Tom Ruane was captain of the Second Western Division of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...

from 1916 to 1920.

Background

Ruane was a native of Carnmore,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, and joined the

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

in 1908. He was already an active sportsman with the GAA, his position being full-back. From 1910 to 1916 he captained the local hurling team.

Easter 1916

During the Galway

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

in 1916 he was captain of the

Claregalway Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe (anglicized Claregalway) is a Gaeltacht village about 10 km north of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Claregalway was founded on the banks of the River Clare, hence the derivation of its ...

men. They rendezvoused with the Castlegar man under Brian Molloy and Pat Callanan at Carnmore. Orders were received from

Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows ( ga, Liam Ó Maoilíosa, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland ...

to proceed to the deserted Moyode Castle, in Oranmore. The volunteers were discovered while resting at Carnmore Cross by a group of

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

. Fighting broke out but the only casualty was a Constable Whelan, who was the first to die during the Rising. Arriving at Moyode they congregated with other companies but lack of orders and supplies led to fatigue and hunger. When news of the failure of the Rising in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

arrived, the men dispersed, some going home. Ruane himself went on the run. He hid out in

Moycullen Moycullen ( ga, Maigh Cuilinn) is a Gaeltacht village in County Galway, Ireland, about 10 km (7 mi) northwest of Galway city. It is near Lough Corrib, on the N59 road to Oughterard and Clifden, in Connemara. Moycullen is now a satel ...

and used an island in

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

as a fall-back during searches. However, a letter was found in his wife's handbag which gave his address as at Bohans, Borra, Moycullen. He was arrested and sent to

Frongoch internment camp Frongoch internment camp at Frongoch in Merionethshire, Wales was a makeshift place of imprisonment during the First World War and the 1916 Easter Rising. History 1916 the camp housed German prisoners of war in a yellow distillery and crude hu ...

, where he spent ten months. After his release, he was arrested in 1918 in connection with the German Plot, this time in

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

and

Winson Green Winson Green is a loosely defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho. It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham (known locally as Winson Green Prison or "the Green") and of City Hospi ...

Military and civil activities

After his release from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Prison he was appointed a justice of the

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

courts for south and west Galway. His activities came at the price of a thousand-pound reward for his capture, and he was targeted by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

. He may have participated on the attack on Loughgeorge R.I.C. Barracks in May 1920, launched by the mid-Galway Brigade. After the Treaty, he fought on the side of the Republicans. As a reprisal for the Kilroe ambush, near

Headford Headford () is a small town in County Galway, located 26 km north of Galway city in the west of Ireland. It is an angling centre for the eastern shore of Lough Corrib, and Greenfields, approximately 6.5 km west of the town, is its bo ...

, all his farm produce was burned. In 1925 Ruane was arrested and charged with weapons possession at

Boyle, County Roscommon Boyle (; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara a ...

. The charges were later dismissed.MacEoin, Uinseann (1997), ''The IRA in the Twilight Years 1923-1948'', Argenta Publications, Dublin, pg 117, ISBN 0951117246

Later career

Ruane was a member of the County Board and a chairman of the Galway District Council for seven years. He served as a Sinn Féin member of the County Council and chairman of the Finance Committee. His son, Paddy Ruane, was elected to the council six times for Sinn Féin while his other son, Stephen, was a member of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

. One of Ruane's grandson's was a British

M.P. A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

as of 2000. Ruane died on 31 August 1937, aged 53, and was buried in

cemetery.

Background

Easter 1916

Military and civil activities

Later career

References

Further reading