Obituaries of Richard B. Woulfe (1937)

In these three obituaries, the Abbeyfeale chemist and republican is remembered upon his death in 1937. The first was published in The Liberator on April 20, 1937, the second in the Irish Press on April 23, and the third in the Cork Examiner on April 29.

Death of Well-known West Limerick Chemist.

Mr. R. B. Woulfe, M.P.S.I., Abbeyfeale.

Abbeyfeale, Monday.

This morning the death of Mr. R. B. Woulfe, M.P.S.I. [member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland], took place in his 50th year at New St., Abbeyfeale, after a tedious illness, borne with exemplary patience.

Deceased, whose death is very widely regretted by a large circle of friends and relatives in Limerick and Kerry, was brother-in-law of Mr. Con Colbert, one of the leaders in Easter Week and a signatory of the Republican Proclamation, who gave his young life in the cause. Mr. Woulfe was M.O. [medical officer] Brigade and A.S. Unit of the old I.R.A., and suffered considerably through the Black and Tan war [i.e., the Anglo-Irish War]. His pharmacy was destroyed at the time and he remained with the Flying Column until the truce. He was respected by the members of every political party, and few men of his profession more thoroughly enjoyed the confidence of those he served. Much sympathy is felt for Mrs. Woulfe who shared to the full the hardships endured by her deceased husband, and for the members of her family.

Funeral of Mr. R. B. Woulfe

Brother-in-Law of 1916 Leader

There was a very large attendance, including members of the Woulfe and Colbert families from all parts of the country at the funeral to the family burial ground, at Templeathea, Co. Limerick, of Mr. Richard B. Woulfe, M.P.S.I., brother-in-law of the late Con Colbert, executed in 1916, and of Mr. John Colbert (Chairman of the Irish Industrial Credit Corporation), whose death occurred after a long illness at New St.,, Abbeyfeale.

The late Mr. Woulfe, who was always a staunch Nationalist, was formerly M.O. of the Brigade and A.S. Unit, I.R.A., in West Limerick during the War for Independence.

Many people attributed his death indirectly to the heroic sacrifices which he made in the service of his country.

During the Black-and-Tan period, his prosperous pharmacy and his home were destroyed by British forces.

Preceding the funeral, a guard of honour of West Limerick Brigade Old I.R.A. kept all-night vigil beside the coffin, which rested, draped in the tri-colour, before the High Altar of St. Mary’s Parish Church.

The funeral procession was more than two miles long and included public representatives from Limerick, Tralee, Newcastle West, Listowel, Rathkeale and many other towns in Limerick and Kerry.

An armed guard of honour of Old I.R.A., under Mr. James Collins, also attended.

Chief mourners were: Mrs. Woulfe (widow); Rev. Sister Agatha, Killeshandra; Rev. Sister Eda, Monaghan (daughters); Rísteárd and Míceál Woulfe (sons); Mr. John R. M. Woulfe, Cratloe; Mrs. B. J. Joy, Main St.; Mrs. L. O’Keeffe, Meenscovah; Mrs. P. White, Clounlehard; Mrs. Ml. Murphy, Ballaugh (brother and sisters); Messrs. Jas. Colbert, Gale View; M. Colbert, Ballysten; Ml. Murphy, Gallaugh; M. Holly, Tarbert; Jas. J. Joy, Main St.; Luke O’Keeffe (brothers-in-law); Mrs. Nora M. Holly, Miss Lila Colbert, Limerick (sisters-in-law); Messrs. Edmond Murphy, M.P.S.I.; Richard, and Patrick Murphy; Rev. M. Murphy, Millhill College, London; Messrs. R., J. and F. and Miss Madge O’Keeffe; Messrs. John Joy, and Robert and Joseph White (nephews and nieces); Mrs. Jas. Corridan, Knockmeal (aunt); Commandant Michael Colbert and Mrs. Colbert (Limerick; Messrs. T. Colbert, D. S., William and Garrett Colbert, Newpart House, Athea; John Colbert, Chairman of the Industrial Credit Corporation, Dublin; Messrs. John and Tim Corridan, Mrs. Dennis Brosnan, New St.; Mr. R. Corridan, Mrs. P. Lyons, Mrs. J. Ward, Rathkeale; Miss Nellie Colbert, Newpark; Mr. Arthur and Miss O’Donnell, Tullycrane, Kilrush; Messrs. Dan Irwin, Coolaclaire, and T. Leahy, M.P.S.I.

The Last Post was sounded, and a volley was fled at the graveside.

Anglo-Irish War.

Recalled By Death Of Mr. R. B. Woulfe Of Abbeyfeale.
President De Valera’s Sympathy.

The death of Mr. Richard B. Woulfe, M.P.S.I., of New Street, Abbeyfeale, although not unexpected, from his prolonged illness, is widely regretted through Limerick and Kerry. Dick Woulfe, as he was popularly known, may be said to have sacrificed his life to the national cause, for there is little doubt the hardships to which he was exposed during the Black and Tan war undermined a sturdy constitution, while action as M.O. of the Brigade and A.S. Unit of the Old I.R.A. in West Limerick. He was associated with many hazardous operations against the British forces, and never shirked the more dangerous risks connected with them. He was to a great extent responsible for the comfortable treatment of General Lucas in the West Limerick area after he had been kidnapped near Mallow, and he saw to it that the General was accorded all the amenities to which a commander of his rank while prisoner of war was entitled to. Mr. Woulfe had made many sacrifices to the cause which he had taken so earnestly to heart, and besides having narrowly escaped the British forces, more than once at a time when there were little intervals for reprieve, his pharmacy and home were broken up, and his prosperous business temporarily suspended. Mrs. Woulfe was. no less heroic than her gallant brother (Mr. Con Colbert) who shared the fate of Pearse, MacDonough, and the other martyrs of Easter Week, for she, too, suffered acutely from constant raids and annoyances, as did her young family through those bitter days.

A very large funeral procession accompanied the removal of the remains from New Street to St. Mary’s Parish Church, where a guard of honour kept vigil from the comrades of the Old I.R.A., West Limerick Brigade, before the High Altar, where the coffin was draped in the tricolour. Solemn Requiem High Mass was celebrated on the following morning, at which Very Rev. T. Canon Hogan, P.P., V. F., presided. […]

Wires of sympathy were sent by the following:—President Eamonn de Valera […]

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