#

"If I Was Ordered To Do It, I Would Have To Do It"

"Regular Hell Opened Up"

“A Shot Rang Out From This Sniper”

Relevant Places

Cormac Turner fought in Hopkins and Hopkins, overlooking O’Connell Bridge. One of the major problems the Volunteers faced was lack of arms and ammunition. The Volunteers in Hopkins were armed only with shotguns and were no match for a British sniper in the top floor of McBirney’s on Aston Quay, opposite their position.

On Wednesday 26 April Turner was sent to the GPO to get a rifle in order to deal with the sniper. He met James Connolly who arranged for a rifleman to go to Hopkins. Just as he got inside the building

A shot rang out from this sniper and killed a man passing.

The sniper had killed an innocent civilian, his intended victim was Turner. Eventually the Volunteers in Hopkins and Hopkins and ‘Kelly’s Fort’ across the street located and killed the sniper.

While attending a reunion of the Volunteers years later Turner was approached by some women. They had witnessed the events on that Wednesday in 1916 but had gotten the identity of the victim wrong.

We said the Rosary for you. You passed by and a man was shot at the corner… We were told he was dead. We assumed it was you.

Cormac Turner was a member of the Kimmage Garrison. During the Easter Rising he fought in Hopkins and Hopkins and the Imperial Hotel.

Cormac Turner was interviewed for the RTÉ Television project 'The Survivors' in 1965.

MANY THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY CONTRIBUTOR, OUR AMBASSADORS AND TOUR GUIDES

Abbey Theatre, An Garda Siochana, Association of Professional Genealogists Ireland, Band of An Garda Siochana, Buswells Hotel, Capuchin Friary, Century Ireland, Cobblestone, Conradh na Gaeilge, Dubray Books Grafton Street, Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band, Dublin Institute of Technology, Eason’s O’Connell Street, Gallery of Photography. Garda Historical Society, Generator Hostel, Glasnevin Trust, Grafton Barbers, Hodges Figgis Dawson Street, Irish Film Archive, Irish Veteran & Vintage Car Club. John Shevlin Millinery, Little Museum of Dublin, Louis Copeland & Sons, Manning's Bakery, Massey Funeral Directors, Maynooth University, Merrion Square Artists Association, National College of Art and Design, National Library of Ireland, National Museum at Collins Barracks, National Transport Museum of Ireland, NUI Galway, Poetry Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, Royal Hibernian Academy, St Michan's Church of Ireland Parish, St Michan's Roman Catholic Parish, St Vincent de Paul, SIPTU, The Four Courts, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, University of Ulster, Whyte’s Irish Art & Collectables, National Print Museum, Irish Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers, ICA, Feltmakers Ireland, Irish Woodturners Guild, Doran Barber Shop The Pram Doctor, The Merrion Square Artists Association, The Dice Bar, Third Space, The Family Resource Centre St. Michael’s Estate, Brown Bag Films, The Stoneybatter and Smithfield People’s History Project, The Revenue Museum, www.irishmusik.com

RTÉ would like to gratefully acknowledge the support and participation of the individual speakers who were kind enough to share their research and private collections with the public as part of the RTÉ Reflecting the Rising project. A big thanks also to the many volunteers and actors who gave their time so generously to help make RTÉ Reflecting the Rising a memorable and successful day.

RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Limited, Registered in Dublin, Registration Number:155076.
Registered Office: Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland.