The Real Chief - Liam Lynch (4 page)

The fight for Irish independence had truly begun, but it was en­countering extensive opposition. The
Cork
Examiner
, which had the widest circulation in Liam's brigade area, maintained an edi­to­rial line of despair during the three vital years of struggle. Apart from a few individual priests, the clergy opposed the volun­teers. The majority of the bishops spoke out strongly against the early military activities. High on the list of clergy to disapprove was His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr Coholan of Cork. This caused much pain and heart-searching. For the average volunteer, dis­obe­dience to the teaching of his spiritual advisors was at stake, but each balanced this against an even stronger belief in justice. In spite of the men's strong religious feelings, they were prepared to continue the struggle even under the threat of excommunication, particularly in the dioceses of Cork. Liam noted the dis­cipline, steadfastness and the absolute loyalty of the men under his command.

Numerous arrests followed the Fermoy action. The local Fer­moy battalion commandant Michael Fitzgerald, vice-com­man­dant Larry Condon and company captain John Fanning were arrested. Two months later further arrests took place in Mallow.
1

On the day of the Fermoy incident a car-load of people not connected with the attack travelled to Fermoy to attend a Sinn Féin function. When this car was traced the men faced arrest, but the head constable of the RIC, Constable D. Sullivan, who had given forty years service to the force, refused to arrest them, as from his investigation, ‘there was no evidence whatsoever to con­nect them with the affair.' Despite his insistence, the men were arrested and Constable Sullivan was dismissed and given sixteen days to get his family and furniture out of the barracks, despite his years of service and unblemished record.

Intensive searching by the police did not deter Liam Lynch from maintaining his contacts and carrying out his duties. Fol­lowing the Fermoy incident the police pledged a substantial re­ward for his arrest and gave an accurate description of him in their ‘Police Notice'.
2

Back in Fermoy Liam set up brigade HQ at Glenville about ten miles south-west of Fermoy. Due to arrests, several adjust­ments were required in the appointment of staff.
3
Liam, no longer in employment, gave his full time and energy to his work; he toured the brigade area and paid special attention to the battalion at the western end. Christmas (1919) was approaching and Liam felt he would be unable to be with his family, so he wrote to his brother, Tom, who suggested that he should come home for Christmas; he assured him they would take all necessary precautions, that he need have no fear. Tom recalled Christmas Eve at Barnagurraha under the Galtees:

Darkness set in and no Liam. The old home was so strange without him. We were all trying to be happy at supper, I being the one to know he would surely attempt to come. How often I walked out into the darkness and listened sadly. At 8.30 a knock at the door, and rushing out to receive another rebel – Denny Hannigan, after­wards Brigade General of East Limerick – Liam was waiting behind the pier of the gate lest some of the neighbours' were in the house. At that time people had not learned to keep their tongues quiet. That was a great night. Three of us brothers watched the boreen, each his turn of an hour till dawn ... Nobody knew he was home that Christmas. After dark, each night, I strolled with him for hours down the old boreen and he was happy. He would talk on one subject only – The Irish Republic.

On 7 January 1920 he travelled to Dublin accompanied by Tadgh Crowley and Éamon Tobin. He remained there until 7 March, staying with the O'Mahony family, at De Courcy Square. During these two months he had continuous consultations with the staff of GHQ particularly with Richard Mulcahy and Michael Collins. He met Dan Breen and Seán Treacy; the group discussed plans for developing the fight; they had decided that there was no turning back at this point.

While in Dublin he had to undergo an operation for an under­growth in a tooth. He was extremely anxious, as he feared that he might speak while under the anaesthetic. Consequently, he ar­ranged for Dan Breen to be present during the operation. Hap­pily Dan was able to assure him, afterwards, that he had said no­thing.

One night he went to the theatre with Laurence O'Mahony, and Seán Treacy joined them. During the performance some­body sent word that the theatre might be raided. Instantly, they quietly left and had only reached O'Connell Street when the Abbey was surrounded. Fortunately the O'Mahony home was not under suspicion, so they were able to return there.

After some weeks Collins offered him the post of deputy chief-of-staff at headquarters. While he considered such an offer a great honour, nevertheless he weighed it up rather carefully; he didn't accept. In a letter to his mother he wrote, ‘I intend re­main­ing in the country to help the boys while things remain at their present pressure.' As a military man he preferred active ser­vice to an executive type of life, furthermore, he believed that he was needed in his own area as a military man. In a letter to his brother he conveyed his feelings, ‘The Army has to hew the way to freedom for politics to follow.'

On 7 March he returned to Cork with some of his friends in the Tipperary hurling team, then travelled from the city to his own brigade area. Two weeks later, on 20 March 1920. Tomás Mac­­­­Curtain, commandant of Cork No. 1 brigade and lord mayor of Cork was murdered by the RIC. Liam, with fellow officers, march­ed behind the remains. In a letter he wrote:

You have heard, I expect, that I attended the Lord Mayor's funeral – yes, I and several like me risked anything and everything to see the last of a noble soldier. He was one of my best friends in the cause, and I have indeed felt terribly over him. He was foully mur­dered by the enemy, but the hour is at hand when they shall rue the moment they did so.
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In June 1919 Dáil Éireann had decreed the establishment in every county of national arbitration courts, as part of the general policy supplanting British institutions in Ireland. A police force, which would enforce the authority of these courts and enable them to function properly, was essential.

On the morning of 17 November 1919 two bank officials were travelling in a car from Millstreet to their branch offices in Knock­­nagree. One was carrying £10,000 and the other £6,700. Armed and masked men held them up at Ballydaly and robbed the total sum. The RIC, to whom the crime was reported, did very little to in­vestigate it except to arrest a local volunteer who had abso­lu­tely no connection with the incident. The British stated that this action was carried out by members of Sinn Féin. Liam tra­velled to the Millstreet area to investigate the incident and, hope­­fully to bring the perpetrators to justice. The case was a diffi­­cult one; normal facilities which would be open to a police force were not at their disposal.

He got all local volunteer officers to work on whatever scraps of information were available but by mid-March 1920, they had had no success. Local officers were deeply impressed by his methods which finally led to the discovery of the criminals. The investigation involved a complete check of the population in the Bally­daly neighbourhood and the outcome led to the discovery of the money. This was proof of Liam's painstaking investigation.

On 24 April 1920 warrants were issued by the ‘Republican police force' to arrest ten of the gang who had carried out the robbery. Eight of the wanted men were arrested. In order to carry out the arrests several houses were searched. The RIC in their fortified barracks, though no doubt aware of the position, did not dare interfere. Without jails, prisoners who had to be fed and guarded in the ‘Republican' houses were a nuisance. Neverthe­less, these prisoners were held in custody pending trial and Liam gave orders that they were to be treated as well as conditions per­mit­ted. This meant supplying them with tobacco and cigarettes. On 27 April, Liam himself presided over a special court, which tried the eight prisoners. At the second interrogation, preceding the court, the ring-leader confessed and disclosed the hiding place of his share of the money; four of his accomplices also con­fessed. This meant that £9,208 had already been recovered be­fore the court sitting. Seven of the prisoners were found guilty. Five were sen­tenced to deportation from Ireland for terms varying from fif­teen years down­wards and two were sentenced to exclusion from the bri­gade area. All the money recovered was returned to the bank.

Liam had demonstrated the integrity of the Republican army and its ability to detect and to punish wrong-doers. In turning aside from his principal duties in the volunteer force he had, by his action, raised the prestige of the whole organisation and set an example which put an effective end to similar acts of crime. His action not alone gained the approval of every law-abiding citizen but brought compliments from Michael Collins. In addi­tion it had a wider significance – it showed the extent to which the RIC had abdicated its normal duties and were not concerned with the detection and punishment of perpetrators of crime or the protection of the community from criminal elements. Locals now began to place trust in the ability of Sinn Féin courts.

On 2 January 1920, Carrigtwohill barracks (after a fight in which the walls were breached by explosives) yielded arms and ammunition and on surrender the garrison was set free. It was the first barracks in Ireland to be captured since 1916. Many similar attacks began to take place all over Ireland. This resulted in the British authorities concentrating their forces in the larger towns and cities.

Because of widespread arrests, many IRA were forced to leave their places of normal employment and devote all their time to army duties. There were also widespread resignations from the RIC, which caused a crisis for the force and meant that the Bri­tish government had to recruit other Englishmen. This, in turn, led to a new pseudo police force, the Auxiliary division. British procedure dictated that they did not admit the existence of war in Ireland, but instead maintained that they were dealing with gangs of criminals who terrorised the population. Sir Nevil Ma­cready records discussions, which he had with Sir Henry Wilson, chief of the imperial general staff:

I was in absolute agreement on the understanding that the govern­ment would provide the necessary means to use ‘a strong hand' in ‘stamping out the rebellion'.
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The RIC had now ceased to perform the ordinary duties of a police force. With the armed Auxiliaries they actively opposed the IRA. Because of the ruthless policy many resigned, some joined the IRA, some remained in the force and worked as agents for the IRA. Attacks on police barracks became common­place.

In 1920 the Black and Tans were brought to Ireland. Com­mis­sioner Smyth, appointed for Munster, visited Listowel bar­racks on 19 June 1920 and in a speech proclaiming his policies he said, ‘I am getting 7,000 police from England. Police and mili­tary will patrol the country at least five nights a week. They are not to confine themselves to the main roads but to take across the country, to lie in ambush, and when civilians are seen ap­proach­ing, shout, “Hands Up”. Should the order not be imme­di­ately obeyed, shoot, and shoot with effect. If persons approach­ing carry their hands in their pockets and are in any way sus­picious-looking shoot them down ... The more you shoot the better I will like it, and I assure you no policeman will get into trouble for shooting any man ... We want your assistance in carrying out this scheme and wiping out Sinn Féin.' Jeremiah Mee took off his uniform belt and arms, laid them on the table and said, ‘By your accent I take it you are an Englishman and in your ignorance you forget you are addressing Irishmen.' Eighteen others left with him.
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This ‘shoot with effect' was the type of action which Liam Lynch and members of the volunteer force had to face but they remained determined to overcome this challenge.

Dáil Éireann, the Irish Volunteers, Sinn Féin, Cumann na mBan and the Gaelic League were now prohibited. Military and police raids at all hours of day and night had become commonplace. The jails in Ireland were filling up.

General Sir Nevil Macready was appointed GOC to the British forces in Ireland on 23 March 1920 and took up duty on 14 April. Shortly afterwards, Sir Hamar Greenwood was ap­pointed chief secretary. Macready had discussions with Sir Henry Wilson, chief of the imperial general staff. He records: ‘Before I crossed to Dublin we had several long talks on the general situ­ation, from which it was clear that he firmly held to a policy of stamping out rebellion with a strong hand, a policy with which I was in absolute agreement on the understanding that the govern­­ment would provide the necessary means.' He proceeded to use a ‘strong hand' and records that by the end of April 1920, 241 known or suspected IRA officers had been dealt with, and that a third of them came from County Cork.
1

Lynch in Cork No. 2 brigade had built up the confidence of his volunteer group. Their morale was high and they had a binding element of brotherhood and unity. His letters during this period reflect his contentment. ‘It's a grand generation to live in,' he wrote.
2
The decision to make a success of the struggle was coupled with determination to succeed against all odds. Liam, with the other men, had not taken the decision lightly. Large bodies of men had adjusted themselves mentally to a new con­cept of the historic struggle. They were prepared for self sacrifice, loyalty and daring. This national movement was dif­ferent from all previous attempts to attain liberty. The guerrilla idea was a fundamental departure from previous policies, and military assis­tance from outside would be insignificant, except for the pur­chase of arms where possible. It was a national policy, recog­nised by their national government, constitutionally elected by the votes of an overwhelming majority of the people. Despite arrests by the British forces there was no serious disruption of IRA activity.

In March 1920 when Liam returned to his brigade, he moved his headquarters from Glenville to a more central location, Mourne Abbey. Liam continued to give officers the maximum amount of authority and freedom of action, and then hold them responsible for the result. The development of guerrilla warfare was built on the amount of captured arms which each unit could secure. In May 1920 Liam was worried by inactivity in other areas and ex­pressed official concern. ‘Those places where guerilla warfare against the enemy has been waged with great activity and effective­ness represent only a small por­tion of the country. In some parts there has been marked in­activity. Officers who are neglec­ting their duty must get on or get out.'
3
Because of Liam's excel­lent organisation, his ability to make quick decisions and to use ini­tiative helped him to play a competent part in the fight for free­dom in Cork No. 2 brigade. Together with Cork No. 1 and Cork No. 3 brigades, Cork county played a large part (if not a major part) in gaining freedom for Ireland.

At Mourne Abbey stores, brigade headquarters, Liam was joined by Vice-commandant George Power, who was just be­gin­ning to take up full time active service. Power was now on the run; on 1 April he was arrested in his parents' home in Fermoy. Having asked permission from the officer in charge to go upstairs to collect some clothing, he went into a bedroom, locked the door and escaped through a window.

During this time, Michael Fitzgerald and his comrades re­mained in Cork jail. Liam drew up rescue plans on several oc­casions, but it was felt that possible casualties would be too great. Liam decided that if the British authorities could take officers of the IRA and put them in jail, the IRA should in turn capture British officers. His volunteer intelligence organisation reported that some of them fished on the Blackwater. Liam set 26 June as an attempted date of the kidnapping. He selected two officers, Seán Moylan and Patrick Clancy who would, with George Power and himself, capture the men.

A few days before the twenty-sixth Liam and George Power moved into the Fermoy battalion area, got safe hiding, made a final check on the details and finalised their plans. Moylan and Clancy were to travel in a car owned by Curtin of Newmarket. Five miles east of Fermoy, scouts were posted on Saturday morn­ing to watch the fishing pool. They reported seeing General Lucas and his personal servant fishing with two other officers. Moylan, Clancy, Power and Lynch went to the fishing hut, ar­rested the general's personal servant, and set about rounding up the three British officers. Taken completely by surprise the first officer offered no resistance and he was led back a prisoner. Shortly afterwards a second officer was found and also captured. Coming through a small wood, George Power came face to face with Lucas and disarmed him. Lucas was marched back to the lodge. When the men assembled the prisoners in the fishing lodge, neither Liam nor his companions were aware of the iden­tity of the two officers accompanying the general. When George Power gave Lucas the names and ranks of the IRA officers, he asked if he had any objection to doing likewise, he said he had none. Lucas pointed to Colonel Danford of the Royal Artillery and Colonel Tyrell of the Royal Engineers. ‘You are to be held as prisoners,' Lynch said, ‘until we get further instructions from headquarters. Meanwhile we will grant you facilities normally accorded prisoners such as you.'

Lucas' servant, upon release, was given a letter written by Lynch to the commanding officer of the British forces at Fermoy, notifying him of the capture of the three officers and stating that they would be treated as prisoners of war.

Volunteer Owen Curtin was the driver with Lucas and Lynch and Clancy accompanied Danford. Power and Seán Moylan took Tyrell, the other officer, in the Ford and they set out in the direc­tion of Mourne Abbey. The arrangement was that both cars would if possible keep in touch, with the Ford travel­ling 50 to 100 yards ahead of the other car. For a time all went well.

In order to avoid passing through Fermoy the cars headed south. Just about two miles south of Rathcormac, the captured officers made a bid for freedom. Lucas and Danford held a brief conversation in Arabic and together they sprang on Lynch and Clancy. The sudden attack put them at a disadvantage, and be­cause of the fight the driver lost control, crashed into the road­side ditch and became unconscious. The struggle between Liam Lynch and General Lucas was particularly severe, both being ath­letic and trained men. The door of the touring car gave way, and both men were thrown on the roadway and the struggle con­tinued until finally Lynch overpowered Lucas. Meanwhile Dan­ford and Clancy were fighting desperately on the roadside. Dan­ford was getting the better of the encounter when Lynch, having overpowered Lucas, turned around and saw Clancy being choked. He shouted to Danford, ‘Surrender or I'll shoot!' Dan­ford ignored the command. Lynch fired. The bullet hit Danford on the face and he collapsed over his opponent.

Power and Moylan, with their prisoners, had gone ahead in the Ford and had not noticed that the other car was not fol­lowing. When they noticed, they went back and found the tour­ing car lying in the ditch with the driver unconscious at the wheel. On the grass verge nearby, Danford was lying in a pool of blood and General Lucas was bending over him giving him first aid. Liam was doing the same for Paddy Clancy. When the volunteer driver in the wrecked car regained consciousness, they decided that he should go to the nearby village of Rathcormac and get a doctor.

Meanwhile Lynch took Lucas and changed to the Ford car, they turned west near Rathcormac and on to Mourne Abbey. In the home of John O'Connell they left their captive and Lynch. O'Connell found the two men were of such reserved personali­ties that he ‘did not even know captive from captor until the prisoner was put to bed.' Lynch instructed George Power to go to Dublin and inform Cathal Brugha and Michael Collins of cur­rent happenings.

That afternoon one of the members of the O'Connell family came home on holidays. He informed Lynch of reports circu­la­ting in the town that the British intended to carry out reprisals for the capture of General Lucas. Consequently Lynch dis­patched a note via Michael McCarthy, stating that Lucas was being held as a prisoner of war and was being treated as such. This, however, did not save the town; for the second time the British carried out wide­­spread destruction; shop windows were broken and there was large scale looting and much intimidation. Meanwhile, searches using aircraft and large forces of infantry and lorries continued over a wide area. Mrs O'Neill, the care­taker at the fish­ing lodge, was closely questioned but divulged nothing. In the hope that she would break down, her son, Patrick, was taken into custody; but neither, however, betrayed the volunteers.

The following night General Lucas was transferred to Lom­bardstown and afterwards to the West Limerick brigade area and from there to Michael Brennan O/C of the East Clare brigade. Lucas was accommodated in various houses in the Clare brigade area but because of widespread activity in the region, it was again neces­­sary to transfer him into the Limerick district. He had been in cus­tody over a month when, on 30 July 1920 as he was being trans­­ferred from East Clare to the mid Limerick bri­gade, he es­caped from his escort near Oola and from there he got back to his own forces.

Following General Lucas' escape, he reported his impres­sions of the IRA to his forces in a document, which was later cap­­tured. He stated that he was impressed by their standard of discipline, determination and efficiency. It was his opinion that the British forces in Ireland were confronted with a much braver military situation than was generally realised; he also stated that he foresaw a bitter struggle and that it would be necessary to em­ploy a much larger force at British army garrisons, if the IRA was to be defeated.

On the night of 12 August 1920 Lynch attended an IRB meeting in Cork. On the way to Cork he had told Patrick Mc­Carthy who accompanied him, that he did not know the city very well but wanted to see Terence MacSwiney. At Dublin Hill outside the city, Lynch instructed McCarthy to go into the city and make an appointment with the Lord Mayor, Terence Mac­Swiney.
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After some difficulty McCarthy saw MacSwiney and arranged a meeting between the two men at City Hall at 7 o'clock.

The British had raided some mail on 9 August and dis­covered that some officers were to meet in the City Hall three days later. A Dáil Éireann court for the city was in session in the council chambers when the British military swooped on them. Judges, lawyers, witnesses, prisoners and members of the general public were among the mixed group. The military raiding party surrounded the block of buildings including the City Hall, the Corporation Stores and Cornmarket to the rear of it. With a number of IRA officers Terence MacSwiney had succeeded in getting into the sheds at the back of the City Hall, but was dis­covered and placed under arrest. All were released with the ex­ception of twelve, which included Liam Lynch and Terence Mac­­Swiney.

As far as the British forces were concerned it was the most important capture of the war in Munster – almost the entire staff of the Cork No. 1 brigade and also some of the most active bat­talion commandants were taken in. All the prisoners, except Liam Lynch and Michael Leahy, gave correct names and ad­dresses. Liam gave his name as James Casey and his address as 25 Camden Street, Dublin, according to the prison records. Michael Leahy gave his name as Thomas Power. Terence MacSwiney pro­posed to his fellow prisoners that they would go on hunger-strike. None of the men, including Liam Lynch, though not enthusiastic about using a hunger-strike as a weapon, expressed any disagree­ment with this proposal.

The prisoners were held at the Cork military detention bar­racks for one night and the next day they were removed to Cork jail. Here Liam met, for the last time, his old friend and comrade Michael Fitzgerald. His cousin, Tom Crawford was also in prison. Three days later on 15 August the British authorities released all of the prisoners (captured at City Hall) except Terence Mac­Swiney. He had a harrowing experience and died on 25 Octo­ber after seventy-five days on hunger-strike.

Had the British authorities realised that they had Liam Lynch in their possession they certainly would not have released him. Two men of the same name were killed around this time. On the night of 4 August a man named James Lynch who was living in Hos­pital, Co. Limerick was questioned closely by three soldiers but no attempt was made to arrest him. The family knelt down to say the rosary but the soldiers, who had left, returned before the prayers were finished and beckoned to Lynch to go out as they wanted a word with him. He walked about 200 yards from his house when three volleys were fired and he fell dead.

On the night of 22 September 1920 a John Lynch from Kil­mallock who was a county councillor and Gaelic League enthu­siast was staying in the Exchange Hotel, Dublin. Two officers in British uniform went to his room and about an hour and a half after they had left, a party of police arrived. Later the body of Coun­­cillor Lynch was found stretched across the bed. He had been shot at close range by a revolver carrying a silencer. The Bri­tish authorities discovered that the wrong man had been shot, and in an effort to hush up the murder it was officially an­noun­ced that no inquest would be permitted and a public funeral would not be allowed. Three separate reports differing in essential points were issued. It was alleged that Councillor Lynch had fired on the crown forces while being arrested and had to be shot in self-defence; but independent doctors stated that he had been shot at close range and that there was no sign of a struggle.

On the night of 15 August when Liam Lynch was released from Cork jail he stayed in the Cork area in the home of Joe O'Connor. Despite the fact that he had been on hunger-strike for four days and was possibly a little weak he was extremely anxious to get back to his own battalion area. When he arrived, he dis­covered that Patrick Clancy, who had taken part in the Lucas raid, had been killed when the local flying column attacked a British military plane. Following his jail ordeal and news that the authorities hoped to eliminate an IRA member named Lynch, he became even more determined to recruit full-time members for the flying column.