knew we were related to him but it was only in my late teens when my mother started to talk to me about him.

“His death had been too painful for her. She was 10 at the time and she had seen him shortly before his assassination. He went to hug her and she remembered saying to him that she was too old for hugs. He meant an awful lot to her.”

Politicians and 1916: Our relatives plotted the Rising

CHURCH and civil records are also a useful tool to help trace your family history, as they contain details of births, deaths and marriages.

Some church records are now available to search free of charge at www.irishgenealogy.ie, including records for Catholic

and Church of Ireland dioceses in Kerry and parts of Cork, Dublin and Carlow.

For baptisms, the name of the child, parents and godparents is recorded, along with the family address. Marriage records often include the names of the spouse’s parents and occupations. Not all are available online, so your local church or library is a good start when searching.

The official State records of

Births, Marriages and Deaths are available at the General Register Office in Dublin. But registration only became compulsory in 1864 for Catholic marriages, and as many as 15pc of these events were not recorded in the early years, meaning some information is missing.

You can obtain the Index online, which allows you to see if a family member’s certificate is available, and obtain a photocopy for €4.

Eamon O’Cuiv on his

grandfather, Eamon de Valera“HE’S portrayed as this very serious, sombre man but he was a very lively raconteur with a great sense of humour.

“During the Rising, de Valera was stationed where Pearse Street station is now. He was exhausted and he spotted an idle train carriage nearby and managed to get in for a sleep. When he woke up, he thought he had died and gone to heaven because he saw cherubs in the sky.

“What he actually saw were cherubs in the ceiling of the carriage, which had been used for a Royal visit. Years later, when he was President, he would travel in this carriage.”

Sean Haughey on his

grandfather, Sean Lemass FORMER Taoiseach Sean Lemass was just 17 when he saw action in the GPO in Dublin in 1916 and his grandson, Sean is proud of his involvement in the Rising.

“He very rarely talked about his part in the Rising,” the former Fianna Fáil TD says.

“He was of that generation who didn’t share every facet of their lives with others. The various archives really give a sense of the role he played that Easter.”

Sean Haughey was 10 when his grandfather died. “I’ve vivid memories of his comrades from 1916 lining O’Connell Street for his funeral.”

The National Archives of Ireland holds the censuses of 1911 and 1901. They are available free of charge to search at www.census.nationalarchives.ie along with some records from 1821 to 1851.

You need basic details to search, including a name and area where your ancestor lived. The more detail the better.

If you look for ‘Murphy’ more than 55,000 forms are available. If you include the county ‘Leitrim’, it reduces to 309. If you only look for women, it drops to 152. If you include Manorhamilton, it falls to seven.

Lots of detail is available, including the name, age, sex, religion, occupation, marital status, county or country of birth of the head of the household. Also mentioned is whether people could read and write, speak Irish or if they suffered from a disability.

What is the 1916 Family Tree Project?

DISCOVERCHURCH AND COUNTY ARCHIVES

St Louis Senior Primary School pupils Tristan Kessopersadh and Shuting Wang taking a closer look at a statue of an Irish Volunteer at the Military Archives

STEVE HUMPHREYS

Irish Independent 1916 Youth and Imagination Programme | 76 | Irish Independent 1916 Youth and Imagination Programme

PATRICK TUBRIDY

CATHERINE ANDREWS

DAVID ANDREWS

TODD ANDREWS

RYAN TUBRIDY

SEAN TUBRIDY

BARRY ANDREWS

SIMPLE FAMILY TREES ARE EASY TO BUILD...

Barry Andrews (left) with a picture of his grandfather Todd Andrews and Eamon de Valera, while Ryan Tubridy holds a picture of Todd Andrews.STEVE HUMPHREYS