"In November, 1915 I was introduced, with a few other men in the district, into the I.R.B. (Irish Republican Brotherhood) by the late William Gilmartin and Alec McCabe, then a National Teacher in Sligo. The I.R.B. Circle at that time consisted of eight members and was later increased to twelve William Gilmartin and myself then organized a Company of the Irish Volunteers in Cliffoney area. At that time we had a Catholic Curate the late Father Michael O'Flanagan, a great Irishman and strong supporter of the Republican Movement. He gave us every assistance and encouragement and advised the young men of the parish to join the Irish Volunteers. In all, forty men joined the Cliffoney Company."