Talk on Drumlish – Longford’s Rebel Parish

Seán Ó Súilleabháin, author of Longford’s Republican Story 1900 -2000, will give a talk entitled Drumlish – Longford’s Rebel Parish - in the DB Men’s Shed in Drumlish on Thursday, February 23, starting at 8pm.

County Longford was a very active place during the War of Independence, with over 3,200 men enlisted in the IRA, but it is highly significant that Drumlish was top of the table of Longford’s twenty parishes.
There were 400 men from the parish in the IRA. When it came to numbers of women in Cumann na mBan, the position was the same, Drumlish held the top spot.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time that rebellion came to the parish. In 1798, Ballinamuck was the scene of slaughter and savagery by British forces. The Land War also brought troubled times to Ballinamuck and Drumlish when eviction, hunger and death stalked the land.

Some significant IRA operations occurred here during the War of Independence and a number of people met their deaths in the area. Attention will be given to some of the key men from the parish whose contribution to the fight was particularly significant.
Seán Ó Súilleabháin’s talk will also cover the shooting of Barney Casey in the Curragh in 1940 and the execution of Richard Goss, who was arrested in Casey’s of Ohill in 1941.

The talk will be given in the DB Men’s Shed which is at the crossroads in the centre of the town, starting at 8pm on Thursday next, February 23. Admission is free, Beidh fáilte roimh gach duine.