Liam Deasy (6 May 1896 – 20 August 1974) was an

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

officer who fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. In the latter conflict, he was second-in-command of the Anti-Treaty forces for a period in late 1922 and early 1923.

Early life

Deasy was born in

Kilmacsimon Kilmacsimon () is a small village and townland situated on the banks of the River Bandon in County Cork, Ireland. Historical records list ''Killmcsimon'' in the Calendar of Patent Rolls of James I dated 1615. The village has a pub and a communi ...

, Bandon in

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

on 6 May 1896, and educated in the local school at

Ballinadee Ballinadee () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the parish of Courceys, approximately 12 km by road west of Kinsale and 9 km south east of Bandon. Ballinadee is on the banks of the River Pound, which flows into the River ...

. He was the third son of William and Mary Deasy.

Irish War of Independence

In the War of Independence (1919–21, he was the

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the

3rd Cork Brigade The 3rd Cork Brigade, also known as Third (West) Cork Brigade, was a unit of the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army that operated in the western areas of County Cork during the Irish War of Independence. The unit was comma ...

(West Cork). He served under Tom Barry in one of the unit's best known action, the Crossbarry Ambush in March 1921. His younger brother, Pat, died in action at the

Kilmichael Ambush The Kilmichael Ambush ( ga, Luíochán Chill Mhichíl) was an ambush near the village of Kilmichael in County Cork on 28 November 1920 carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence. Thirty-six local IRA ...

in November 1920, an engagement which Liam Deasy himself was not present at. He also took part in the Tooreen ambush.

Civil War

He opposed the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

which ended the war. In the months that followed, he along with others like

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

and Liam Lynch tried to persuade

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...

to re-negotiate aspects of the Treaty, especially to remove an oath to the King from the constitution of the new

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

. When fighting broke out in Dublin, in June 1922, between pro and anti-Treaty forces, Deasy sided with the

anti-treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

in the ensuing

, however, he was reluctant to fight his former comrades and voiced the opinion that the fighting should have ended with the Free State seizure of the

Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circui ...

. In late July, he commanded 1500 anti-Treaty fighters who held a line around

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are st ...

south of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

city against about 2000 Free State troops under

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure i ...

. Deasy's men were the most experienced IRA fighters of the 1919-21 war and they held their position until 8 August, when they were outflanked by seaborne landings on the southern coast of Ireland. Deasy's men then dispersed. He went on the run in the south-east of the country. In August 1922, he was in command of a band of republican guerrillas in west Cork, when they heard that Free State leader Michael Collins was in the area. Deasy had his men prepare an ambush for Collins' convoy at Béal na Bláth, for when they returned on the same route they had set out on. Deasy and most of his men did not take part in the ambush as they had retired to a nearby pub, assuming that they had missed Collins. However, Collins arrived as the last of Deasy's men were clearing the mine and barricade that had been erected on the road at Béal na Bláth. Collins was killed in the ensuing firefight. Deasy later wrote in his memoirs that he profoundly regretted the death of his former commander in chief. However, it is not clear that he gave orders otherwise to take on prisoners as the main intention of the ambush.

Capture

In January 1923, by which time he had become Deputy Chief of Staff of the IRA,Ernie O'Malley, ''The Singing Flame'' (1978), p. 216 he was captured by Free State forces near

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townla ...

and sentenced to death. He then signed a document ordering the men under his command to surrender themselves and their arms to the government and for this he was spared

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

. Republicans denounced him as a traitor and a coward for this action but Deasy argued in his book, ''Brother against Brother'', that he was opposed to continuing the civil war anyway and would have called on republicans to surrender whether or not he had been captured.

Later life

Deasy took no further part in politics following the end of the civil war. In 1924, he set up a business making weatherproof textiles.On 24 November 1927, Deasy married Margaret Mary O'Donoghue; the two would have 3 daughters together. During The Emergency, Deasy served in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

from 1940 to 1945, reaching the rank of

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

. Deasy would later write two memoirs about his experiences during the revolutionary period: ''Toward Ireland Free'' and ''Brother against Brother'', the latter being published after his death. He died at St. Anne's Hospital in Dublin on 20 August 1974.

Sources

*Liam Deasy: ''Brother against Brother''. Cork: Mercier Press, 1982; reissued 1998. *Edward Purdon: ''The Irish Civil War 1922-1923''. Cork: Mercier Press, 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deasy, Liam Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members People from County Cork 1896 births 1974 deaths Irish Army officers People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side)