MY FATHER, born in 1904, was a member of a Falls Road republican family. The family saw themselves as belonging to a national political majority. But my father’s status in belonging to this majority changed overnight, on 23 December 1920, as a result of the Government of Ireland Act. Free article

THE collection of witness statements from the revolutionary years 1913-1921 in the Bureau of Military History in Dublin (www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie) was last month made available online for the first time. There are 36,000 pages of testimony from hundreds of witnesses, mostly members of the IRA, Cumann na mBan, Sinn Féin, the IRB and Fianna Éireann. It is an historical treasure trove. The site is fully searchable and is of special value to those researching the local history of the period. Here are excerpts from the testimony of one woman, Catherine Byrne (married name Rooney), from 17 North Richmond Street, next to Croke Park in Dublin’s north inner city. She was one of the most active members of Cumann na mBan. The family home was regularly used by the IRA during the Black and Tan War, including by the Dublin Active Service Unit, better known as ‘The Squad’. Free article