The Falvey Family at Glenquin Castle
On 24th April, 1916 a group of volunteers left Milford and headed west to Glenquin Castle to pick up arms that were expected to be brought from Banna Beach. To evade detection they travelled mostly on foot in small groups and often took to the fields. Unfortunately, due tao lack of communi-cation, the ship, a German U boat carrying Sir Roger Casement and a German ship the “Aud” following behind were not met. The English were alerted, Casement was arrested and subsequently hanged, and the captain of the “Aud” scuttled the ship which had on board a consignment of twenty thousand rifles and one million rounds of ammunition.
Fifteen groups of volunteers walked to Glenquin Castle from all over west Limerick, including twenty five people from Milford, who were as follows: Denis McAuliffe, Jim Brislane, Jim Coughlan, John Crimmins, Tim Crimmins, Jim Crowley, Sean O’Dea, John Drew, Jerry Falvey, Paddy Fitzgibbon, Jim Fox, Ned Fox, Larry Hedivan, Patrick Keating, John Manahan, Denis Noonan, Maurice Noonan, John O’Regan, Jim Riordan, Patrick Sheahan, May Hennigan, Alice Falvey, Margaret Crimmins, Josephine Murphy and Margaret Sheehan.
On Sunday 24th April, to commemorate and remember these brave men and women a group from Milford joined other local villages and towns in the re-enactment of that historical day. After the reading of the Proclamation, the unveiling of the centenary plaque and the raising of the tri-colour in the Park, Milford, the descendants made their way towards Glenquin Castle where further festivities took place.