The Real Chief - Liam Lynch

by Meda Ryan

  It was only when Liam got into the car that he realised he had been wounded. He had received a bullet close to the shoulder: how­ever, the injury did not appear to be serious. A Fermoy chemist’s assistant, William Aherne, had been recruited and as they drove he treated the wounded as best he could. Liam Lynch, six men and the rifles were taken by Leo O’Callaghan in the Buick and Mulvey took five volunteers with him in the Ford.5A short dis­tance out Power and Hegarty left the second car and made their way back into the town through the fields. At Kil­magner, five miles from Fermoy, the rifles were taken to a pre-arranged dump.6The Buick went on to Youghal, leaving Liam at Furry Hill about two miles outside the town. William Aherne ‘walked into the town and called on Miss O’Keefe a member of Cumann na mBan. She informed the Youghal company officers, who brought Liam on foot to Thomas O’Connor’s where his wound was dressed by Dr Michael Twomey.’7Meanwhile, a large scale round up by the military took place in Youghal town, but the men for whom they were searching were in safe hiding.

  Because of the Fermoy action, an intensive search by the police continued throughout the day. All neighbouring police and military posts were notified and parties of British lorries scoured the countryside. Numerous people were questioned and cars were held up, a local matchmaking party was raided and in­nocent people were brutalised and beaten with butts of rifles. This was a foretaste of the brutality that many citizens would experience later. The fol­lowing night the East Kent regiment turned out in force and wrecked Fermoy town. Two days later the district was proclaimed a mili­tary area.

  Following a message sent to Pax Whelan of Waterford, Liam was collected by car and taken a mile outside Dungarvan where Phil O’Donnell and Paddy Lynch met him; they took him to Brodericks and then to Cooneys at Carrigroe where he stayed for about two weeks; his wounds were dressed daily by Dr Moloney and he was nursed by the boxer and first aid man, Dan Cooney. From there he was taken in a pony and trap to James Kirwin’s on the slopes of the Comeragh Mountains.

  Liam sent word to George Power to come and see him. After this meeting at Brodericks in Dungarvan Liam returned to Cooneys for another three weeks. By this time his wound was healing very well and he was moved again to Gerry Kirwin’s who had an ex­cellent library, with several books on Irish history.

  Liam, anxious that his family would know exactly where he was, sent Gerry Kirwin to Clonmel to ask his brother, Martin, to visit him, which he did the following Saturday. Liam, conscious of the approval of his family, wondered what his mother’s feelings were and also what the other members of his family were saying about his involvement in the movement. Martin reassured him of their approval and gave him full details.

  A few months after the Fermoy raid, feeling fit again, he returned to his brigade. On 15 November 1919, in a letter to his brother Tom he expressed a note of triumph to be conveyed to Martin who was sympathetic to his cause. ‘Whatever happens now after years will justify our cause.’

  1 Johnie Fanning, author interview, 12/6/1979.

  2 In his brigade area British forces had approximately five battalions, two brigades of Royal Field Artillery; a machine gun battalion and two enemy brigade headquarters and staff. Total military garrison in his area not less than 4,300 all ranked; also approximately 490 armed police distributed in 54 posts mainly in the towns and vil­lages throughout the brigade area.

  3 Four men with George Power from Mallow Company – Owen Harold, Brian Kelly, Dan Hegarty and Ned Waters. They pre­tended they were on a Sunday trip to Mount Melleray.

  4 Pat Leahy, John Joe Hogan, Peter O’Callaghan and Tom Griffin.

  5 Driver of Buick – Leo O’Callaghan.

  6 Larry Condon, Mick Fitzgerald, John Fanning, Ned Lane and Wil­liam Lane took the rifles and transferred them to a dump in the Ara­glin area the following night.

  7 Jim Keogh, Mick Kelleher and Michael Walshe.

  6. Talks with Michael Collins and GHQ

  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.3Liam, 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.

  O
ne 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.4

  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’.5

  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.6

  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.

  1 Others arrested were James Fanning, John Swaine, John Joe Hogan, Martin O’Keeffe, Dick O’Keeffe, Pat Leahy, Tom Griffin, Peter O’Callaghan and Jack Mulvey.

  2 Public Records Office, the British Library Board Newspaper Lib­rary.

  3 Dan Hegarty, the brigade vice-commandant, then under arrest, was replaced by George Power; Maurice Twomey, then adjutant of Fer­moy battalion, became brigade adjutant. Tom Barry, Glan­worth, the brigade quartermaster, elected O/C of the Third Bat­talion, Castletownroche was replaced by Jeremiah Buckley, Mourne Abbey – arrested August 1920 replaced by Paddy O’Brien, Liscarrol
l – assis­tant Michael O’Connell.

  4 Letter to Tom, 28/3/1920 – address at the head of the letter was ‘County Cork’ (Lynch private family papers).

  5 Sir Nevil Macready, Annals of an Active Life, p. 241.

  6 Dorothy Macardle, The Irish Republic, pp. 332, 333.

  7. Arrested with Tomás MacCurtain

  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