A Call to Arts: A New Film about Love, Art, Revolution, and Ireland
View the trailer for a new feature length documentary film from Irish Visions on Helen Hooker and Ernie O’Malley’s personal and artistic journey in Ireland 1935-1975. www.acalltoarts.com
Ernie’s Journey 13: February 1921, ‘Escape from Kilmainham Jail’
In Episode 13, Cormac describes Ernie O’Malley’s dramatic Valentine’s Day escape from Kilmainham Jail.
Ernie’s Journey 12: January 1921, ‘Jail Life’
In Episode 12, Cormac describes what life was like for Ernie O’Malley in Kilmainham Jail.
Ernie’s Journey 11: December 1920, ‘Capture and Torture’
In Episode 11, Cormac relates Ernie’s dramatic capture and torture.
Ernie’s Journey 10: November 1920, ‘Bloody Sunday’
In Episode 10, Cormac shares and interprets Ernie O’Malley’s observations on the violent events of Bloody Sunday that took place on November 21, 1920 in Dublin, Ireland.
Ernie’s Journey 9: October 1920, ‘Judge Ernie’
In Episode 9, Cormac explores Ernie O’Malley’s role as judge for a day in the newly formed Republican Courts.
Ernie’s Journey 8: September 1920, ‘Attack on Mallow’s Regimental Headquarters’
In Episode 8, Cormac explores Ernie O’Malley’s role in one of the IRA’s most daring and ambitious actions of 1920.
Ernie’s Journey 7: August 1920, ‘Close Calls’
In Episode 7, Cormac explores a few dramatic close calls Ernie had in August 1920 and what was happening more broadly in Ireland at the moment.
Ernie’s Journey 6: July 1920, ‘Rearcross Attack’
In Episode 6, Cormac explores the action and outcome of the IRA attack on the RIC Barracks in Rearcross in July 1920.
Ernie’s Journey 5: June 1920, ‘Drangan Attack’
In this EJ-5 Episode 5, Cormac explores the action and meaning of the IRA attack on the RIC Barracks in Drangan in June 1920.
Ernie’s Journey 4: Spring 1920, ‘The IRA Oath and Changing Tactics’
Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you well during this challenging time. Here is a new episode of Ernie’s Journey, the monthly series where I share stories about my father, General Ernie O’Malley, and his role in the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War from 1920 to 1924. Over the course of the series, you’ll hear how he left his medical studies to train thousands of volunteers to fight against the British, rose to the highest ranks of the IRA – the Irish Republican Army – by the age of 23, was imprisoned, tortured and escaped to fight again.
In this EJ-4 Episode 4, I discuss the Oath the IRA took to their new Republic and their Changing Tactics in the spring of 1920.
Ernie’s Journey-4 ‘IRA Oath and Changing Tactics’
Ernie’s Journey #3: Hollyford Barracks May 1920 (May 2020)
Dear friends,
I hope this finds you well during this challenging time. I am pleased to announce a new episode of Ernie’s Journey, the monthly series where I share stories about my father, General Ernie O’Malley, and his role in the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War from 1920 to 1924. Over the course of the series, you’ll hear how he left his medical studies to train thousands of volunteers to fight against the British, rose to the highest ranks of the IRA – the Irish Republican Army – by the age of 23, was imprisoned, tortured and escaped to fight again.
In Episode 3, I discuss how an attack on a Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) police barracks was organized and what Ernie’s role was in the attack on the Hollyford Barracks on May 8, 1920.
Ernie’s Journey #3: Hollyford Barracks May 1920 (May 2020)
Dublin: An evening with Cormac O’Malley
(June 16, 2017)
It was a thrilling experience speaking in Dublin City Hall to over 200+ Irish History enthusiast and get a chance to share more of Ernie’s legacy. Many thanks to The 1916-21 Club with the support of Dublin City Council for organizing a wonderful evening but a special thanks to each person who attended! There was tremendous support from Dublin but also Waterford, Cork and Derry!
Since launching the new website we have gotten such tremendous support & we can’t wait to share more. Below is an wonderful write up of the evening a guest shared with us & gave permission to share with you. Looking forward to the next event coming soon!
Colm Chan (Tapestry Tours Dublin)
On Thursday I had the privilege of attending a talk by Cormac O’Malley, organised by the 1916-21 Club. The Club, founded in the 1940s are very active in preserving and promoting the history of our War of Independence, or the Tan War. Visit their website to access a great resource for both the serious researcher and those who have a casual interest.
The talk was held in City Hall, Dublin. It’s a striking venue but it’s rotunda style hall makes for poor acoustics. The organisers promptly sorted out the sound while Cormac O’Malley made friendly and affable remarks to the audience. His warm manner continued through out his talk on his father Ernie. It was peppered with obscure but interesting details from his father’s life and the times he lived in. He shared great insight into his father with the packed out hall and nobody complained when he went over time. It was great to learn more about
Ernie’s passion for the arts and folklore. It adds a very touching new element to his work for me.
Cormac is an engaging speaker, with well timed humour and a knack for simplifying a point. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to reading his books, including “No Surrender Here” and “Broken Landscapes”. In the footsteps of his father, Cormac is preserving and sharing the history of the time with his new website www.ernieomalley.com.
Today we celebrate the 120th anniversary
(May 26, 2017)
Today we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth (26 May 1897) of Ernest Bernard Malley, more popularly known as Ernie O’Malley or less well known as Bernard Steward (1920-21) and even less known as Cecil E Howard-Smyth (1925-26). To mark this occasion, we are thrilled to share this new website dedicated to preserving and remembering his life.
This is only a start and more materials will be added regularly. We would like this website to be the go-to site for information about Ernie. In due course some of his unpublished works will be added as well as his diaries. The bibliography will be updated as more materials are published, but is it a good start. Perhaps people can add comments in due course.
To avoid making and maintaining two different websites, we will include materials relating to Helen Hooker, his American wife and artist, on the same site.
We welcome any feedback and other thoughts.
I greatly appreciate the technical, emotional and substantive support that Conor and Bergin have given me in pushing me to this level of technical capacity. I hope you enjoy the site and do return from time to time.
– Cormac O’Malley (son of Ernie O’Malley)