Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
This 40 minute interview was conducted by Michael with members of the Ring family in relation to their grandfathers, brothers Timothy and Eugene Ring. The men played a little-known but significant role in the events surrounding the Easter Rising of 1916 through their work at the Valentia Island Cable Station. Timothy was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and, at the beginning of 1916, was enlisted by the Supreme Council of the organisation to help establish a discreet line of communication with Clan na Gael in America and its leader, John Devoy. With the assistance of their first cousin, Rosalie Rice, who worked at Kenmare Post Office, a coded telegram was sent on Easter Monday through the Valentia cable station to New York. The involvement of the Ring brothers and Rosalie Rice demonstrates the important, yet often overlooked, role played by local people and the transatlantic cable network in maintaining secret communications between Irish and its supporters in America during this pivotal period of Irish history.
Recorded by Michael Fortune with brothers and sisters Tim Ring, Brendan Ring, Colm Ring, Maureen Ring and their first cousin Cecilla Ring, in Knightstown Community Centre on Valentia Island on the 20th of August 2026.
............................................
List of Contents
00:00 — The Ring Family and Valentia
00:12 — Jeremiah Ring Arrives in Valentia
00:30 — Marriage into the Island Community
00:55 — Tim and Eugene Ring at the Cable Station
01:19 — Arrest, Prison and Exile
01:45 — Returning to Ireland After the Treaty
02:09 — Timothy Ring: A “Dangerous and Disloyal Subject”
02:46 — Marriage and a New Life in Valentia
03:19 — The Rings and the IRB
03:28 — Secret Messages Across the Atlantic
03:51 — The 1916 Rising and the Coded Telegram
04:23 — Sending News of the Rising to America
04:44 — How Eugene Ring Lost His Job
05:19 — Arrests and Imprisonment
05:56 — Eugene Ring Starts Again in Caherciveen
06:42 — Life After the War of Independence
07:06 — Michael Collins and the Intelligence Network
07:29 — The Plot to Attack the Houses of Parliament
08:14 — A German Pistol and an Aborted Attack
08:53 — Why Timothy and Eugene Escaped Execution
09:37 — Why the Arrests Came Months After Easter 1916
10:03 — Silence, War and the Legacy of Trauma
11:06 — Timothy Ring’s Battle with TB
11:54 — Carrageen Moss and Family Remedies
12:51 — Explosives in the House
13:22 — What Kind of Man Was Eugene Ring?
14:08 — The RIC Reports and the “Outrage Papers”
15:02 — Eugene Ring and the Irish Language
16:22 — Prison in Kilmainham and Frongoch
17:16 — The Plan to Target the British Cabinet
18:06 — “The Exile” Returns to Valentia
18:43 — Life Around the Valentia Cable Station
20:12 — A Cosmopolitan Community on the Island
21:48 — Privilege, Risk and the Decision to Rebel
23:24 — The Cable Station Family Legacy
24:18 — A Teenage Job at the Cable Station
25:24 — Morse Code, Teletype and Life as an Operator
26:18 — American Electricity and the Paraffin Fridge
27:44 — The “Safe” for Keeping Food Cool
28:38 — The Valentia Exile Community in London
29:22 — Returning to the Cable Stations of the Past
30:28 — Morse Code, Texting and the Changing Technology
31:06 — Maintaining the Transatlantic Cable
31:30 — A Brilliant Typist and Letter Writer
32:32 — What Was Lost When the Cable Station Closed
33:33 — The Cable Station and the Local Community
34:13 — Fishing, Boating and GAA in Valentia
35:37 — Rosalie Rice and the Women Behind the Story
36:05 — A Family History Still Waiting to Be Researched
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
This 40 minute interview was conducted by Michael with members of the Ring family in relation to their grandfathers, brothers Timothy and Eugene Ring. The men played a little-known but significant role in the events surrounding the Easter Rising of 1916 through their work at the Valentia Island Cable Station. Timothy was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and, at the beginning of 1916, was enlisted by the Supreme Council of the organisation to help establish a discreet line of communication with Clan na Gael in America and its leader, John Devoy. With the assistance of their first cousin, Rosalie Rice, who worked at Kenmare Post Office, a coded telegram was sent on Easter Monday through the Valentia cable station to New York. The involvement of the Ring brothers and Rosalie Rice demonstrates the important, yet often overlooked, role played by local people and the transatlantic cable network in maintaining secret communications between Irish and its supporters in America during this pivotal period of Irish history.
Recorded by Michael Fortune with brothers and sisters Tim Ring, Brendan Ring, Colm Ring, Maureen Ring and their first cousin Cecilla Ring, in Knightstown Community Centre on Valentia Island on the 20th of August 2026.
............................................
List of Contents
00:00 — The Ring Family and Valentia
00:12 — Jeremiah Ring Arrives in Valentia
00:30 — Marriage into the Island Community
00:55 — Tim and Eugene Ring at the Cable Station
01:19 — Arrest, Prison and Exile
01:45 — Returning to Ireland After the Treaty
02:09 — Timothy Ring: A “Dangerous and Disloyal Subject”
02:46 — Marriage and a New Life in Valentia
03:19 — The Rings and the IRB
03:28 — Secret Messages Across the Atlantic
03:51 — The 1916 Rising and the Coded Telegram
04:23 — Sending News of the Rising to America
04:44 — How Eugene Ring Lost His Job
05:19 — Arrests and Imprisonment
05:56 — Eugene Ring Starts Again in Caherciveen
06:42 — Life After the War of Independence
07:06 — Michael Collins and the Intelligence Network
07:29 — The Plot to Attack the Houses of Parliament
08:14 — A German Pistol and an Aborted Attack
08:53 — Why Timothy and Eugene Escaped Execution
09:37 — Why the Arrests Came Months After Easter 1916
10:03 — Silence, War and the Legacy of Trauma
11:06 — Timothy Ring’s Battle with TB
11:54 — Carrageen Moss and Family Remedies
12:51 — Explosives in the House
13:22 — What Kind of Man Was Eugene Ring?
14:08 — The RIC Reports and the “Outrage Papers”
15:02 — Eugene Ring and the Irish Language
16:22 — Prison in Kilmainham and Frongoch
17:16 — The Plan to Target the British Cabinet
18:06 — “The Exile” Returns to Valentia
18:43 — Life Around the Valentia Cable Station
20:12 — A Cosmopolitan Community on the Island
21:48 — Privilege, Risk and the Decision to Rebel
23:24 — The Cable Station Family Legacy
24:18 — A Teenage Job at the Cable Station
25:24 — Morse Code, Teletype and Life as an Operator
26:18 — American Electricity and the Paraffin Fridge
27:44 — The “Safe” for Keeping Food Cool
28:38 — The Valentia Exile Community in London
29:22 — Returning to the Cable Stations of the Past
30:28 — Morse Code, Texting and the Changing Technology
31:06 — Maintaining the Transatlantic Cable
31:30 — A Brilliant Typist and Letter Writer
32:32 — What Was Lost When the Cable Station Closed
33:33 — The Cable Station and the Local Community
34:13 — Fishing, Boating and GAA in Valentia
35:37 — Rosalie Rice and the Women Behind the Story
36:05 — A Family History Still Waiting to Be Researched
........................................................................
This recording was created as part of a wider Oral History and Research Project conducted by Michael for a project entitled 'Stories around the Cable'. The project was undertaken by Michael with the support of Creative Ireland, the National Monuments Service and Kerry County Council.
The series of video interviews aims to highlight various local stories and preserve the voices and histories of the people who are connected to the island and its past. Thanks to everyone involved in helping share these histories and stories.
