by Meda Ryan
[22]F. M. Carroll, ‘The American Committee for Relief in Ireland, 1920–922’, Irish Historical Studies, Vol. XX111, No. 89, May 1982, p. 47.
14 - ‘The Dunmanway Find’ of Informers’ Dossier
Back in West Cork the British military had evacuated all premises held during the war. When ‘K Company’ of the Auxiliaries vacated Dunmanway workhouse they left behind a diary and confidential documents, which were found by the IRA. The documentation was sensational – especially the list of informers’ names. The meticulously kept record ‘showed that the writer of this diary not only knew a great deal about the men of whom he wrote but that he was also expert in judging the details that mattered’. The information was so accurate that ‘only a very well informed spy system could account for some of the entries in the book, and many of the facts laid down could only have been supplied by people who knew not only the countryside but everybody who lived in it as only natives can know these things’, according to Flor Crowley who analysed the diary. ‘It was the work of a man who had many useful “contacts” not merely in one part of the area but all over it, a statement that is not a happy one to write or to believe no matter how strong the evidence’.
Entries of men were in alphabetical order. Minute detail is given of the Kilmichael men, and all ‘on the run’. As an example: ‘Brien Pat, Girlough, Captain IRA has sometimes slept at home. Height 5’6” inclined to be stout, short, square not bad-looking. Very thick dark brown hair, round face, long lines around eyes, blue eyes, wears a cap, twice in raids, his house said to be burned by “unknown men” 6/2/1921’. The “unknown men” is in quotes and heavily underlined – not unknown, of course, to the Auxiliary recorder. A further entry has details of ‘O’Brien’ who ‘always wears breeches, dark hair brushed back, wears brown coat and black hat. Goes to Mass at Ballincarriga, ten o’clock’.
The informer who knew the colour and details of O’Brien’s eyes, hair, clothing and the Mass he attended knew him well. Thirty-two year old Michael O’Dwyer is described: ‘5’10” clean-shaven, bullet head, flat chin grey eyes, darkish fair hair, broad shoulders, tapering body, wears narrow trousers, cap, bandy legs, rather jerky in speech’. Flor Crowley asks: ‘How many of us could describe even our best friends as accurately and in as much detail as that?’[1] Flor Crowley (a teenager in 1920, afterwards a teacher) says the details ‘has had some shocks for me and must have shocks for anybody who lived through and can still remember the 1920–1921 period in West Cork’. The IRA gathered ‘quite a lot of paper’ in this haul, dispatched it to brigade headquarters and Seán Buckley IO and staff at Bandon; later some of it made its way to Seán MacCárthaigh, IO, Cork ‘I’m afraid’, Flor Crowley wrote, ‘that the period under review had more than its quota of informers.’[2]
In the Sixth Divisional headquarters Cork, covering the martial law area ‘the various intelligence officers’ compiled ‘the Black Lists’. By ‘gaining confidence of the rank and file’ these intelligence men secured ‘useful information and hints regarding the best method of obtaining it themselves from the more friendly disposed civilians. By degrees a certain number of civilians were selected for intelligence purposes’ according to the Strickland Report. Their ‘Black Lists contained details of the career of about 2,000 rebel leaders, all of whom were fit cases for deportation’. Tom Barry’s name would have been in the Bandon Essex headquarters list. (I am not aware if any other regiment left records behind, as happened in Dunmanway.)[3]
‘Local Centres were empowered to employ any local agents they could collect’ and once the intelligence officer was ‘posted’ and ‘Local Centres’ established they ‘worked in collaboration in their respective areas’, intelligence police officer, Ormonde Winter noted.[4] Intelligence obtained by ‘the crown forces improved steadily … more information was forthcoming and tactical methods were getting better.’[5]
General Strickland in a newspaper interview in January 1921 suggested setting-up a ‘Vigilance Committee’ to ‘assist in intelligence work – the collection of information’; he believed that ‘under martial law … there was a chance for well-disposed people to play’ that part.[6]
The Dunmanway ‘find’ confirmed the existence of a British Loyalist vigilante type organisation called, ‘The Loyalist Action Group’, known locally as ‘The Protestant Action Group’. But it had nothing to do with religious practice. This espionage underground organisation was affiliated to the ‘County Anti-Sinn Féin Society’ (‘League’), ‘Unionist Anti-Partition League’ and to ‘The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland’. During the first week of January 1921, a ‘Loyalist civil wing’ initiated a rally near Enniskeane at Murragh, Protestant church ‘on a dark night, during curfew’. When brothers James and Timothy Coffey, near Enniskeane were killed in their beds in February 1921, one of the men, recognised in the tussle when his mask fell, was a neighbour and ‘member of the Loyalist Action Group’.[7] When men with blackened faces burned the Hales’ Knocknacurra home ‘one of the men was recognised’. Before this episode the Volunteers believed he was an informer, ‘now they knew!’ He and his family like many others in similar circumstances, ‘got safe passage and protection’ in England.[8]
Loyal Protestants ‘whose houses had been burned and whose property had been destroyed by rebel forces’ were compensated, according to a debate in the House of Commons in May 1922 when Sir Hamar Greenwood spoke of the Compensation Commission.[9]
On 26 April 1922, Michael O’Neill and his comrades called on Thomas Hornibrook, as they required a car, for what they called, ‘IRA business’.[10]‘ The major immobilised the car each evening by removing the magneto’; the men ‘entered the house looking for the magneto.’[11] Thomas and Samuel Hornibrook and Capt. Herbert Woods were committed Loyalists. Woods was an ex-British officer with the DS, MC and MM decorations. Matilda Woods, Thomas Hornibrook’s daughter and Herbert’s wife, stated that her father ‘was a magistrate for Cork County – my husband [Herbert Woods] and I were always staunch Loyalists’. These men were extremely anti-Republican and in regular contact and supplying information to the Bandon Essex. Demanding a car from them was seen, in IRA terms, as legitimate.[12]
Over a three-day period, from 26 to 28 April 1922, a spate of killing took place in West Cork. The outrages were ‘sparked’ when Capt. Woods shot IRA man Michael O’Neill in the hallway of Thomas Hornibrook’s house at Ballygroman, near Ballincollig on Wednesday 26 April. Despite knocking several times, O’Neill and comrades failed to be admitted to Hornibrooks. They then entered by an unfastened window. After O’Neill was fatally injured his comrades took him ‘down the avenue’ and got a priest, who pronounced him dead. Next morning Charlie O’Donoghue ‘motored’ to Bandon and reported the incident. O’Donoghue confirmed that ‘four military men’ returned with him, and were met by Thomas Hornibrook, Sam Hornibrook and Capt. Herbert Woods, Hornibrook’s son-in-law. Woods admitted to them that he had shot O’Neill.
At the inquest, the jury returned a verdict ‘that Michael O’Neill was brutally murdered in the house of Thomas Hornibrook while in execution of his duty as an officer of the IRA … by a man named Woods in company with two Hornibrooks, Thomas and Samuel’. County Inspector O’Mahony stated that ‘Woods was an ex military officer’.[13] Some days later (though it is not reported in the Irish daily newspapers) Capt. Woods, Thomas Hornibrook and his son Samuel went missing, unaccounted for, and in time presumed killed. Although an exaggerated account is given in the Morning Post, of ‘about 100’ IRA who ‘surrounded the house and smashed in the door’, definite records are not available to confirm their deaths. Their house was burned sometime after the incident.[14]
Over the next two days more men of the same religion and outlook – loyal Protestants in the Dunmanway-Ballineen-Murragh area, were shot dead. Three were from Dunmanway, seven including the ‘principal victim’ Revd Ralph Harbord (son of Revd Richard C. M. Harbord), Murragh Rectory, were from the Ballineen area. All of these named were associated with the Murragh ‘Loyalist Action Group’. On that s
ame night 27 April, a post office official, son of process server, sheriff’s officer and caretaker of the masonic lodge, was shot dead.[15]
Because the men killed at this period were Protestants and as the majority of the IRA were Catholic, an insinuation has arisen in recent years, that the motive for killing the men was driven by sectarianism. Despite his admission in The IRA and Its Enemies that those killed or threatened ‘had been marked out as enemies’ some of whom ‘“went out drinking with Black and Tans”,’ Peter Hart concludes the motives were ‘sectarian’ rather than disloyalty to the Republican cause by informing on their fight for freedom activities.[16]
According to Peter Hart, when ‘the men of the Cork IRA’ used ‘the term “informer” [it] meant simply “enemy”and enemies were defined by their religion, class, connections, respectability … Traitors, by definition, had to be outsiders and monsters, the obverse of the Volunteers’ embodiment of communal virtues’.[17]
Yet all of the surnames (in the Dunmanway, BallineenEnniskeane district) of those shot in the closing days of April 1922, were listed as ‘helpful citizens’ in the Dunmanway ‘find’. But the first names of two of those fatally shot are not on the list – only last names are there. In one case a son was shot when his father was not at home. An elderly man was shot instead of his brother who had been ‘wanted’ by the IRA, and he had been ‘one of the men’ who ‘fingered’ IRA men resulting in their arrests, torture and the deaths. Those who saw the documents knew the names of the ‘helpful citizens’ – some of whom ‘escaped’. (Only one Loyalist was listed in the diary, the others were in separate dossiers.)[18]
In Dunmanway three were shot dead on 27 April. Francis Fitzmaurice, solicitor and land agent had an inside track on the IRA and their activities during the 1919–921 period. He was a friend of James Buttimer, retired draper and of David Grey, chemist. ‘It was not until afterwards, it was firmly established that they were informers, and it was learned that they had done untold damage to the IRA with all the information that they gave,’ Eileen Lynch recalled. Eileen was a ten-year old girl at that period. She remembers when ‘Dr Grey was killed’. Though not a doctor, this chemist was called ‘Doctor’ because ‘he’d put a bandage on’ if the children had a cut finger, skinned heel or such. ‘As far as we could see he was very kind.’ Children were warned and chastised against giving chat or information to ‘Dr Grey’. But he prised information from some children, in their innocence. ‘Our house was a safe house. Neither my father nor uncles, though they were drilled and could use a gun, were in the flying column; but there were always men on the run in our house.’ Leslie Price, a constant caller, like Tom Barry and other brigade officers, would meet there, and were lucky to escape being caught during raids, and especially on the night that the trigger-happy Auxiliary shot their cat in the kitchen. Dr Grey would query the Lynch children whose older brother was a dispatch carrier. ‘We learned to remain secretive. We knew he [Grey] was an informer.’ The adults warned them against those others suspected of giving information to K Company Auxiliaries. Mr Fitzmaurice ‘also known’ lived and had his office in Carbery House. ‘It is totally untrue to say that they were killed because they were Protestants. If that was so, why were so many Protestants not interfered with?’ Eileen Lynch asks. ‘There were the O’Meara’s in the square, who had a butcher shop – lovely people, who were never interfered with. Never! There were Wilsons across from us, who had a shop. Atkins were marvellous; they even helped people on the run. There was Henry Smyth who was most helpful; the Coxes – that family gave land for the Catholic Church to be built on.’ Eileen went on to list a number of Protestant families who, like their Catholic neighbours in West Cork, were not involved in the movement – some helped, including Sam Maguire’s family, some didn’t, but there was no intimidation of them.[19] Brendan O’Neill whose family hailed from Ballineen and were ‘strong Republicans’, could list many Protestant families who remained undisturbed and unharmed in that area, during the conflict.[20]
Dunmanway Rector, Rev. Canon Wilson, found it necessary to write to the Irish Times to correct the ‘erroneous’ report that ‘the Church of Ireland minister and the Methodist minister’ were attacked. Though their houses were ‘situated close to the houses attacked, no insult or attack of any kind were made on us or on our families personally. Immediately after the first outrage I was called upon to attend the first victim’, he wrote.[21]
Understandably, at the time ‘a storm of protest against the killing of Protestant was raised, inter alia, by such Republican groups as the Belfast brigade of the IRA and the Republican controlled council of Cork.’[22]
Bishop Coholan, the Catholic bishop of Cork, sent a telegram to the parish priest in Enniskeane postponing the administration of confirmation due to ‘the sorrow and mourning in the homes of Protestant neighbours’. Canon Coholan, Bandon, the bishop’s brother, ‘strongly condemned the awful happenings’. The canon said, ‘We may have been disappointed by the action of some people in the past who did not stand up for the nation’s interest, but it was not Irish to trample on a fallen foe’. He appealed to the people ‘to uphold the national authority’. Whatever their actions were in the past, it was now past and should not be resurrected.[23]
In the Dáil, Griffith stated that Dáil Éireann ‘does not know and cannot know, as a National government, any distinction of class or creed. In its name, I express the horror of the Irish nation at the Dunmanway murders.’ Seán T. O’Kelly wished to associate ‘the anti-Treaty side’ with these sentiments of Griffith’.[24]
The General Synod Members of the Church of Ireland issued ‘a call of goodwill on men of all religious persuasions to unite …’[25] A convention of Irish Protestant Churches in Dublin placed ‘on record’ that apart from this incident ‘hostility to Protestants by reason of their religion has been almost, if not wholly, unknown in the twenty-six counties in which Protestants are in the minority.’ A similar ‘statement emanated from a convention of Protestants Churches in Schull, in the heart of West Cork Brigade area, on l May 1922.’ Arising out of Peter Hart’s suggestion of an IRA vendetta against Protestants, Criostóir de Baróid notes that ‘no responsible political commentator or newspaper of the time ever made the allegation that the IRA military campaign was sectarian.’[26]
The suggestion of non-action at this period by the Bandon/ Dunmanway IRA cannot be substantiated.[27] Officers, including Tom Barry, Liam Deasy and Dick Barrett, were in Dublin at this time of Provisional Government administration, when efforts were being made to consolidate the army and ward off a Civil War in an atmosphere of country-wide disturbances. Some Protestants left the area: those who had been involved in informing felt in imminent danger. Barry returned briefly to West Cork and with Tom Hales, Flor Begley, Seán Buckley and other local IRA officers set up ‘guards’ in districts throughout the brigade area. He wanted to avoid recrimination or ‘grudges’ held. ‘One very important fact’, Jim Kearney wrote, ‘the Third Brigade had a guard on the [loyalist] Protestant houses at that time to protect them. I was one of the guards so I should know.’ Denis Lordan, Charlie O’Keeffe and a substantial number of men were appointed ‘guards’ in round-the-clock protection in case other citizens, some known to have informed during ‘the troubles’, would become victims.[28] ‘Barry didn’t want revenge. “We will all have to live as neighbours. We are trying to make peace now and settle our differences”.’ This was a few months prior to the outbreak of Civil War.[29] Tom Barry heard that because of a neighbouring feud, some men were going ‘to set upon’ Billy Good, Calatrim, Bandon, a Protestant and First World War British army officer. Tom with a few officers hid in the lane-way. Billy was housing the dog for the night and became fearful when he heard the voice “‘… Get out of here! This is your last warning! You’ll get no more!”’ Tom Barry ‘intercepted’ the men, told them to get out of the locality and ‘not to come back’ as ‘the Good family were decent people’; they had not done any harm.[30]
Months earlier, d
uring ‘Truce times’, Barry had ‘commuted to exile for life’ the sentence on ‘the informer’ who was ‘found guilty’ of selling both the Crossbarry and Upton ambushes, causing the death of his close friend Charlie Hurley and the arrest of several IRA. ‘Because of this man’s betrayal of many vital facts’, Flor Begley wrote, ‘the column could have been wiped out.’[31]
In Bantry, brigade officer, Ted O’Sullivan and close friend of Tom Barry publicly stated that ‘ample provision was made and steps taken to see that the wave of human destruction didn’t enter’ that area. ‘Protestants and Catholics will, as they hitherto have, dwell together here in peace, harmony and good relations.’[32]
Comdt Con Connolly and Stephen O’Neill (section commander at Kilmichael and no relation to Michael O’Neill who was shot) condemned ‘the recent shootings’. At a Bandon district council meeting Seán Buckley, chairman (former Third Cork Brigade intelligence officer, and Tom Barry’s friend and comrade), said he wished ‘to tender to the relatives of the victims our sincere sympathy’. Timothy Murphy supporting the motion, said that many Protestants ‘during the recent troubles … had sheltered our brave men and had sympathy with us in our trouble … these cruel shootings are contrary to every conception of justice and liberty, contrary to every sentiment of religious and moral obligation to one another. In Easter week the men that proclaimed the Republic did so with a fervent prayer that no one would dishonour it by cowardice or inhumanity.’ Seán Buckley in concluding the debate drew attention to some of ‘the greatest patriots’ of the past who were of Protestant faith. He could and would personally ‘bear testimony’ to ‘the willingness’ of his ‘Protestant neighbours who sheltered the men who were hunted by the British forces.’ Many of the men who were ‘most wanted by the enemy were sheltered’, he said, ‘and supported’ by them. He had it ‘from the lips of leading Protestants in this district that they were willing to live and give allegiance to the government of the Republic.’[33]