An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 23 fore, out of about 80,000 applications for service pen- sions, only just over 18,000 were ever awarded. Those applying in respect of wounds and disease, and those applying as dependants of deceased mem- bers of the forces also faced serious levels of scrutiny. Medical examinations were mandatory for those applying in respect of wounds and disease and ap- plicants had to prove that they suffered a disability of over 20% to receive any recompense. Material relating to these examinations and the resulting decisions are generally contained on file. Dependants had to prove financial dependency on the deceased and faced investigation from the Garda Síochána, local area Customs and Excise officers and local area social welfare officers, depending on the date of application, as to their means, circumstances and degree of dependency on the deceased. Again, many of these examinations and investigations are documented in the files. These files contain a wealth of previously unavail- able information relating, in the main but not only, to the revolutionary period. Details of the organisa- tion, structure, make-up and activities – planned and actual – of these organisations are laid bare in unprecedented detail. Many will be surprised at the level of organisation of the IRA during the War of Independence. Its structures at once mirroring the conventional forces they were facing while also adapt- ing relatively quickly, and with intelligence and sophis- tication, to the needs of asymmetrical warfare. More importantly for the family researcher, the files often follow the applicants across their lives. This is true regardless of whether the applicants are success- ful in receiving pensions/awards etc, or unsuccessful and appealing earlier decisions or applying again under new legislation. Therefore the file can in many cases contain material such as: addresses for the individual spanning the period from the date of their first application for pension (generally between 1923 and the 1950s) up to their deaths, and, on occasion, addresses at the time of their service/activity; infor- mation as to the individual's previous and subsequent employment history, especially if in receipt of public monies, ie in the employ of the state or local govern- ment such as civil servants, local council employees, teachers, etc; reference or material relating to the pensioner's parents, siblings, wives/husbands and children; and either or both of the dates and places of birth and death are often on file. The files can provide a remarkable insight into the personalities and lives of these men and women. We see too evidence of the suffering, mental and physi- cal, of many who took part. Suffering induced not only through what they had endured but also through what they had inflicted on others. The material thus provides a huge amount of infor- mation about Irish economic and social history. It also reflects the spread of Irish emigrants across the world from the 1920s to the present day. In the first release we see pension applications and/or related correspon- dence from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and Spain as well as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similarly the membership rolls, containing addresses for the War of Independence and Civil War era of the IRA, ICA, Cu- mann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann veterans in the 1930s, clearly reflect how emigration had scattered these men and women across the world. For the family-, local- and national historian this collection is a treasure trove. The incredible amount of detailed information relating to the years between 1916 and 1923 contained within the collection will un- doubtedly lead to a major reassessment of the history of the period. See more at: www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online- collections/military-service-pensions-collection/ END NOTES The Irish Volunteers – (formed in 1913) became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) following the declaration of an indepen- dent Irish republic by Dáil Éireann in 1919 and the taking by its membership of the Oath of Allegiance to Dáil Éireann; Cumann na mBan, a women's auxiliary formed in 1914, worked in support of and alongside the Irish Volunteers/IRA; Na F ianna Éireann was a youth/scouting organisation formed in 1909 (active in its own right it also served as a training/feeder organisation for the Irish Volunteers and IRA); the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), formed in 1913 as a workers' defence corps during the Dublin Lockout and linked to the Irish trade union movement, was, through its leader James Connolly, a major factor in the 1916 Easter Rising (although the organisation continued in existence after Connolly's death and throughout the War of Independence and Civil War, it never reached the same prominence again). Sketch map of a detail at the corner of Castleisland Main Street and Chapel/Church Street (Cork Road, Co Kerry). It is noted that the red crosses denote where the ambush and the shooting of Whippen (Black and Tan) took place and the blue crosses indicate where the ambush and the shooting of Head Constable Storey and Sergeant Butler which took place on 8 May 1920. Map signed by Timothy O'Connor, O/C 1st Battalion, Kerry II Brigade. (Ref: IE/MA/ MSPC/A/6 a & b)

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