War in 1920 – the reality of the conflict in Wicklow
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE DISRUPTED LIFE IN IRELAND DURING THE PERIOD 1919 TO 1921. REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF TOOK A LOOK AT SOME OF THE TURBULENT EVENTS A CENTURY AGO IN 1920, AS DETAILED BY LOCAL HISTORIANS ON THE WICKLOW LOCAL HERITAGE WEBSITE
WRITERS Henry Cairns, Sheila Clarke, John Goodman, John Finlay, Brendan Flynn, Chris Lawlor, Kevin Lee, Stan O’Reilly, Rosemary Raughter, Jim Rees, James Scannell and Brian White are doing an amazing and dispassionate job. They have been assembling the facts of the War of Independence. It is work still in progress but here are a few samples from 1920, with the full version available at https:// heritage.wicklowheritage.org/category/ topics/wicklow- the- war- of- independence
January
Urban council elections across the county underlined the swing in public opinion towards favouring a republic. Unionist representation all but disappeared while more moderate nationalist parties were put on the back foot. In Arklow, the Sinn Féin tsunami included Maria Curran, who became one of Ireland’s first female urban councillors and then the first ever to be chosen as chair of her town council. Jim Rees reports that Cllr Curran felt obliged to keep the council minute book safe from the prying eyes of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, sometimes hiding it in a church belfry. February
The vast former Kynoch’s munitions plant, scene of a fatal explosion and fire in 1918, was a place of great interest to the IRA as substantial amounts of gelignite remained on the ruined site. The republicans were always on the lookout for guns and ammunition but the Arklow factory offered a more substantial prize, if they could make their move before all of the explosive was shipped off to Britain aboard the SS Dandelion.
They were kept informed by Joe Kelly, who was on the staff at Kynoch’s but who was also a Volunteer reporting to local republican leader Matt Kavanagh. The two men were joined in a raiding party by Mickey Greene, Jack Holt, William Cleary, Myles Cullen, Bob Hickson, Laurence White, John Kavanagh, Andy Holt and James Dolan. They were wildly successful, swooping to take two and a half tons of gelignite, much of it later sent in suitcases or fish boxes to comrades in Dublin. There was still enough left to level vacated RIC barracks in Redcross and Aughrim.
February
The much-feared Black and Tans, working as temporary police constables, were implicated in the murder of Justice of the Peace Robert Dixon at Milltown in Dunlavin. Constable Arthur Hardie died by suicide the next day and his colleague William Mitchell was later convicted and executed for the crime.
March
Wicklow County Council unsuccessfully contested the awarding of £700 compensation to Alice Elsie Tynte. This followed the burning of 70 cocks of hay on land at Copeland’s of Plezica in Dunlavin. The targets of such arson attacks were mainly gentry and larger landholders.
Chris Lawlor writes: ‘It is very possible that some local men were involved in both the agitation connected to the labourers’ dispute and the activities of the IRA at this time. Broadly speaking,
both campaigns perceived the landed elite of the area as authority figures and hence as adversaries to be targeted.’
April
Andrew Holt from Ferrybank in Arklow was one of 69 republican hunger strikers released from Mountjoy Prison in response to a national campaign of protests. He was welcomed home by a crowd of at least 2,000 supporters waiting for him at the railway station along with a brass band.
The celebrations turned to tragedy when soldiers in the British Army shot Philip Dowling in Bridge Street, causing fatal injuries. An inquest later found that the shooting had occurred without justification. The deceased had strong family connections with the RIC and the force sent a wreath to the funeral. May
Republicans in Newcastle netted guns when they raided the home of a British Army Officer. The spoils were put aboard a railway wagon commandeered for the purpose and sent up the line to Bray. The death of an RIC sergeant during an IRA raid on the barracks at Rush in north County Dublin was of interest in Bray as the dead man, John Brady, came from the town. June
The county council elections in the summer of 1920 produced a stunning endorsement for Sinn Féin, which picked up 11 out of the 12 seats. Among the successful candidates was Robert Barton from Glendalough House who was unable to take up his duties as he was in prison, while his party colleague Christopher Byrne was on the run. Barton was elected council chairman in his absence. One Unionist candidate was elected – that honour falling to Lord Powerscourt of Enniskerry.
During the same month, patients wishing to attend the infirmary in Baltinglass were redirected to Naas as the premises at the workhouse had been occupied by the military.
Greystones was thrown into the spotlight when a sergeant and six privates of the Cheshire Regiment boarded an evening train due to set off for Dublin. Rail workers had recently declared an embargo of armed soldiers and policemen.
The military, who were stationed at a camp in Kilpedder, were confronted by driver Laurence Finnegan and guard James Whelan who asked them to disembark. When they failed to do so, the passenger coaches were detached and the locomotive set off for Bray without any of the 100 or so paying passengers. While some of those stranded found formal accommodation, others spent the night on the train.
July
Frank Brooke, who ran the vast Coolattin estate for Lord Fitzwilliam was assassinated by four of Michael Collins’ ‘Apostle’ hit squad. A scouting expedition to Shillelagh had established that Coolattin was a risky place to carry out the deed Instead, they arrived in his office at the Westland Row train station after their target attended a meeting of the Dublin and South
East Railway.
Brooke was in their sights, not so much because of his work in South Wicklow as because he was a member of the Privy Council for Ireland. He came originally from County Fermanagh, was prominent in the Orange Order and a former Unionist election candidate. His bullet-riddled remains were interred at the churchyard in Shillelagh.
September
Ashford historian Sheila Clarke has tracked down a series of recollections of how the Black and Tans attempted to bring the local populace to heel. One story is told of how Dick Smyth and Jack Smith attempted to sabotage the Wicklow to Dublin railway line on the night of September 8. Smyth was intercepted on his way home to Ballyduff by soldiers who called on him to identify himself.
He gave them his teenaged brother’s name – Ter – and then made his way into the hills to keep out of their way. While he was in hiding, a military tender arrived at the family’s thatched cottage home to quiz the real Ter Smyth who was ordered to run around a field under threat of being shot while they set the thatch on fire.
October
Jim Rees reckons that by this time there were 2,000 Black and Tans in Ireland, most of them recruited from the ranks of the unemployed in Britain. For a princely 10 shillings a day they were happy to terrorise the population, without regard for criminal, civil or military law.
The name of this bunch of ruffians came from the fact that their ill-matched, makeshift uniforms were a hybrid of police and army tunics. One Arklow woman told how she witnessed the Tans, apparently drunk, loosing off their guns in early evening darkness at cattle which they thought were men. December
IRA volunteer William Owens was shot dead at Shankill during a raid by the Cheshire Regiment and no one was held officially accountable for the fatality. The body was released to the dead man’s father Thomas Owens along with an order that there must be no demonstrations or protests arising from the funeral of the deceased. Despite this, there was a huge turnout as the funeral procession made its way from Loughlinstown hospital to the graveside at St Peter’s Cemetery in Little Bray.
IN ARKLOW, THE SINN FÉIN TSUNAMI INCLUDED MARIA CURRAN, WHO BECAME ONE OF IRELAND’S FIRST FEMALE URBAN COUNCILLORS