Old IRA Dublin Brigade

[Magell14]

Hi I have my old man on the phone as I am typing this and he says the camp was on Dollymount .  He remembers himself seeing the remains of the camp (barbed wire etc ) in 1935 approx.

[Magell14]

He also says that Rory O'Connor was in the camp at the same time and O'Connor escaped.  My grandfather was in there until the Treaty was signed and during the burning of the Custom House.  So he definitely was NOT involved with the burning of the Custom House.

[margnip2]

Did you say that you have sent off for his pension application?  I got my granddads affter almost a two year wait, but it did give a bit of information.  Not much but a bit more than I thought I would get.  His imprisoment should be on it as that wouls count towards his pension even though he wasn't fighting.

[margnip2]

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/the-truth-behind-the-murder-of-sean-hales-498947.html

Hope this works, but was this the Rory O'Conner that you mentioned?

[Private 1st class]

Hi the Military had a rifle range at Dollymount. Most of these camps had Nissan Huts It would be a simple matter to put wire around it if not already there and put up extra huts. A famous event took place out there The world rifle competitions were held out there. The U S A developed a rifle to take on the Irish. The trophy of which was found at bisley England. The range was at least 1,000 yds long. That was the distance this competition was fired at, As far as I know they fired from the main land out toward the island.

[Magell14]

The same man.  That is an interesting article.  Things got very ugly at that stage of the Civil War.  According to my family lore my grandfather went against the treaty ( I wonder had this to do with his incarceration with O'Connor) and actually went down to the Four Courts.  It is said that he was told by O'Connor that he should join Oriel House so he could pass on information to the Anti's (which he did).  

[Magell14]

Hi the Military had a rifle range at Dollymount. Most of these camps had Nissan Huts It would be a simple matter to put wire around it if not already there and put up extra huts. A famous event took place out there The world rifle competitions were held out there. The U S A developed a rifle to take on the Irish. The trophy of which was found at bisley England. The range was at least 1,000 yds long. That was the distance this competition was fired at, As far as I know they fired from the main land out toward the island.

You have come up trumps again.  Excellent.

[Magell14]

Did you say that you have sent off for his pension application?  I got my granddads affter almost a two year wait, but it did give a bit of information.  Not much but a bit more than I thought I would get.  His imprisoment should be on it as that wouls count towards his pension even though he wasn't fighting.

I am sending it off tomorrow and will be keeping fingers crossed.

[Magell14]

Just to again acknowledge the expertise of Private 1st Class I see on Wikipedia that the British Military occupied the entire Bull Island from 1914 to 1921.

I was over in my fathers house this evening and could not find the sharpshooters insignia but I did find my grandfather's Certificate of Discharge which I took a photo of. It shows my grandfather was in the Volunteer force (26th Battalion, just as Private 1st Class advised) from July 1940 to December 1945  (5 years and 199 days).