Drilling and Arrests 1917

During 1917, the Volunteers re-organised, and openly paraded, with some officers wearing full Volunteer uniform. On 21 October, Frank Thornton, a 1916 veteran, drilled seventy men in Drogheda, then marched them to Tullyallen and back. On the same day, seventy-five men were drilled by James Hanlon, another 1916 man, at Grange near Carlingford and twenty-five men were drilled by Michael Reynolds, also a 1916 veteran, at Dunleer, where they proffered a military salute to RIC constables, then halted at the RIC barracks and completed a series of military manoeuvres. Tried by court-martial on 9 November, Frank Thornton was sentenced to six months imprisonment, but he went on hunger strike, forcing the authorities to release him. On 2 December 1917, Michael Reynolds, in full uniform, drilled five hundred men in Dundalk. Drilling helped to imbue the men with militaristic spirit and defiance of the authorities.

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