Life of RIC officer the subject of book

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ‘BELLINGHAM CONSTABLE CHARLES MCGEE WRITTEN BY GRAND-NIECE MADGE O’BOYLE

The grand-niece of the RIC officer killed in Castlebellingham at the start of the 1916 Rising in Louth has released a new book on his life and times.

The book - ‘ The Life and Times of Constable Charles McGee First R.I.C casualty and the 1916 Rising in County Louth’ has been written by his grand-niece Madge O’Boyle is now available at a number of locations in Dundalk.

Madge is well known to people in Dundalk as she spent many years teaching in St Malachy’s School and was involved in organisations such as the Gaelic League.

She said: ‘Many historical accounts have been written on the military aspects of the 1916 Rising in County Louth and on the participation of members of the Louth Volunteers in that event. However, there has been a paucity of information available on Constable Charles (Charlie) McGee who was fatally wounded in Castlebellingham, on Easter Monday evening 1916. He was the first member of the Royal Irish Constabulary to die in the Rising’.

The account reveals the complexities of Irish history and the network of relationships that linked counties Donegal, Louth and Antrim in 1916. ‘It is fortunate that Constable McGee’s story and the 100 years’ of society’s refusal to acknowledge the memory of members of the RIC is finally being recognised in the inclusive 2016 Centenary Commemorative Programme’, said Madge.

However, Madge is keen to stress that this book is not just about Constable McGee. It delineates the development of nationalism in Dundalk from the late 1890s and records the history of the County Louth Volunteers, as well as the 1916 Rising in Louth. She said: ‘It is a serious academic work that seeks to give a balanced view of what happened in the county during Easter Week 1916 and includes the activities of various local Volunteers who participated in the insurrection’.

Books are available to buy at County Museum, Dundalk, in Carrolls Newsagents on Clanbrassil Street, or from Madge O’Boyle’s Facebook page.