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Showing posts with label Irish Civil War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irish Civil War. Show all posts
The Peadar O’Donnell Socialist Republican Forum ✏ A chara, In this period, the Irish people, and in particular Irish republicans, will mark two significant historical dates. 

Firstly, the end of the War to defend the Republic (Civil War) in May 1923, which marked the defeat of republican forces and the consolidation of partition. The other significant event will be the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) on the 10th April 1998. Both were critical turning points for republicanism in Ireland. 

To mark these important political events, the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum (PODSRF) is planning a conference from 1-00pm - 5-00pm on the 20th May in the Teachers Club, Parnell Sq., Dublin. The theme of the conference will be The lesson from history and the future for Irish republicanism in the 21st Century. The conference will examine both the aforementioned events.

The first part will deal with the impact of the defeat of republican forces and the abandonment of the goals enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation and the 1919 Democratic Programme. There will an introduction and remarks by historian Dr Brian Hanley. 

The 2nd part of the conference will take the format of a panel discussion on the impact and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement on republicanism and to discuss where we go from here. Have key republican principles of national independence, sovereignty, democracy and citizenship been abandoned as a result of the out workings of the GFA? 

Opening remarks by historian and political activist, Fergal Mac Bhloscaidh. The understanding of the GFA by some of this generation of republicans is a mixture of the “great betrayal” or “sellout” by key leading figures in the republican movement. Others may see it as not having delivered what had been promised. How do we understand the significant weakening of republicanism as radical force and what can and needs to be done to re-energise and re-invigorate the struggle to secure the fundamental principles of republicanism, i.e., securing national unity, independence, sovereignty and democracy, both political and economic. 

For both parts of the discussion, we have invited a speaker to give their perspective on the impacts of the defeat for republicanism in 1923 as well as an overview of 25 years of the GFA. We would like to invite you to attend our conference. Prior to the conference, we would like to invite you to join us at the Garden of Remembrance for a wreath laying ceremony to honour all those republicans who fought and died in the War to Defend the Republic. You are invited to join us at both events. 

 In solidarity Tommy Mc Kearney, Frankie Quinn, Barry Murray, Eugene Mc Cartan.

The Lesson From History And The Future For Irish Republicanism In The 21st Century

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ The Civil War in Ireland was a particularly bloody period in the country’s turbulent and rebellious history.
 

It came about via the signing of the “Terms of Agreement” in London on 6th December 1921 between an Irish delegation and the British Government. Shortly after this signing, terms were ratified in Westminster on 16 December 1921 by 401 votes in favour to 58 against in the House of Commons and 166 for the treaty and 47 against in the Lords. On 7th January 1922 the Dail ratified the terms by 64 in favour to 57 against. This made the “Terms of Agreement” a Treaty between Britain and Ireland. It also led to a split in the republican movement and the Irish Republican Army which would result in a bloody Civil War.

Civil War was by no means inevitable as the two sides led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith (Pro Treaty) and Eamonn de Valera (Anti-Treaty) came to an agreement, an electoral pact, which meant that in a general election the two sides would field candidates jointly to fight a general election and form a coalition government, thus saving an actual split in Sinn Fein. This was not to the liking of the British Government and in particular Winston Churchill and F.E Smith (Lord Birkenhead) who instructed Collins to repudiate the pact with de Valera which he reluctantly did. This ultimately led to one of the bloodiest chapters in Irish history, the Civil War which broke out on 28th June 1922 and lasted till 24th May 1923. Perhaps the county which suffered most during this conflict which was equally as brutal as the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921) was County Kerry and March 1923 was of particular note. In a six day period bloodletting hitherto unseen was imposed on the county and its people.

The Pro-Treaty National Army, or Free State Army as they were known to republicans, quickly gained control of the cities and towns while the Anti-Treaty IRA controlled the hills and countryside. The population of Kerry were generally anti-treaty and in support of the IRA, support which should have been galvanised but very nearly lost. The behaviour of some elements within the anti-treaty forces was far from good towards the civilian population. But for the fact the Free State Army behaved equally as bad if not worse it could have lost the IRA the hearts and minds of the people. Coupled with the fact the Free Staters were seen by many as an army of occupation in the county due to the fact many of them hailed from Dublin and the West of Ireland maintained the IRAs support, if only placid, in the county.

An incident occurred in December 1922 which would have far reaching consequences in the bloodletting throughout County Kerry. An IRA raiding party called to the home of Paddy “Pats” O’Connor only to find him not at home. They then proceeded to plunder the home of his elderly parents, both in their seventies, claiming they too, along with their son, were suspected of informing. The IRA was certain Paddy “Pats” was an informer but his parents? Perhaps the IRA just needed what they saw as a credible excuse to plunder the place. “The raiding party, some of whom were wearing Free State Army uniforms, carried off the family cattle and a pony and trap, as well as a pair of boots, two overcoats, a pair of leggings, and a bicycle, two hundred weight of bacon and £36.10 in cash” (No Middle Path - Owen O’Shea P. 82).

Irrespective of the suspicions the IRA had on Paddy “Pats” or even on his parents was there any need to behave like this at a time when winning the hearts and minds of people was of high importance? It is my belief that Paddy “Pats” O’Connor may well have been an informer but his parents may equally have been an excuse to loot the place. The anti-treaty IRA had lost an opportunity to search for their quarry in a dignified and professional way while not affecting too much the civilian population. It would not be the only time they behaved in this counter-productive way. Fortunately, their opponents acted worse and therefore not too much support was lost by the IRA. The Free Staters were behaving just as an outside army of occupation would behave in a conquered country. In fact there was very little between their behaviour and that of the British Black and Tans and Auxiliaries during the War of Independence.

The IRA suspicions on Paddy “Pats” were compounded when he decided, in revenge for this raid and looting, to join the Free State Army. This decision won him no friends among the people of Kerry. He enrolled as a lieutenant and soon gained himself a reputation for being a first-class bastard and anti-republican in the county. The IRA were determined more than ever now to have their day of reckoning with O’Connor, and that day would spark off a chain of bloody events in Kerry. The event which occurred at O’Connor’s in December 1922 would lead to March 1923 becoming a bloody murderous month in the county.

Knocknagoshel 6th March

By 1923 the landmine had become an important part of the anti-treaty forces armoury. March of that year became a barbaric month for the county as the Free State Army continued with their rude behaviour acting like an army of occupation. On the 6th March the IRA finally killed their prey, Lieutenant O’Connor. 

A bomb packed with explosives and shrapnel was prepared by IRA leaders Jeremiah O’Leary, Johnny Nolan and Mick McGlynn. An anonymous letter penned by two members of Cumann na mBan, Kathleen Hickey and Kathleen Walsh, was then delivered to the barracks, claiming that there was an IRA arms dump at Burkes Field at Barranarig Wood Near Knocknagoshel. The bomb was prepared, placed and primed.

Convinced of the potential to deprive his opponents of a cache of guns and ammunition, O’Connor led a detachment to the site just before 2am on the morning of 6th March” (O’Shea P. 84). 

An eye witness described the scene. Sergeant Mathews of the Dublin Guard told the army inquiry what he saw: 

Captain Dunne left me in charge of the Crossley (Tender) and 2 Vols (Volunteers) at Talbot Bridge and proceeded in the direction of Baranarig (sic) Wood with the rest of the party to search for the dump supposed to be in or around the wood. After about a quarter of an hour on the bridge something in the nature of a heavy mine exploded. Immediately I ran in the direction to find out what had happened and on arriving near the scene of the explosion I found Captain Dunne and Lieut. O’Connor dead. (O’Shea P. 85). 

Reports in the Cork Examiner claimed “Paddy “Pats” O’Connor was decapitated and died instantly” (ibid).

The retaliation for this attack by republicans from the Free State Army would be swift and brutal, a war crime by anybody’s imagination.

Ballyseedy 7th March

Major General Paddy O’Daly, the man in charge of the Free State Army in Kerry, was in no mood for talking to his enemies. He was a sadist at the best of times but the mine at Knocknagochel sent him into a psychopathic rage. It was almost twenty-four hours since the explosion at Knocknagoshel and rage was in the minds of every soldier of the Kerry command. Colonel David Neligan selected nine republican prisoners who had already been beaten and tortured to clear an obstruction on the Tralee to Killorglin Road at Ballseedy Cross. The nine men were taken from the barracks by a party of Free State soldiers and transported to Ballyseedy Cross to clear a barricade which was blocking the road.

The prisoners were “ordered to stand round the barricade, their hands were tied behind their backs and they were tethered to each other” (O’Shea P.87). the barricade had been mined by the republican guerrilla forces, something the Free State Army knew, or at least strongly suspected, and could have been defused. Stephen Fuller who miraculously survived the explosion described what happened prior to the blast.

They tied us then, our hands behind our backs and left about a foot between the hands and the next fellow. They tied us in a circle then around the mine and they tied our legs then and the knee as well, with a rope. And then they threw off our caps and said we could be praying away for as long as we like. (O’Shea P. 88). 

A few seconds elapsed in what must have seemed like an eternity, before the mine was detonated.

Three army officers were injured by the shrapnel from the blast. The bodies of the prisoners were then shot with automatic weapons to ensure they were dead, among them Patrick Buckley who had been blown in two at the waist. (ibid).

Stephen Fuller who by some miracle survived but was initially listed as dead, was blown into a stream by the force of the blast and managed to reach the home of the Curran family where he was treated. Fuller survived but had to be cared for by the Daly family for several weeks, suffering from nervous shock for several years.

A local girl who later passed the site of the explosion described a shocking site. There was a hole in the middle of the road and human flash scattered in all directions, debris and everything scattered all over the place. (O’Shea P. 89). 

Hardly a healthy sight for a young person to come across on her travels.

Countess Bridge

On the same day as the massacre at Ballyseedy another display of Free State butchery on the orders of the sadist, Major General Paddy Daly, almost a duplicate of the previous barbarism took place. Once again brutalised republican prisoners were taken from their captivity this time to Countess Bridge outside Killarney and suffered a similar fate to those at Ballseedy. This time four republican prisoners were killed by Free State troops with explosives and gunfire.

About twenty-four hours after the explosion at Ballyseedy Cross, 7th March, five prisoners – Stephen Buckley, Tim Murphy, Daniel Donoghue, Jeremiah O’Donoghue and Tadgh Coffey – they were taken from their cells in the Great Southern Hotel and marched a short distance to Countess Bridge, where officers had placed a mine within a barricade on the road. The soldiers were led by Colonel David Naligan. One of the officers told the prisoners that the barricade was the work of the Die-Hards (O’Shea P. 97). 

That officer was correct, the Die-Hards being the pro-treaty forces in Kerry. Tadgh Coffey managed to escape and, despite suffering a knee injury managed to outdistance his pursuers under heave rifle fire. He reached shelter at the home of Jack Moynihan several miles away.

Bahaghs 12th March

In the south of the county the use of prisoners to clear barricades was also in use. Tensions had been running high in the Cahersiveen area following the deaths of three Free State soldiers in a series of engagements with republican forces one day prior to the explosion at Knocknagoshel. Bahaghs Workhouse was being used as a holding centre by the Free Staters for republican POWs.

Reminiscent of what occurred at Ballyseedy and Countess Bridge the five men were told they would have to remove a barricade and take their chance of it containing a mine. Unlike Ballyseedy and Countess Bridge, from which two people escaped, the soldiers present – some of them were said to be intoxicated – set out to ensure there would be no such recurrence. Before they were blown up the five prisoners were shot in the legs. All five were blown to smithereens, some beyond recognition. Such was the force of the explosion that some of the soldiers received minor injuries and had the overcoats blown off them. (O’Shea P. 99).

The Free State Army and Irish Government continued to cover up what happened at Bahaghs and not until 2008, eighty-five years later, were files released by the National Archives revealing the extent of what happened and exposing the army and government.

The mine planted and detonated by the Republican Army at Knocknagoshel was an act of war in the field of battle. The mine was, and is, an accepted part of rural guerrilla warfare which not long previously those constituting the pro-treaty forces as part of the unified IRA would not have balked at using themselves against the British. Those same men and women now formed a constitutional army of a state whose legality was, at the time, questionable and some would argue still is. However, that is another subject for another time. The Free State retaliation to this mine was the cold blooded premeditated murder of captured Prisoners of War which constituted a war crime. 

A little over twenty-one years later towards the end of the Second Word War the Waffen SS carried out the same atrocities against allied POWs during the “Battle of the Bulge” in December 1944. The men responsible for this crime were hanged for their crimes after the war!! It is difficult to imagine these men of the Free State Army who carried out such despicable acts were once friends and comrades of their victims. Less than two years previous they were a unified Irish Republican Army fighting a successful campaign against the RIC, Black and Tans, Auxiliaries and regular British troops in the War of Independence. This was difficult to imagine at the time of the Irish Civil War. Winston Churchill may have been proud of his new army in Ireland after these atrocities. 

The eleven months of the Civil War was a dark period in Irish history and the people of Kerry in particular suffered as a result. The month of March 1923 was a particularly bloodied month for the county and for further reading see No Middle Path by Owen O’Shea. This month marks the centenary of the events in Kerry during the Irish Civil War.

As an after-thought, history in Ireland has a terrible habit of repeating itself every 80-100 years and it must be wondered was 1998 a good time to be signing the Good Friday Agreement? Food for thought!!

🖼 Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist

March 1923 💣 County Kerry’s Murderous Month

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ The Irish Civil War raged from 28th June 1922 until 24th May 1923 and cost over 1,000 lives in the field of battle, not including civilians. 

The origins of the conflict lay in the terms of an agreement signed on 6th December 1921 between representatives of the British Government, including Prime Minister David Lloyd George and an Irish delegation headed by Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins. The agreement fell short of The Republic which the IRA had been fighting for, as proclaimed at Easter Week 1916 and reaffirmed and established on 21st January 1919, but was a hell of a lot more than any of the previous Home Rule Bills had offered and slightly more than the other dominions had secured from the imperial government. 

This agreement would not become a treaty until passed by the Houses of Parliament and the insultingly named “House of Commons of Southern Ireland”. The British Parliament passed the “terms of the agreement” on 16th December 1921 by 401 to 58 in the Commons and 166 to 42 in the Lords. The Second Dail, or “House of Commons of Southern Ireland” began debating the Agreement on 14th December and voted marginally in favour of it on January 7th 1922 by 64 votes in favour to 57 against.

Eamon de Valera was the voice of opposition and also President of the Dail while the main spokespersons in favour were Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins. The debate, often heated, was chiefly, though not exclusively, between these three and it was in this debate that de Valera introduced his Document No. 2 which was in effect an alternative treaty. The terms of this document had already been rejected by the British but de Valera wanted it debated in the Dail. It basically offered an external association between Britain and Ireland bringing Ireland out of the British Empire. 

This was too much for the British who had already given ground on a number of issues. Their initial offer was to hold on to republican Prisoners of War and the demand the IRA disarm before talks could begin. This was rejected earlier in the year by de Valera who had, after the ceasefire of July 1921, met with Lloyd George in London so he knew exactly what was on the table. One of the main sticking points for de Valera was the oath of perceived allegiance to the British Crown. Article four of the Agreement read: 

I ------------ do solemnly swear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of the Irish Free State as by law established and that I will be faithful to HM King George V, his heirs and successors by law, in virtue of the common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain and her adherence to and membership of the group of nations forming the British Commonwealth of Nations. 

This de Valera had huge problems with and was the primary source of the split within Sinn Fein and resulted, with a little help from Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, in the Irish Civil War 1922-23.

It was and is the popular impression that the oath is of allegiance to the British King but a cursory glance will see that is not strictly the case. The oath of allegiance is to “the constitution of the Irish Free State” and only fidelity to the British Monarch. Does this cast the anti-Treaty republicans in an unreasonable light? When the agreement was negotiated the British had moved, for ulterior motives known to themselves but it would not have been for nothing. So, negotiations meant exactly that. The Irish side set out demanding ten, ie the republic, the British offered two the first set demanding keeping republican prisoners in jail and the IRA surrendering their arms before any talks could begin. This was a nonstarter and months later the two sides finished up with a compromise which gave the Irish delegation much of what they wanted, though well short of The Republic. Perhaps the Irish delegates could come away claiming to have got seven of the ten. They were never going to get their ten - things do not work like that particularly when negotiating with the primary global military power of the day.

On the other hand, the republicans had a valid point over the part which stated Irish citizens will hold “by virtue of the common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain.” The question here must be, did the citizens of Great Britain hold by the same virtue “common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain”? No, they did not, so why should it apply to Irish citizens? This weakened the relevance of Irish citizenship as citizenship of Great Britain would be the main point. The oath of allegiance may well have been primarily to the Irish Free State but, at Churchills insistence, the 1922 Free State constitution must contain the allegiance to the terms of the Treaty. This makes the oath of “faithful to HM King George V” much more potent as a constitutional point! So, when looked at through this lens were the republicans being “unreasonable”?

So now what did de Valera’s Document No. 2 propose as an “alternative Treaty”. The main issue appears to have been the oath. De Valera’s Document No. 2 article six advocates; "That, for purposes of Association Ireland shall recognise His Britannic Majesty as the Head of the Association”. Put plainly the British Monarch, according to de Valera’s alternative Treaty would be Head of the Association in line with external relations but not the Head of State. Was this wording worth all the bloodshed of Civil War? De Valera’s Document No.2 was very convoluted and long winded with only articles two to six of any relevance. Even they were too convoluted to print in their entirety as only article six, reference to the British Monarch was of any importance to the difference between the Pro and Anti-Treaty supporters. This alternative Treaty was not of any use to either Free Staters or republicans and was voted down in the Second Dail.

In preparation for the General Election of 1922 Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera made an electoral pact to ensure Sinn Fein won, and in an attempt to stave off Civil War. Lloyd George, fearing a reunited Sinn Fein told Collins this pact was in breach of the Treaty, which it most certainly was not, and ordered Collins to break it. This was a clear interference with internal Irish political affairs and, if anybody was in breach of the Treaty it was Lloyd George. Collins, however and, in my view fatally, obeyed the British PM and nullified the pact, thus splitting Sinn Fein. The Pro-Treaty candidates won a landslide, thus giving Collins his electoral mandate.

The anti-Treaty IRA were held up in the Four Courts building, still no shots being fired. Enter Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the colonies. He instructed Collins to bombard the rebels out, otherwise he would. Once again Britain interfering in an internal Irish affair. Liam Lynch, who became one of the anti-Treaty commanders, was, like Collins, opposed to Civil War. He was at this point neutral until the field artillery borrowed from the British opened fire on the Four Courts. This forced him towards the anti-Treaty side. Lloyd George and Churchill had secured their Civil War ensuring never again would there be a unified Sinn Fein party. The Irish Civil War had been the intentions of the British Government ever since the Collins/de Valera electoral pact. Now they had it. Whether Collins had repudiated the pact or not, Lloyd George and Churchill had been nudging the Free Sate Provisional Government towards this conclusion. Enter Winston Churchill, who, once Lloyd George had got away with calling the shots over the pact, he would start giving Collins orders about bombing the rebels in the Four Courts.

There was one more twist in the events leading to the Irish Civil War which again adds to speculation that this was what Lloyd George and Churchill had wanted. Evidence apparently in the British museum left by Lance Bombardier Percy Creek states the first shots fired at the Four Courts came from the British Army. He claimed he “fired two shells from his Howitzer at the building then retreated into the early morning darkness”. These shots were fired before the Free State Army opened up with their borrowed artillery. Was this another insurance of the British Governments to ensure a Civil War would break out?

My own opinion is once Michael Collins could not say no - one simple short word, No -  to Lloyd George when the British Prime Minister lied about the electoral pact being in breach of the Treaty, which it was not. He failed to stand up to the Welsh Wizard, born in Manchester not Wales at all. Once this failure became apparent Lloyd George and Churchill were calling the shots all the way. It was the British who broke the Treaty, they broke article eight by allowing the Free State Army to reach the strength of 60,000 men for the Civil War when article eight states that:

If the Government of the Irish Free State establishes and maintains a military defence force, the establishments thereof shall not exceed in size such proportion of the military establishments maintained in Great Britain as that which the population of Ireland bears to that of Great Britain.

In other words, the Free State Army must be no larger per capita than that of the British Army. Therefore, the Free State Army should not have exceeded around 17,000 troops. It suited the British to ignore article eight which breached the terms of the Agreement, now a Treaty. A precedent had been set for the British to break the Treaty any time it suited, a Treaty they had ambiguously drafted in the first place perhaps allowing themselves sufficient scope. Perhaps for this reason they, the British side, could afford to make certain concessions to the Irish plenipotentiaries?

Collins should have told the British Prime Minister that the electoral pact was not in any way a breach of the Treaty and that it was an internal Irish affair. He should have said, politely but firmly, no Prime Minister I will not repudiate this pact. Once Colins went belly up over this the rest was probably, and in hindsight, a racing certainty. The British had tried and succeeded in calling the shots of how internal Irish elections would be organised and run. This was, in my view the beginning of the road which led to the Irish Civil War.

Footnote: In reference to Lloyd George, born in Manchester, being referred to as the “Welsh Wizard” there was only one Welsh Wizard in Manchester during the 1920s. His name was Billy Meredith, a Welsh winger who played for Manchester United! Just thought I’d mention it.

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

Were The Events Of 1922-23 Really Necessary?

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ As in any War the side which controls the capital city of a country has a huge strategic and psychological advantage. 

The Irish Civil war which lasted eleven months from 28th June 1922 to 24th May 1923 would be no exception to this military rule of thumb. This applies to all wars and although control of the metropolis of a country does not guarantee victory for the successful side it goes a long way towards it. 

Nazi Germany arguably lost World War II on 5th December 1941 when it failed to take the Soviet capital, Moscow. From then on it was downhill for the Nazi armies in the east as Marshal Zhukov of the Red Army, and for the first time since the German invasion pushed, the invaders back. This was arguably and in hindsight the beginning of the end for the Nazi invaders. Modern Russia and their invading forces are struggling in the Ukraine and their failure to take the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, may yet prove vital as the Ukrainian army against all the odds are holding out. Arguably depending on whose reports are to be believed the Russians are suffering setbacks and retreats in many locations. One thing is undeniable, they have failed to take the capital.

It is the Irish Civil War and the taking of Dublin by the pro-treaty Free State Army which I shall concentrate on here. The anti-Treaty IRA were numerically stronger but also divided. After the Treaty was signed the once unified IRA which fought the War of Independence split with eleven divisions opposing the Treaty while only eight were in favour. On paper it was advantage to the republicans, but wars are not fought on paper. 

Liam Lynch was made Chief of Staff of the anti-Treaty forces. There were differences of opinion as to why they were fighting, as some were fighting against the partition of Ireland contained in the Treaty signed in December 1921 while others were fighting against the Oath of allegiance to the British Crown others were fighting against both. Plus, the IRA executive refused when ordered to vacate the Four Courts, after Oscar Traynor, O/C in Dublin later in the battle, when it was obvious the Four Courts were lost, ordered such an evacuation, putting strain on the command structure. On the 28th June the pro-Treaty forces, using British artillery under the command of General Emmet Dalton opened fire ultimately destroying the building. 

Minutes after the opening shots, the eighteen pounder guns were put into action. Dalton believed the that the guns would be enough to break the Republicans who were not used to artillery fire. (The Fall of Dublin Liz Gillis P. 51). 

This assumption was to prove wrong as the battle for Dublin continued for eight days. In fact, as far as surrendering to the Free State artillery:

nothing could have been further from the truth. First, the gun crews were so inexperienced in using artillery that Dalton himself had to operate one of the guns staying in position for three hours. Second, the Republicans were not about to surrender and responded to the attack with rifle and machinegun fire. The Vickers gun on the captured armoured car, The Mutineer, was put to good use against pro-Treaty snipers in the towers of St Michan’s church and Jameson’s Distillery. The firing from Republicans was so intense that Dalton had to use Lancia cars to protect the gun crews. (Gillis P 52). 

General Dalton approached General Neville Macready, British Officer Commanding in Ireland, in theory overseeing their withdrawal, in reality something different, for more artillery shells for the eighteen pounders. Macready was, at first reluctant to supply any more as he feared a reunified IRA would use the weapons against the British. Only when Dalton explained he would be unable to dislodge the republicans from the Four Courts without more ammo did Macready agree to this request. As can be seen the Free Staters and the British were working hand in glove. Dalton knew the importance of taking the capital, as did the Republican leadership.

Oscar Traynor requested reinforcements from the country, especially anti-Treaty forces in Wicklow, Blessington and Kildare and he was to be disappointed. The republicans also had huge numbers based in Munster, Cork and Kerry in particular, in what would become known for a time as “The Munster Republic”. Geographically they were a long way off but those in Wicklow, Blessington and Kildare could have come to Traynor’s assistance until greater numbers arrived. Had these reinforcement arrived the final outcome in the battle for Dublin could well have had a different result. Why these troops were not released for battle in the capital, one of the most important venues to take remains a mystery.

With the bombardment of the Four Court using British artillery, records dating back to the twelfth century went up in smoke. The British Government were delighted hostilities had broken out between former allies, especially as the prospect of a reunified IRA was gone forever. Lord Birkenhead stated “war by the Irish on the Irish is the kind of political development which I observe with great pleasure”. Little wonder the British almost stated the “Irish must fight each other”. Lloyd George wanted rid of the Collins/de Valera political pact which lasted from May to June 1922 and was designed to avoid such a civil war. Lloyd Georges and Churchill insisted the pact was in breach of the Treaty, which it was not, and pressurised Collins and, more willingly Griffith, to repudiate it.

As daybreak came on Thursday 29th June the noise of artillery fire on the Four Courts echoed around the city. Still the republicans held out in their Dublin garrison, but for how much longer? Republican forces continued to harass Government troops around the city with sniper fire to great effect. Despite this resistance the Free State forces, though numerically weaker, began to grind down the Republican resistance in Dublin. Why did this happen, the troop numbers were greater on the anti-Treaty side and yet eventually they lost the capital. Perhaps the explanation could be:

the pro-Treaty organisation, though numerically weak, was a strong, compact, confident unit with political and military leadership in harness and with a clear, active chain of command in both spheres and they had the men at hand to carry out their orders. They had four distinct advantages: a common purpose, united leadership and action and public support. It was precisely this lack of purpose, and political (and irresolute military) leadership which then bedevilled the anti-Treatyites and did so for months to come (The Irish Civil War 1922-23 - Eoin Neeson P. 125).

The Free State forces began recruiting and they were not hampered, as it has been said were the anti-Treaty side by a refusal to recruit former British Army personnel. This is not strictly true as the republicans did accept some former British soldiers. For example, Tom Barry was a former British soldier and yet, a great IRA commander in both the war of Independence and for the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. The Free State had the media and the church on their side to say nothing of British help with equipment. The battle for Dublin alone cost £6,000,000 and the city was in ruins. The importance of taking the capital city in any war cannot be underestimated and this the Free State side eventually, after eight days bitter fighting, succeeded in doing. After the final collapse of the Four Courts the fighting continued in the streets. O’Connell Street, not yet recovered from the damage inflicted in 1916 was once again an important theatre of war. This time it was former comrades in the IRA fighting each other in a conflict which was as bitter, if in many cases not more so, than was the War of Independence.

When the departing British forces handed over their former barracks to the Irish, not all went to the pro-Treaty side. In Limerick, for example, some were handed to the Free Staters while others were relinquished to the anti-Treaty side. This was not the case, however, in Dublin where all barracks and Police Stations and other facilities were handed over to the pro-Treaty side only. This was a clear indication the British were acutely aware of the importance the Irish capital should be in pro-Treaty (pro-British) hands, how important it was to hold the capital city. It was almost as if they, the British, anticipated what was to come. In fact they had, to a great extent engineered the Civil War. This, it could reasonably be argued, was epitomised by Lord Birkenhead’s statement to the British Government about “war by the Irish on the Irish” being the kind of politics he wanted. 

Could the result have been different? Yes, in my view with better and coherent leadership, a willingness to release troops from “The Munster Republic” at a time when in that part of Ireland such numbers were not yet required the outcome in Dublin may well have turned out differently. If the anti-Treaty side had managed to take Dublin the Free Staters would have been denied the capital and all the administration centres for the whole country held therein. This was far more important than having huge numbers of troops in Munster, or even Wicklow, Blessington and Kildare, all within easy marching distance to Dublin. This did not happen and the result was not only a Free State victory in the capital, but also in May 1923 an all-out victory in the Civil War as a whole. 

On 10th April 1923 Liam Lynch was shot by Free State soldiers in the Knockmealdown Mountains in South Tipperary. He was replaced as Chief of Staff anti-Treaty forces by Frank Aitken who on 24th May 1923 ordered all IRA units to dump arms effectively ending the Civil War with a Free State victory. The result of this Free State victory is still with us today in a very negative way.

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent 
Socialist Republican and Marxist

The Irish Civil War ✒ The Taking of Dublin

Republicans are throwing cold water on Unionism’s plans to mark the centenary of the Northern Ireland state, but Unionists should not return the serve by snubbing the centenary of the Irish Civil War, according to contentious political commentator Dr John Coulter in his latest Fearless Flying Column.

Pandemic permitting, 2021 will see massive centenary celebrations to mark 100 years of the existence of Northern Ireland, but republicans and even moderate nationalists have serious doubts as to whether this specific centenary in Irish history should be celebrated, commemorated, ‘rewritten’, or even ignored.

With the two big dates in the traditional marching season cancelled this year because of the pandemic - the Twelfth and Black Saturday - many in the pro-Union community and the Loyal Orders will be keen to stage major public events to celebrate Northern Ireland’s centenary.

Privately, the vast majority of republicans will want to snub such commemorations as it reminds them all too bluntly of partition. Republicans will probably want to take a revisionist approach to the creation of the Northern Ireland state with their own ‘spin’ on how the so-called ‘Orange statelet in Ireland’ has failed politically and economically.

Perhaps republicans will be more consumed with how they rewrite the history of one of the darkest periods in their own timeline - the notorious Irish Civil War which claimed over 1,000 dead from June 1922 to May 1923.

The previous War of Independence from 1919 to 1921 had established the IRA as a guerrilla force matched only in terms of brutality by the Black and Tans, hence among a section of republicanism the 1919-21 conflict is also known as the Tan War.

The War of Independence spawned the Anglo-Irish Treaty which partitioned Ireland, but also sowed the seeds of the Irish Civil War in which republican butchered republican in a manner which - as I’ve often maintained - made the Black and Tans look like a well-disciplined British Army regiment.

In January 1922, the Treaty was passed in the Dail by the narrowest of margins - 64 to 57. The Anti-Treaty supporters formed the Anti-Treaty IRA against the pro-Treaty Free State Army as Michael Collins, as head of the Free State forces, used his anti-British terrorist experience to good effect against his former IRA comrades.

The Free State military policy was more akin to an ethnic cleansing of Anti-Treaty IRA support throughout the 26 counties, especially in the west of Ireland.

Such Free State army ethnic cleansing and the creation of so-called ‘liberated zones’ was akin to the Provisional IRA’s border campaigns during the Troubles, especially the atrocities carried out by the Provos’ East Tyrone Brigade - particularly the unit led by Sinn Fein councillor Jim Lynagh - until its demise at Loughgall by the SAS in May 1987.

Perhaps the most notorious incident of the Irish Civil War occurred in March 1923 known as the Ballyseedy Massacre. Free State forces took nine IRA prisoners from the Kerry Number One Brigade and tied them to a landmine, which the Free Staters subsequently detonated, killing eight of the nine, with IRA man Stephen Fuller reportedly surviving to tell the tale of the massacre.

Indeed, those historians or republican spin doctors who prefer to paint a glorious picture of the Anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War will be quick to point out the number of IRA men who were shot without trial by the Free Staters.

In number crunching terms, it can be suggested more IRA prisoners were executed by the Free Staters in the Civil War than were killed by the British in the previous Tan War. Collins implemented a ‘no nonsense, gloves off’ approach to the IRA, fuelling the view that it was Collins’ tactics against the IRA which inspired the military strategies of the SAS in Ireland during the Troubles, and especially the British forces crushing of the Mau Mau terrorist rebellion in Kenya from 1952-60.

Ironically, the Mau Mau rebellion overlapped with the IRA’s border campaign in Ireland from 1956-62, which was mainly contained because of the tactics used against republicans by the B Specials units of the RUC.

Even after Collins was killed at the Bealnablath ambush in August 1922, the Civil War continued for almost another year. However, while officially the Irish Civil War is accredited with ending in May 1923, the Anti-Treaty IRA kept up a sporadic terror campaign until at least November 1926 when two Gardai were murdered in separate attacks that month.

Bearing all this killing in mind, should Unionists mark the Irish Civil War given that it was predominantly a slaughtering match between republicans?

The answer is an emphatic ‘Yes’ as the Irish Civil War must be seen in the context of the then stability of the fledgling Northern Ireland state. Indeed, it was only the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 which prevented a potential earlier Irish Civil War between the pro-Union Ulster Volunteers on one side and the nationalist Irish Volunteers on the other during the Home Rule crisis in Ireland.

What Unionists need to remember was the potential impact on the future of Northern Ireland had the Dail vote on the Anglo-Irish Treaty been approved by a much wider margin, such as the massive majority of support which the 1998 Good Friday Agreement mustered on both sides of the Irish border in the two referenda.

If Collins had acquired such a degree of backing for the Treaty, his primary military thrust would not have been in having to defeat the Anti-Treaty IRA, but in organising a full-scale invasion of Northern Ireland by his Free State forces.

But then again, would Westminster have sat back and allowed Collins to invade the new Northern Ireland? If, militarily, an invasion of Northern Ireland would have sparked a second Tan War with the British Army, would Collins’ Plan B have been to allow the IRA to carry out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the border Unionist population, effectively driving Unionists into a two-county besieged state of Antrim and Down?

With Collins shot dead by fellow republicans around a year after the establishment of the fledgling Northern Ireland, all plans for a Northern invasion were put on hold or dumped in the military dustbin.

In reality, the Irish Civil War and especially the assassination of Collins in August 1922 gave the new Northern Ireland the much-needed political and military breathing spaces it urgently required to become a stabilised, Unionist-controlled state.

This is the main reason Unionists should be grateful for the Irish Civil War and should celebrate that conflict as it would the Somme or any of the other great battles of the Great War.

Okay, Unionists may point to the ethnic cleansing of the Southern Protestant and Unionist community in the 26 counties in the years after partition, but it could have been much worse for Unionism of any shade had the Dail Treaty vote been, for example, 110 to 11 in favour of the Treaty.

Indeed, had the Treaty vote gone the other way, namely the Dail voted against accepting the Treaty, would Collins and his colleagues sparked a second War of Independence against the United Kingdom with an even more heavier emphasis on an IRA campaign in the province of Ulster?

Whatever Unionism’s decision on the Irish Civil War atrocities and outcome, revisionists will still have a field day. 
 
 Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter

 Listen to Dr John Coulter’s religious show, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning   around 9.30 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM, or listen online   at www.thisissunshine.com

Should We Unionists Celebrate The Irish Civil War?

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