Details of the 31 Men Interned

This is a list of the 31 men from Westport and the surrounding area who were arrested after the Easter Rising in 1916. Many were members of Fianna Éireann and the Irish Volunteers. They were arrested over a period of 10 days from 2^nd May to 12^th May 1916.

This summary of the Castlebar prison records gives details of their names, martial status, internment date, age, address, occupation, and offence. Also added to this list are details from the 1911 census, which gives their address and age in 1911. Mr. Joseph Gill was not traced on either the 1901 or 1911 census.

Castlebar Prison Name (V3)	Marital Status	Internment Date	Prison Age	Prison - Stated Address	Prison - Stated Occupation	Prison Offence	1911 Census	1911 Age
John Berry	S	09 May	18	Aughagower	Grocers Assistant	5	Lanmore	15
Bartholomew Cryan	S	09 May	26	Ongham, Co. Sligo	Drapers Assistant	4	Co. Sligo	19
Michael Derrig	S	02 May	23	Westport	Carpenter	1	The Octagon	18
Tom Derrig	S	02 May	18	Westport	University Student	1	High Street	13
P. J. Doris	M	12 May	50	Westport	Journalist	6	James Street	45
Michael Duffy	S	02 May	21	Lanmore	Drapers Assistant	1	High Street	15
Edward Gannon	S	02 May	20	Carrowkennedy	Teacher CBS	1	High Street	15
John Gavin	S	09 May	20	Murrisk	Labourer	5	Murrisknaboll	15
Charles Gavan	S	02 May	19	Westport	Teacher CBS	1	High Street	15
Martin Geraghty	S	09 May	19	Westport	Drapers Assistant	4	James Street	14
Joseph Gill	S	04 May	44	Westport Quay	Independent Means	2
Edward Haran	M	09 May	34	Westport	Baker	4	James Street	30
Hubert Heraty	S	09 May	22	Westport	Butcher	5	Altamont Street	17
Charles Hickey	S	09 May	20	Empress Tree, Dublin	Coach Painter	4	Dublin	14
Charles Hughes	M	09 May	41	Aughagower	Draper	4	High Street	35
Owen Hughes	M	02 May	44	Aughagower	Farmer	1	Lankill	38
Patrick Hughes	S	09 May	17	Westport	Drapers Assistant	5	Lankill	12
Manus Keane	S	09 May	47	Aughagower	Blacksmith	5	Cloonskill	40
Patrick S. Kenny	S	09 May	20	Keash, Co. Sligo	Drapers Assistant	5	Co. Sligo	15
John Lohan	S	09 May	20	Creggs, Co. Galway	Drapers Assistant	5	Co. Roscommon	16
Joseph MacBride	M	08 May	55	Westport	Sec. Harbour Comm.	3	Streamstown	50
James Malone	S	09 May	34	Westport	Tailor	5	High Street	27
John McDonagh	M	02 May	50	Westport	Plasterer	1	Momument St	45
Thomas O'Brien	S	09 May	35	Westport	Farmer	4	Moyhastin	31
Thomas Ralph	M	02 May	24	Westport	Railway Porter	1	Johns Row	18
Michael Reilly	S	09 May	33	Westport	Dealer	5	The Fairgreen	27
Michael Joe Ring	S	02 May	22	Ballinadoe	Farmer	1	Drummindoo	19
Joseph Ruddy	S	02 May	22	Westport	Carpenter	1	Church Lane	18
Edward Sammon	S	09 May	24	Lecanvey	Labourer	5	Peter Street	24
Patrick Tunney	S	09 May	30	Aughagower	Tailor	5	Derrykillew	22
Thaddeus Walsh	M	09 May	52	Knockfin, Westport	Publican	5	Mill Street	47

The prison records state all were “Lodged without warrant under the Defence of the Realm act 1914”.

1. – Guilty of behaviour of such a nature as to be prejudicial to the public safety and the Defence of the Realm by marching with arms as Sinn Fein Volunteers at Westport on Sunday 30th April 1916. (Total 10)
2. – Guilty of behaviour of such a nature as to be prejudicial to the safety of the State and the Defence of the Realm by assembling with others with arms as Sinn Fein Volunteers at Farnaught Westport on Sunday 30th April 1916. (Total 1)
3. – Guilty of behaviour prejudicial to the public safety and the Defence of the Realm and being a dangerous Sinn Fein leader in organising and preparing for the rebellion (Total 1)
4. – Guilty of behaviour prejudicial to the public safety and the Defence of the Realm. (Total 6)
5. – Guilty of conduct prejudicial to the public safety and the Defence of the Realm. (Total 12)
6. – Guilty of behaviour prejudicial to the State and the Defence of the Realm by aiding, abetting and encouraging in the preparation for the rebellion. (Total 1)

The prison record states all were “Removed by military on 10/5/1916, Destination unknown, except P.J. Doris who was removed on 15/5/2016

Day	Date	Month	Easter 1916 Key Events and Dates
Fri	17	March	The O'Rahilly and Darell Figgis speak in Westport
Sun	23	April	Route march and concert in Westport
Mon	24	April	12.04pm Pdraic Pearse reads the Proclamation of the Republic
Tue	25	April
Wed	26	April
Thu	27	April
Fri	28	April	Pearse surrenders at 3.30pm to General Lowe
Sat	29	April
Sun	30	April	98 Volunteers march in Westport, 21 with guns (WP6/5/16) (CT 13/5/16)
Mon	1	May	Easter Rising over.
Tue	2	May	10 men arrested in Westport. (WP 6/5/16 states Monday) (MM 6/5/16 states Tuesday, which matches the jail record))
Wed	3	May	Pdraig Pearse, Thomas Clarke, Thomas MacDonagh - executed
Thu	4	May	Joseph Gill arrested. Major John MacBride, court martial. Joseph Plunkett, Edward Daly, Michael O'Hanrahan, Willie Pearse, executed
Fri	5	May	Major John MacBride - executed
Sat	6	May
Sun	7	May
Mon	8	May	Joseph Mac Bride arrested. (Castlebar prison record). Eamonn Ceantt, Michael Mallon, Sean Hueston, Con Colbert, executed.
Tue	9	May	18 men arrested in Westport (Castlebar prison record). Thomas Kent, executed in Cork.
Wed	10	May	Prisoners sent from Castlebar to Richmond Barracks in Dublin (MM 13/5/16).
Fri	12	May	Sen MacDiarmada, James Connolly, executed. (Sir Roger Casement, hanged, in Pentonville Prison in London on 3rd August 1916)
Fri	12	May	PJ Doris arrested. Most prisoners deported from Richmond Barracks (12 May) to Wandsworth Detention Barracks (13 May) (CT20/5/16)
Sat	13	May	PJ Doris kept in Castlebar prison and was sent to Dublin on 15th April. (prison record) (Total 16 executed, 14 in Dublin)

The prison record states all were “Removed by military on 10/5/1916, Destination unknown, except P.J. Doris who was removed on 15/5/2016

The men were transported to Richmond Barracks in Dublin on 12th May 1916 and most were then sent by cattle ship and lodged in Wandsworth Detention Centre on 13^th May and were later transferred to Frongoch Internment camp in North Wales. Although some were released after a short period, many were interned for up to 8 months and were released on Christmas Eve, 1916.

Young Men.

The two youngest prisons John Berry and Paddy Hughes were sent to Barlinnie prison in Glasgow. Two teachers from the Christian Brother School (CBS), Edward Gannon and Charles Gavan were interned.  Many of the young men were former students of the CBS in Westport. After their release, a report from the Mayo News dated April 1917 stated that John Lohan, Joe Ring, Bartley Cryan and Michael Derrig were on the Westport GAA team. Michael Derrig also played rugby with the Westport Rugby club.