TWO IRA VOLUNTEERS, A 14-MONTH GAP ; ONE COMPROMISED, ONE NOT - FROM 1922.
'CATHAL GOULDING, PADRAIG PEARSE AND SEÁN HEGARTY'.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, April 1955.
Sentenced to eight years penal servitude on October 7, 1953, on arms raid charge.
"We are soldiers of the Irish Republican Army, who believe that the only way to drive the British Army of occupation out of Ireland is by force of arms."
"We know of no way be which freedom can be obtained and when obtained, maintained, except by armed men (sic)."
Sentenced to 10 years penal servitude in connection with attack on British Garrison at Omagh.
"I have been found guilty under a law instituted by an English Parliament and which is today maintained by force of British arms in Ireland."
(END of 'Cathal Goulding, Padraig Pearse and Seán Hegarty' : NEXT - 'Churchill', from the same source.)
'DIVIDED LOYALTIES...'
Ulster loyalism displayed its most belligerent face this year as violence at Belfast's Holy Cross School made international headlines. But away from the spotlight, working-class Protestant communities are themselves divided, dispirited and slipping into crisis.
By Niall Stanage.
From 'Magill' magazine, Annual 2002.
Eight years ago, Martin McGuinness famously declared "we are the risen people," to a crowd of supporters outside Belfast City Hall. The nascent sense of assurance and entitlement that McGuinness articulated has continued to grow since then.
In more concrete terms, the plethora of community development projects that sprang up in nationalist areas during the years of struggle have continued to flourish in the new political environment. Never expecting much beneficence from the State, Catholics have long been receptive to concepts like collective empowerment. The Protestant working class, by contrast, has not fully divested itself of scepticism about such ideas.
"There are groups in nationalist areas that deal with most social issues, and even economic problems.." Seán Mag Uidhir says, "...the community sector is playing catch-up in Protestant communities, but the difficulty is that it is trying to do so with a fractured leadership and without any longstanding tradition of collectivism within their community. That is making it very, very difficult.." (MORE LATER.)
'ARMAGH'...
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
Later, the meeting was left open for questions and discussion. On a show of hands the meeting favoured a proposal to go ahead and form branches in as many areas as possible and arrangements were then made by the delegates present to form branches in the following areas - Killeavey, Dromintee, Whitecross, Camlough, Bessbrook, Crossmaglen, Mullaghbawn and Jonesboro.
The meeting concluded with the chairman thanking all present for coming to the meeting and expressed the great pleasure it was to see how Irishmen could come together and in harmony for a common goal.
(END of 'Armagh' : NEXT - 'NYC Committee', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (13TH JULY) IN...
...1815 :
'John Gray, owner of the Freeman's Journal, chairman of the Dublin Corporation Water Works Committee between 1863 and 1875, and Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for Kilkenny city from 1865 until his death...was a supporter of Daniel O'Connell, and later of Charles Stewart Parnell, and advocated a repeal of the Act of Union...' (from here) - not an Irish republican, by any means, but definitely someone who 'glanced' in that political direction now and then.
Mr Gray was born in County Mayo on the 13th July, 1815, and worked as a physicist, politician and journalist. He was known to be extremely mindful and generous to the people in his community and also worked as a doctor in Dublin. He had an interest in politics and in the social values of the country.
He contributed articles regularly to a range of newspapers and, when an opportunity arose to actually purchase one of them - 'The Freeman's Journal' - he done so, and reduced the cover price of same in the hope that circulation would improve.
His interest in politics and social justice meant that he moved in the same circles as, among others, Daniel O'Connell, but also had contacts within the radical 'Young Irelanders' organisation, even though he was more inclined towards O'Connell's views.
He was instrumental in improving the drinking water situation throughout the country with a complex structure of pipes and filters and it was his work of that nature that brought him to the attention of Westminster ; he accepted a 'knigthood' and was being groomed for the 'Mayoralty' of Dublin but he let it be known that he wasn't interested in any such ceremonial position.
He died in the town of Bath, in Somerset, England, on the 9th April, 1875, aged 59, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
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...1825 :
'The Catholic Association' was formed by Daniel O'Connell in 1823 to campaign for Roman Catholics in Ireland to receive the same political and civil freedoms as Protestants and, of course, as such, was seen as a near-terrorist organisation by Westminster!
On the 9th March, 1825, the British political 'establishment' decreed that that Association was an illegal grouping and must be dissolved in accordance with their 'Unlawful Societies Act' but, no doubt thanks to the 'pull' that Mr O'Connell had with the British political 'establishment', it was reconstituted on the 13th July 1825.
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...1920 :
On the 13th July, 1920, a twelve-person IRA Flying Column from Kerry No.1 Brigade of the IRA, under the command of the great Tadgh Brosnan (few paragraphs here about that brave man, whom the Staters tried to purchase), established an ambush point at Kilmore Cross, near Dingle, in County Kerry, where the road from Brandon formed a 'T-junction' with the Tralee to Dingle road ; working with Tadgh that day were, among others, Patrick Fitzgerald, Dan Jeffers, Michael McMahon and Jerry Dowling. Their target was a four-person RIC supply patrol.
During the gunfight, two RIC members were shot dead - Michael Lenihan ('Service Number 63592') and George Roche ('Service Number 62449') and the two others were wounded (one of whom was an RIC 'District Inspector' named Fallon).
Michael Lenihan (34), a Cork man, had joined the RIC on the 4th January, 1908, and served the Crown in Limerick and Tipperary before being transferred to Kerry in 1919 where, among his other 'duties', he helped to manage the books re the movement of equipment and other supplies.
George Roche (32), a Clare man, worked as a farmer before joining the RIC on the 18th March, 1907 ; he served the Crown in Tipperary before being transferred to Kerry in 1917.
'DI' Fallon tried to run away when he and his men came under fire but he was wounded and captured.
After a successful operation, the IRA left the scene with a quantity of Mills bombs, four rifles, a revolver, various ammunitions and a British military vehicle, which was actually the first such enemy transport vehicle to be captured by the IRA in the 'Black and Tan' war.
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...1920 :
On the 13th July, 1920, a six-person RIC cycle patrol was attacked at Loughill, between Glin and Foynes, in County Limerick, by the IRA, under the command of Séan Finn (pictured), Officer Commanding, West Limerick Brigade, resulting in the death of RIC member Patrick Fahy ('Service Number 69396').
Patrick Fahy (25), from Rathmore in County Galway, worked as a farmer before he joined the RIC on the 2nd April, 1918 and, shortly before he was shot dead, he had submitted his resignation to that outfit. He died at about 8pm that night, from abdominal wounds.
His RIC colleagues had rushed the wounded man to the village of Foynes in an attempt to get him to a doctor or to a hospital but he was beyond saving, and they went on a rampage, firing random shots at random people and into a number of houses and buildings.
The IRA Commander of that ambush, Séan Finn, was killed in action on the 30th March, 1921, during a three-hour engagement in the Ballyhahill/Athea area near Foynes, in County Limerick, when his flying column was attacked late at night by three lorry-loads of Black and Tans. RIP to that man.
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...1920 :
William Patrick Hanly, of Lanespark, Thurles, in County Tipperary, was a large landowner/property developer and farmer/rancher in the Tipperary area and, in July 1920, matters regarding evictions from land 'owned' by him came to a head.
His 'caretaker/odd-job man', a Mr John Dwyer, had received threatening letters in relation, apparently, to his presence when families were being evicted, and the people in the town felt that their safety couldn't be guaranteed if they were seen in his company.
On the 13th July, 1920, Mr Dwyer was returning to his house at about 6am after being out searching for some stray cattle when he was shot dead. His wife, Ellen, and their children ran out to the front yard on hearing the shots and found his body on the roadside.
A statement was issued by Éamon Ó Duibhir, of the Tipperary No 3 Brigade, IRA, stating - "If it were members of the IRA shot him, they did so without orders, and it simply meant that they were growing up with the notion that they could act on their own and regardless of national direction."
The 'Landlord' was unable to find a replacement 'caretaker' and later sold off his holdings. Incidentally, in 1916, as a 16-year-old youth, he was at Fairyhouse Races with his chauffeur but hurriedly left Dublin when the Rising started ; they scarpered to Thurles and '...gave blood curdling accounts of what he saw. He said that the streets of Dublin were littered with dead bodies and that there were rivers of blood on the streets, that there were several dead horses lying in O'Connell St.."
Mr Hanly died (...probably from 'All Sorts' ; horse-racing fans will get it..!) in 1939, at the young age of 49, and is buried in Ballynonty Graveyard in Tipperary.
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...1920 :
This pic, published in 'The Cork Examiner' newspaper (!) on the 13th July, 1920, shows the burning remains of King Street RIC Barracks in Cork, following an attack on it by the IRA.
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...1920 :
On the 13th July, 1920, IRA Volunteers from the West Kerry No. 1 Brigade (including J. Dowling, Paddy Paul Fitzgerald, Dan Jeffers and Mick McMahon, who were billetted at Fibough, in the Slieve Mish Mountains) ambushed an RIC patrol on the Conor Pass, in Dingle, County Kerry.
RIC 'District Inspector' Michael Fallon and three other RIC members were in a car, having inspected the RIC Barracks at Cloghane, when they drove into the ambush site. RIC members George Roach, a Clare man, with 13 years 'service', and Michael Linehan, 34, a Cork man, with 12 years 'service' ('Service Numbers 62449 and 63592') were shot dead and 'DI' Fallon and RIC 'Constable' Joseph Campbell ('Service Number 67905') were both wounded.
The IRA Volunteers removed the two bodies from the car, which they commandeered, along with the rifles and revolvers at the scene, put RIC member Campbell back in the vehicle and drove off. They stopped a few miles down the road and told Campbell to get out, then drove off again.
'Gunshot compensation' of £850 was paid to 'DI' Fallon, while 'Constable' Campbell received £600. Also, a hearse could not be obtained for the burial of RIC member Michael Linehan and his colleagues had to carry the coffin from the church to the cemetery.
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...1921 :
On the 13th July, 1921, IRA Volunteer Philip McDade went 'on trial' for his part in the attempted robbery of a post office on the Sandy Row in Belfast.
Directly after the incident in the post office, Volunteer McDade was jumped-on in the street by a loyalist crowd and badly beaten. In the 'court of justice', he was cross-examined by an RIC 'District Inspector' named John Nixon, who looked at the accused and stated - "The crowd that caught you did their duty but did not finish it.."
That night, 'DI' Nixon and a few of his RIC colleagues from the Springfield Road Barracks broke into the homes of three republicans in the Clonard area, killing them. It transpired later that John Nixon and an RIC 'County Inspector' named Richard Harrison had formed a gang, consisting of at least 12 'police members', including RIC Sergeant Christopher Clarke and RIC members James Glover and an 'officer' named Sterritt. That 'murder gang' broke into the homes of nationalists and republicans and killed their victims on the spot or abducted them to be killed elsewhere. British 'justice' in Ireland.
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...1921 :
On the 13th July, 1921, 'The Belfast Telegraph' newspaper (!) carried a report about a legal case taken by a farmer, Edward Fitzpatrick, from Clinaroo, in County Fermanagh.
Mr Fitzpatrick was seeking compensation because his house had been burnt to the ground by a group of 'Ulster Special Constabulary' members, and pleaded his case in court. The judge declared that an order given by an officer commanding a unit of his majesty's forces was, in itself, a justification for their action, and he dismissed the case without costs. British 'justice' in Ireland.
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...1922 :
On the 13th July, 1922, IRA Staff Officer with the South Dublin Brigade of the IRA, Harry Boland (pictured) was on the run in the Dublin mountains from the Staters, and wrote a letter to Joe McGarrity in the States in which he said - "It may very well be that I shall fall in this awful conflict. I am certain we cannot be defeated even if Collins and his British guns succeed in garrisoning every town in Ireland."
In a further note to McGarrity, on the 25th July, Harry Boland asked "Can you imagine, me on the run from Mick Collins?"
On the 28th July, Collins wrote to Harry Boland -
"Harry - it has come to this! Of all things it has come to this.
It is in my power to arrest you and destroy you. This I cannot do. If you will think over the influence which has dominated you, it should change your ideal. You are walking under false colours. If no words of mine will change your attitude then you are beyond all hope - my hope..."
"False colours" indeed ; this from a Free Stater using British guns against his former comrades! Collins and his ilk, and Westminster, established this grubby Free State and it's men and women like Collins that sustain it to this day. And because of them its got even grubbier.
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...1922 :
During 1922, republicans were not only defending themselves against a British-sponsored on-slaught against them by Leinster House and their State Army but were, in some instances, quite capable of going on the offensive.
Both sides viewed the East Limerick area as vitally important, and the Bruff-Bruree-Kilmallock 'triangle' significantly so, as that area controlled the routes - rail and road - to Kerry and Cork from the city of Limerick. The Staters needed to control that 'triangle' because, without such control, their access to the province of Munster could not be safely guaranteed..
On the 12th July, 1922, the whole Free State Brigade Staff of East Limerick, numbering about 47 well armed State troopers, were captured by the IRA and imprisoned in Tipperary Barracks and before Collins and his organisation could recover from that loss, the IRA struck again ; they took control of two Free State garrisons, Kilmallock and Caherconlish, on the 13th July, 1922, raising the spirits of republicans everywhere and highlighting to Leinster House that, although that political and military institution had Westminster assisting them, Irish republicans had something bigger on their side - faith, determination and a righteous Cause!
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...1922 :
On the night of the 13th July 1922/early morning of the 14th, a Free State Army unit consisting of at least 31 soldiers, travelling through Rockwood in Sligo in one armoured car (called the 'Ballinalee' - the Staters were trying to get to Markree, in County Sligo) and three Crossley tenders was attacked by the IRA, with Frank Carty in command.
Five FSA troopers were killed - Commandant Seán Adair, a native of Sligo ; Private John (Jack Sweeney), from Sligo (who died two days later from his wounds) ; Commandant Paddy Callaghan, a native of Ballinalee, County Longford ; Sergeant Jimmy (John) Farrell and Sergeant Joe Conlon, a native of Sligo, who died some years later as a result of his wounds - and four others were wounded.
The remaining FSA soldiers surrendered, and the IRA left the scene in the captured armoured car (which they renamed 'Lough Gill', pictured), and were able to restock their armoury with smaller weapons as well!
FSA Commandant Adair had been a member of Na Fianna Éireann from 1917 and served as Brigade Quartermaster with the Scottish Brigade IRA during the War of Independence. In May 1921 he was arrested by the British and sentenced to death for his role in the attempted rescue of Frank Carty in Glasgow.
He was released in December 1921 and rejoined the IRA, but jumped ship in 1922 and joined the Staters, as did Paddy Callaghan, who joined the republican forces in 1917 and served as Column Officer Commanding, Clonbroney Company IRA, Longford Brigade, before joining the Staters.
Private Sweeney received several bullet wounds during the attack and was attended to at the scene by a doctor, and was then taken to the County Infirmary in Sligo but died there from his wounds on the 15th. FSA Sergeant Farrell, from Lanesboro in County Longford, was employed as a farm steward
and was yet another IRA Volunteer who jumped ship to the Staters.
The British and the Free Staters turned brother against brother and sister against sister in this country, as can be seen from the above instance - Seán Adair was sentenced to death by the British for his role in the attempted rescue of his comrade Frank Carty, only for the two men to meet up 14 months later on opposite sides of the divide fostered by Westminster and Leinster House. And until the British completely withdraw politically and militarily from Ireland, the potential for such divide remains.
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...1922 :
On the 13th July, 1922, the IRA took over the Free State outpost in 'The Munster Tavern' in Limerick, but were driven out when the Staters returned with armoured cars ; more here.
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...1922 :
On the 13th of July, 1922, One Free State soldier was killed and another one fatally wounded in an IRA ambush in Stranorlar in County Donegal and, on the same date, a FSA column of 16 soldiers was ambushed in County Clare. Those Staters were disarmed and taken as prisoners. We have no more information in relation to either of the above.
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...1922 :
On the 13th July, 1922, a Mr Robert Boyd was crossing the Newtownards Road in Belfast to catch a tram.
The media reported that an RUC Crossley Tender truck ran him over during disturbances on the Newtownards Road, crushing him to death. The inquest into his death revealed that - "..a military touring car (which) had a distinguished officer as passenger..." had ran over him, killing him instantly, and that there were no "disturbances" on that road at the time.
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...1940 :
Patrick McKeown was born on the 9th April, 1901, in Clea, Keady, in County Armagh, and joined the then new Free State Garda force on the 13th July, 1923.
He became a Special Branch operative (ie the 'political police') on the 22nd September in 1933 and was promoted to 'Detective Sergeant' on the 25th of September, 1939.
On the 16th August, 1940, he was in charge of a five-person State raiding party on a house on the Rathgar Road (number 97A) in Dublin, at about 8am. The State operatives were operating under the provisions of the Free State 'Offences against the State Act 1939'.
After 'gaining entry' (ie kicking the door in) the Special Branch men were caugh off guard by a burst of gunfire from behind a partition wall and Detective Sergeant Patrick McKeown died from his wounds on the 17th August, 1940.
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...1981 :
On the 13th of July, 1981, Irish political prisoner Martin Hurson (pictured), from Tyrone, died on hunger-strike after 46 days on protest. He was the 18th Irish POW to die on hunger-strike since 1917. More info here.
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...1983 :
On the 13th July, 1983, the IRA exploded a land mine in Tyrone killing four members (Ronald Alexander, John Roxborough, Oswell Neely and Thomas Harron) of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR). This was the highest casualty rate suffered by the UDR in a single incident.
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...and, finally - 2016 :
'PREMISES TEMPORARILY VACATED...'
Only annoying meself, I know, but I couldn't let the 13th of July pass without remembering this -
Read this good time story here...!
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Thanks for the visit, and for reading. And, to our friends, colleagues and comrades in New York ; we're working on it...!
Sharon and the team.
