Family’s upset at U-turn on Rising’s sole fatality

Descendants of Patrick Whelan, Galway’s only 1916 Rising fatality, are disappointed they weren’t told of a ‘U-turn’ not to include his name in a commemorative plaque unveiled on Tuesday.

Constable Whelan, a policeman, was shot and killed during an exchange of fire between Castlegar and Claregalway Irish Volunteers and the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary) at Carnmore Cross on the morning of April 26, 1916.

Constable Whelan was the first fatality of the Rising outside of Dublin, and was the only one in the West of Ireland during Easter Week. The 34-years-old was, according to accounts, shot in the face, during an exchange of fire as part of the West’s uprising.

Descendants of the Kilkenny native were invited to Galway for the unveiling of a plaque supposedly in his honour at Carnmore Cross on Tuesday.

Eleven relatives (seven grandnieces and nephews, four great grandnieces and nephews and a great, great grandniece) travelled for the memorial, including two from abroad. But they were stunned to discover on the day that there was no mention of Constable Whelan on the plaque. Worse still, during an official speech at the unveiling, no mention was made of Constable Whelan.

“We were expecting to see his name on it. When it wasn’t there, we were just shocked – we couldn’t believe it. It was quite embarrassing,” said grandniece Eileen Morrissey, from her Whiteswall home in Kilkenny.

It has led to accusations that Galway’s local authorities are trying to “airbrush” Constable Whelan out of history, and to “pander to Republicans and Sinn Féin”.

Fine Gael City Councillor, Pádraig Conneely, also described the decision to unveil the stone without reference to him as a “cop-out”.

But his party colleague, Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council, Pete Roche, denied this claim and said Galway respectfully honour his memory.

“We had to be sensitive to the volunteers’ families and to the Constable’s. This was never a stone to commemorate Constable Whelan, it was a stone to commemorate the engagement at Carnmore Cross betwen volunteers and RIC, in which one policeman died. To name him would mean it was a commemoration to him but that was never the case.”

Councillor Roche said he usually speaks ‘off the cuff’ at occasions such at this but he was asked to ‘stick to a prepared script’, which did not mention Constable Whelan. “It was safer because it was, let’s say, contentious,” he said.

He said there were threats and suggestions from locals and political sources that the plaque could be damaged if it was seen to honour a man who died for the British.

Councillor Roche added: “It was a difficult situation; a balancing act. The Council took all views on board, and for safety it was decided that it was better to mark the place where this engagement happened, at Carnmore Cross, and then to honour the Constable at Bohermore.

“We couldn’t take the risk that the plaque would be damaged (if it had Constable Whelan’s name on it) because that would have caused great hurt and pain to the family. We respectfully decided to respect the wishes of locals and didn’t include his name but we invited his family to the unveiling of the plaque, and they were treated like royalty.

“I would hate to think that the family would feel that we were disrespectful to this man, who died tragically. Galway County Council never gave the impression to the family that Constable Whelan’s name would be on this plaque. It was a plaque to commemorate the place where this engagement happened, and yes, this man died. But his memory was honoured at a ceremony in Bohermore Cemetery, where the City Council invested considerably in restoring his gravestone. The wreath-laying ceremony at Bohermore was humble, and dignified and a fitting tribute to this man. It was very respectful.”

Councillor Conneely disagreed. “The Councils buckled under pressure from Sinn Féin and others,” he said.

“It is regrettable that politics has got in the way of history. This happened 100 years ago but people today are using it for petty political reasons. Constable Whelan was an Irish man, from Kilkenny, a Catholic. He joined the RIC, like many other Irish people, for a job.

“He was stationed in Galway. He was a nice man, very well-liked by all accounts. He was engaged to be married to a local Bohermore woman. He was killed doing his job, carrying out his duty.

“He was the only fatality of the Rising in Galway and it is an absolute and complete cop-out from the Councils that they unveiled a stone, a commemorative stone, that makes no reference to him, despite it being flagged in our 1916 commemorative programme and despite the family being told that the plaque would be unveiled to commemorate his death,” said Cllr Conneely.

Ms Morrissey said the family was written to earlier this year and invited to an event to commemorate Constable Whelan. She said the clear impression given was that the plaque would honour her relation.

“We agreed but on the basis that it would be apolitical. We just wanted to remember our tall, handsome granduncle,” she said.

Sinn Féin senator, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, on behalf of himself and the party’s five Galway Councillors, wrote to co-ordinator of the Galway City Centenary Committee in January objecting to Constable Whelan’s inclusion in the Rising celebrations.

He acknowledged that the only fatality in Galway should be recognised. “However, as an RIC officer he was part of the crown Forces violently opposed to the volunteers, and we find it inappropriate to hold such a commemoration as part of the city and county’s centenary celebration of 1916,” wrote Senator Ó Clochartaigh. Celebrating Constable Whelan as part of 1916 commemorations was a “contradiction”.

Ms Morrissey added: “The most important thing for us in all of this is that Patrick Whelan was a decent man, he was well liked by locals and thousands of people from both sides attended his funeral. He was very highly spoken of and we have the letters to back that up.”