Thomas Traynor was born 1882 in Cannon’s Quarter,
Tullow, a boot maker by trade but he went on to serve under
Eamon de Valera as a member of the Boland Mills Garrison
during Easter Week 1916. He was married with ten children
ranging from 5 months to eighteen years. Following the
surrender, he was interned in Wakefield Prison where shared
a cell with Seán Mac Eoin, and after his release, refused to
give up the cause and was attached to B Company, 3rd
Battalion Dublin Brigade of the IRA playing an active part
in the War of Independence. On March 14, 1921, Traynor was
captured in Pearse Street, Dublin, while in action against a
British detachment of auxiliaries and Black and Tans and was
subsequently tried and sentenced to death. Thomas Traynor
was hanged in Mountjoy Prison on the April 25, 1921.
The
original Thomas Traynor committee in Tullow had 18 dedicated
members responsible for fundraising and the erection of the
Thomas Traynor Memorial Statue on the Dublin Road opposite
Flynn’s Garage. The statue was unveiled on 1965 by Traynor’s
eldest son Frank Traynor who travelled from the US for the
occasion. The founding members of the Thomas Traynor
committee were Seán Monaghan PC (chairman), William O’Connor
(secretary), Seamus Kavanagh (treasurer), Denis Nolan
(assistant secretary), Laurence Murphy (assistant
treasurer), Frank Mallin, Henry Hickey MCC, Joseph Dooley,
James McGrath, Patrick Dawson, Thomas Nolan, Peter Rooney,
Patrick Byrne, John Browne, Michael Kenny, Patrick Hickey,
Joseph O’Mara and James Roche.
