Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [1950s-1960s?] (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
50 pp.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
William Patrick Manahan was born on 18 May 1878 in Ballylanders, county Limerick as the eldest son of William Manahan, manager of the Mitchelstown Workhouse, and his wife Helen née Lynch. He studied in Ballyhaise Agricultural College in county Cavan and in 1913 was appointed manager of Ardpatrick Creamery. Soon after that date, he also set about establishing a company of the Irish Volunteers in Ballylanders and served as its first commandant. Companies were also formed in Ardpatrick, Galbally, Kilfinane, Anglesboro and Kilbehenny and together they formed the Galtee Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. He was arrested in February 1917 on suspicion of importing arms and was sent to England but escaped three months later and travelled back to Ireland. Upon his return, criticism was levelled at Manahan owing to his decision to carry out manoeuvres in Galbally on Easter Sunday despite Eoin MacNeill’s countermanding order. A split developed between supporters of Manahan and those of his most vocal critic, Donncha O Hannigan. Following an inquiry into the affair, Manahan was suspended and subsequently left the area so that unity would be restored to the Volunteer movement. The Galtee Battalion was restructured as the East Limerick Brigade at the end of May 1918, while Manahan took up the post of manager of the Land Bank and Irish Agricultural Organisation in Waterford. He emigrated to America in 1928 but returned to Ireland in 1938 and was appointed Inspector of the Irish Land Commission. Liam Manahan died on 8 January 1972 aged 94 and is buried in Ballylanders Cemetery.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Ring-bound exercise book marked ‘Book 2’ on the front cover. In it are continued Liam Manahan’s recollections of Land League activities in North Cork and East Limerick begun in P104/1/8. He recalls his father’s descriptions of the 1887 Mitchelstown Massacre and incidents in which his mother intervened to stave off aggressive action. He discusses Charles Stewart Parnell and confesses to being a convinced Parnellite. He recalls evictions in the district, including an incident when, faced with the threat of it, his mother chased away the bailiffs with a pitchfork. He lists events which contributed to the development of his republicanism. He discusses at length the fight for Home Rule and the Parnell split. He describes the way the Irish Land Act 1903 was introduced. He considers the way the [Second] Boer War revealed the rapacious and unscrupulous nature of the British Empire and the depth of feeling the war inspired in Ireland. He describes the rise of Celtic Revival and nationalist sentiment in the early twentieth century. Pagination is continued from P104/1/8, but with three pages numbered 15.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Available digitally on the University of Limerick Digital Library at https://doi.org/10.34966/uldl.s3ek-2s30.