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"It Was A Proper Ambush"

"Of Course He Didn't Know Willie Would Be Dying"

“Hide Your Guns, There’ll Be Another Day”

Relevant Places

Despite receiving Eoin MacNeill’s countermanding order, once they got word that the Rising had started, the Galway Brigade, Irish Volunteers quickly mobilised. Roughly 900 Volunteers made their way to the Model Farm in Athenry. Liam Mellows was in overall command of the Brigade.

On 28 April, Mellows received information that train loads of British soldiers were being deployed to Galway. The Volunteers decided to move out of Athenry to Moyode Castle. Despite the fact that Galway was being surrounded by both the military and the police Mellows was determined to make a stand.

Ailbhe Ó Monacháin (Alf Monaghan), Vice-Commandant of the Galway Brigade remembers that Mellows and a number of his fellow officers,

… Were not for giving up at all. They had an idea of arming the small group with what guns we had and keeping on a guerrilla war.

Fr Fahy, who accompanied the Volunteers knew that if this did happen, there would be severe retribution on the citizens of Galway and the Volunteers and urged them to disband. While explaining to them that the fight was over for now he insisted they would fight again.

Hide your guns, there’ll be another day.

As Liam Mellows and Ó Monacháin were not from Galway they decided the safest thing to do was to leave the county. Mellows later escaped to America and Monaghan went on the run. He later served with the Cork Brigade during the War of Independence.

Ailbhe Ó Monocháin (Alf Monaghan) was interviewed for the programme 'The Rising In Galway’, broadcast on Radio Éireann, 15 April 1966.

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