From the Daniel Dennehy military archive (Rathmore):
WITNESS STATEMENT NO.76 (EXCERPT)
STATEMENT OF SEAMUS HICKEY, MAIN STREET, MILLSTREET, CO. CORK PERIOD: 1913 TO MAY, 1916. UNIT: MILLSTREET COMPANY, I.V.
We had purchased the single shot .303 rifles in 1914 for 50/- each from Dan Dennehy, Rathmore. He had got 14 of them for sale. I had made a mould for manufacturing slugs in 1915. This had gone round to four Companies; a number of slugs were made and some cartridges loaded with them.
SIGNED: SEAMUS O h-IOCADHE
DATE: 10-12-47
WITNESS: FLORENCE O’DONOGHUE
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WITNESS STATEMENT NO. 60 (EXCERPT)
JOINT STATEMENT OF DENIS O’BRIEN, BALLYDALY, MILLSTREET, CO.CORK & DENIS O’KEEFFE, KNOCKNAGULLANE, RATHMORE, CO. KERRY
PERIOD: NOVEMBER, 1915 TO MAY, 1916. UNIT: RATHDUANE COMPANY, I.V.
The Rathduane Company of the Irish Volunteers was started on 1st November, 1915.
We had no knowledge of a parade of Volunteers at Carriganima. If the Battalion O/C. knew, he did not tell us. We knew nothing of an intended Rising or of a landing of arms. The whole Battalion marched back to the town and was dismissed on the Square about 6 o’clock. We marched back to our area and dismissed. Denis O’Brien was very much puzzled by this parade and the fact that nothing had happened on Sunday, because he had information about ten days before from Dan Dennehy, Adjutant of the Rathmore Company, that an important job was timed for Easter Sunday and to be in readiness. When he got that information special efforts were made in the Company to have everything in the best order possible for Easter Sunday. Cartridges were loaded with slugs, and all the shot guns it was possible to get were secured. Con Murphy may have had that information also; he worked as if he knew something was on. We do not know where Dan Dennehy would have got the information, unless it was from Pat O’Connor who was in Rathmore on holidays at the time and who returned to Dublin that week and was killed in the Rising.
SIGNED: Denis O’Brien
SIGNED: Denis O’Keeffe
DATE: 3 rd November, 1947.
WITNESS: Florence O’Donoghue
