Peter Williams in Genealogy Queries Forum

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Peter Williams

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westcoastcat	Peter Williams		Lead	[-]
Head Constable Posts: 2 9-Dec-2009 10:38 PM	Remove this ad Also seeking any info on my wife's Granfather,Peter Williams.He was born in Cloneyogan,Lahinch,Co. Clare in about 1870.He served in Co.Kildare,Co.Carlow,Co.Laois(Queens County)and Co.Cork.In the 1911 census he is shown at Macroom,Co.Cork, and is listed as an RIC constable.He was subsequently transferred to Leap,Co.Cork where he was a sergeant.On the formation of the Free State he joined the Garda Síochána with the same rank and remained in Leap.There was an ambush of RIC officers in Leap during the War of Independence but I don't think he was involved.He may have taken 'leave of absence'.He is still remembered in this area.
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The Third Policeman		#1	[url]	[-]
District Inspector 2nd Class Posts: 28 10-Dec-2009 10:31 AM	Service number -54408.He would have been one of only 180 RIC men who joined the Garda. Regards Michael Guilfoyle
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westcoastcat		#2	[url]	[-]
Head Constable Posts: 3 10-Dec-2009 10:59 AM	Thanks,Michael.That will get me started.Interesting that so few RIC men transferred to the Garda and that Peter was one of those.His son,Frank,was also a member of the Garda. An interesting thread is how the the War of Independence affected him and how he coped and the decisions he made in a very active area.There is some oral family history and a lot of local lore.I will try and tease out some facts and put a thread together. Regards...Niall
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The Third Policeman		#3	[url]	[-]
District Inspector 2nd Class Posts: 29 10-Dec-2009 1:59 PM	Niall That would be very interesting if you could.It could be that Peter was sympathetic during the War Of Independence which may have helped him in joining the Garda.There were countless RIC men that had to leave the new Free State after disbandment including my grandfather.It might also have been that he was particularly good at what he did whilst in the RIC but it seems he didn't make any enemies. Regards Michael
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westcoastcat		#4	[url]	[-]
Head Constable Posts: 6 10-Dec-2009 3:33 PM	Remove this ad Michael. It will be interesting to see his service record.Coming from a small farm in West Clare it is likely he had a lot in common with the people in this area and would have had sympathy with the population at large.He also had quite a large family and lived in the village of Leap.It would appear that either he was warned or read the situation well and absented himself for a considerable period when things got hot.West Cork was a very dangerous place at that time for serving members of the RIC.He must have had some degree of communication with the local IRA to ensure his safety. I'm sure the transition from one force to the next was not without its problems but it seems to have passed without major difficulty.Having said that the children were always vulnerable to those with an agenda and without honour.A particular schoolmaster was often mentioned and the ethos in catholic schools at the time was stridently nationalist.The children of former RIC men were not exactly exalted.However,the Williams family had/have a strong sense of themselves and could stand their ground.There is no animosity whatsoever remaining,it's just part of history.
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The Third Policeman		#5	[url]	[-]
District Inspector 2nd Class Posts: 32 10-Dec-2009 7:28 PM	Niall Between 1916 and 192296 RIC men were killed on duty in Co.Cork.That was the highest in Ireland.Next to that for the same period was Tipp. at 43.That illustrates how dangerous Co.Cork was for RIC men. Michael
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Peter Mc RIC		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 164 10-Dec-2009 9:05 PM Inspector-General	Very interesting Niall. I'd guess that Peter Williams was typical of so many of the RIC in that he was professional police; he simply did his job, kept his political opinions to himself, and earned the trust of the community. I'm so pleased when posts like yours appear; it is the whole point of this web forum to try and present the old RIC as a body of men who represented so much of what is good about Ireland, and its policing heritage, whilst recognising that a period of our history led to a gross distortion of this fact and sullied the name of the force. Of course Sgt Wlliams may also have been a covert IRA sympathiser, and passed on information. You may be able to look up Bureau of Military History records and see if his name appears in any local accounts; though given your wider family history I doubt it. I'd guess he was just a good, well respected peeler. There have been several members on this forum, and others I have corresponded with privately, whose relatives did pass on information to the IRA, and later severely regretted it. One constable, who was involved in a famous and tragic incident of 1919, never forgave himself for the fact that his colleagues were shot right in front of him. Of course he never expected that 3 killings would come out of the little snippet he gave... As regards Leap (is it pronounced Lepp locally?) the ambush you referred to took place at Brade, on 2 July 1920. Head Constable Joyce, Constables Heffron, Buckley and Webster, were cycling to Skibbereen to collect the pay for the police at Leap. They were attacked by around 30 IRA at Brade, beat them off, and escaped unharmed. The Dineen brothers from Leap were arrested as part of the gang, but aquitted. Buckley later joined the RUC. I think Webster was a Black and Tan - but I'm working from memory. Here is a photo of what I believe was the ambush site. Maybe you could dig around locally and find out more, and maybe get us a picture of where the barracks was in Leap? Peter Mc
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westcoastcat		#7	[url]	[-]
Head Constable Posts: 8 11-Dec-2009 12:15 PM	Remove this ad You can be pretty sure Peter Williams never compromised his position,his family was always highly regarded.Informers,of whatever ilk,would not have been well thought of,to say the least. Leap is pronounced Lep locally.Derived from the irish 'Léim Ui Dhónnabháin' or O'Donavans' Leap after an incident in which a local outlaw jumped his horse over the, now bridged, ravine whilst being pursued by the law.The saying 'beyond the leap,beyond the law' is used locally to this day,if only in a humorous sense.I'll talk to a few people over the holidays and take a few photos. Last Edited By: westcoastcat 11-Dec-2009 11:31 PM. Edited 1 time.
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