Bere Island’s internment history revealed in new book

BY HELEN RIDDELL

A UNIQUE autograph book featuring inscriptions from the internees at an internment camp on Bere Island in 1921 was presented to the Bere Island Heritage Centre at an event held last weekend.  

The book was compiled by the late Nora O’Neill, a captain and founding member of the Castletownbere Cumman na mBan during the War of Independence. 

Details of the men behind the autographs, along with the history of the camp, are included in a book by Ted O’Sullivan, Bere Island Internment Camp 1921 – Nora O’Neill’s Autograph Book, who also spoke at the presentation.    

An internment camp was in operation on Bere Island during 1921, and those interned were a diverse group of men comprising poets, writers, intellectuals and committed War of Independence volunteers. 

Support for, and contact with, the internees fell to the women of the local Cumann na mBan. 

Nora O’Neill, together with members of the Bere Island company, assisted internees and their families by overseeing the Irish Volunteers dependants fund, and organising weekly concerts for the internees. 

It was at these weekly concerts that she asked the internees to write in an autograph book. There are a number of such books in existence, from internment camps throughout Ireland at that time. However, author Ted O’Sullivan said to his knowledge this is the only such book compiled by a woman.  

The camp closed in December 1921. Nora O’Neill emigrated to the USA where she married Jim O’Sullivan from Bere Island, the couple later returned to live in Castletownbere.  

Nora died in October 1972 and left her autograph books to her nephew Fr Sean O’Shea, who in turn passed them onto a niece, Nessa Harrington, who was keen for Nora’s story to be known and made it available to Ted. 

Nessa presented the book to Barry Hanley, chair of the Bere Island Heritage Centre.

‘It’s an honour that the Heritage Centre will be the resting place for this book and I would like to thank Nora’s family for preserving the book over the years,’ said Barry.