The Real Chief - Liam Lynch (16 page)

If prisoners are taken they must not be released until they are in­capable of further harm. If executions are necessary they must be carried out with no fear of the chimera of popular reaction.

The Irish hierarchy met on the same day at Maynooth and stated that armed resistance was ‘morally only a system of murder and assassination of the national forces'.

The Provisional Government casualties up to the middle of September were 185 killed and 674 wounded. A tragic feature of the entire operation was that men who had fought bravely to­get­her against the British, now died on opposite sides of the camp – men like Cathal Brugha, Harry Boland, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith (who died in Dublin on 12 August, due to ex­haustion). Republican prisoners were now in over-crowded jails and internment camps. Lynch had forbidden hunger strikes where political treatment was granted. On the Republican side, all prisoners taken were released unharmed once their arms and am­munition were taken from them, mainly because they did not have accommodation for them. It was an absurd situation.

Éamon de Valera wanted a public declaration by the army Executive of the actual existing situation. ‘The Army Executive must publicly accept responsibility ... There must be no doubt in the minds of anybody in this matter. This pretence from the pro-treaty party that we are inciting the army must be ended by the declaration from the army itself that this is not so.'
18
It was there­fore necessary to call the Executive together though doing so in­volved risk. Liam Lynch issued instructions to have the meet­ing called.

When the men on the army Executive met in Nugents, Bally­bacon on 16 October 1922, Liam Lynch presided. It was decided to co-opt four members to replace those imprisoned, substitutes were named and ratified by the entire body. A day of negotiations was devoted to a review of events since the outbreak of hostilities and to the consideration of certain peace proposals. Lynch stated that it was decided, at the Clarence Hotel meeting after the attack on the Four Courts, that each division would operate on its own and that there would be no headquarters out­side the Four Courts. However, he must have become convinced soon afterwards that this would not give the best results as he subsequently created three commands, Northern and Eastern to be commanded by Ernie O'Malley, Western under the control of Michael Kilroy and Southern commanded by Liam Deasy.

The meeting continued the following day (17 October) with eleven members of the army Executive present. Two important points were discussed:

First – whether the forces should continue to wage war under the authority of the Executive only or whether the Executive itself should sanction and co-operate in the formation of a Republican government – this would control the Republican forces and con­tinue in armed resistance against the Provisional Government. Second – a policy decision on what minimum terms of peace would be acceptable.
19

De Valera had sent Liam Lynch a memorandum which Lynch read to the meeting. This memorandum suggested that if a de­cision was taken to continue the fight, then the possibility of set­ting up a Republican government which would co-ordinate ef­forts and prevent a Free State government from establishing it­self, should be considered; it would also mean laying claims to any funds or resources of the Republic. He stated that the only public policy necessary was to maintain the Republic and the sovereign independence of the nation: also he suggested that there should be a frank exchange of views and a definite understanding be­tween the army and the government.
20
Following lengthy discus­sions at this meeting, the members of the Execu­tive realising that the problem was not solely a military one, ex­pressed an al­most unanimous feeling in favour of the establish­ment of a Re­publican government. A resolution was passed which called on ‘the former president of Dáil Éireann to form a Government which will preserve the continuity of the Repub­lic'. The Exe­cu­tive pledged wholehearted support provided ‘arrange­ment does not bring the country into the British Empire. Final decision on this question to be submitted for ratification to the Executive'. On 25 October the available Republican de­puties met secretly in Dublin, constituted themselves as the Re­publican government, and appointed De Valera as president with a twelve-member coun­cil of state. A proclamation was issued by the army Execu­tive on 28 October and it was arranged that docu­ments from the defence department would be signed both by De Valera, as presi­dent, and Liam Lynch, chief-of-staff. While De Valera re­cog­nised the views of Lynch and the Executive he made his position clear in a letter to Joe McGarrity: ‘If the Army thinks I am too moderate, well, let them try to get a better President and go ahead.'
21

An army council had also been appointed at the Executive meeting. This consisted of Liam Lynch, Ernie O'Malley, Liam Deasy, Tom Derrig and Frank Aiken. Three members were also appointed to replace any member of the council who was killed or captured (Joe O'Connor, Con Moloney, Michael Kilroy). Fol­lowing a meeting of the Republican Army Executive, Lynch ex­pressed his satisfaction in a letter to his brother, Tom:

It was a splendid review of the actual situation all over Ireland ... We are absolutely confident that the Free State is beaten and that it is only a matter of time when they must give in. Recently, we have been offered very broad terms, to their mind; but when they still stand in the way of independence we cannot accept them. We will accept no terms which brings Ireland into the British Empire.
22

Lynch now decided to move his headquarters to Dublin, as this would be advantageous from a communications point of view. Since he had come south at the end of June, he had maintained communication with Dublin through the valuable efforts of Kathleen Barry, a courier. Following the evacuation of Fermoy bar­racks in August, he remained in the First and Second Sout­h­ern Division area, and stayed in houses in his old brigade area. On 20 September Kathleen Barry met him at Killavullen to ac­company him to Rossadrehid in the Glen of Aherlow. He broke the journey to make a brief call home. While he was in the Glen, his brother, Tom, now a priest, cycled from Anglesboro to see him. On 14 October, accompanied by Con Moloney, Moss Twomey and Matt Ryan, Liam left the Glen to cross the Galtees to Ballybacon for the Executive meeting. Having stayed at Mc­Grath's for a night, he travelled, mostly on foot, through south Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow to Dublin where he arri­ved on 3 November 1922.

The Dublin headquarters was established at Tower House, Santry. This large house had a secret room which was specially constructed. The secret room was used to conceal men at the fre­quently held meetings, also weapons, documents, typewriter and other evidence of the presence of so many people. Here Liam and his staff were the guests of the Cassidy and Fitzgerald fami­lies. Both families were extremely kind, helpful and thorough in their cover-up; indeed while Liam was there, no attention was drawn to him or his comrades' presence or to their headquar­ters.
23

Just two days after Lynch's arrival in Dublin, Ernie O'Malley was captured having been seriously wounded in a fight. On 17 November the first executions under the Provisional Govern­ment legislation took place (four young men who were armed when captured). Erskine Childers was shot on 24 November and on the same day Michael Kilroy, O/C Western Command was wounded and captured. Frank Barrett O/C First Western Division reported at the end of the month that ‘as a result of the capture by the enemy of nearly all the best officers in the area the organisation showed very grave signs of collapse, consequently all our energies are directed towards re-organising.'

It was with shock that Lynch watched the new twist which the Civil War was taking; the Provisional Government's policy of executions grieved him as did the atrocities carried out by the pro-treaty forces. In a letter to the Provisional Government, dated 27 November (a copy of which he sent to Thomas John­son, chair­man of the parliamentary Labour Party), he protested that they had ‘declared war on the soldiers of the Republic and suppressed the legitimate parliament of the Irish nation':

As your Parliament and Army Headquarters well know, we on our side have at all times adhered to the recognised rules of warfare. In the early days of this war we took hundreds of your forces prisoners but accorded them all the rights of prisoners of war and, over and above, treated them as fellow countrymen and former comrades. Many of your soldiers have been released by us three times al­though captured with arms on each occasion. But the prisoners you have taken have been treated barbarously, and when helpless you have tortured, wounded and murdered them ...

Next to the members of your ‘Provisional Government' every member of your body who voted for this resolution by which you pretend to make legal the murder of soldiers, is equally guilty. We therefore give you and each member of your body due notice that unless your army recognises the rules of warfare in future we shall adopt very drastic measures to protect our forces.
24

On 30 November, he issued an order, which was captured, stat­ing that ‘all members of the Provisional “Parliament” who were present and voted for the Murder Bill will be shot at sight.'
25
Fol­lowing this on 7 December, Dáil deputy Seán Hales was shot dead, though being absent he had not voted. Controversy has sur­rounded this shooting, as Deputy Pádraig Ó Maille, who was travelling with him, was also shot but not seriously wounded.

Early next morning four men who had been prisoners since the fall of the Four Courts at the end of June (Rory O'Con­nor, Liam Mellows, Joe McKelvey and Dick Barrett) were taken from their cells in Mountjoy and executed.

The Free State had officially come into existence on 6 Decem­­ber 1922, and now the Civil War had taken on a cruel and bitter twist.

Meanwhile, down south Tom Barry, who had escaped from Gormanstown in September, had been planning a major blow against the Provisional Government forces. Shortly after his es­cape, Lynch had appointed him operations officer, Southern Command. Later Lynch appointed him director of operations, in charge of all divisional O/Cs. By early November, aided by several districts officers in the Southern Division Barry had organised a massive 580 riflemen: they encircled Cork city, held all roads to Macroom, Bandon, Kinsale, Cobh. In this daring opera­tion Barry's strategic plan secured many Cork towns for the Re­pub­licans. He mobilised men to take Bandon, then the twin towns of Ballineen and Enniskeane, then Ballinvourney, Ballin­geary and many other towns and villages in west and mid Cork.

With Lynch, Barry organised a selection of men to prepare for a northern offensive. Lynch was convinced that Barry's mili­tary genius would pull the war in the Republicans' favour. Barry secured men from the Southern Division, as well as guns and am­munition to travel to Donegal for the first leg of the journey to attack Derry. Barry hoped this would bring the Provisional Govern­ment into a decision to join in a united attack against Britain. His belief was that as a united army they could fight the common cause of Ireland.

With a few selected experienced column leaders from the Cork brigades and a force from the Second Southern Division, he went to Tipperary and with Dinny Lacy and a group of Tip­perary men he organised a combined attack on Free State posts at Callan, Mullinavat, Thomastown and Carrick-on-Suir during the early days of December. According to Dan Cahalane, ‘he marched through villages and towns where they hardly stood to fight. They practically handed the places over to him.' His re­pu­tation as a daring elusive commander, the man who could neither be held nor killed, had made him into a legendary figure. He had plans to develop the offensive northwards by an attack on Temple­more where he hoped to capture artillery, thus en­abling him to attack the Curragh and then on to the capital, Dublin. The winter and the war dragged on and Barry's plans were frustrated by the rapid change in the situation in the early months of 1923.

During the closing days of 1922 and the early days of 1923 the outlook for the Republican forces was not hopeful, yet men were facing it with great fortitude. The executions of prisoners in jails and the deaths of leaders on both sides added to the horror of the situation. Lynch was well aware that his own life was in danger and that at any time death was close. He wrote a letter from Tower House to his mother on 22 December:

I do pray that many weeks of the New Year shall not pass before the Civil War ends, but really I have not much hope of an early ending as our present enemy still insists on dishonouring the nation by forcing her into the British Empire. If I should happen to be mur­dered by fellow Irishmen I'll die with an intense love for the nati­onal Irish people, and on behalf of my comrades of the IRA who have stood up to the British Empire for years, sincerely forgive the Irish people who unintentionally wish to dishonour the nation ... Would that England's hounds had tracked me down rather than old comrades who have been false to their allegiance. Future gene­rations can best judge our actions, and these will be proud we so acted at a vital period. After the present, propaganda, material­ism and war-weariness hide the brave sacrifices that are being made by our forces.
26

Con Moloney, who understood exactly what was happening in the south, wrote to Lynch from the Glen of Aherlow on 4 De­cem­ber 1922 and told him not to think military victory would be possible as they faced a stone wall, also that local initiative was dead, and discipline had relaxed. Lynch in his reply agreed that the position in the west was far from satisfactory but added that he was determined to continued to fight: ‘The loss of leaders and sacrifices from week to week cannot under any circumstances bring us to lessen our demands.' The following day Lynch issued a circular on peace moves in which he stated ‘no terms short of Independence can be accepted by Army or Government.'