I came across an interesting obituary of John P McCormack, Ellison Street who died in July 1969, aged 90. He came from an old Castlebar family and was head of the well known family of building contractors. He was the son of Samuel McCormack and nephew of Pat and Sam McCormack, all active in the Fenian movement. He was a grandnephew of John McCormack, who was sentenced to deportation by Judge Keogh for life in 1868 and of Pat McCormack who helped in the smashing of the prison van in Manchester and the release of Lacey and Kelly. He followed and first joined the Fenians in 1898 and then the Volunteers in 1913, at their inaugural meeting in Westport. In 1918, he was Captain of the guard of honour provided for DeValera for his meeting in Castlebar for the elections of that year. Throughout the Black and Tan War he served as engineer in charge of ammunitions with the IRA. He had many meetings with Michael Collins during this period and was one of very few from the Western Division to have shared lodgings with him after secret rendezvous in Dublin.
One of his most daring feats was when he openly entered Castlebar Jail and claimed and then coffined the bodies of two young men, Lally and Melia who were shot at the ambush at Cloonkeen in 1921. His house was regularly raided by the Tans and was later commandeered and he, his wife and family were turned out in the street.