‘A NATURAL BORN FIGHTER’
The above are two verses from Christy Moore’s song ‘Viva La Quinta Brigada’ from his 1984 album ‘Ride On’ which like many others, I sang along to in my teenage years with thoughts of justice and injustice. As is the gift of Christy’s song writing, it draws you in, wanting to learn more and at times, forms your opinion on a topic for years to follow.
This is exactly the case in this instance, ‘Though many died, I can but name a few’ - but soon I was focused on Kit (Christy) Conway. Why so, he was a local, having strong connections with the parishes of Clogheen and Ballyporeen, which was centred around Burncourt and Skeheenarinky. Christy is a complex character by any measure and it takes a good bit of research to get to the facts.
Christopher Conway was born on 3rd December, 1899 at Clogheen Workhouse to Ellen Conway. His brother, John Conway, was born in 1896, also in Clogheen Workhouse and his sister, Elizabeth Conway in late 1899. Ellen Conway’s life and that of her children was tough from the outset, being reared and working in the workhouse and when able, being sent to work on the farms within the workhouse area. By 1911, we see Ellen Conway, aged 40 and John Conway, aged 15, working on James and Kate Sheely’s farm in Coolagarranroe. This must have been a big improvement from the workhouse. Christy Conway himself, now aged 11 was working on William and Margaret English’s farm in
Coolagarranroe.
John moved to Dublin and lived his life out there, working and rearing a family. Elizabeth’s whereabouts are not known. The ‘starting wages were in the region of two shillings a week’ as quoted by Sean Ua Cearnaigh in one of his many published articles on Christy/Kit Conway. A Coolagarranroe native, Sean wrote articles on Christy when it was and wasn’t that topical a subject. Sean’s articles are invaluable, as he notes himself: ‘My knowledge of Kit Conway’s early career is due to the fact that I grew up in the same countryside where many of his youthful years were spent. My father, who was about two years his senior, was Kit’s best friend and from him I learned most of the facts’.
Sean’s father was Johnny Kearney from Coolagarranroe, a distinguished Commander of Skeheenarinky Company, 6th Battalion (Cahir), 3rd Tipperary Brigade.
More from Sean: ‘Kit was a remarkable figure, even in his early days. Highly intelligent and articulate, largely self-taught, light-hearted and humorous, he had an enormous capacity for friendship’. This is borne out by stories recalled to this day in the townland of Loughananna, just outside Kilbehenny, where Christy was working for a local farmer and whatever formula or mix he came up with for the farm concrete piers, which they called the ‘black’ mixture, it certainly worked, as the piers are still standing today, well over a 100 years later and no sign of deteriorating anytime soon!
Christy joined the British Army in 1915, aged 16, like many young Irishmen at the time influenced by both economics and the Irish Parliamentary Party exhortations to enlist into the British Army and assist in its fight in WW1, this being promoted primarily by its party leader, John Redmond. Whatever influenced Christy in his decision making, we will never know for definite.
He soon regretted his decision and based in Kilworth Camp, he needed a plan to escape, ‘He devised a most effective plan. He feigned insanity. He must have been a born actor. In any event, his act so convinced and alarmed his superior officers at the Military Station that he was instantly discharged. Even the private soldiers billeted with Kit were convinced of his insanity’.
Some of his acts of insanity included pretending to eat his cap, beating himself with his rifle and pouring buckets of water over himself. Christy’s first encounter with military activity was done, albeit brief.
A SPY?
The next was more to his true calling, but again the path wasn’t that simple. Christy doesn’t appear to have been involved in the Irish Volunteers movements in either Burncourt or Skeheenarinky or the subsequent Irish Republican Army companies, once reorganised post the conscription crisis, he’s not listed in either roles by the company captains. It’s most likely that he was not trusted due to his stint in the British Army and if anything, he was seen as a threat and worse, a spy. This is borne out by Thomas Ryan from Tubrid, Ballylooby in his Military Witness Statement from 1953, where he noted that Christy was subject to an inquiry in relation to
Ryan was obviously still not convinced, as the Tipperary 3rd Brigade No. 2 Flying Column was formed, more commonly known as the Sean Hogan Flying Column and no sign of Christy Conway being a member. That changed on 22nd March, 1921 when Thomas Ryan called upon Christy to partake in another attempt by the column to capture Ballyporeen R.I.C. Barracks. Christy was given a rifle and ‘posted in the most dangerous position during the attack where we kept him under observation, with a view to shooting him at once if he showed any sign of treachery in his behaviour. Instead, to our surprise he showed himself fearless and determined in the course of the attack and demonstrated to those of us who watched him how a man should behave under fire. From that night onwards, he became the white-haired boy and was taken into the Column without having taken the volunteer oath. He remained with the Column through all its activities until the Truce and was our principal instructor in drill and musketry, being an expert on these through his British Army training. Conway was fearless and a natural born fighter’.
It was a baptism of fire as the famous Kiltankin/ Ballygiblin Escape was the next morning, followed by the Garrymore Ambush and D.I. Potter’s capture on 24th April, 1921 and similarly, the following morning, more extensive raids by the British Military followed along the Galtee mountain byroads. Indeed, it was Johnny Kearney, previously mentioned, who led the fleeing Sean Hogan Column to the safety of the Galtee mountain foothills, arranged billets and scouts for the night and duration while in his Company area,
Christy like many of the column were amongst neighbours and familiar territory. At midday, while resting in their billets waiting on orders, the British Army in the form of horse mounted South Irish Horse, rushed out from Cahir and reaching Skeheenarinky split and simultaneously galloped up the Galtee Castle Road, Black Road and Mountain Road. The British Army must have been confident of success and rightly so, there was Flying Column members staying on the three roads, but the often unheralded and tedious work of the Skeheenarinky and Burncourt Company scouts paid off, they were able to give advance warnings to enable the men and arms to be moved to safety. Any arms, ammunition left behind were concealed by the Cumann na mBan, so effectively, after two hours of searching, nothing was found.
However, a different faith was in store for the three Column members staying at Thomas and Hannah Fitzgerald’s farmhouse further up the Galtees, namely David Moher, Croughmore; Frank Pyne, Ballyporeen and Christy Conway. Pyne had gone over to his friends at Galtee Sawmill, only a few fields away, Conway was resting on a chair in the yard and Moher likewise upstairs in the house. Six mounted horse entered the yard in an instant, but the quick thinking Conway dashed underneath the belly of the officer’s horse which caused a stampede and in the ensuing confusion, Conway and Moher gathered the guns out the back and made it to safety further up the Galtee mountains. The British followed suit, but they were gone and after an extensive search of the house and surrounds, found a few items of note.
Unfortunately for Frank