On Tuesday, 6th December 2016 at 12.00pm, the Digital Repository of Ireland will pay tribute to the historic release in 1916 of several hundred Irish men detained at a prison camp in Wales with the launch of a series of new digital exhibitions that will take a peek behind closed doors at life inside the notorious Frongoch.
A makeshift gaol fashioned from the empty bodies of abandoned distillery buildings to hold German prisoners of war during World War I, Frongoch was a crude, rat-infested place. The 1,800 almost exclusively Irish prisoners held there, many without charge and utterly uninvolved in the rebellion, suffered malnourishment and illness due to the poor food and damp, fetid conditions.
Yet the captives, among them a fiery young Michael Collins, became known for their gameness in the face of hardship. Many claimed, after their release, to have grown fond of the rural vistas surrounding the camp’s location at Merionethshire, Wales, which were said to resemble the landscapes of rolling hills so beloved in Ireland. It was even recorded that not a single escape attempt was ever made; as it turned out, Frongoch proved to be quite the fertile training ground for the next wave of Irish revolutionaries.
In December 1916, upon the appointment of David Lloyd George to the position of UK Prime Minister, the camp was emptied, and the prisoners, now numbering only in the hundreds, were allowed to return home. Most would never view the rebellion or the future of Ireland in the same way again.
Today, an empty field is all that remains of Frongoch, the site long demolished and restored to grazing lands for sheep and cattle with a local school nearby. But stories and artefacts from what would later become known as the ‘University of Revolution’ remains, and at the launch of this fascinating exhibition, you can experience a taste of life there while learning about the history of this unusual period.
At Tuesday’s event, Catriona Crowe, archivist and cultural commentator, will launch the exhibitions at the National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts and History, Collins Barracks, Dublin. Linda Tomos, Director of the National Library Wales, and Chair of the National Trust Wales, will join her in celebration of this international collaboration.
When: Tuesday, 6th December 2016, 12.00pm
Where: National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts and History, Collins Barracks, Dublin
Find more information about this event here.
Ar an Máirt, 6 Nollaig 2016 ag 12.00pm, tabharfar ómós i Stór Digiteach Éireann do scaoileadh saor stairiúil na gcéadta fear Éireannach i 1916 ó champa géibhinn sa Bhreatain Bheag nuair a sheolfar sraith de thaispeántais dhigiteacha nua ina gcaithfear súil ar an saol príobháideach i Frongoch, campa a raibh droch-cháil air.
Bhí an príosún garbh seo, a rinneadh ó chreata foirgneamh drioglainne tréigthe chun príosúnaigh chogaidh Ghearmánacha a choimeád le linn an Chéad Chogaidh Dhomhanda, ina áit thútach agus é lán de fhrancaigh. D’fhulaing na 1,800 príosúnach a coimeádadh ann, arbh Éireannach iad beagnach gach duine acu, agus ar coimeádadh go leor acu gan chúiseamh agus gan ról ar bith acu san Éirí Amach, míchothú agus breoiteacht mar gheall ar an drochbhia agus na coinníollacha taise, lofa a bhí sa champa.
Ina ainneoin sin, tháinig cáil ar na príosúnaigh, agus Mícheál Ó Coileáin óg taghdach ina measc, mar gheall ar a gcrógacht agus ar an gcruatan sin á fhulaingt acu. Mhaígh go leor acu, tar éis a scaoilte, gur éirigh siad ceanúil ar na radhairc thuaithe timpeall an champa i Merionethshire, na Breataine Bige. Deirtí go raibh na radhairc sin cosúil le tírdhreach réchnocach na hÉireann a raibh an-ghean ag daoine air. Tugadh taifead freisin ar an bhfíric nach ndearnadh fiú aon iarracht amháin éalú; mar a tharla sé, bhí Frongoch ina áit thorthúil foghlama agus oiliúna ag an gcéad shruth eile de réabhlóidithe na hÉireann.
I mí na Nollag 1916, tar éis gur ceapadh David Lloyd George ina Phríomh-Aire ar an Ríocht Aontaithe, glanadh gach duine amach as an gcampa, agus tugadh cead do na príosúnaigh, nach raibh ach na céadta acu fágtha faoin am sin, filleadh abhaile. Ní bheadh an dearcadh céanna ag an gcuid is mó acu riamh ar an Éirí Amach ná ar thodhchaí na hÉireann.
Inniu níl fágtha de Frongoch ach gort folamh. Tá an láithreán leagtha le fada an lá agus á úsáid mar thailte féaraigh arís do chaoirigh agus d’eallaigh agus scoil áitiúil in aice leis. Ach tá scéalta agus déantáin fágtha fós ón áit ar a dtabharfaí ‘Ollscoil an Éirí Amach’ ina dhiaidh sin, agus ag seoladh an taispeántais spéisiúil seo, is féidir leat blaiseadh a fháil ar an saol ann agus foghlaim faoi stair na tréimhse aistí sin.
Ag an imeacht ar an Máirt, seolfaidh Catriona Crowe, cartlannaí agus tráchtaire cultúrtha, an taispeántas in Árd-Mhúsaem na Éireann – Na hEalaíona Maisiúla agus Stair, Dún Uí Choileáin, Baile Átha Cliath. Beidh Linda Tomos, Stiúrthóir Leabharlann Náisiúnta na Breataine Bige, agus Cathaoirleach an National Trust Wales, in éineacht leo sa cheiliúradh ar an gcomhiarracht idirnáisiúnta seo.
Cén uair: Dé Máirt, an 6 Nollaig 2016, 12.00pm
Cá háit: Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann – Na hEalaíona Maisiúla agus an Stair, Dún Uí Choileáin, Baile Átha Cliath
Gheobhaidh tú tuilleadh eolais faoin imeacht seo anseo.