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| File Reference |
MSP34REF41200
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| Name |
Mai O'Halloran |
| Gender |
female |
| Maiden/Other names |
McNamara
May
|
| Address detail |
| Street |
Laccaroe, Tulla
|
| County |
Clare
|
| Country |
Ireland
|
| Address detail |
| Street |
“Mount Carmel”, Tulla, Ennis
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| County |
Clare
|
| Country |
Ireland
|
| Date of birth |
1898
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| Date of death |
1970-03-25
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| Associated files in MSPA |
34E9202; DP10285; 1RB5164
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| Easter rising service |
No |
| Organisation |
Cumann na mBan |
| Rank |
Captain
|
| Unit |
5 Battalion
|
| Company |
O’Callaghan’s Mills Branch
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| Brigade |
East Clare Brigade
|
| Commanding Officer(s) |
Stephen Minogue; Austin Brennan; JJ McNamara
|
| Pension Claim |
Yes |
| Award Pension |
Yes |
| Army Pensions Act 1923/1953 |
No |
| Military Service Pensions Acts 1924 |
No |
| Military Service Pensions Acts 1934 |
Yes |
| Grade |
E |
| Notes |
Awarded 1 and 1/3 years of service for pension purposes in 1951 following successful petition to have case re-opened.
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| Military Service Pensions Acts 1949 |
No |
| Digital file |
Scanned/digital copyMSP34REF41200 Mai O'Halloran.pdf
Scanned/digital copy34E9202 Mai O'Halloran.pdf
Scanned/digital copyDP10285 Mai O'Halloran.pdf
Scanned/digital copy1RB5164 Mai O'Halloran.pdf |
| File dates |
30 November 1934 - 21 August 1970
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| Subject Information |
File relates to Mai O’Halloran's receipt of a military service pension in respect of her service with Cumann na mBan which, following a petition in 1951 to have her case re-opened, was successful for the service periods between 1 April 1920 and 11 July 1921 during the War of Independence. Her first application and an appeal in 1945 were both refused and she also claimed unsuccessfully for service in all other periods between 1 April 1917 and 11 July 1921.
Mai O’Halloran and references state that she joined Cumann na mBan and was in charge of O’Callaghan Mills Branch in 1917. She was engaged in the usual activities including collecting money and organising First Aid classes and was treasurer of the local Volunteer Fund. During the War of Independence she regularly catered for Irish Volunteers, and later Irish Republican Army (IRA) men, in particular prior to and following various ambushes and attacks including IRA efforts to capture Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Barracks at Newmarket-on-Fergus [5 August 1920], Scariff [18 September 1920] and Six-Mile-Bridge (no date) and the Cratloe ambush [13 January 1921]. Dispatches were regularly left at the family home and the claimant would deliver them or arrange for them to be collected. Her three brothers, including JJ McNamara, were all in the IRA and due to their activities, and her own, the family house was frequently raided. O’Halloran and references state that she attended wounded IRA men regularly and on one occasion procured iodine for Martin McNamara while under fire. On the morning after the Glenwood ambush, on 20 January 1921, a neighbour, James McNamara was severely beaten by British forces. The claimant and McNamara state she removed him to a safe shelter at 4am and organised with Erskine Childers and Canon Kennedy to have him removed to the infirmary in Ennis where he was operated on immediately. Following the Glenwood ambush, the out-offices and stocks of hay were burned in retaliation. As a result the claimant slept in neighbours’ houses at night from this time until the end of the War of Independence on 11 July 1921, and the farm and farm work were abandoned. She continued to engage in Cumann na mBan activities and was constantly in touch with the IRA column (Active Service Unit). She did scout duty for them and provided food.
File includes: original handwritten material submitted and signed by Mai O’Halloran in support of her application and additional handwritten and typed material in support of various appeals including a completed petition form to have her case reopened dated 2 June 1950; correspondence between the claimant, Seán O’Grady, Parliamentary Secretary and the Military Service Pensions Board (6 April 1943 – 3 April 1946); handwritten statements and typed copies regarding claimant’s service activities from JJ McNamara, Martin McNamara dated , James J McNamara, Mary E Ryan and Patrick Clancy (August 1941 – 6 April 1942); typed statements regarding claimant’s service activities from T McGrath (26 October 1940) and J J McNamara (29 July 1940); handwritten notes dated 24 February 1942 relating to discussion held with unidentified verifying officers regarding claimant's service and activities; typed transcript of sworn evidence given by claimant before Advisory Committee on 2 August 1940, and typed summary of same; material relating to her unsuccessful claim for a Special Allowance under the Army Pensions Acts including medical reports and material relating to the settlement and closure of claimant's service pension following her death on 25 March 1970 - partly closed for reasons of data protection.
File 1RB5164 contains Military Service Registration Board references from JJ McNamara, T McGrath, Cis Brennan, Kathleen Foley and Mary E Ryan.
File includes reused folder with details: “Richard Hayes, Callina, Cappoquin, County Limerick.
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