Athlone for Morval

[Desmond7]

Found it at last.

Athlone Riot

Soldiers' wives and Sinn Fein

At Athlone Police Court a series of prosecutions were brought by police against 18 young women, chiefly soldiers' wives, who, it was alleged, attacked with bricks, stones and bottles, Sinn Fein contingents passing through irish Town to a meeting on Sunday last.

Evidence of the distuirbances having been given, Mary Green, one of the defendants, said it was very hard for every one of those who had people belonging to them dying on the battlefields to see Sinn Feiners going by with insulting flags.

It tantalising to see them flying their flags in the faces of women whose husbands and brothers proved they were brave men on the battlefield and many of them had gone under.

Mr. Byrne RM:- "Why not let the men outside do the fihting and you keep quiet and in your own houses?"

Mrs. Green:- "It's not so easy as all that to keep quiet and be insulted."

Mr. Byrne in biding the parties to the peace said no-one could say he was biased in the matter because he had lost his own boy in the war but they were not going to have those scenes and that the defendants and those acting with them were near being the cause of a serious riot.

Ballymena Observer, Aug. 24/1917.

[marina]

And did they keep the peace thereafter?

Marina

[Desmond7]

Dunno. Doesn't get mentioned again as far as I can see.

Des

[BatterySergeantMajor]

I am convinced that the relation between radical and moderate Irish nationalists in the Great War has been one of the most painfull moments in recent Irish History, maybe similar to the troubles between pro- and anti Treaty people a few years later.

Erwin

[curranl]

Hello All,

There were several incidents during the Easter Rising where the families of men serving in the British Army had a verbal go at the Volunteers. When the fighting was over, one group of Volunteers had to be protected (ironically by the British Army) from an angry mob. Many of the wives of men serving in the Army were afraid they would lose their seperation allowance as a 'punishment' for the Rising.

Many others, of course, supported the Volunteers.

As Erwin says, a very devisive episode and far, far worse was to come.

Regards,

Liam.