This article is from page 9 of the 2011-12-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
A RARE original copy of the 1916 Proclamation, belonging to a Clare volunteer who was wounded during the Easter Rising, was sold at auction last week for € 55,000.
The proclamation, which is one of just 40 originals copies of the famous document still in existence, was removed by Clare volunteer Murty Tubridy, who was wounded in the head while defending his post near North King Street, beside the Four Courts, on the day of the rising.
Just 1,000 copies of the proclamation were printed, under armed guard, at Liberty Hall on Easter Sunday 1916. The proclamation was printed on poor quality, newsprint-style paper – something which contributed to such a small number of such a small number surviving to this day.
Less than 40 copies of the original document still exist and few are in good condition. Murty Tubridy’s copy remained in excellent condition except for a section of the third paragraph of the proclamation – which was torn away when it was removed, in haste, from North King Street.
The area around North King Street saw some of the most intense fighting during the Easter Rising. The copy of the proclamation was removed by Murty Tubridy while his post was taking fire from British troops.
Mr Tubridy served in Ned Daly’s Battalion during the Rising and was part of a unit headed by Peadar Clancy. His main involvement centred around the Four Courts, where he was appointed as grenade thrower and was also responsible for constructing a blockade on Kings Street.
On the second last day of the fighting, he received some minor injuries and was grazed also on the ear. He was sent to Richmond Hospital for treatment and while being moved to the hospital by his comrades he first removed the proclamation from the hoarding at King Street which he had been blockading.
Soon after he arrived at Richmond he was advised to leave the hospital immediately as it was about to be overrun.
His battalion surrendered on April 29, 1916, but Tubridy was not detained at this time. He was later imprisoned at Dundalk Jail, where he was granted parole for four days to attend his father’s funeral in Clare. Following the Rising, Mr Tubridy also served in Belfast with Terence Mac Swiney, Thomas Mc Curtin and other prominent Republicans of the day.