Concepta Butler (b. 1937)

Track 1: The Dublin city background to the McEvoy family, who lived off Moore Street, is described by Cepta Butler, and she explains that her grandfather, Andrew McEvoy, served in the British army and was involved in the Boer War and in WWI. During the Rising, her father, 17 year old Thomas McEvoy, was stationed on the roof of the GPO, and also acted as a runner until James Connolly ordered him to run from the house at 16 Moore Street to his nearby home in Samson’s Lane, after the surrender. Track 2: Thomas McEvoy’s involvement in the plan to spring Kevin Barry from Mountjoy Jail on the night before his execution is described, as is Thomas’s detention in The Curragh during the Civil War. The 1966 Commemorations are also recalled. Track 3: Cepta recalls her childhood, her father’s encouragement of the family to speak Irish, and the strength of her grandmother, Annie McEvoy, whose two young sons, Thomas and Christopher, were out in 1916. Her husband was absent fighting with the British Army during WWI. Guns and munitions for the Volunteers were hidden in the McEvoy family home at this time. Track 4: Thomas McEvoy’s application for a State pension and her recollection of his entry on the application form is recounted, details of which involved the throwing of home-made grenades at British Army lorries at Mount Street Bridge. Tracks 5-6: Thomas McEvoy’s many experiences, and his escapes during the Civil War in Dublin owing to his intimate knowledge of the city, are described, as is the photograph taken of her uniformed father and uncle in the guard of honour at the funeral of Tomás Ashe in 1917.