Tommy Furey
Tommy Furey, Irish Volunteer, 1898-1979.
Furey was a native of Oranbeg, Oranmore, and was a founding member of the Oranmore Irish volunteers, established in 1914. Too young to carry a gun, he became a despatch rider.
On the Tuesday after Easter Sunday 1916, the Oranmore Company assembled at 10.00 a.m. under the command of Captain Joe Howley. Furey participated in the following attack on the local R.I.C. station, which failed. They retreated to Clairinbridge where they were joined by the Clarinbridge and Maree companies, following which the three companies march back to Oranmore, and decieded to march to Athenry to join up with the local company under command of Larry Lardner. This followed on information that a detachment of the British army led by Captain Morcombe were were on the way from Galway.
Captain Morcombe and his force reached the centre of Oranmore just as the last of the volunteers were leaving and a brief battle ensued. Furey remained with the volunteers over the next ten days, and participated in the seizing of Moyode Castle, Athenry. With the failure of the rebellion in Dublin the Galway companies disbanded, Furey and his brother Patsy returning hom. They, along with almost all of the Oranmore company, were arrested, though their brother Johnny escaped to Connemara. Transferred to Arbour Hill, Dublin, the Furey brothers were two of fourteen men from Oranmore - including their cousion, Tom Furey of Bushfield - court martialled and sentenced to five years penal servitude. They were shipped to Britain, serving time in Dartmoor prison.
Furey met Eamonn de Valera, also imprisoned at Dartmoor, and particpated in a protest against wearing prison clothes. This resulted in Furey being chained to Thomas Ashe, Eoin McNeill, Tommy Hunter, J.J. Walsh, and Bill Cosgrave for the duration of their day-long transfer to Lewes Prision, Brighton. In Lewes, Furey against participated in agitation, this time to be accorded Prisoner of War status, which resulted in being chained in gangs of seven and a diet of bread and water.
On 15th June 1917 all prisoners were released and given five shillings to return to Ireland. He had served time in a total of eight prisons.
On been asked by his granddaughter, Breda Furey, why he never tried to escape, he stated "Your couldn't, there would be police with ammunition, continually walking arund the wall, and even if we did where would we go because we didn't even know the country."
Upon his return, he and other prisoners posed for a group photograph. In later life he was a valued source for local historians on the background and events of the Easter Rebellion in Galway, the only other one in the county outside of Dublin.
References
- The History of Oranmore Maree, Brenda Furey, Galway, 1991.