Michael Joseph b 1886

Michael J. Colleran b.1886

Based on other branches of the Loughrea Colleran family, Michael was called Joseph at home. This is because there was an older brother also called Michael, born in 1870. He died shortly before or around Michael J.'s birth. The older brother Michael was in Galway studying to be an engineer when he got sick, possibly meningitis and died.

Michael joined the RIC (Royal Irish Constabulary, a type of a gendarmerie i.e. a police force modelled on the milarity) in Jul1908 (police number 64161). His community and family were strongly interested in or involved in the land league. So he would have been considered as an outsider, once he joined the RIC.

Joining the RIC would mean he could not serve in any significant (to him) region of the country, i.e. his county or wife's county or where other members of his family served. Also he was not to marry in the 1st seven years of service and he was to give two years notice of his intention to marry. Police management would then have to approve of the marriage before it went ahead.

Future wives to RIC men were referred to as ladies in waiting.

Michael's first posting was in Feb1909 to the West Limerick devision, in the Apr1911 census he can be found in the Kilmeedy RIC barracks. To find him use the search string MI C in the census database, if you check the scanned copy of the census forms you will see he is correctly listed as MJ C. All personal in the service or in the care of the state were recorded in the census by their initials.

Given that Kilmeedy is 37km from Glin and therefore his future wife Mary Fennell b. 1884 it is unlikely that she met him there, Michael may have been posted across various barracks in the devision in his 6yr in West Limerick.

I have heard that Mary with her girl friends cycle to a local barrack to check out the latest men posted there and that is how they met.

When courting Mary Fennell, a neighbour to the Fennell's gave them a warning that the IRA were coming for Michael that night, so he had to stay away for a while.

Since Michael join the force in Jul1908 he was banned from marriage until Jul1915, if he could inform his management by Jul1913. As Mary and himself did not marry until Aug1916, one can assume that they got engaged in Aug1914.

At some point Mary moved to Listowel Co. Kerry, possible due to the risk to Michael's life and to have access to home but also to have a place with Michael when he was off duty and when he was not required to be at the barrack.

In 1915 a year before their wedding, Michael was transferred from his future wife's county to West Cork.

By 1919 Mary and Michael had 2 children Monnie and Breda and shortly after that Mary with the children move under armed guard from Listowel to Macroom Co. Cork. Breda b.1917 told me that she remembered being ambushed on the road and attack while sheltering at night in the barrack enroute. In each case Mary lay on the ground and pressed her children to the ground as the bullets whizzed over them.

In Macroom Michael and Mary lived at 6 Massytown Macroom until their deaths in the 1950's and 60's.

In 1922, Michael have 3 choices with regard to his career, join the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary, another type of a gendarmerie) or join the Palestine police or be pensioned off in the disbandment of the RIC.

He went for the pension and remained in the town (Macroom) he served in, he was in a small set of less that a handful of men that remained in the regions that they served in.

Some of the storied Michael told his son Gerard b.1925.....

When on the beat in the country side, a man employed to brake stones for the road surface was sitting on the road, busy at working. He look up at Michael and said to him, "aren't you the proud man with a shilling in you pocket".

The Sargent for a day, this story use to make him laugh and Gerard laugh when he retold it. One of the men Michael known earn a 3rd stripe, these were important as on retirement each stripe was bought back by the force as a way to enhancing ones pension. Anyway the celebrations including taking a drink for each stitch, quickly the new Sargent became pretty drunk and they were all caught in full celebrations with the drunk Sargent. He immediately was stripped of the 3rd strip. And that was that.

Michael Stubbart (grandda's eldest grandchild) shared some of his memories of grandda in his anecdotes. These are held in a pdf document under "Michael Stubbart's memories" that he shared in the 90 or 00's.

These cover the Massytown house, grandda's standing the the Massytown community and an ambush where he was told at gun point to make himself scarce before he too may have been shot.

Another historical period that grandda was involved in was the Dublin lock-out. This was a general strike from Aug'13 to Jan'14, 20,000 workers walked off the job and ground Dublin and Ireland to a halt. Police resources from around the country were allocated to support the unarmed Dublin metropolitan police. Grandda was required to ride the buses to protect the bus workers that were breaking the strike.

An interesting story with regard to Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP), these were allow in integrate into the Irish free state new police in 1922, that new police force is known locally as the Gardaí. Dublin remained to be policed by the DMP for quite some time, early 1940's. The DMP were devide into 7 decisions, A to G. A to F were stationed at various major Dublin police stations, i.e. The Castle, The Depo, Bridewell, Store St, White Hall etc. The G devision was the armed devision. Once the DMP and Gardaí were one the Gardaí maintained these decisions.

So the criminal element new the G devision were not to be messed with. So the story goes, when Machine Gun Kelly's (a USA grangster) mother was visiting and staying with her son. They were surrounded and a gun battle broke out. She is reported to have called out for a ceasefire, by addresses the US's FBI men as G men. The US press took this and still use that discription today for FBI men.