Plaque dedicated to Old IRA Third Tipperary Brigade unveiled

A large crowd gathered at Rathsallagh, Rosegreen on Saturday afternoon, September 20.

They were there to witness the unveiling of a plaque marking the site of the Headquarters of the Third Tipperary Brigade of the Old IRA.

READ MORE: 'Nice to be in the news again...' 2 Johnnies hit back following IPS payment controversy

The Headquarters were established at Rathsallagh in October 1920, and served as administrative headquarters for the IRA.

Here, dispatches were received and distributed out to the various battalions and companies around South Tipperary.

Reports were collated and newspaper articles written and sent to General Headquarters in Dublin.

The headquarters took the form of a dug-out, 12 ft long by 10ft wide and 7.5ft high.

It was carefully concealed by a trapdoor and was situated beside a footpath on the land of Jerome Davin. Kennedy Davin supervised its construction, aided by men of the local Rosegreen half company.

On opening the trapdoor, a ladder led down into the bunker.

There were several desks, typewriters, mattresses, shelving and hooks for storing small arms and rifles.

It was one of a series of bunkers and sites in the Rosegreen area.

There was another large bunker nearby that provided sleeping areas for around 20 men.

There was limited access to the main bunker at Rathsallagh as it was felt that the fewer people who knew of its existence the better.

The headquarters became known as “Dug-out 71”, called after 71 Heytesbury St, Dublin, which was the unofficial headquarters of Tipperary men in Dublin and which was owned by the family of Seamus Robinson’s fiancée, Bridget Keating.

There was a constant presence maintained at Rathsallagh under the command of Brigade Adjutant Sean Fitzpatrick.

The men of the local half company were on full-time guard duty, protecting all approaches to the dug-out.

The Brigade kept the locality artificially quiet, avoiding ambushes, raids etc, to prevent British troops from focusing their energies on the area.

In this, they were enormously successful.

The dug-out was never discovered throughout both the War of Independence and the Civil War.

The erection of a plaque to mark the site was the brainchild of the late John (Ger) Long.

READ MORE: 'The fear was so bad' - Sharlene Mawdsley opens up about that Legendary All-Ireland party race!

John, a passionate historian, wanted to mark the site for future generations, and together with his cousins in the Davin family approached the Third Tipperary Brigade Old IRA Commemoration Committee who were delighted to get involved.

John wrote the wording for the plaque.

Sadly, John passed before the project could come to fruition but his presence loomed large at Saturday’s events.

The committee were delighted to welcome John’s sister Patrica and many of his nephews, nieces and wide circle of friends to the event.

The unveiling started at 3pm with a short parade to the site of the plaque, led by a piper from the Sean Treacy Pipe Band.

Robert O’Keeffe, MC for the event, welcomed everyone to the event and introduced Elaine Fitzpatrick, chair of the Third Tipperary Brigade Old IRA Commemoration Committee.

Elaine, a grandniece of Sean Fitzpatrick, unveiled the plaque and laid a wreath on behalf of the committee and the relatives of all those involved.

She then spoke on the history of the dug-out and outlined some of the key figures who had frequented the headquarters, including Dan Breen, Seamus Robinson and Ernie O’Malley.

She fondly remembered her good friend, John Long and paid tribute to his lifetime’s work and legacy in recording the history of the Brigade.

Michael Moroney then led the crowd in a decade of the Rosary as Gaeilge before Robert O’Keeffe read the proclamation.

Neil Ryan then spoke on the history of the local company and the important role that headquarters had played in ensuring that a unified, organised and successful struggle could be carried out.

He paid tribute to the men and women, who, at huge personal risk, gave everything to advance the cause of Irish freedom.

He paid particular tribute to those local families who fed, clothed and sheltered the men on the run.

The committee were delighted to be joined on the day by Jim Davin, son of Kennedy Davin.

Jim spoke movingly about how pleased he was to see the site marked and how much it meant to him and his family.

He recounted how he and his siblings played in the bunker as young children, before its eventual collapse – he is probably one the last people alive today to have set foot in the dug-out.

He remarked that he was delighted to see the descendants of so many of the families who had been involved in the operation of the bunker present at the unveiling.

There were members of the Davin, Delahunty, Morrissey and Houlihan families all present.

Seamus Robinson’s grand nephew came all the way from Belfast that day to show support.

The MC thanked everyone for coming, offering special thanks to Coolmore Stud for permitting the plaque to be erected on their land and to local farmer Paudie Spillane who had trimmed the site of the plaque before the event.

He thanked Neil Ryan and Councillor Pat English for their sterling work in organising the erection of the plaque and thanked the Long and Davin families for their generous support of the project.

The Sean Treacy Pipe band led the crowd in a rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann.

A wonderfully social evening was then continued in the Parochial Hall in Rosegreen where refreshments were provided by the Davin family.