ON THIS DATE (28TH APRIL) 105 YEARS AGO : THE 'BATTLE OF ASHBOURNE'.
"You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea...you cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell that your slaves could ever build.." - the words of Séan O'Casey, in relation to the murder of Thomas Ashe (pictured).
'Ashbourne in County Meath was the venue for one of the few military actions of the Rising to take place outside Dublin. It was also the most successful. Members of the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Volunteers had assembled near Swords on Easter Monday under the leadership of Thomas Ashe. In order to distract potential military reinforcements from Dublin City, over the next few days they proceeded to attack a number of RIC barracks in north County Dublin. They also attempted to disrupt the rails links into Dublin from the north and west of the country.
On Friday 28 April 1916 (105 years ago on this date) Ashe and his men set out for Batterstown, where they hoped to disrupt the Midlands Great Western rail line into Dublin. En route they passed through Ashbourne, where they attacked another RIC barracks. After 30 minutes the barracks surrendered, but the Volunteers were forced to continue fighting as a large detachment of RIC constables that had arrived in Ashbourne by car. The ensuing gun battle lasted over five hours, and was a rare and notable example of the use of guerilla tactics in the Easter Rising...' (from here.)
Thomas Ashe founded the Volunteers in Lusk and established a firm foundation of practical and theoretical military training. He provided charismatic leadership first as Adjutant and then as O/C (Officer Commanding) the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. He inspired fierce loyalty and encouraged personal initiative in his junior officers and was therefore able to confidently delegate command to Charlie Weston, Joseph Lawless, Edward Rooney and others during the Rising.
Most significantly, he took advantage of the arrival of Richard Mulcahy (pictured) at Finglas Glen on the Tuesday of the Rising and appointed him second in command. The two men knew one another through the IRB and Gaelic League and Ashe recognised Mulcahy’s tactical abilities. As a result Ashe allowed himself to be persuaded by Mulcahy not to withdraw following the unexpected arrival of the motorised force at the Rath crossroads. At Ashbourne on the 28th of April, 1916, Ashe also demonstrated great personal courage, first exposing himself to fire while calling on the RIC in the fortified barracks to surrender and then actively leading his Volunteers against the RIC during the Battle.
Four days previous to the 'Battle of Ashbourne' (on the 24th April, Easter Monday) Commandant Ashe had received orders from James Connolly to send forty members of his 5th Fingal Battalion to the General Post Office, in Dublin, to help fortify it, and he was instructed to raid nearby barracks, thereby, hopefully, locking down British forces and relieving pressure on those fighting in the city. He sent twenty men to the rebels headquarters at the GPO and kept the remainder of the fighters - about sixty in all - for the barracks attacks. It would prove to be a wise decision by the school teacher from Lusk.
Ashe and his men seized the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks and the Post Office in Swords, then turned their sights on Ashbourne and planned to attack the RIC barracks there. That day, Ashe was joined by Richard Mulcahy, who had only recently been appointed to the rank of First Lieutenant. He was in the area following his own orders and happened to meet the Fingal Commandant by chance. Ashe immediately made Mulcahy his second-in-command.
Before launching their assault, they had made sure to cut telephone wires, and even sawed down telephone poles, to block off communications with the surrounding area. He then sent his older volunteers home, reducing his ranks to about 45 men. The attack at Ashbourne would prove to be tougher than they had expected ; usually, the barracks was manned by an RIC sergeant and four others, but it had been reinforced due to the fighting in the capital and, instead of five RIC for the IRA to contend with, there were now 10 British 'policemen', led by a District Inspector McCormack. They were well armed and well prepared.
The IRA disarmed two RIC men who were setting up a barricade outside the barracks and then called on the remaining enemy forces to surrender, but those inside the structure took aim and started shooting at the IRA men. A homemade hand grenade was lobbed at the barracks and, soon after, those inside flew the white flag but, just as the RIC men were about to emerge, the IRA were alerted to the imminent arrival of a large RIC convoy, under County Inspector Alexander Gray, on its way to put the down the rising. With the prospect of rescue from the convoy, the besieged RIC men rushed back inside and resumed the fight.
Seventeen cars carrying approximately 60 RIC men from Slane were, at that moment, speeding towards the scene. Ashe and his men were in a race against time, and had to rush towards the road to stop the convoy reaching the crossroad at Rath Cross, where the RIC could then spread out. It was at this point that second-in-command Richard Mulcahy came into his own. The narrow Dublin to Slane road, with its tall, close hedges – about seven-feet-high – on either side, provided perfect terrain for the rebels and Mulcahy had his men positioned on both sides of the road as the convoy approached at a few minutes past noon.
About 15 yards from the cross roads was the spot chosed to launch a devastating attack on the Crown Forces, and the RIC took heavy fire from all directions. The first to be hit was RIC County Inspector Gray, in the lead car. A newspaper report at the time stated that '..County Inspector Gray received a wound to the head and Sergeant Shanaher, of Navan, who was with him in the car, was shot through the heart. The Sergeant fell into a channel of water near the cross, and presented a gruesome spectacle when the battle ended. He was thrown into the channel in a sitting position and was found dead, still wearing his helmet..'
The rest of the convoy then jumped from their vehicles, seeking cover behind the wheels or beneath the cars themselves. Others leapt into a ditch and started firing on their attackers from there. The fighting was fierce ; a civilian car that blundered into the ambush was also fired on, resulting in the deaths of two of the occupants. For five hours lead flew in all directions, but the IRA were getting the upper hand. RIC District Inspector Harry Smyth managed to kill one Volunteer with his pistol only to be shot dead himself a moment later, his brains spattered across the ditch into which he fell.
With the loss of their leader, the remaining RIC men signaled their surrender. At the end of the carnage, eight policemen lay dead in ditches and along the road, and up to 18 were wounded. The IRA suffered two dead – John Crennigan and Thomas Rafferty – and five wounded, and the besieged RIC forces in Ashbourne barracks soon gave up the fight when they were informed that the rescue party had been defeated. Ashe and Mulcahy had the injured, including the RIC, ferried to the Meath Infirmary, in Navan.
Politically, Thomas Ashe was a member of the 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' (IRB) and he established IRB circles in Dublin and Kerry and eventually became President of the IRB Supreme Council in 1917. While he was actively and intellectually nationalist he was also inspired by contemporary socialism ; he rejected conservative Home Rule politicians and as part of that rejection he espoused the Labour policies of James Larkin. Writing in a letter to his brother, Gregory, he said -
"We are all here on Larkin's side. He'll beat hell out of the snobbish, mean, seoinín employers yet, and more power to him"
He supported the unionisation of north Dublin farm labourers and his activities brought him into conflict with landowners such as Thomas Kettle in 1912. During the infamous lockout in 1913 he was a frequent visitor to Liberty Hall and become a friend of James Connolly. Long prior to its publication in 1916, Thomas Ashe was a practitioner of Connolly’s dictum that "the cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour".
In 1914 Ashe travelled to the United States where he raised a substantial sum of money for both the Gaelic League and the newly formed Irish Volunteers of which he was an early member.
Thomas Ashe died on the 25th September, 1917, after being force fed by his British jailers. He was the first Irish republican to die as a result of a hunger-strike and, between that year and 1981, twenty-one other Irish republicans died on hunger-strike.
The jury at the inquest into his death found "..that the deceased, Thomas Ashe, according to the medical evidence of Professor McWeeney, Sir Arthur Chance, and Sir Thomas Myles, died from heart failure and congestion of the lungs on the 25th September, 1917 and that his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell bed, bedding and boots and allowing him to be on the cold floor for 50 hours, and then subjecting him to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger-striking for five or six days.."
Michael Collins organised the funeral (pictured) and transformed it into a national demonstration against British misrule in Ireland ; armed 'Irish Republican Brotherhood' Volunteers in full uniform flanked the coffin, followed by 9,000 other IRB Volunteers, and approximately 30,000 people lined the streets. A volley of shots was fired over Ashe's grave, following which Michael Collins stated - "Nothing more remains to be said. That volley which we have just heard is the only speech which it is proper to make over the grave of a dead Fenian."
The London-based 'Daily Express' newspaper perhaps summed it up best when it stated, re the funeral of Thomas Ashe, that what had happened had made '100,000 Sinn Féiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists.' The level of support shown gave a boost to Irish republicans, and this was noted by the 'establishment' in Westminster - 'The Daily Mail' newspaper claimed that, a month earlier, Sinn Féin, despite its electoral successes, had been a waning force. That newspaper said - '..it had no practical programme, for the programme of going further than anyone else cannot be so described. It was not making headway. But Sinn Féin today is pretty nearly another name for the vast bulk of youth in Ireland...'
And, thankfully, there are many like Thomas Ashe in that 'vast bulk of youth in Ireland' today.
'CORK MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
An Election Committee has been formed and it is intended to contest the elections vigorously and ensure that the voice of Irish republicanism will be heard in local administration.
A special appeal is directed to former members of the Republican Movement to come forward and support the candidature of the Sinn Féin candidates. In the past year, there has been a revival of republican thought and to translate this into action and to cement our gains it is believed that very republican has a right and a duty to assist in the task of electing all our candidates.
It is intended to urge the people to study the Sinn Féin 'Social and Economic Programme' and their plan for national unity and independence. We will put forward our views on housing, rents, emigration, unemplyment and cost of living, and hope to convince the people that party politicians are too concerned with petty issues to face up to the real national problems... (MORE LATER.)
AN EASTER RISING TIMELINE : ON THIS DATE, 28TH APRIL, IN 1916...
'07.55hrs - Sackville Street being blown to pieces. The centre of Dublin is unrecognisable this morning. Rubble is strewn everywhere. Burnt-out cars, trams, dead horses, human bodies, all matter of carnage fills the capital’s streets. British 18-pounders are booming once again. The rebel HQ is completely surrounded.
09.05hrs - As soon as the sun rose this morning the machine guns and sniper rifles returned to work. Throughout the night, armoured cars have been scouting around Jacob’s factory’s positions. With the sound of heavy fighting and artillery, and word coming down from the factory’s towers of huge fires on the north side of the city, the men of Jacob’s garrison must fear that it will not be long before their own position is assaulted by the enemy.
10.12hrs - South Staffordshires are on the march. Huge numbers of troops from the regiment have crossed the Liffey at Butt Bridge, before marching on to Gardiner Street, and making their way towards Bolton Street. The college there is thronged with hungry and increasingly desperate refugees from the growing chaos...' (from here.)
After the British have completely left Ireland, politically and militarily, and the definite timeline from 1916 to that date is written, those reading it will then realise that the only part played in that scenario by the Stormont and Leinster House institutions was in delaying that achievement. Irish republicans realise that now, and have always done so.
NO RIGHT OF APPEAL...
Why the media consensus on a broad range of issues is increasingly disturbing.
By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
Silence was also to the fore in terms of the next issue our media monolith turned its attention to and, of course, everyone supported the 'Nice Referendum' ('1169' comment - no, not "everyone" supported the 'vote yes' position). More European integration was just the sort of lad to put a bit of manners on the likes of Charlie McCreevy who, earlier that year, had been castigated for daring to suggest to Mr Romano Prodi that we would run our country (sic) the way we wanted to, thank you very much.
Besides, given that the opposition to 'Nice' consisted of a lot of pro-life types like Dana, perhaps it was best to not give those sorts too much publicity. The government took its eye off the ball and believed the media consensus and, by the time they realised how relevant this was to the real views of ordinary people, it was time for panic stations and the kind of bombastic propaganda that was not just useless, but insulting to the vast majority of intelligent voters.
Bertie Ahern breathlessly claimed that the 'No To Nice' side were getting thousands of pounds from right-wing US fundamentalists, foreign communists and the rest. The media helped him out by running far too big on a non-story ; the intelligent voters thought that a Fianna Fáil politician casting aspersions on funding sources was a bit rich and reeked of election week panic. The were right... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (28TH APRIL) 100 YEARS AGO : CORK VOLUNTEERS EXECUTED BY THE BRITISH AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES DEALING IN CORK IN 1916.
Pictured - IRA Cork Volunteers, 1921.
'...on April 28 (1921), Volunteer Maurice Moore (aged 26) of Cobh, Co Cork and Lieutenant Patrick Sullivan (aged 24), also of Cobh, were both shot, following their capture during the Fourth Battalion, Cork No. 1 Brigade flying column disaster at Clonmult. On the same day, Volunteers Thomas Mulcahy (aged 25) and Patrick Ronayne (aged 26), both of Burnfort, Mallow, Co Cork, died by firing squad. Members of the 5th Battalion, Cork No. 2 Brigade, they were captured at the miscarried Mourne Abbey Ambush...' (from here.)
Honourable Irish men without a doubt, and we have no doubt that they, at least, were not, at that time, caught between an enemy and a leadership at local level who were not as honourable, as was the case in 1916 :
'..Captain Dickie, General Officer Commanding (of the British military) , invited the leaders of the Irish Volunteers in Cork on 28th April (1916) to meet him at the house of the Bishop of Cork, and that they refused ; that on the following morning he visited the Volunteer Hall himself, and held a conference with the Volunteer leaders which also proved abortive ; and that a further conference was held on 30th April at the Lord Mayor's house, at which the Bishop, the Lord Mayor, the General Officer Commanding, and the two leaders of the Volunteers were present, at which it was agreed that the Volunteers should hand over their rifles either to the Bishop or to the Lord Mayor, and that the (British) military were not even to know the number of rifles handed in, the rifles to be returned to the Volunteers as soon as the Dublin disturbances were over ; whether he is aware that, in conformity with that agreement, the rifles were on 1st May handed over to the Lord Mayor's custody, and passports were delivered to the Volunteer leaders to go through the county of Cork to advise the County Corps to abide by the agreement, with the result that no disturbance took place throughout the county ; but that, notwithstanding that agreement, the (British) military authorities on the following day arrested all the leaders, men and women, of the Cork City Volunteers, and lodged them in Cork gaol and, under threat of arresting the Lord Mayor, compelled him to surrender the rifles entrusted to him..
..if the Irish Volunteers handed in their arms to the Bishop (Daniel Coholan) and the Lord Mayor (Thomas Butterfield) before midnight on April 30th and assisted the (British) authorities to maintain order, the (British) General Officer Commanding was prepared to ensure no prosecution for offences other than acts of overt rebellion or traitorous correspondence with the enemy (by which is meant the Irish Volunteers)....at their own request, leaders of the Cork City Volunteers were permitted, on the 29th April, to visit country districts to endeavour to prevent disturbances by country branches of their organisation...' (from 'HANSARD, May 1916, 'DISTURBANCES IN IRELAND'.)
Shameful behind-the-scenes machinations, a criminal act, in our opinion that, during Easter Week in 1916, in Cork, an agreement was reached between representatives of the British occupation forces and the Cork leadership (as opposed to the rank-and-file Volunteers) of the Irish Volunteers "that the Volunteers should hand over their rifles", that the local Irish Volunteers should, in effect, become a British Army militia and "assist the (British) authorities (sic) to maintain order" and that Cork Volunteers be "permitted (!) to visit country districts to endeavour to prevent disturbances by country branches of their organisation..".
Absolutely disgusting and despicable behaviour by the Irish Volunteer leadership in Cork, in 1916. Actions of that sort, whether during Easter Week in 1916 or at any other period in our history - to be even willing to discuss such issues with the British - are unforgivable, but no shame attaches to the 'rank-and-file', the hundreds of brave Irish men and women from Cork who truly and honestly took the battle to the British and, thankfully, continue to do so to this day.
Interesting reading material on the above can be found here, here, here and here.
'Put not your trust in Princes' remains good advice ; even 'in-house', you have to watch what people do rather than what they say. We have always done that at this blog and doing so has served us well, to the point that we are proud of the people that we work alongside with in our joint efforts to secure a proper peace in this country.
ON THIS DATE (28TH APRIL) 158 YEARS AGO : LETTER FROM THE BRIGADIER-GENERAL TO THE MAJOR.
'Does the world even have heroes like Ireland's Thomas Francis Meagher anymore? After fighting for Irish independence ("I know of no country that has won its independence by accident") ,then condemned to death, pardoned and exiled, Thomas Francis Meagher escaped to America,where he became a leader of the Irish community and commanded the Irish Brigade during the Civil War. General Meagher’s men fought valiantly at some of the most famous battles of the Civil War,including Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. After the war, Meagher served as Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. In 1867, Meagher disappeared on the Missouri River ; his body was never found...' (from the poster, pictured, sourced here.)
It was in relation to the 'Chancellorsville Campaign' that Brigadier-General Thomas Francis Meagher, on the 28th April 1863 - 158 years ago on this date - wrote the following letter to his commanding officer :
'Report of Brig. Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, U. S. Army, commanding Second Brigade.
The Chancellorsville Campaign :
BANKS’ FORD, NEAR FALMOUTH, VA.
April 28, 1863––1.30 p.m.
Maj. JOHN HANCOCK,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Hancock’s Division.
MAJOR: I have the honour to inform the major-general commanding the division that, in accordance with instructions received from him, I proceeded to this ford on yesterday forenoon, to relieve Colonel Kelly and take command of the brigade.
On arriving at the ford (where I found the Sixty-third encamped), I learned that Colonel Kelly had, an hour previous, proceeded to the United States Ford, at which place, I was advised by the major general, two regiments of the brigade were to be stationed. Accordingly, I set out at once to the United States Ford, taking the corduroy road leading up from Banks’ Ford to the Warrenton pike, being ignorant of the River road, not having either a map or guide to direct me. I proceeded along the Warrenton pike until I reached Hartwood Church, when I took the road leading to the United States Ford, at which I arrived some time about 5 p.m., and found everything perfectly quiet, and the Sixty-ninth and One hundred and sixteenth posted there in the best order.
Colonel Kelly had left something more than an hour before, to return to Banks’ Ford. I concluded, therefore, on remaining at the United States Ford until this morning, it being too late for me to return to the lower one by the only route (that of the Warrenton pike) with which I was acquainted.
This morning, a little before 9 o’clock, the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts Volunteers came in, having remained over night at Hartwood Church. As I was on the point of leaving for Batiks’ Ford, orders arrived for the regiments of the brigade stationed at the United States Ford to proceed to the former one. These orders were immediately put into execution, General Carroll’s brigade, which reached the ground about the same time as the orders did, more than supplying their place.
The Sixty-ninth, One hundred and sixteenth, and Twenty-eighth are expected very soon. I have relieved Colonel Kelly from the command, and have received from him all the instructions communicated to him as guidance for the command.
I have the honour to be, very respectfully, yours,
THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.'
"Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for in the passes of the Tyrol it cut to pieces the banner of the Bavarian, and, through those cragged passes, struck a path to fame for the peasant insurrections of Innsbruck! Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for at its blow a giant nation started from the waters of the Atlantic, and by its redeeming magic, and in the quiverings of its crimsoned light, the crippled colony sprang into the attitude of a proud Republic - prosperous, limitless, and invincible! Abhor the sword - stigmatize the sword? No, for it swept the Dutch marauders out of the fine old towns of Belgium - scourged them back to their own phlegmatic swamps - and knocked their flag and sceptre, their laws and bayonets, into the sluggish water of the Scheldt.." - Thomas Francis Meagher.
Thomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford City (near the Commins/Granville Hotel) on August 3rd, 1823, into a financially-comfortable family ; his father was a wealthy merchant who, having made his money, entered politics, a route which the young Thomas was to follow. At 20 years young, he decided to challenge British misrule in Ireland and, at 23 years of age (in 1846), he became one of the leaders of the 'Young Ireland' Movement. He was only 25 years of age when he sat down with the Government of the Second French Republic to seek support for an uprising in Ireland. At 29 years of age, he wrote what is perhaps his best known work - 'Speeches on the Legislative Independence of Ireland', of which six editions were published.
He unveiled an Irish flag, which was based on the French Tricolour, in his native city, Waterford, on the 7th March 1848, outside the Wolfe Tone Confederate Club. The French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alphonse de Lamartine, and a group of French women who supported the Irish cause, gave Meagher the new 'Flag of Ireland', a tricolour of green, white and orange - the difference between the 1848 flag and the present flag is that the orange was placed next to the staff and the red hand of Ulster adorned the white field on the original.
On the 15th April that same year, on Abbey Street, in Dublin, he presented the flag to Irish citizens on behalf of himself and the 'Young Ireland' movement, with the following words : "I trust that the old country will not refuse this symbol of a new life from one of her youngest children. I need not explain its meaning. The quick and passionate intellect of the generation now springing into arms will catch it at a glance. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'orange' and the 'green' and I trust that beneath its folds, the hands of the Irish protestant and the Irish catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.."
The 'trial' of Thomas Francis Meagher and other Irish patriots.
He was 'arrested' by the British for his part in the 1848 Rising, accused of 'high treason' and sentenced to death ("to be hanged, drawn and disemboweled..") but, while he was awaiting execution in Richmond Jail, this was changed by 'Royal Command' to transportation for life. Before he was deported, he spoke in Slievenamon, Tipperary, to a crowd estimated at 50,000 strong, about the country and the flag he was leaving behind - "Daniel O'Connell preached a cause that we are bound to see out. He used to say 'I may not see what I have laboured for, I am an old man, my arm is withered, no epitaph of victory may mark my grave, but I see a young generation with redder blood in their veins, and they will do the work.' Therefore it is that I ambition to decorate these hills with the flag of my country.."
In July 1849, at only 26 years of age, he was transported from Dun Laoghaire on the S.S.Swift to Tasmania, where he was considered, and rightly so, to be a political prisoner (a 'Ticket of Leave' inmate) which meant he could build his own 'cell' on a designated piece of land that he could farm provided he donated an agreed number of hours each week for State use. In early 1852, Thomas Francis Meagher escaped and made his way to New Haven, in Connecticut, America, and travelled from there to a hero's welcome in New York.
This fine orator, newspaper writer, lawyer, revolutionary, Irish POW, soldier in the American civil war and acting Governor of Montana died, in mysterious circumstances - he drowned after 'falling off' a Missouri River steamboat - on the 1st of July 1867 at 44 years of age.
Once, when asked about his 'crimes', he replied - "Judged by the law of England, I know this 'crime' entails upon me the penalty of death ; but the history of Ireland explains that 'crime' and justifies it."
This brave man dedicated twenty-four of his forty-four years on this earth to challenging British misrule in Ireland and, while it can be said without doubt that Thomas Francis Meagher did his best, a 'crime' does remain to be resolved.
'COMMENTS...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
Something Drastic ;
The unemployment figures for Ireland soared to 110,361 by mid-February, as economic chaos under the joint direction of Stormont and Leinster House showed its bitter fruit with so many workless.
The figure would be several times larger but for the steady drain of emigration, officially estimated in the region of 35,000 for each year. Even Unionist circles admit defeat and fear the impact on the political scene "...unless something drastic is done, the Six Counties will become a distressed area.." - so said Mr Norman Porter ('Independent Unionist'), in a warning to Stormont last month.
"Something drastic"? Let's replace the bungling of Stormont and Leinster House by introducing Sinn Féin's policy.
ON THIS DATE (28TH APRIL) 105 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF 'THE O RAHILLY'.
"Written after I was shot -
Darling Nancy
I was shot leading a rush up Moore Street
took refuge in a doorway.
While I was there I heard the men pointing out where I was + I made a bolt for the lane I am in now.
I got more one bullet I think
Tons + tons of love dearie to you + to the boys + to Nell + Anna.
It was a good fight anyhow.
Please deliver this to Nannie O'Rahilly, 40 Herbert Park, Dublin.
Good bye darling.."
Joseph O'Rahilly ('The O'Rahilly', pictured, and the author of the above letter) was born in Ballylongford, in County Kerry, on the 22nd April, 1875. He had a busy, well-travelled and interesting life and took part in the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, during which he was killed in the fighting ;
'The O’Rahilly has been killed. He had agreed to lead a diversionary charge, along with 12 other men, against a British barricade at the junction of Henry Street and Moore Street. He is shot, and drags himself to the back of Kelly’s shop, 25 Moore Street. He writes a last letter to his wife before dying of his wounds...' (from here.)
"Friday April 28th 1916. The General Post Office in Dublin, occupied on the Monday as the headquarters of republican insurrection, was burning fiercely. The insurgents inside had decided they had to make their escape across Henry Street to the network of small houses and shops on Moore Street.
A small party of twenty armed men dashed across the open street to establish a toehold there and to clear out a British barricade. At their head was a distinguished looking gentleman in green uniform, complete with Victorian moustache and sword.
The charging party was hit by volleys of British bullets from the barricades on both sides. Four Volunteers were killed outright. Their leader, the moustached gentleman, fell wounded in the face. He managed to drag himself out of the line of fire to Sackville Lane, where he lay, bleeding, grievously injured. His name was Michael O'Rahilly..." (from here.)
More information re 'The O'Rahilly' himself -
'His interest in Irish history led him slowly and inexorably towards nationalism. The first indication of nationalism is in a letters controversy in 1899 in the European edition of the New York Herald, following celebrations of Queen Victoria's 80th birthday. Rahilly criticised the celebrations, pointing out the miseries her reign had inflicted on Ireland. Some of his criticism was censored by the paper as too offensive..' - can be read here, and his family history can be read here, including a local [Clondalkin] connection -
'Aodogán and Marion (O'Rahilly) lived Moreen, Clondalkin, Co.Dublin (junction of Belgard Rd and Naas Rd, opposite Newlands golf course, townland of Mooreenaruggan). They spelt house "Moreen", but it is now spelt "Mooreen". The house was built 1936. Aodogán listed as living there by [Thom's, 1938].
The house website says: "In 1932, in America" [Aodogán and Marion] "purchased plans for use in building their new home, Mooreen House. The design was already famous and had been awarded the title House of the Year, and a full-scale replica was constructed in Macy's New York Department Store..."'. But read it quickly, in case it, too, vanishes -
'Dublin City Council is investigating the circumstances surrounding the demolition of the former home of a 1916 Rising leader in Ballsbridge this morning (Tuesday, 29th September 2020). The property at 40 Herbert Park, which once belonged to The O’Rahilly, was bulldozed by a company developing the site at around 6.30am this morning. The site and two adjoining addresses at 36 and 38 Herbert Park are set to be developed into 105 apartments and the extension of an aparthotel by Derryroe Limited, a company owned by the Kennedy and McSharry families...' (from here.)
Another State-inspired atrocity against our history, in the vein of, and for the same motive (€€€) as Hume Street, Wood Quay and Archers Garage. A corrupt State desecrating a part of its own history which it is ashamed of. Shame on the political system and those that operate same for paying lip-service to our historic past while counting the contents of their brown envelopes at the same time.
'SING of The O'Rahilly,
Do not deny his right;
Sing a "The" before his name;
Allow that he, despite
All those learned historians,
Established it for good;
He wrote out that word himself,
He christened himself with blood.
How goes the weather?
Sing of The O'Rahilly
That had such little sense
He told Pearse and Connolly
He'd gone to great expense
Keeping all the Kerry men
Out of that crazy fight;
That he might be there himself
Had travelled half the night.
How goes the weather? (By William Butler Yeats.)
'The O'Rahilly's' grandson, Ronan, 79 years of age, died on Monday, 20th April, 2020. The poor man was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013 and had been resident in a nursing home in Carlingford in County Louth for the last years of his life. "How goes the weather", Ronan?
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
(MORE LATER.)
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
TO BE POSTED HERE ON WEDNESDAY 28TH APRIL 2021 : POLITICAL AND MILITARY MANOEUVRINGS BETWEEN THE 'IRISH VOLUNTEER' LEADERSHIP AND THE BRITISH ARMY DURING EASTER WEEK 1916.
In answer to some queries we have had in relation to this issue, we are talking about the 'Irish Volunteer' organisation, not John Redmond's '(Irish) National Volunteers' which, by 1917, were 'practically dead/non-existent', as the British described them ; that organisation in fact imploded that same year, although it was to all intent and purposes badly limping along from the summer of 1914, when the 'First World War' started : its leaders, John Redmond and William O'Brien, had called on their followers to enlist in the British military forces, a call which disgusted the republicans within that organisation.
Indeed, the 'Inspector-General of the National Volunteers' spoke openly about how the British military were not inclined to suppress them and voiced his disappointment that the British 'authorities' would not 'permit' the 'National Volunteers' to drill, train and practice. Who asks their enemy if it's ok that they 'skill-up', unless, of course, you know it's not your enemy that your making that request to?
The 'deal' done in one county between the leadership of the 'Irish Volunteers' and the British political and military leadership, in Easter Week, 1916, is the issue we'll be covering here, and we expect that our readers will be as sickened by the very notion that any 'deal' of that type should even be sought, never mind accepted, by the 'IV' local leadership.
And, to cap it all, the arrangement made and agreed to was reneged on by the British!
Thanks for reading ; we'll be explaining all on Wednesday, 28th April 2021. Hope you can check back with us then.
Sharon.
ON THIS DATE (21ST APRIL) 146 YEARS AGO : IRISH HOME-RULER ELECTED TO WESTMINSTER.
Charles Stewart Parnell (pictured) was born on the 27th June, 1846, in Avondale, in County Wicklow, and became associated with the 'Irish Home Rule' organisation. He proved to be a thorn in the side of British injustice to the extent that he was once described in British political circles as "...combining in his person all the unlovable qualities of an Irish member with the absolute absence of their attractiveness...something really must be done about him...he is always at a white heat or rage and makes with savage earnestness fancifully ridiculous statements.."
On the 21st April, 1875 - 146 years ago on this date - the then 29-year-old C.S. Parnell was first elected to the British Parliament as MP for County Meath ; he kept his seat for that constituency for five years, and then moved to represent County Cork. He was generally 'well got' in political circles but was also looked at in a somewhat wary fashion by some of his own people as he was a Protestant 'Landlord' who 'owned' about 5,000 acres of land in County Wicklow and his parents were friends of and, indeed, in some cases, related to, the local Protestant 'gentry'.
He supported the 'Boycott' campaign and, in one of his many speeches, stated - "Now what are you to do with a tenant who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has been evicted? Now I think I heard somebody say 'Shoot him!', but I wish to point out a very much better way, a more Christian and more charitable way...when a man takes a farm from which another had been evicted you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him in the shop, you must shun him in the fairgreen and in the marketplace, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his country as if he were the leper of old, you must show your detestation of the crime he has committed..".
However, in his early 40's, he was brought down by a 'crime' he himself committed - he took-up with a married woman, Katherine O'Shea (whom he subsequently married, in a registry office, as their church had refused to participate) ; divorce proceedings were heard over two days in 1890, Parnell was not represented and Katherine did not contest the evidence. Indeed, her husband, Captain William O'Shea, was by all accounts a waster, a gambler, a drinker, and a figure of £20,000 was mentioned by him in regards to making the whole sorry mess disappear.
But the damage was done : Parnell's political career was all but over and, at only 45 years of age, he died in Katherine's arms, in Hove, in England, from pneumonia, on the 6th of October, 1891.
'CORK MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
At a meeting of Comhairle Ceanntair Corcaighe the following candidates who had been selected by Sinn Féin Conventions in the different areas were ratified ;
Cork Corporation - Liam Early and Seán O Murchú.Cork County Council - Owen Harold.Mallow UDC - Owen Harold.Skibbereen UDC - William O'Brien, Seán MacSwiney and CC O'Sullivan.Passage Town Commissioners - J. O'Regan.
Liam Early is a member of the Ard Comhairle of Sinn Féin, and Seán O'Murchú is Secretary of the 'Irish Engineering and Electrical Trade Union' and Secretary of the Cork Council of Irish Unions.
Owen Harold, a veteran of the Republican Movement, is Chairman (sic) of Mallow Urban District Council, and J. O'Regan is an outgoing member of Passage West Town Commissioners. The candidates for Skibbereen were instrumental in the formation of the O'Donovan Rossa Cumann of Sinn Féin and have brought about a wonderful revival of republican spirit in that town of the Phoenix Clubs... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (21ST APRIL) 105 YEARS AGO : THE AUD, CON KEATING, CHARLIE MONAHAN AND DONAL SHEEHAN.
The Aud (pictured) set sail from the Baltic port of Lubeck on the 9th of April, 1916, carrying 20,000 German rifles, one-million rounds of ammunition, ten machine guns and some explosives, for use by Irish republican forces in the Easter Rising.
The British were waiting for a German gun-running ship and, on Friday, 21st April 1916, they boarded the Aud in Tralee Bay but Captain Karl Spindler managed to convince the British raiders that they were actually on board a Norwegian ship, which, he told them, was anchored for repairs.
Nevertheless, the British insisted that one of their warships should 'accompany' the Aud to Cobh (then known as 'Queenstown') Harbour and, as they approached their destination, on Saturday, 22nd April, Spindler and his men scuttled their own ship, were 'arrested' by the British as POW's and, within days, were transferred to prison of war camps in England.
Roger Casement, who was following behind the Aud in a submarine, landed safely, but was later captured in Kerry and transported to London where he was charged with 'high treason' ; he was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, and the sentence was carried out in Pentonville Prison, London, on the 3rd August, 1916.
Irish republicans, meanwhile, had made arrangements to transport the German equipment to Cahirciveen, in County Kerry ; three republican Volunteers - Con Keating, from Kerry, Charlie Monahan, Belfast, and Limerick-born Donal Sheehan were sent from the Dublin Command to liaise with Roger Casement and Karl Spinder but, on Good Friday, the 21st April, 1916 - 105 years ago on this date - on their way there, all three men (the first casualties of the 1916 Easter Rising) drowned when their car plunged off the pier at Ballykissane.
'Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild...'
NO RIGHT OF APPEAL...
Why the media consensus on a broad range of issues is increasingly disturbing. By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
We were soon back in business ; some mildly critical articles about the Flood Tribunal inspired Halloween-style levels of horror in Mr Dunphy, who surrounded himself with consoling cliques of 'Tribunalistas' who informed a remarkably calm nation that dark forces were stalking the land, conspiring to collapse Justice Flood's incubus. Happily, the absence of any response meant the 'debate' soon fizzled out and the media consensus returned to its normal uncritical adulation.
This was followed by another brief diversion as the discovery of some minor documentation on the Arms Trial saw the media again uniting to inform Dessie O'Malley that he had "serious questions to answer". The same journalists were equally unified in their pragmatic silence when it was revealed that O'Malley didn't have any "serious questions to answer" after all *. It's called 'vindication', but it happens awfully quietly here.
Indeed in most instances the silence was more eloquent that the clamour. The unity over the travails of the haemophiliacs was particularly touching ; bad news - bad for the advertising figures, that is - so it's best to get that sort of stuff off the front page. Similarly, when it came to the murder of Marty O'Hagan...well, he was only a tabloid hack, and what more do you expect up there in the badlands...? ('1169' comment * : Des O'Malley, and his colleagues in Leinster House, all have 'serious questions to answer', as they preside over a corrupt political system, operated from that institution, which financially benefits them at the expense of State citizens.) (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (21ST APRIL) 98 YEARS AGO : IRA CAPTAIN ABDUCTED AND KILLED IN DUBLIN.
20th April, 1923 : Frank Aiken is elected IRA Chief of Staff.
22nd April, 1923 : Free State troops surround Frank Aiken, Paidrag Quinn and Seán Quinn, the leaders of the Anti-Treaty forces in the Dundalk area, in a safe house in Castlebellingham. A firefight breaks out in which the two Quinns are wounded - Seán mortally - and subsequently captured. In the confusion, Frank Aiken manages to slip away...
Between the IRA election of Frank Aiken and the Castlebellingham incident (ie on the 21st April 1923 - 98 years ago on this date) 28-year-old IRA Captain Martin Hogan (pictured), from Dromineer in County Tipperary, was abducted from a Dublin street by the Staters, and shot to death. He was the fourth eldest son of Mr. Seamus Hogan, and was a member of the 1st. Tipperary Brigade, IRA. Seeking employment, he moved to Dublin and while there he joined the 1st Battalion of the Dublin City Brigade IRA.
He was out with his girlfriend in Dublin City Centre, at Eccles Place, Dorset Street, when they were surrounded by a group of about ten men from CID Headquarters, Oriel House. They bundled Captain Hogan away, leaving his girlfriend in a distraught state on the side of the road. When she regained her composure, she went looking for him, thinking that he had been kept in for an 'overnight stay' in a prison. The prison governor suggested she make her way to Oriel House and make inquiries there, which she did, only to be sneeringly told to "try the morgue".
His broken body was found the following morning, in an overgrown ditch on Grace Park Road in Drumcondra, Dublin ; he had been tortured before being shot, eleven times. No one was ever held responsible for his death. He is buried in the family grave in Killodiernan Graveyard, Puckane, County Tipperary.
(There are conflicting reports on where exactly Captain Mártan Ó hÓgáin was done to death by Free Staters : some reports have it that he was killed in action in Poulacapple, Tipperary, whilst others state that he was killed on the Gracepark Road in Whitehall, Dublin. It was common practice then for the Staters to 'lift' republicans off the street, torture and interrogate them before killing them and dumping their bodies in an area hundreds of miles away from where they were born and/or from the scene of the crime.)
ON THIS DATE (21ST APRIL) 27 YEARS AGO : PAUL HILL ('GUILDFORD FOUR') WINS HIS APPEAL.
On the 21st April, 1994 - 27 years ago on this date - Paul Hill (pictured) won his appeal against a conviction for an IRA shooting in the Occupied Six Counties.
'The story began in late 1974, following IRA bombs at pubs in Guildford in Surrey and Woolwich in London, which killed seven people and injured a hundred more. The British police picked-up two young Belfastmen, Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill, and interrogated them ; Conlon is said to have confessed to bombings, adding that Annie Maguire, his aunt, showed him and others how to make bombs in the kitchen of her London home. Paul Hill is said to have confirmed this.
The police raided the Maguire house, arrested the occupants and searched the place : nothing was found in the search and none of the people would admit to knowing anything about bombs. But forensic tests on the fingernails of six of the people, and on a pair of kitchen gloves used by Annie Maguire, were said to have yielded traces of nitroglycerine. On this 'evidence', the seven defendants were found guilty of handling explosives.
Patrick and Annie Maguire were sentenced to fourteen years, the judge remarking that he wished he could jail them for life. Annie's brother, Seán Smyth, also got fourteen years. Annie's sixteen year old son Vincent got five years, and her thirteen year old son Patrick got four years. Her brother-in-law, Guiseppe Conlon, and a family friend, Patrick O'Neill, both got twelve years. Closer examination of the facts surrounding the Guildford and Woolwich bombings raised enough doubts to lead even Sir John Biggs-Davidson, a 'Pillar of the Establishment' who does not lightly criticise the courts, to conclude that a miscarraige of justice took place.
Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill, who allegedly confessed to the Guildford and Woolwich bombings and implicated Conlon's Auntie Annie, were later jailed for sentences which stand in the 'Guinness Book Of Records' as the longest ever handed down in Britain - natural life and thirty-five years, respectively.
Yet doubt was cast on this conviction too when, in January 1977, four admitted IRA men - on trial for other bombings and killings - said they had bombed Guildford and Woolwich too. This was clearly un-welcome news to the authorities, for when the IRA men were tried they were simply not charged with the Guildford and Woolwich killings...' (The above is a shortened and edited version of a piece we posted here in 2005, and gives an indication of how British 'justice' impacted on Paul Hill, among many others. More about the 'Guildford Four' can be read here.)
It was while he was being questioned about the Guildford bombing that Paul Hill 'confessed' to the 1974 killing of Brian Shaw, a British Army soldier. The conviction stood for five years after he was released for the Guildford bombing, only for it to be quashed ("...unsafe and unsatisfactory..") by 'Sir' Brian Hutton, the then Six County 'Lord Chief Justice', on the 21st of April, 1994 - 27 years ago on this date.
"Upon my release I took some comfort from the thought that at least my misfortune would lessen the possibility of it happening to others. Alas it would appear that nothing has been gleaned from the many miscarriages of justice, especially those with political overtones. We now live in an age in which you can disappear into a black hole, be held without charge indefinitely and subject to torture, whilst Ivy League educated politicians play verbal gymnastics with the meaning of the word..." - Paul Hill. And how right he is.
'COMMENTS...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
Prisoners' Support ;
A unanimous decision of the GAA Convention sent a motion to Congress asking that the proceeds of the Railway Cup Finals on Saint Patrick's Day be devoted to the Irish Republican Army Prisoners' Dependents' Fund.
Pocket-Money for the Governor ;
"The financial position of the Six-County Governor has been steadily growing worse and he is now badly out of pocket", Major Lloyd George (the son of the man who created partition) told the British House of Commons recently, so the House stepped-up Wakehurst's pocket-money to £14,000 per annum. How much of it is danger money?
Churchill Cumann ;
No! It's not the name of a Conservative Club in London - it's the official title of a Fianna Fáil Cumann in Kerry. No wise-cracks allowed, but a recent notice in 'The Kerryman' newspaper was headed - 'Fianna Fáil (The Republican Party), Churchill Cumann.' Actually, Churchill is the name of a locality in Kerry! (MORE LATER.)
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
We hope you'll check-in with us on Wednesday, 28th April 2021, when we'll be detailing the disgraceful events in a certain Irish county in Easter Week in 1916, when the local leadership of the 'Irish Volunteers' handed their members weapons over to the British military in the area in an attempt - 'successful', as it turned out - to 'keep the peace' in that county. Those 'Irish Volunteer' leaders were granted 'passports' by the British to travel throughout that county, and further afield, to call on other 'Irish Volunteer' branches not to take any military action during the Rising. Unbelievable, but it happened ; a very disturbing incident in our history.
See you on the 28th April 2021.
FOR SHAME : POLITICAL MACHINATIONS DURING EASTER WEEK 1916.
We are currently working on a blog post detailing unbelievable political and military machinations between the leadership of the Irish Volunteers in a certain Irish county and the British military command in that county during Easter Week in 1916.
We have been, among other places, to the 'Hansard Archives' and back and, while we did get what we were looking for, we needed showers afterwards ; we discovered shameful behind-the-scenes machinations, criminal acts, in our opinion that, during Easter Week in 1916, in one county in Ireland, took place, to the everlasting shame of those who voluntarily plotted those endeavours.
An agreement was reached between representatives of the British occupation forces and the 'Irish Volunteer' leadership (as opposed to the rank-and-file Volunteers) that rifles should be handed over to representatives of the British military, that the local 'Irish Volunteers' should, in effect, become a British Army militia and assist the British military "to maintain order" and that 'Irish Volunteers' from that county would be "permitted", by the British, to travel throughout the country to prevent "disturbances" by 'Irish Volunteer' organisations that they encountered.
This was absolutely disgusting and despicable behaviour by the 'Irish Volunteer' leadership in that county, in 1916. Actions of that sort, whether during Easter Week in 1916 or at any other period in our history - to be even willing to discuss such issues with the British - are unforgivable, but no shame attaches to the 'rank-and-file', the hundreds of brave Irish men and women from there, and other counties in Ireland, who truly and honestly took the battle to Westminster in 1916 and, thankfully, who continue to do so to this day.
We will be posting about the above sleeveen acts on Wednesday 28th April 2021, as we are still piecing the parts together.
Between this and then - on Wednesday 21st April 2021 - we'll be writing about, among other pieces, an Irish politician who brought his own career to an end by an 'outside relationship', a piece on the first three casualties of the 1916 Rising, an IRA Captain who was abducted by the Staters and shot multiple times, and a man who was being questioned about a bombing and, during the questioning, was charged with another offence. Hope you check back with us on both those dates!
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
14TH APRIL, 1923 : FOUR DAYS AFTER AN IRA STRATEGIST IS SHOT DEAD BY THE STATERS, THE IRA DEPUTY-CHIEF OF STAFF IS ARRESTED BY THEM.
"FULL INDEPENDENCE AND NOTHING SHORT OF IT" - Austin Stack, 'Treaty Of Surrender' debate, Dáil Éireann* (*..the 32-County body, not the Free State Leinster House assembly).
Austin Stack (pictured) was born on the 7th December, 1879, in Ballymullen, Tralee, County Kerry, and died in the Mater Hospital in Dublin, from complications after a stomach operation, on the 27th April 1929, at only 49 years of age. That wasn't soon enough, as far as his former comrades were concerned - he had remained a republican, and completely rejected their politics and their Free State.
He was arrested with Con Collins on the 21st April 1916 while planning an attack on Tralee RIC Barracks in an attempt to rescue Roger Casement. He was court-martialed and sentenced to death, but this was commuted to twenty years penal servitude and he was released in the general amnesty of June 1917, and became active in the Irish Volunteers again.
He was elected Secretary of Sinn Féin, a position he held until his death. His health was shattered due to the number of prison protests and hunger strikes for political status that he undertook. In the 1918 general election, while a prisoner in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast, he was elected to represent West Kerry in the First (all-Ireland) Dáil, and the British sent him off to Strangeways Prison in Manchester, from where he escaped in October 1919. During the 'Black and Tan War', as Minister for Home Affairs, Austin Stack organised the republican courts which replaced the British 'legal' system in this country.
He rejected the Treaty of Surrender in 1921 (stating, during the debate on same - "Has any man here the hardihood to stand up and say that it was for this our fathers suffered, that it was for this our comrades have died in the field and in the barrack yard.." ) and, following a short fund-raising/public relations tour of America, returned to Ireland to fight on the republican side in the Civil War.
In the general round-up of Irish republican leaders in April 1923 (during which Liam Lynch was shot dead by Free State troops, on the 10th of that month) Stack, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the rebel forces, was 'arrested' in a farmyard in the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Tipperary, not far from Ballymacarbry ; he was carrying a document accepting a proposal by the Catholic Bishop of Cashel to end the war by calling a ceasefire and dumping arms. This was on the 14th April, 1923 - 98 years ago, on this date. Imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin, he took part in the mass hunger-strike by republican prisoners in October 1923, which was his 5th hunger-strike in 6 years.
Shortly after the end of that forty-one day hunger-strike, in November 1923, he was released with hundreds of other political prisoners, and he married his girlfriend, Una Gordon, in 1925. In April 1929, at forty-nine years of age, he entered the Mater Hospital in Dublin for a stomach operation. He never recovered and died two days later, on 27th April 1929. He is buried in the Republican Plot, Glasnevin Cemetery, in Dublin.
'Austin Stack was born in Ballymullen, Tralee and was educated at the local Christian Brothers School. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic footballer, he captained the Kerry team to All-Ireland glory in 1904 and also served as President of the Kerry Gaelic Athletic Association County Board. He became politically active in 1908 when he joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood and, in 1916, as commandant of the Kerry Brigade of the Irish Volunteers, he made preparations for the landing of arms by Roger Casement, on Banna Strand.
Although Austin Stack was made aware that Casement was arrested and was being held in Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee, he made no attempt to rescue him : RIC District Inspector Kearney treated Casement very well and made sure Stack was aware that Casement could so easily have been rescued, yet Stack refused to move (possibly sensing that a trap had been laid for him?) but he was arrested anyway and sentenced to death for his involvement, but this was later commuted to penal servitude for life.
He was released under general amnesty in June 1917 after the death of fellow prisoner and Tralee man Thomas Patrick Ashe and was elected as an abstentionist Sinn Féin Member of Parliament for Kerry West in the 1918 Westminster election, becoming a member of the 1st Dail and was automatically elected as an abstentionist member of the 'House of Commons of Southern Ireland' and a member of the 2nd Dail as a Sinn Féin Teachta Dála for Kerry-Limerick West in the Irish elections of 1921.
He opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and took part in the subsequent Irish Civil War. He was captured in 1923 and went on hunger strike for forty-one days before being released in July 1924...when Eamon de Valera founded Fianna Fail in 1926, Stack remained with Sinn Féin..his health never recovered after his hunger strike and he died in a Dublin hospital on April 27th 1929, aged 49.' (from here, slightly edited.)
A commemorative pamphlet, entitled 'What Exactly is a Republican?' was issued in memory of the man -
'The name republican in Ireland, as used amongst republicans, bears no political meaning. It stands for the devout lover of his country, trying with might and main for his country's freedom. Such a man cannot be a slave. And if not a slave in heart or in act, he cannot be guilty of the slave vices. No coercion can breed these in the freeman. Fittingly, the question - 'What is a republican?' fails to be answered in our memorial number for Austin Stack, a man who bore and dared and suffered, remaining through it all and at the worst, the captain of his own soul.
What then was Austin Stack, republican? A great lover of his country. A man without a crooked twist in him. One who thought straight, acted straight, walked the straight road unflinchingly and expected of others that they should walk it with him, as simply as he did himself. No man could say or write of him "He had to do it". That plea of the slave was not his. His duty, as conscience and love dictated, he did. The force of England, of the English Slave State, might try coercion, as they tried it many times : it made no difference. He went his way, suffered their will, and stood his ground doggedly, smiling now and again.
His determination outstood theirs, because it had a deeper foundation and a higher aim. Compromise, submission, the slave marks, did not and could not exist for him as touching himself, or the Cause for which he worked and fought, lived and died.'
Pictured - an IRA unit in Kerry, circa 1921. Austin Stack fought physically and verbally for the Irish Republic and, on the 19th December, 1921, he said the following in Dáil Éireann in relation to the Westminster-'offered' (and Free State accepted) 'Treaty of Surrender' :
"It happens to be my privilege to rise immediately after the President to support his motion that this House do not approve of the document which has been presented to them. I shall be very brief ; I shall confine myself to what I regard as the chief defects in the document, namely, those which conflict with my idea of Irish Independence.
I regard clauses in this agreement as being the governing clauses. These are Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. In No.I, England purports to bestow on Ireland, an ancient nation, the same constitutional status as any of the British Dominions, and also to bestow her with a Parliament having certain powers. To look at the second clause, it starts off — "Subject to provisions hereinafter set out.." — and then she tries to limit you to the powers of the Dominion of Canada. What they may mean I cannot say, beyond this, that the Canadian Dominion is set up under a very old Act which considerably limits its powers. No doubt the words "law, practice, and constitutional usage" are here. I cannot define what these may mean. Other speakers who will come before the assembly may be able to explain them. I certainly cannot. To let us assume that this clause gives to this country full Canadian powers, I for one cannot accept from England full Canadian powers, three-quarter Canadian powers, or half Canadian powers.
I stand for what is Ireland's right, full independence and nothing short of it. It is easy to understand that countries like Australia, New Zealand and the others can put up with the powers which are bestowed on them, can put up with acknowledgements to the monarch and rule of Great Britain as head of their State, for have they not all sprung from England? Are they not children of England? Have they not been built up by Great Britain? Have they not been protected by England and lived under England's flag for all time? What other feeling can they have but affection for England, which they always regarded as their motherland?
This country, on the other hand, has not been a child of England's, nor never was. England came here as an invader, and for 750 years we have been resisting that conquest. Are we now after those 750 years to bend the knee and acknowledge that we received from England as a concession full, or half, or three-quarter Dominion powers? I say no.
Clause 3 of this Treaty gives us a representative of the Crown in Ireland appointed in the same manner as a Governor-General. That Governor-General will act in all respects in the name of the King of England. He will represent the King in the Capital of Ireland and he will open the Parliament which some members of this House seem to be willing to attend. I am sure none of them, indeed, is very anxious to attend it under the circumstances, but, if they accept this Treaty they will have to attend Parliament summoned in the name of the King of Great Britain and Ireland. There is no doubt about that whatever.
The fourth paragraph sets out the form of oath, and this form of oath may be divided into two parts. In the first part you swear "true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the Irish Free State as by law established." As the President has stated, according to the Constitution which will be sanctioned under that Parliament, it will be summoned by the representative of the King of England and Ireland and will acknowledge that King.
I say even that part of the oath is nothing short of swearing allegiance to the head of that Constitution which will be the King. You express it again when you swear, "and that I will be faithful to His Majesty King George V, his heirs and successors by law." That is clear enough, and I have no hesitation whatever in reading the qualifying words. I say these qualifying words in no way alter the text, or form, or effect of this oath, because what you do in that is to explain the reason why you give faith, why you pledge fealty to King George. You say it is in virtue of the common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain and the meaning of that is that you are British subjects. You are British subjects without a doubt, and I challenge anyone here to stand and prove otherwise than that according to this document.
If ever you want to travel abroad, to a country where a passport is necessary, your passport must be issued from the British Foreign Office and you must be described as a British subject on it. If you are mean enough to accept this Treaty, time will tell. You wind up by saying that you further acknowledge that King in virtue of Ireland's adherence to and membership of the group of nations known as the British Commonwealth of Nations, and all that, of course, is really consistent with the whole thing. You will become a member of the British Empire.
Now this question of the oath has an extraordinary significance for me, for, so far as I can trace, no member of my family has ever taken an oath of allegiance to England's King. When I say that I do not pretend for a moment that men who happened to be descended from, or to be sons of men who took oaths of allegiance to England's Kings, or men who themselves took oaths of allegiance to England's Kings are any worse for it. There are men in this assembly who have been comrades of mine in various places, who have been fighting the same fight as I have been fighting, the same fight which we have all been fighting, and which I sincerely hope we will be fighting together again ere long. There are men with whom I was associated in this fight whose fathers had worn England's uniform and taken oaths of allegiance, and these men were as good men and took their places as well in the fight for Irish independence as any man I ever met.
But what I wish to say is this: I was nurtured in the traditions of Fenianism. My father wore England's uniform as a comrade of Charles Kickham and O'Donovan Rossa when as a '67 man he was sentenced to ten years for being a rebel, but he wore it minus the oath of allegiance. If I, as I hope I will, try to continue to fight for Ireland's liberty, even if this rotten document be accepted, I will fight minus the oath of allegiance and to wipe out the oath of allegiance if I can do it. Now I ask you has any man here the idea in his head, has any man here the hardihood to stand up and say that it was for this our fathers have suffered, that it was for this our comrades have died on the field and in the barrack yard. If you really believe in your hearts that it was, vote for it. If you don't believe it in your hearts, vote against it.
It is for you now to make up your minds. Today or tomorrow will be, I think, the most fateful days in Irish history. I will conclude by quoting two of Russell Lowell's lines : — "Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide,In the strife 'twixt truth and falsehood for the good or evil side."
Unfortunately, the "evil side" is, at the time of writing, in the majority. But it's early yet...
'THE IRISH VOTES.'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, June, 1955.
The Irish Press, Letter to The Editor :
'Dear Sirs,
If Irish voters in England need a directive on how to vote in the coming General Elections, surely Mr George Brinham, a member of the British Labour Party, has supplied it, when he said in Belfast "It was clearly recognised in the Act that the Six Counties was part of the United Kingdom.."
The foregoing is the attitude of most British people, so why any Irish vote should be cast for any political party in Britain is beyond comprehension. Despite Labour, Conservative, Liberal, or anyone else, Ireland will one day be united, and only then shall we be able to solve the emigration and unemployment problems.
Sinn Féin, in my opinion, has taken the lead in this issue and therefore it should have our support.'
T.F. O'Hallahan,
58 Goldhawk Road,
London.
(END of 'The Irish Votes' ; NEXT - 'Cork Municipal Elections', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (14TH APRIL) 99 YEARS AGO : IRA TAKE OVER THE FOUR COURTS IN DUBLIN.
The Four Courts, Dublin, under attack from the Free Staters.'...opponents of the Treaty condemned it as a sell-out and a betrayal of all those who had lost their lives fighting for Irish independence...after two weeks of debating the merits of the Treaty and the possible outcomes of rejecting it, a vote was taken : 64 in favour, 57 against. The breach came almost immediately when Éamon de Valera, President of the Dáil, who had opposed the Treaty, offered his resignation and then called a meeting of all anti-treaty members for the next day.
The rift affected not just the leadership of Sinn Féin and the IRA but went right through both organisations. Various attempts to reconcile the two sides over the following months proved fruitless...in the meantime, implementation of the Treaty continued. A 'Provisional (Free State) Government' was set up to oversee the transition ; British troops started withdrawing*. Their deserted barracks and other military facilities were taken over by local IRA units, some pro-treaty, some anti-treaty. The country was now a patchwork of different allegiances. There were occasional skirmishes and robberies of weaponry or money but for the time being neither side was willing to take the final step that would mean war over the Treaty.
The Provisional (FS) Government had swiftly built up loyal military forces in Dublin. Worried lest they cede the capital through inaction, the anti-treaty IRA took over the Four Courts, Kilmainham Jail and a few other sites in the city in April 1922. The Provisional (FS) Government, still anxious for reconciliation, did not try to prevent them...' (from here. *They are still here, politically and militarily, in Ireland, in six of our counties.)
The Four Courts in Dublin was taken over by about 200 IRA fighters, under the command of Rory O'Connor, on Friday, 14th April, 1922 - 99 years ago, on this date -
'Rory O'Connor was born in Dublin 28 November 1883..in Kildare Street. During the subsequent Irish War of Independence from 1919 to 1921 he was Director of Engineering of the Irish Republican Army...he refused to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which established the Irish Free State and which was ratified by a narrow vote by Dáil Éireann, but which instituted the partition of the six counties...and abolished the Irish Republic declared in 1916 and 1919, which O'Connor and his comrades had sworn to uphold.
On 14th April 1922 O'Connor, with 200 other anti-treaty IRA men under his command, took over the Four Courts building in the centre of Dublin in defiance of the (Free State) Government...on 8th December 1922, along with three other republicans, Liam Mellows, Richard Barrett and Joe McKelvey, captured with the fall of the Four Courts, Rory O'Connor was executed by firing squad...
The execution order was signed by Kevin O'Higgins. O'Connor had been best man at his wedding on 27 October 1921. The killing remains as a symbol of the bitterness and division of the IRA's Civil War. O'Connor, one of 77 republicans executed by the Cumann na nGaedheal government of the Irish Free State, is seen as a martyr by the Republican Movement in Ireland...' (from here.)
Ernie O’Malley stated that Rory O'Connor... "..had been made a target by the Staters at which to hurl abuse. It had served their purpose better to refer to us as 'Rory O'Connor's men', then to admit that we were organised on the same lines as themselves, that we had a Headquarters Staff, and he as Director of Engineering filled the same post as he had done on the old Staff during the Tan scrap..."
You have murdered our brave Liam and Rory,
You have butchered young Richard and Joe,
And your hands with their blood are still gory,
Fulfilling the work of the foe.
So take it down from the mast, Irish traitors,
It's the flag we republicans claim.
It can never belong to Free Staters,
For you've brought on it nothing but shame.
And Leinster House - those that sat in it then, sit in it now and those who will continue to fumble in the greasy till as they sit in it in the future, will continue to bring 'nothing but shame' on our flag.
NO RIGHT OF APPEAL...
Why the media consensus on a broad range of issues is increasingly disturbing. By John Drennan.
From 'Magill' Annual, 2002.
The alliance which followed had more than a few odd couples ; the 'Daily Star' newspaper, hardly Fintan O' Toole's ideological soulmate, launched a courageous NASTI campaign in tandem with Joe Duffy and 'Dot Com' Dunphy. Of course, in all of this caterwauling, there was no space for such issues as the role of a Minister whose obtuseness was epitomised by his performance at the ASTI conference, where he treated the gap-mouthed delegates to such facts as - "We know the brain changes physiologically as a result of life's experiences" and a few bars of a song about not having a wooden heart.
Furthermore, little attention was paid to the fact that 'benchmarking' - a concept borrowed from a Japanese car plant - is now the defining ethos of our educational system. Mind you, most people in the Celtic Chancer probably think this is a good thing. After all the excitement of breaking the teachers' revolt, our consensus took a well deserved break. There were a few sideswipes in the direction of a small rural village called Cloneen after it expressed some mild concerns about how its non-existent infrastructure would deal with a huge influx of refugees.
As the bemused locals were treated to much wailing about the heart of darkness of rural Ireland, a much smaller furore was raised over the decision of some of the good burghers of Dublin 4 to go to court in order to prevent an influx of refugees into the area. Their concerns were "architectural", however - and anyway, one should not criticise the neighbours too much...
(MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (14TH APRIL) 101 YEARS AGO : IRA EXECUTE 'SPECIAL BRANCH' MAN IN DUBLIN.
Detective Constable Harry Kells (pictured) was, in 1920, trying to make a career name for himself with his British paymasters as a faithful and trustworthy member of 'DMP G Division' (the 'Special Branch' of its day).
He was one of the 'go-to' men for the British when they wanted to know who was or wasn't associated with the Republican Movement in Dublin and had practically free reign in Mountjoy Jail to 'interview' IRA prisoners that were held captive in that institution. At the time of his execution, he was making inquiries about who exactly had killed another of his kind, Alan Bell.
Mr. Bell was attempting to close-down the Movement, financially, when it closed him down.
'An incident in Camden street in 1920 was the cause of the largest raid ever carried out by British troops in Dublin. This was due to the shooting on 14 April of Detective Constable Harry Kells, of the DMP G Division, in Camden St. He was rushed to the Meath Hospital where he died. Harry Kells lived at 7 Pleasants St. and had been carrying out identity parades among the many republican inmates in Mountjoy Prison.
It was in this assignment that he came to the attention of Michael Collins, Director of Intelligence for the Irish Volunteers. Peadar Clancy, Vice Commandant of the Dublin Brigade of the Volunteers, then interned in Mountjoy Prison, sent word to Collins that Kells was carrying out identity parades at the 'Joy' trying to find out who had executed Alan Bell on 25 March 1920. Bell, a former Resident Magistrate, was working for Dublin Castle on a strategy aimed at crippling Sinn Fein. He was questioning bank officials in an attempt to discover where Sinn Fein's funds were hidden. If they could be found then the authorities would move to confiscate the more than £357,000 in National Loan money Collins had collected as Minister of Finance. Bell's killing was a clear warning to the Castle that any effort to locate this money would be dealt with quickly and ruthlessly.
In April there was a hunger strike taking place by republican prisoners in Mountjoy, and tensions were very high. Two of those sought in connection with Kells' killing were Sinn Féin members Michael and William Kavanagh who lived at 5 Pleasants St., who had previously been 'fingered' by Kells, and it was thought they would seek refuge among friends in the neighbourhood. The troops swarmed over Camden St from Cuffe street and into Portobello and the homes of the local Jews. Over 100 people were arrested that day but Kells' killer was not among them...'
(taken from reports in the Irish Times and the New York Times, April 1920.)
Paddy Daly ('Paddy O'Daly', an IRA member at the time, but later a 'poacher-turned-gamekeeper') was a member of 'The Squad' and was one of those present when Harry Kells was put to death ;
"On our way we picked up Hugo MacNeill, a nephew of Eoin MacNeill, the initial President of the Irish Volunteers. He was not a member of the Squad but he asked to come along. We divided up into patrols of two, MacNeill was with Joe Leonard.
O'Daly said he heard a couple of shots, and saw MacNeill sauntering down Pleasant St. as if nothing had happened. "What was the shooting about?", O’Daly asked. "Kells is up there if you want him", MacNeill replied. "Where?", O’Daly asked. "On the footpath", replied MacNeill. (from here.)
Politics was at play then, as now, and an 'official' statement was released which sought to present Detective Constable Harry Kells as almost an innocent bystander -
'93B Constable Henry Kells, born in the Parish of Drumlane near Miltown, Co. Cavan. A Protestant (Church of Ireland), he was baptised on 14 May 1878. At the age of 20 he joined the DMP, receiving Warrant Number 10119. With a height of 6 feet 3.5 inches he was tall - even by the standards of the DMP. He was assigned to B Division on 6 April 1898 and - in later years at least - he was attached to College Street Station. He served there in a uniformed capacity until around the end of 1919 when he was transferred to plain clothes duty in consequence of the increasing number of burglaries in the city. He was not involved in any duties which might be described as of a political nature...'
'Special Branch' man Harry Kells was very involved in 'duties of a political nature' and he was as far as it was possible to be from being 'just a cop who was investigating burglaries'.
Also, incidentally, on that same date (14th April 1920), an RIC Sergeant, Patrick Finnerty, was shot on Clonard Street in Balbriggan, County Dublin, and died from his wounds two days later, and another RIC Sergeant, Patrick Lavin, a drill instructor, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his office at the RIC depot in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. No doubt that both of those men, too, were employed, armed and uniformed by Westminster, 'to investigate burglaries in Ireland'...
ON THIS DATE (14TH APRIL) 101 YEARS AGO : 'BRITISH MISHAP' SEES IRA HUNGER-STRIKERS RELEASED!
Citizens protesting against the incarceration by the British of IRA POW'S.
In April, 1920, large demonstrations in Dublin and in other cities were being held by Irish people in support of imprisoned republican prisoners, and the trade union movement had downed tools '..in protest at the inhuman treatment of political prisoners and to demand their immediate release..' and, on the 14th April that year - 101 years ago on this date - all 90 of the hunger-striking prisoners/hostages in Mountjoy Jail, in Dublin, and hundreds of others in other jails, were released.
Celebrations ensued, much to the distaste of the RIC and their colleagues in the British Army ; in Milltown-Malbay, in County Clare, for instance, those British forces - a joint RIC and British military ('Highland Light Infantry') party, led by an RIC Sergeant named Hampson - shouted at a crowd of cheering Irish people, who had gathered around a lit tar barrel, to 'go home', then fired into the crowd. Patrick Hennessy, a 30-year-old small farmer from Miltown Malbay and a father of two, John O'Loughlin, a tailor from Ennistymon, and Thomas Leary, 33, a married father of 10 children from Miltown Malbay, were shot dead. Also, the same British forces caused riots in Derry when some of the released hunger-strikers arrived to their homes in that city.
The public pressure on the British was so great that they declared that "unconvicted prisoners" would be released on the 14th April (1920) but they were so flustered that hundreds of the hunger-striking prisoners were released (of whom only 31 were "convicted prisoners")!
On the 5th April (1920), 36 of the IRA prisoners in Mountjoy Jail, in Dublin, led by Peadar Clancy, refused food, followed by 30 more the day after and, by April 9th, 90 men were on the protest -
'...their demands were for political status, but more concretely : better food, separation from ordinary criminal prisoners, no compulsory prison work, books, a weekly bath, the right to smoke and five hours exercise per day...within days, huge crowds had assembled outside Mountjoy Gaol, demonstrating for the release of the hunger strikers before they died...the (British) military remarked that, ‘large and menacing crowds, in some cases up to 20,000 strong, congregated outside Mountjoy’.
The hunger strike and the demonstrations it sparked in Dublin were all worrisome for the British administration in Ireland and for the government in London. They were well aware of the radicalising effect the death of Thomas Ashe had had in 1917 and had no wish to see fresh republican martyrs in the prisons...what brought the situation to a head was the action of the Irish Trade Union Council, who called a general strike for April 13, ‘in protest at the inhuman treatment of political prisoners and to demand their immediate release’. The trade unionists had seen many of their own members arrested and acted on their own initiative, apparently without consulting with Sinn Fein or the IRA...as a consequence of the strike, the British opened talks with the hunger strikers’ leader Peadar Clancy, and offered him concessions, including political status and release on parole, both of which offers he refused. He remarked to his comrades, ‘the general strike has them beat’ and held out for release.
There followed a remarkable foul up on the British side. First it was decided to release those prisoners who had not yet been charged with a crime, after a medical inspection. Someone blundered and, in error, all prisoners, including non-political ones were released after the medical examination. As British legal advisor, WE Wylie, remarked, "jailbirds, political prisoners, petty thieves, every damn one of them were freed. I nearly fainted when I heard it".
In an attempt to save some face, French, the Lord Lieutenant, proceeded to formally release all the prisoners around the country to make it appear as if it was a preconceived policy of pardon. This amounted to hundreds of IRA prisoners - 100 in Cork alone, for instance, as well as the ninety hunger strikers released in Dublin. Small wonder that a subsequent inquiry into the workings of Dublin Castle by a civil servant, Warren Fisher, characterised the administration as "chaos".
On April 21st, the Irish republican prisoners who had been deported to Wormwood Scrubs prison in England also went on hunger strike and shortly afterwards, they too were released, mostly returning to Ireland... (from here.)
Must be one of the few recorded times that the British admitted to causing "chaos" for themselves in Ireland!
ON THIS DATE (14TH APRIL) 100 YEARS AGO : AN EXECUTED BRITISH 'SIR' AND THE 'IRISH CROWN JEWELS'.
'Sir' Arthur Vicars, pictured ('butterfingered' or lightfingered?).
Arthur Vicars was born on the 27th of July, 1862, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and he moved to Ireland as a young adult.
Through family connections he obtained various 'titles' and a posh job - at 34 years young he received a British 'Knighthood', four years after that he was appointed as a 'Commander of the Royal Victorian Order' and three years later he was promoted (!) to the position of 'Knight Commander of the Order'. His own private 'Game Of Thrones', apparently!
His 'job' (position) title was 'Ulster King of Arms and custodian of the Irish Crown Jewels' but, one day, in July 1907, while Arthur was no doubt busying himself on the PlayStation, the jewels went missing.
An inquiry was held and he was found guilty of negligence and dismissed, meaning he was ruined socially, and financially, as his 'job' and any pension from same were lost to him. His half-brother, George Mahony, took him in to live with him in Kilmorna House, in County Kerry and, when George died in 1912, he left the estate to Sir Arthur’s sister, Edith, who lived in London. She decided that 'Sir' Arthur could continue to live there, and he did so.
The 'Big House' in Ireland, in those times, signaled a political/military connection to Westminster ('power and privilege') and, as such, they were closely monitored by the IRA for that reason ; on Thursday, 14th April 1921 - 100 years ago on this date - about thirty IRA Volunteers took over Kilmorna House with the intention of removing it, and its inhabitants, from the equation. Arthur Vicars was shot dead and a placard was placed around his neck, denouncing him as an informer, and the 'Big House' was set alight. An IRA man was quoted after the event -
"Shortly after 9th April, 1921, I received information that Sir Arthur Vickers (sic) was a spy and that his house, Kilmorna House, known locally as the 'GreatHouse', was being taken over by the (British) military as a 'Blockhouse'. If this happened, Abbeyfeale and the surrounding areas of Duagh, Knockanure and Newtownsandes would have been in danger.
I issued an order to Jim Costello, company captain of Duagh, in whose area the 'Great House' was located, for the execution of Vickers (sic) and the burning down of the 'Great House'. The order was duly carried out by men of the Duagh Company under Jim Costello. The two men who actually carried out the execution were...(named)..."
'Dear shadows, now you know it all,
All the folly of a fight
With a common wrong or right.
The innocent and the beautiful
Have no enemy but time ;
Arise and bid me strike a match
And strike another till time catch ;
Should the conflagration climb,
Run till all the sages know.
We the great gazebo built,
They convicted us of guilt ;
Bid me strike a match and blow...' (from here.)
'COMMENTS...'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, March, 1955.
H-BOMBS IN IRELAND.
Mr. Hanna, QC, Minister for Home Affairs in Stormont, told an audience in Belfast recently that, in the event of war, arrangementd were made to evacuate 300,000 of Belfast's poulation.
"A hydrogen bomb attack," he said,"would mean the complete destruction of this capital city."* (Population of 500,000.)
Belfast is an Irish city and Mr Hanna nor anyone else has any moral justification for exposing it to the dangers of war without the consent of the whole people of Ireland. Belfast has been built by the industry of Irish people and the wanton exposure of it to destruction in a war between world forces for world domination is criminal folly.
People have a right to fight a war for a just cause - in the defence of freedom or to achieve freedom - but no man nor group of men (sic)has any right to involve their people or a section of their people in a war of imperial aggrandisement and material gain. ('1169' comment - * "capital city"? What 'country' is Belfast the "capital city" of??)
(MORE LATER.)
HISTORY SNIPPETS FROM THE 14TH APRIL...
1923 – Free-State forces converged on a ruined castle at Castleblake, County Kilkenny, after receiving information that it was being used as a dugout by the republicans. Free State Lieutenant Kennedy called on the occupants to surrender and fired three shots through the door. A grenade was thrown from inside the shelter, mortally wounding Lieutenant Kennedy. Free-State troops then rushed the building and two republican fighters (Ned Somers and Theo English) were killed in the firefight and several others captured.
-----------------------------------------
On the 8th of August, 1922, a Corporal Edward Coughlan died as a result of wounds received by him on the 9th of July 1922 at Amiens Street, in Dublin. He had joined the Free State Army on the 14th of April 1922.
-----------------------------------------
On the 14th of April 1923, Free State Army Private Timothy McCarthy was shot dead when, as one of the armed members of a party of eight FS soldiers on search duty, he was involved in searching the farmyard of Mrs Julia Collins near Dromtrasna, Abbeyfeale, County Limerick. The Staters had spotted an armed man running from the farm, fired on him, and fire was returned. Timothy McCarthy was hit, with the bullet piercing both lungs and a large blood vessel, killing him instantly. He was about 26 years old and had been in the State Army for about three months.
-----------------------------------------
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.
