Why Did They Lie? The Irish Civil War, the Truth, Where and When It Began

By Jack Kiernan

Where and when did the Irish Civil War begin? Most people, with any knowledge of Irish history, would be able to tell you that hostilities commenced with the sacking of the Four Courts in Dublin, towards the end of June 1922. However, most people would be wrong! That is the view of Jack Kiernan, who sets out to investigate the roots of a tragic and bitter conflict, that proceeded apace with the emergence of independent Irish statehood.
Growing up in an Irish Midlands town and being taught Irish History at school, Jack Kiernan remembers being told by his teachers that "if anything of importance happened in Mullingar, it would have been recorded."
Bullet holes remnants in the walls of prominent local buildings seemed to give lie to these bland assertions, as did the recollections of older neighbours, alluding to "the shooting of unarmed prisoners during the Civil War."
What he only discovered, much later, was that events of, not just local but national significance had taken place in the town where he grew up. What’s more, they had been recorded, only to be buried deep within the archives – almost as if they had been deliberately covered up!
The evidence that he reveals here, demonstrates that open hostilities between pro- and anti-treaty forces were already in place, throughout the country, early in 1922 and prior to the events in Dublin. Furthermore, gun battles took place in the town of Mullingar during the month of April 1922, resulting in deaths. Evidence also suggests that British forces, though officially withdrawn, may have fired the first shots that that set Irish against Irish and brother against brother.
The events of the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) have cast a long shadow over Irish life. This book sheds important light on a dark chapter in Irish history; a contribution towards the debate that surely must accompany the centenaries of these events, which are now just around the corner.

Jack Kiernan is an author, historian, retired Irish Army Corporal Fitter Technician and former National Welfare Officer with PDFORRA (the army representative association). He lives and works in Mullingar, the town where he was also born and raised. He has a particular interest in cold cases, unsolved murders and alleged miscarriages of justice.
He is also active on the front of community development and securing inward investment for the area where he lives.
Other books by Jack Kiernan include 'Is It Me? The Joseph Heffernan Story' (published 2013) and 'I Declare Before My God: The Brian and James Seery Story' (2019), both of which are available in print and e-book editions. He has also written biographies of Mullingar boxers, Chris Cole and Eddie "The Killer" Byrne, which will shortly be available to buy online.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Manuscript Publisher
• Release date: Jun 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463035368

Jack Kiernan

Jack Kiernan is an author, historian, retired Irish Army Corporal Fitter Technician and former National Welfare Officer with PDFORRA (the army representative association). Today, he lives and works in Mullingar, the Irish midlands town where he was also born and raised. He has a particular interest in cold cases, unsolved murders and alleged miscarriages of justice. He is also active on the front of community development and securing inward investment for the area where he lives. His books include 'Is It Me? The Joseph Heffernan Story' (2013), 'Why Did They Lie? The Irish Civil War, the Truth, Where and When it Began' (2018) and 'I Declare Before My God: The Brian and James Seery Story' (2019). He has also written biographies of Mullingar boxers, Chris Cole and Eddie "The Killer" Byrne, which will shortly be available to buy online.

Book preview

The Beginning

When and where the war began,

I tell the story,

I tell it like a man,

Unlike those gone before me.

Historians say, and it’s a pity,

It began in Dublin City.

We all believed and made no fuss:

Being Irish, that was us.

I know when the war began:

It was April, not June of ’22.

The victors ensured they didn’t carry the can

And we swallowed it all, without much ado.

I know where the war began:

The armies first clashed in Mullingar Town.

The Free State, the Brits and the odd Black and Tan

Ambushed and killed, and shot Joe Leavy down.

To the victor went the spoils,

By hiding their war crimes

Behind false, sneering smiles,

Straying from the rare auld times.

Destroying evidence of their killing sprees,

With the British Army protecting their backs.

Little by little, we learned by degrees,

The pro-Treaty leaders distorted the facts.

The Civil War victors, brainwashed by the Royals,

Sinned against Ireland, awarded themselves the spoils.

When in control, their arrogance took over –

It’s as plain to see as the White Cliffs of Dover

– Jack Kiernan

PREFACE

As a youngster, growing up in Mullingar (previously known as Dunbri¹) during the 1950s, the perception was that the Irish Civil War had nothing to do with us, as nothing worthwhile had taken place to warrant as much as a paragraph in the history books of Ireland.

While attending the CBS primary and secondary schools, we studied the History of Ireland. However, the town never got a mention. We queried the Brothers and they, through no fault of their own, replied with the usual, if anything of importance happened in Mullingar, it would have been recorded.

This was difficult to believe, as we often looked at the bullet holes in the wall outside Vaughan’s Pub, (The Halfway House now Johnny Cosgrove’s). Being inquisitive, we queried passers-by, especially the older people and, to a man, they always replied, that’s where the Free Staters shot the unarmed prisoners during the Civil War.

Bill Murray, my next-door neighbour in St. Laurence’s Terrace, lost a leg during the troubles. He told numerous stories about bank robberies, train hold-ups, shootouts, bombings etc. He told us about having been on the run; being in prison and being sentenced to death. We thought Bill was winding us up. However, I recently discovered that everything the man told us was true.

I decided to carry out research in the Westmeath County Library, the Irish Military Archives, the National Archives Dublin and the National Library of Ireland. I approached the relatives of the people Bill Murray talked about and whom, he said, were very active during the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War. These people were very helpful to me as I compiled, checked and double-checked the information I obtained.

In the book, No surrender Here! – The Civil War Papers of Ernie O’Malley, 1922–1923, it seems nothing of note took place in Mullingar, until 16 August 1922, when anti-Treaty commander, General Liam Lynch, received a letter telling him that IRA forces had established a line of communication to the town. I am surprised at this, as O’Malley, being anti-Treaty, would certainly have been aware that the first gun battles between the armies took place in Mullingar. For whatever reason, he omitted to mention the hostilities, injuries, deaths and destruction inflicted on the people of Mullingar during April 1922.

INTRODUCTION

The history of the Irish Civil War was, and still is, a bone of contention among the participants and their descendants. This is not surprising, as everything recorded in the history books was written by the pro-Treaty historians or, as I call them, mystorians. (Mystorians, to my mind, are people suffering from Elastic Brain Syndrome, prone to stretching the truth to suit themselves, thereby turning the true facts into a fairy tale mystery). These people had a vested interest in the final draft. They were, no doubt, worried about how the country would respond if the true facts were to emerge.

Let’s call a spade a spade! All sides committed terrible atrocities. You will note I didn’t say both sides, as the British had a major say in everything and anything to do with the Irish Civil War. During 1922, when they were supposed to be leaving, shiploads of British soldiers were arriving in Ireland on an almost daily basis. Letters that I located at the Military Archives stated that the soldiers arriving in Dun Laoghaire during March, April and May were carrying full war equipment.

The British actually fired the first shots that set Irish against Irish and brother against brother. These gun battles took place months prior to the official commencement of the Civil War in Dublin and, despite deaths resulting from the battles, everything was airbrushed out of the history books of Ireland. During my research, I discovered where the first gun battle between the two Irish armies commenced and what transpired in and around that town during 1922. This was the first flare up, which instigated gun battles all over the area during that week. Two soldiers were shot dead. One, an unarmed prisoner with his hands held up in the air, was shot by an ambush party consisting of pro-Treaty and British soldiers. The police station was blown up, trains were hijacked. Strangely, none of this is mentioned in the history books. All this occurred two months prior to the official start of the Irish Civil War.

It was very important to the British that the anti-Treaty forces would be entirely wiped out. In order to achieve this, they courted the pro-Treaty leaders and finally coaxed them into their ready-made bed. The British Army set about their task by supplying and adding fuel to the fire. They handed over Mullingar Military Barracks to the IRA (anti-Treaty side – albeit prior to the official split) and quickly realised this was a mistake. They asked for the return of the installations because, they said, it would assist the early evacuation of the RIC. However, when back in their possession, the British handed the installations over to the pro-Treaty forces.

During 1922, the British shared a number of military installations with the pro-Treaty army and, at this stage, found themselves in pole position. They certainly took advantage of the situation. They set up checkpoints on the streets of Mullingar and actually ambushed a group of unarmed prisoners, killing one and wounding others. They also fired on their own pro-Treaty allies, who were escorting the prisoners at the time. A shoot out in the town centre a few days earlier kick-started numerous gun battles and bombings throughout the surrounding area. Pro-Treaty troops were transported in from all over Ireland, including Beggars Bush, Athlone and Trim. The British were determined to wipe out this anti-Treaty town at all costs and all this took place in April 1922. The unrest continued in the area right up to the official ending of hostilities and, to a lesser degree, afterwards.

A pro-Treaty soldier, Private Columb, was fatally wounded while taking part in another ambush. This occurred a little earlier on the morning that the unarmed prisoner was shot dead. An investigation into the killings was carried out in Dublin and, unbelievably, the soldiers who shot the unarmed prisoners were not in attendance. Almost certainly, the soldiers in question were British soldiers and acting under orders emanating from the British Government. Of course, the pro-Treaty authorities, couldn’t allow a British accent to be heard giving evidence at the investigation in Dublin – the Irish media would have had a field day and what would the people of Ireland think?

The inquests into the deaths were held prior to the Investigation in Dublin and the behaviour of the pro-Treaty side throws a dim light on the calibre of our Free State leaders. The authorities (Free State) held an inquest into the death of their soldier (Private Columb) and neglected to summon any of the anti-Treaty prisoners to attend. These soldiers were unarmed and standing very close to the victim when he was shot – they had a lot to contribute. Unfortunately, the pro-Treaty leaders couldn’t allow the truth to emerge. They knew full well what happened but didn’t want the people to know. Another strange thing about the Columb inquest is that the Coroner seemingly sat back and allowed Mr Dixon (pro-Treaty lawyer) to take complete control of the proceedings.

The Free State people refused to take part in the inquest into the death of Lieutenant Leavy, the anti-Treaty soldier shot and killed in cold blood. Not only that, while manning checkpoints, pro-Treaty soldiers (British no doubt) indiscriminately shot into approaching vehicles. On occasion, they didn’t wait for the cars to stop. They asked no questions, just opened fire as the vehicles approached. One car that had stopped as it neared a checkpoint was driven by the pro-Treaty O/C. This man was stationed in Mullingar Military Barracks with the offending soldiers. When the shooting started, the officer in question, Captain Conlon, jumped out of the car and shouted, I’m your Commanding Officer! On hearing this, the gunfire stopped. However, when the dust had settled, it was discovered that they shot and killed their own Sergeant Major and a young lady prisoner, who were sitting in the back seat. The offending soldiers didn’t give evidence at the inquest and no external investigation was carried out into the incident.²

None of this has been mentioned in the history books. I say this because none of the following bodies knew anything about any of the above: The Military Archives, Dublin; the National Archives, Dublin; Irish Medals.org; TheIrishStory.com; TheIrishWar.com; Wikipedia’s Timeline of the Irish Civil. However, the Military Archives supplied me with some very useful information in relation to the years between 1916 and 1923. I, in turn, handed over a copy of my files to the Military Archives.

The Westmeath County Library and the Irish Newspaper Archives has a wealth of information published at the time by the national and local media. Local newspapers – such as the Westmeath Examiner, the Midland Reporter and Westmeath Nationalist – published everything that occurred in Mullingar. Foreign media, such as the Associated Press and The New York Times, etc. carried the story. Living relatives of some Volunteers verified a lot of the information I received, as a boy, from Bill Murray. Irish history records, it seems, in a lot of instances, are a typical example of the old saying, History is written by the victors.

Chapter 1

The Aftermath of 1916

Who was Michael Collins? What made him tick? Was he the hero of the Republican movement or the villain who did an about turn to satisfy his lust for power?

We all know his views prior to him travelling to London in an attempt to negotiate a deal that, if successful, would see an end to British occupation of our 32 counties. In a few short months, Michael had done a U-turn. There are many stories both justifying and condemning his actions. On account of this, I spent almost two years studying the conduct of our negotiating team members during their time in London. I also looked at how Collins behaved while incarcerated in Frongoch and his actions on his release from that depressing place. I wanted to get inside his head to discover, if I could, what he was thinking. Was he ambitious or on an ego trip? I studied everything I could lay my hands on: the views of his allies as well as the opinions of people who eventually sided against him. I decided to begin with events subsequent to the 1916 Rising, while Collins was incarcerated in Frongoch.

It is common knowledge that Collins, while incarcerated, set out on a journey that he hoped would put an end to British occupation of his beloved Ireland. He began putting together an action plan and enlisted the help of Dermot O’Hegarty, Richard Mulcahy and a handful of trusted comrades. However, at this early stage, a number of republican prisoners who weren’t invited into the circle came to the conclusion that he was jockeying for position within the movement. Being the architect of the plan, Collins, in their opinion, would later be the man with the responsibility of directing national policy. Collins and his circle basically kept themselves to themselves and the remainder of the internees didn’t know what was going on. I can’t see a whole lot wrong with this – I really believe that only the people who needed to know should know.

On his release from Frongoch, Collins struck up a relationship with republican leaders nationwide. He quickly got himself appointed as secretary to the Liberty Clubs and also, secretary to Count Plunkett. The Liberty Clubs were made up of extreme elements of the survivors of the 1916 Rising. These men weren’t finished with the struggle and, at that time, were contemplating another uprising. As secretary of their organisation, Collins was in constant contact with members based all over the country and he made full use of this. These people believed everything Collins told them. They looked up to him as if he was God and he knew this: in reality, he was canvassing at the time. Collins had brilliant administration skills: he was well able to organise everything and anything he was confronted with. He regularly kept in touch with his members. They were more than satisfied with this and believed in Collins. They had a contact in Dublin who wouldn’t let them down. There were different views amongst republicans around the country. One republican movement, the Nation League, would have been satisfied with colonial Home Rule. This organisation published a newspaper titled New Ireland. Arthur Griffith’s opinions were regularly published and widely read. He advocated the Repeal of the Union. He did not fully subscribe to an extreme republican policy. Collins, at that time, would settle for nothing less than sovereign independence status for Ireland.

The term Sinn Féin (ourselves or we ourselves) had been in use since the 1880s, when it was used as a slogan by the Gaelic League. In March 1900, Arthur Griffith published an article in the United Irishman, calling for unity among a number of nationalist groups. This resulted in the formation of Cumann na nGaedheal at the end of 1900. A second organisation, the National Council was formed in 1903 by Maud Gonne and others, including Griffith. In 1904, Griffith adopted the term Sinn Féin. A third organisation, the Dungannon Clubs, was formed in Belfast by Bulmer Hobson and it considered itself to be part of the Sinn Féin movement. The first annual convention of the National Council was held on 28 November 1905. This convention is usually taken as the date of the foundation of the Sinn Féin party.

By 1907 there was pressure on the three organisations to unite, especially from America, where John Devoy was offered funding but only to a unified party. The pressure increased when C.J. Dolan, of the Irish Parliamentary Party and MP for Leitrim North, announced his intention to resign his seat and contest it on a Sinn Féin platform. In April 1907, Cumann na nGaedheal and the Dungannon Clubs merged as the Sinn Féin League. At the National Council’s annual convention held later that year, the Sinn Féin League and the National Council merged. The resulting party was named Sinn Féin and its foundation was backdated to the National Council Convention of November 1905.

In 1908, support and membership began to dwindle. During the 1910 Ard Fheis (party conference) attendance was so poor that it was difficult to get members willing to take seats on the executive. By 1915, the Sinn Féin party was described by some members as being on the rocks. It was so insolvent financially that it could not pay the rent on its party headquarters in Harcourt Street, Dublin. Sinn Féin was not involved in the Easter Rising however, the British Government accused it of being the brains behind the conflict. Groups that disagreed with mainstream politics were branded, Sinn Féin by the British. Towards the end of 1916, Éamon de Valera joined the party and took control of the organisation. He replaced Arthur Griffith as president. The British decision to execute the leaders of the Easter Rising played into the hands of the Sinn Féin movement – its popularity soared all over the country. The party won 73 of Ireland’s 105 seats at the general election in December 1918, including twenty-five uncontested as other parties decided there was no point in challenging Sinn Féin, given that it was certain to win. The successful republican candidates in the 1918 Westminster elections refused to recognise the United Kingdom parliament and, a year later, established an independent legislature in Dublin called Dáil Éireann.³

The first Dáil convened in January 1919 however, about four months had elapsed before the question of the relationship between the army and Dáil Éireann appeared on the agenda. After three hectic and heated meetings, it became very clear that there was a massive difference of opinion on this very contentious issue. Cathal Brugha stated, We are the Executive of the IRA and, for the time being, maintaining our status as being the army of the Republic, we cannot refuse to recognise the Government of the Republic to the fullest extent. It was then proposed by people who agreed with this that, the army should take an oath of allegiance to the Irish Republic.⁴

This was opposed by Dermot O’Hegarty and others, who held the opinion that the Dáil was composed of politicians and these people were liable to change their minds at the drop of a hat, giving the republican position a drop kick, and compromise the IRA by doing so. He added, We should take on board the Irish Parliament Party’s attempt to gain control of the IRB in former times. The IRB suffered as a result, with many Invincibles breaking away from the organisation.⁵

A serious warning was given that the Dáil was liable to change and could not be trusted to uphold the republican tradition, and this, in turn, would compromise everything we had fought for. The discussions were carried out in a very bitter and hostile manner. However, when things cooled down, it was agreed that the army would recognise Dáil Éireann as the Parliament of the Republic and that the Cabinet of Dáil Éireann was to be recognised as the Government of the Republic, but that the Army Executive remain in existence, this was accepted by the entire Executive.⁶

Next on the agenda was the question of the oath to be taken by the army and,