School: Dundrum (B.)

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1. Burial After Shooting of '16 Leaders (continued)

   

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   evidently what the sergeant wanted, and shortly afterwards Father Farrington left the house with the military.
   Shortly after this conversation I asked the Canon for his memory of events and the purport of the discussion on the matter was briefly as follows:
   When he reached Arbour Hill Barracks, an officer informed him that he was required to say prayers over some dead Irishmen. In the yard in which he was standing he noticed a long trench about 60 feet long, 5 feet wide and 6 feet deep. This trench was not by the wall (which is now officially regarded as the burial place) but a good distance – about 40 feet at least from the wall. An old tree was close to the point where he later officiates.
   He was waiting some time when a lorry came in the gate, and he remembered vividly blood dripping off the sides. The first body to be taken out had the feet and legs clothed in red leather top boots; it was a large stalwart body, and the forehead was badly holed with bullets. The second was the body of an old, small, baldish man, (presumably Tom Clarke) whose whole chest was one gaping hole. I do not remember at the moment the details of the other two which he says were also laid out at the side of the trench. He was definite in saying that there were four bodies, and that they were laid reverently in the trench, after prayers for the dead were recited

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Andrew T. Walsh

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Teacher

   Informant

   Canon Francis Farrington

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Parish priest

   Informant

   Fr John Larkin

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Priest