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Cllr Jim Finucane.
THE outgoing Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Jim Finucane, will unveil a plaque next week at the site of a prison camp in Wales where dozens of Kerry natives were detained following the Easter Rising.
In a joint initiative involving Kerry County Council, the Kerry GAA, and the Provincial Council of the GAA in Britain, the informal ceremony at Frongoch will honour the Kerry men who were held at Frongoch internment camp in 1916 and who played Gaelic football to pass the time.
A total of 37 Kerry prisoners spent several months in the north Wales detention camp following their court martial for involvement in the Easter rebellion, including well-known figures like Tom McEllistrim, Billy Mullins, Dick Fitzgerald, Paddy Cahill, Denis Daly, and Timothy Ring.
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Many of those who went on to play a leading role in the Irish revolution were also imprisoned at the camp, including Richard Mulcahy, Michael Collins, WT Cosgrave, and Seán T. Ó Ceallaigh.
The field adjacent to the camp became known as ‘Croke Park’ as the prisoners played inter-county football matches regularly. Frongoch also became known as the ‘University of Revolution’ as the Irish Volunteers and the IRB prisoners plotted their next step in the campaign for Irish independence.
“I was invited by the GAA in Britain to unveil a plaque which lists the Kerry men who were detained at Frongoch and which refers to the intercounty match which involved the prisoners from Kerry and Louth on 27 June 1916. It is very important that this historic site bears a reference to the Kerry prisoners who played such a leading role in the Irish revolution,” said Jim Finucane.
The plaque, made of Valentia slate, will be unveiled at the Frongoch museum on Thursday, 20 June at noon and the event will be attended by representatives of the GAA in Kerry and Britain.
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