But in this work Gerard Shannon delves deeply into a man who was a tireless background worker for the revolutionary movement in the post 1916 years. And given his furtive nature, correspondence by him in the most frenetic events are scarce and credit must go to Shannon for unearthing documents that allow us form a credible biography of a most dedicated republican.
Like a lot of politically aware individuals pre-1916 O’Connor leaned towards the Home Rule Movement as essentially the only Irish political show in town. Pearse had shared Home Rule platforms as recently as 1915 before departing on a more radical path.
O’Connor’s comfortable upbringing brought him into contact with individuals of a more intellectual bent, most notably Joseph Plunkett and his family whom he worked most closely with. And whilst more radical thinking was expressed to him it wasn’t enough to deter him from the emigrant ship and an engineering career in Canada.
In extensive correspondence two matters become clear, he wasn’t that happy abroad and he kept broadly abreast of political events back in Ireland. On his return during World War I he contemplated joining the British Army seeing merit in Redmond’s argument that a loyal Ireland would be duly rewarded by receiving its own parliament. But, as ever, British actions scuppered this trajectory which forced individuals like O’Connor to fundamentally re-think their positions.
And in this process of change the book gives a valuable and insightful look on the fluidity of Irish politics at the time which was very far removed from a simplistic dichotomy of either Home Rule or Irish Republic, even in the aftermath of the 1916 Executions.
His role in the 1916 Rising was minimal, although wounded possibly by friendly fire, but it did see the early development of his engineering skills being applied to the military struggle, a discipline reflecting a precise and calculating mind.
As the national mood changed dramatically after the 1916 Executions O’Connor immersed himself in re-organising the national struggle but soon found quite a fractious republican base. The important Roscommon by-election in 1917, which saw Count Plunkett chosen as an Independent, though perceived as Sinn Féin's first election victory, divisions arose as to whether the victory was an endorsement of an abstentionist position or that of Arthur Griffith’s Dual Monarchy approach.
O’Connor had personal loyalty to Plunkett, who had his own political ambitions, and the book outlines O’Connor’s skilful navigation of the personal over the political which sets him firmly on the republican path. The By-election was a dry-run for the 1918 General Election, arguably the most significant election in Irish history, and set O’Connor on the road to his ultimate fate.
At the outset of the War of Independence, following the first meeting of Dáil Eireann and the Solohedbeg Ambush - just as O’Connor was finding his feet for the role of his Engineering Department in the escalating conflict - the author delves into the developing relationships O’Connor was having with key players at leadership level. Opinions of O’Connor and from O’Connor are mixed but are an essential aid in getting into his mindset in the midst of a revolutionary struggle.
Key players such as Tom Barry, Cathal Brugha, Michael Collins, Ernie O’Malley and, of course, Kevin O’Higgins are all cited with a particular detail reserved for his relationship with O’Higgins. In tandem with these insights are a schedule of fascinating plans for prison escapes, some successful, some not and some abandoned, with O’Connor at the helm, demonstrating his penchant for detailed planning in line with his engineering discipline. This early period in the War of Independence establishes O’Connor as a formidable individual with undoubted leadership qualities.
Like many others O’Connor was interned, his brief sojourn being the Curragh Camp in Kildare, wherein ten days later he and a colleague promptly escaped. Although brief his internment is competently covered in that his attention to detail concerning escape proposals reinforces not only his competency but his forming belief that victory could be had. And like many other notable events in O’Connor’s affairs during this period the author references private commenting correspondence from O’Higgins, almost like a subplot, noting his genuine fondness for the former. The net effect of this draws the reader into the text as the inevitable tragic climax is reached.
Shortly after his escape the IRA launched its controversial attack on the Customs House resulting in heavy losses for the IRA in an operation which was deliberately designed as a ‘spectacular’ knowing a truce was in the offing. No evidence is offered for O’Connor’s input into the operation which is unfortunate as it may have given his frame of mind regarding a truce. However the author does reference an intriguing report that O’Connor sent to Richard Mulcahy, IRA Chief of Staff, listing the successful operations carried out by the IRA as a clear indicator that not only could such operations be continued but also improved upon. This is most telling as the IRA’s capabilities formed a central plank of the pro-Treaty side.
O’Connor expressed doubts about the truce but like others of his mindset availed of the respite to reorganise and to re-arm the IRA. To its great credit the book details O’Connor’s efforts and in particular the IRA organisation in England whose healthy operation rate generally gets lost in the historical shadow of operations like Kilmichael and Crossbarry.
It was also at this juncture that O’Connor acted as best man (‘bestest best man’ as described by O’Higgins himself) in the marriage of Kevin O’Higgins, an almost grotesque symbol of personal unity in a time of mounting political division. As reports of the negotiations made their way into the public realm attitudes amongst IRA members began to harden, the terms of the subsequent truce verifying their worst fears. In O’Connor’s case his initial reaction to the truce was to seek permission from Cathal Brugha, Minister for Defence, to arrest the plenipotentiaries on their arrival back in Ireland.
O’Connor, surprisingly, did not attend the treaty debates, the author finds a quote of him having dropped in for ‘ten minutes’ but that in itself is informative. Just like Home Rule and the Easter Rising the political situation was not a comfortable binary one. By and large what ultimately decided the issue for a lot of republicans was personal loyalties, (a scenario which would repeat itself some seventy years later) and, intriguingly, O’Connor inspired both pro and anti-Treaty opinion. Some viewed the Treaty as a practical step, strategically useful, others as an anathema to republican doctrine and others still saw it as the new law of the land and thus a completely new political dispensation.
Insights into anti-Treaty IRA thinking are well presented and essentially portray a dis-unified picture with the sombre shadow of Civil War looming in an increasingly volatile situation. As O’Connor is quoted; ‘if there is a Civil War we will not be the one’s to start it’. But, as ever in such situations, such wars start themselves.
As the new Free State Army was formed it quickly began to fill the vacuum left by the departing British Garrison which became a dangerous flashpoint between the two sides most notably in Limerick. What emerges from this turmoil is a clear indication that the pro-Treaty side had a much more focussed sense of itself both in terms of intent and direction whilst the anti-Treaty IRA were relying on constitutional technicalities and formalities to retain some semblance of cohesion.
Even as de Valera assumed the public persona of anti-Treaty republicans, his own opposition to the Treaty centred on his idea of External Association, as opposed to loyalty to the Republic, which didn’t bode well for a unified approach. What also evolved, and the book credibly outlines it, were efforts by O’Connor and other notable IRA leaders to release themselves from the authority of the Dáil and by default from accountability to the Irish people. War and peace are powerful political motivators which Lloyd George was extremely aware of. This increasing detachment from any semblance of democratic accountability prompted his infamous ‘military dictatorship’ exchange with journalists, a more complete exchange is refreshingly presented and the author, with some justification, views it in terms of O’Connor’s lack of any experience with the media particularly given the circumstances involved. Nevertheless it formed an indelible part of O’Connor’s legacy.
The IRA Convention held in the first half of 1922 is well covered and the detailed accounts of motions and debates further underscores the anti-Treaty IRA’s drift into technical and constitutional refuge with political opposition to the Treaty centred around broad statements of support for the Republic as a functioning reality but only in the minds of those opposing the Treaty. However, as earnest and principled republicans who actually fought the war, their path was set and ultimately the Four Courts beckoned.
The decision to occupy the Four Courts, from O’Connor’s perspective, seems to have been more out of organisational necessity as opposed to a deliberate political statement wherein the book gives the impression that O’Connor failed to realise the explosive implications that the move would have. The decision provoked a broadly negative reaction from both the national and international media, the familiar ‘anti peace and no alternative’ refrain becoming the dominant narrative.
However, despite O’Connor’s formulaic view on the new garrison for others in the building it meant something very different: “It became …..the pivotal point from which radiated the passion and flame of the IRA….”. O’Connor was now the public face of the Anti-Treaty forces.
A fascinating chapter explores the machinations of a proposed united front of pro and anti-Treaty forces regarding a joint northern offensive as the sectarian tensions in the Six Counties ramped up. The brainchild of Michael Collins and Liam Lynch, the offensive ultimately foundered on poor communications but also on the lack of clarity in its actual objectives. But the main point was that even though clear lines of demarcation were being created there was still a lingering hope that both sides could reach a workable solution with a Free State being subordinate to IRA authority. Both Collins and de Valera knew this was unworkable, but for very different reasons. These efforts at reaching a unified position are excellently researched and presented and one can sense the cauldron type atmosphere within which these discussions were held.
The inevitable consequences of British policy in Ireland reached their zenith when pro-Treaty/National Army forces attacked the Four Courts Garrison. The book is highly competent in relating how the volunteers and officers dealt with this beginning with a self realised admonishment of the garrison failing to react knowing that the National Army was surrounding the complex. In essence the Four Courts saga was a microcosm of what was happening in the rest of the country with the ever increasing National Army encircling an ever retreating IRA. In essence the surrender of the Four Courts was the de facto surrender of republican forces.
The Free State was now leaning to a more vicious response to the IRA with the introduction of military courts to ostensibly sanitise an executions policy. In an intriguing episode a clandestine meeting between Richard Mulcahy and de Valera is referenced where Mulcahy is quoted as saying de Valera told him. ‘I would tend to be led by reason, but as long as there are men of faith like Rory O’Connor taking the stand he is taking, I am a humble soldier following after him’. This convinced Mulcahy of the need for executions but it also strongly suggests that the main impediment to de Valera assuming the political leadership of anti-Treaty forces were men like O’Connor. Was de Valera asking Mulcahy to remove this impediment?
As with any civil war bitterness surpasses reason. The tipping point for O’Connor was the IRA’s assassination of Séan Hales TD in Dublin as a reprisal for the Free State’s Government ratification of the military courts policy. Tit for tat! Mulcahy sought Cabinet approval for the execution of Dick Barrett, Liam Mellowes, Joe McKelvey and Rory O’Connor. In that process the book offers a plausible if slightly contrived version of how Kevin O’Higgins responded as a member of that Cabinet. Citing credible sources O’Higgins was said to be hesitant, perhaps a consequence of legal training and thinking, but after a minute of this apparent hesitancy he is quoted as tersely saying ‘Take them out and shoot them’. Contrary to popular belief no death warrant was ever physically signed.
Why these four were chosen is open to debate and the author engages in healthy speculation as to the various theories why. This is important because too often in Irish republican history rumour and half truths can fester into facts however any reader can reach their own conclusions with the material aptly provided in the text.
O’Connor’s reaction to the news of his impending execution and his subsequent preparations for same are presented honestly referencing his final letters to family and his own personal belief system. There are elements of any book that need to be fully understood in the broader context of the text itself and not to be ‘judged’ by any review and this particular passage is one. On the 8th of December 1922 IRA Volunteers Rory O’Connor, Dick Barrett, Joe McKelvey and Liam Mellowes were executed by a Free State firing squad in Mountjoy Prison. The Irish Independent approved!
Legacy is an ever moving state of affairs. The emergence of what has become known as ‘civil war politics’, with the electoral interloping of governance between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, have condemned the drafting of such legacies to the short sighted vagaries of electoral politics. Regardless of anyone’s political stance such an approach does a grave disservice to both people and the events they shaped. Books such as this are essential in countering these narrow narratives but also serve as a crucial aide in how to address subsequent treaties in the yet unresolved Anglo-Irish conflict and those who took different positions on them.
Gerard Shannon, 2026, Rory O'Connor: To Defend the Republic. Merrion Press: ISBN-13: 978-1785375842
⏩ The Fenian Way was a full time activist during the IRA's war against the British.
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