The Silent Civil War: County Derry nephew of Drumboe Martyr Sean Larkin shares his uncle's compelling story

The two-part documentary series The Silent Civil War which shares the epic, poignant and often challenging testimonies of family members of a number of those who were involved in the Civil War in Ireland between 1922 and 1923 concludes tomorrow night (Wednesday) on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. 

In the concluding episode Magherafelt's Dermot McKee, a nephew of Drumboe Martyr Sean Larkin, shares his uncle's compelling story.

Dermot describes his uncle's involvement in the Civil War and reads an incredibly moving extract of the last letter Sean Larkin sent to his mother before being executed.

The documentary series has unearthed over 30 hours of previously unheard audio recordings of 32 prominent figures involved in those revolutionary years in Ireland.

Recorded by a young American researcher, Harlan J. Strauss, as part of his post-graduate work in 1972, the tapes feature original recordings of Frank Aiken, Dan Breen, Peadar O’Donnell, Máire Comerford, John A. Costello, Ernest Blythe, Seán Dowling among many others. Those tapes have remained untouched for fifty years. 

Over 100 hours of unedited material including the Harlan J. Strauss archive and over 80 interviews recorded for the series was recently presented to the National Folklore Collection, where it will now permanently reside.  

RTÉ Director General, Dee Forbes said: "I am so proud of this important two-part documentary series which we are bringing, with the support of our partners, to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and which forms part of the latest chapter of RTÉ’s continuing commemoration of the Decade of Centenaries.

"The inclusion of invaluable memories of the Civil War that were passed on through families and communities throughout Ireland, along with audio recordings of men and women central to this revolutionary period in Irish history bring powerful and significant perspectives to the complicated story which has shaped modern Ireland." 

Liam McGrath, Executive Producer of The Silent Civil War said: "It was a great privilege for our team to sit down and record so many people about the stories of the Irish Civil War that were passed down to them. We are delighted that all these interviews will be preserved for future generations to learn from."

Key members of Silent Civil War Memory Project Historical team include: Dr. Conor Mulvagh, UCD School of History, Dr. Críostóir MacCárthaigh, National Folklore Collection, Dr. Mary McAuliffe, Tomás MacConmara, Liz Gillis, Caitlin White, Dr Síobhra Aiken and Thomas O’Callaghan. 

The Silent Civil War second episode will air on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player this Wednesday, 3rd May, at 9:35pm.