Maire Cleary (arrested 21/02/23 and released 07/09/23) described
herself when autographing the books of Lily Reid and Mary Twamley
as "Irish Republican Prisoner of War". The girls told
of how they'd met Brendan Behan, Liam Lynch (IRA) who came from
the same village where they were born (Anglesborough) and other
Republicans. When I met the women in 1973 they showed me a contemporary
newspaper story about their gaoling by the Free Staters.
Vincent O'Gorman who lived in number 24 Upper Dorset (born
1936, emigrated in 1955 to Australia) knew the Cleary family.
His mother, who was born in 1899, knew them well. Vincent's father,
Michael, died in 1942 and had been held in Mountjoy by the Free
Staters. Noel Fields lived above No. 21.
Dan Howard married a sister of the Cleary girls, ALICE, and lived
at 21. His son, Dan, was living in Letterkenny, Donegal until a
few years back.
Jim Monaghan lived at 26 Upper Dorset. Dan Howard told
how 'during the period leading up to the outbreak of the civil
war my mother was employed in Keegans the gunsmiths, which was next
door to the Four Courts'.
Joe Troy a friend of Michael O'Gorman turned up
at the GPO aged only 14 years. He was sent home but went on to
stand for the Irish Socialist Republican Party in the Free State
Parliament. At numbers 34/35/36 were the Flinter family (mother was Mary Boyle) whose daughter married Joe Collins who
was involved in the Troubles. His son Maurice lives in Dublin
near Whitehall. Martin Boyle lives at 13 Aiden Moore Green, Raheny,
Dublin 5. Behind Upper Dorset was an IRA family, the Deegans.
They were IRA supporters for a long time after.
