Niamh O’Sullivan (b. 1948)

Track 1: The Gloucester Street, Dublin, background to the Connolly family is explained. Margaret Connolly, Niamh O’Sullivan’s mother, was one of three children born to Seán and Christina Connolly. A brief outline is provided on the days prior to the Rising and Seán Connolly’s captaincy in the Irish Citizen Army. His fatal shooting in City Hall during the Rising is also discussed. Track 2: Niamh O’Sullivan recalls in detail her grandmother’s stories about her husband Seán, his personality, their initial meeting, their first home in Inchicore in Dublin, and their relocation to No. 3 Mountjoy Square, Dublin, at the invitation of Walter Cole, where Niamh’s mother, Margaret, and her two siblings grew up. Track 3: Contains a description of the activities of Christina Connolly during the War of Independence, and the sending of her children, Margaret, Kevin and Aidan, to Spiddal in Galway for the duration. The burning of the house in which the children lived in Spiddal, by the Black and Tans, is also discussed. Track 4: A description is provided of Margaret Connolly’s childhood recollections of Arthur Griffith, whom she loved. Margaret remembered sitting on Michael Collins’s knee and being thrown up in the air and caught again. On the other hand, the austere nature of Éamon de Valera somewhat overwhelmed her. Track 5: Niamh O’Sullivan recounts her grandmother’s discussions with her regarding her support for the signing of the Treaty following years of conflict, and her assertion that de Valera did not support the signing due to a fit of pique. Walter Cole’s sheltering of her grandmother, following the shooting of her husband Seán, is recalled, as is the great work of the women of Cumann na mBan (Women’s League). The feelings of Christina Connolly on the morning of the departure of her husband, Seán, to take part in the Rising, as she described them to her granddaughter, are related. Her journey to the morgue, to identify and remove her husband’s body, is also described. She was told that, for a fee of 6d, she could take any of the bodies away. It is explained that Seán Connolly was a friend of W. B. Yeats and Maude Gonne, and was a member of the Abbey Theatre.