28 April 2014: Launch of Galway County Council online exhibition on Irish Volunteers in Galway

L-R: Patria McWalter, archivist; Cllr Liam Carroll, Mayor of the County of Galway; Martina Moloney, County Manager.

On 28 April 2014 Galway County Council launched an online exhibition on the Irish Volunteers in Galway City in 1914. This was launched under the auspices of the County of Galway Decade of Commemorations Strategy 2013—2023.  The exhibition, which was launched by the Mayor of the County of Galway, Cllr Liam Carroll, includes original source material recording the development of the Volunteers in Galway City in 1914, and includes documents recording the names of members of the Galway Corps, details of subscriptions made by members, a membership card for Dr Walsh, Dominick Street, and correspondence between the Galway Branch and the Volunteers’ Headquarters in Dublin. It also includes letters and extracts from draft manifestos and handwritten minutes which clearly document the split in the organisation following John Redmond’s call for the Volunteers to support the British war effort after the outbreak of World War One. This is important documentation for a critical period in the structure of the Volunteers, which reflects the attitude and ethos of the Volunteers and also of individual members of the Galway City Corps. The exhibition is primarily comprised of items from two collections: the minutes of the Irish Volunteers, Galway City Corps dating from 4 May to 20 September 1914, (GS01/03), and also a related file of correspondence dating from 25th July to 5th October 1914 (GS13/02). Click here to view and download the exhibition on the Galway City corps of the Irish Volunteers, May-October 1914.

Click here to explore Galway County Council’s digital archives.