Liam Lynch (Irish Republican)
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William Fanaghan Lynch (; 20 November 1892 – 10 April 1923) was an
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
officer during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
of 1919–1921. During much of the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 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 Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
, he was chief of staff of the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
. On 10 April 1923, Lynch was killed whilst trying to escape an encirclement by Free State troops in south Tipperary.


Early life

Lynch was born in the
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Baurnagurrahy, Anglesboro,
County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
, near Mitchelstown,
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, on 20 November 1892. His father was Jeremiah Lynch and his mother was Mary Lynch (née Kelly), both of whom are buried in Brigown graveyard, Mitchelstown. During his first twelve years of schooling he attended Anglesboro National School. Lynch was living with his parents in Baurnagurrahy for the 1901 and 1911 censuses. In 1909, at the age of 17, he started an apprenticeship in O'Neill's hardware shop in Mitchelstown, where he joined the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...
and the
Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New Yo ...
. Later he worked at J. Barry & Sons, Hardware Merchants
Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...
. In the aftermath of the 1916
Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...
, he witnessed David and Thomas Kent of Bawnard House being taken through Fermoy after their arrest by the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
. After this, he determined to dedicate his life to Irish republicanism. In 1917 he was elected First Lieutenant of the Irish Volunteer Company, based in Fermoy.


War of Independence

In Cork, Lynch reorganised the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...
—the paramilitary organisation that became the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA)—in 1919, becoming commandant of the Cork No. 2 Brigade of the IRA during the
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the 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 wi ...
. He helped capture a senior
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
officer, General Cuthbert Lucas, in June 1920, shooting a Colonel Danford in the incident. Lucas later escaped while being held by IRA men in
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
. Lynch was captured, together with the other officers of the Cork No. 2 Brigade, in a British raid on Cork City Hall in August 1920.
Terence McSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He was arrested by the British Governme ...
,
Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...
, was among those captured; he later died on
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
in protest at his detention. Lynch, however, gave a false name and was released three days later. He then began to organise a flying column within his IRA brigade to launch attacks on British targets. Having "made himself a leader out of force of his own convictions ... possessed by a sense of mission and by revolutionary ardour", Lynch believed independence could only be "hewed" by the British. In September 1920, Lynch, along with Ernie O'Malley, commanded a force that took the British Army barracks at Mallow. The arms in the barracks were seized and the building partially burnt. Before the end of 1920, Lynch's brigade had successfully ambushed British troops on two other occasions. Lynch's guerrilla campaign continued into early 1921, with some successes such as the ambush and killing of 13 British soldiers near Millstreet. In March–April 1921, the IRA was reorganised into divisions based on regions. Lynch's reputation was such that he was made commander of the 1st Southern Division. Ernie O'Malley brought that news from GHQ on 21 April. From April 1921 until the Truce that ended the war in July 1921, Lynch's command was put under increasing pressure by the deployment of more British troops into the area and the British use of small mobile units to counter IRA guerrilla tactics. Lynch was no longer in command of the Cork No. 2 Brigade, for he had to travel in secret to each of the nine IRA Brigades in
Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...
. By the time of the Truce, the IRA under Liam Lynch was increasingly hard-pressed and short of arms and ammunition. He, therefore, welcomed the Truce as a respite but expected the war to continue after it ended.


Treaty and truce period

The War of Independence ended formally with the signing of the
Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
between the Irish negotiating team and the British government in December 1921. Lynch was opposed to the Treaty, on the grounds that it disestablished the
Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...
proclaimed in 1916 in favour of
Dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...
status for Ireland within the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. Lynch, however, did not want a split in the republican movement and hoped to reach a compromise with those who supported the Treaty ("Free Staters") by the publication of a republican constitution for the new
Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
. But the British would not accept this, as the Treaty had only just been signed and ratified, leading to a deeper split in IRA ranks. Lynch did his best to reunite a divided IRA and continued to hold discussions with the opposing side for a number of months. Both he and Michael Collins were on the IRB Supreme Council and neither wanted to see a civil war. Lynch, who commanded by far the largest area of any divisional commander, was elected temporary chief of staff by the Republican Military Council in March. His appointment as chief of staff of the anti-treaty forces was confirmed on 9 April by the Executive appointed at the army convention of 26 March. He did not participate in the seizure of the
Four Courts The Four Courts () 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 Circuit Court. Until 2010 the build ...
in Dublin by a group of hardline republicans in April 1922. However, at the Third Army Convention on 18 June, following the defeat of a proposal he opposed — to restart hostilities with the British — a diehard faction broke away from his leadership and set up a new GHQ at the Four Courts. Lynch remained recognised as IRA chief of staff by a majority of republicans. This rift had been healed by the time the Four Courts garrison was attacked by the newly formed National Army on 28 June, which marked the beginning of the Irish Civil War. On 27 June, Lynch and Liam Deasy had met with McKelvey and Mellows in the Four Courts. The result was a reunification of the two IRA groupings with Lynch as chief of staff.


Civil War

On 28 June, Free State forces arrested his party, including Deasy, but Free State general Eoin O'Duffy allowed them to leave the city. Later it was stopped by a Free State patrol in County Kilkenny and spent some time with enemy officers. A Free State publication stated that Lynch had been released on the understanding that he disavowed the approach of the 'Irregulars'. O'Duffy was adamant that Lynch had assured him that he would not take up arms against the government. For his part, Lynch issued a vehement denial of any such undertaking having been given, in which regard he was supported by Florrie O'Donoghue and Deasy. Lynch now began organising resistance elsewhere. On 1 July 1922 IRA forces occupied portions of Limerick city. At this time Lynch also sent a note to the leader of the Free State forces to discuss the possibility of a truce. Lynch wished to establish a " Munster Republic", which he believed would frustrate the creation of the Free State. This "Munster Republic" would be defended by the "Waterford-Limerick Line". From south-east to north-west, this consisted of the city of
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
, the towns of
Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...
,
Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...
, Fethard,
Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...
, Golden, and Tipperary, and ended at the city of
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
, where Lynch established his headquarters. He led Limerick's defence, but it fell to Free State troops on 20 July 1922. He retreated further south and set up his new headquarters at Fermoy. The "Munster Republic" collapsed in August, when Free State troops landed by sea in Cork and Kerry. Cork City was taken on 8 August and Lynch abandoned Fermoy on 11 August 1922. The Anti-Treaty forces then dispersed and pursued guerrilla tactics. His counterpart Michael Collins was killed in an ambush at Béal na mBláth, Cork on 22 August, a week after the death of
Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith (; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Trea ...
. Lynch contributed to the growing bitterness of the war by issuing what were known as the "orders of frightfulness" against the Provisional Government on 30 November 1922. This general order sanctioned the killing of Free State TDs (members of parliament) and senators, as well as certain judges and newspaper editors, in reprisal for the Free State's killing of captured republicans. The first republican prisoners to be put to death were four captured IRA men on 14 November 1922, followed by the execution of republican leader Erskine Childers on 17 November. These orders were acted upon by IRA men, who killed TD Seán Hales and wounded another TD outside the Dáil on 7 December 1922. In response, the Free State shot four republican leaders, Rory O'Connor,
Liam Mellows William Joseph Mellows (, 25 May 1892 – 8 December 1922) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England to an English father and Irish mother, he grew up in Ashton-under-Lyne before moving to Ireland, ...
, Dick Barrett and Joe McKelvey the next day. This led to a cycle of atrocities on both sides, including the Free State official execution of 77 republican prisoners and "unofficial" killing of roughly 150 other captured republicans. In early February 1923 Lynch issued a notice that the IRA would begin reprisals if the executions of prisoners continued. Lynch's men, for their part, launched a concerted campaign against the homes of Free State members of parliament. Among the acts they carried out were the burning of the house of TD Seán McGarry, resulting in the death of his seven-year-old son, the murder of Free State minister
Kevin O'Higgins Kevin Christopher O'Higgins (; 7 June 1892 – 10 July 1927) was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1927, Minister for External Affairs from June 1927 to July 1927 a ...
' elderly father and the burning of the O'Higgins' family homestead at Stradbally in early 1923. Lynch wrote to
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 an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
that "Free State supporters are traitors and deserve the latter's stark fate".Liam Lynch is killed
theirishstory.com, 11 April 2017.
Lynch was heavily criticised by some republicans, notably O'Malley, for his failure to coordinate their war effort and for letting the conflict peter out into inconclusive and defensive guerrilla warfare. Other IRA volunteers felt that while Lynch was a decent man, he had failed to organise and lead the anti-treaty forces properly and did not possess the mind-set of a revolutionary to strike early for a swift victory. Lynch was scathing of the Dáil and the old IRA GHQ for having abandoned the people in the North, "particularly in Belfast" (see
The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) The Troubles in Ulster of the 1920s was a period of conflict in the Irish province of Ulster, from June 1920 until June 1922, during and after the Irish War of Independence and the partition of Ireland (and specifically of Ulster). In Ulster, ...
). In March 1923, the Anti-Treaty IRA Army Executive met in a remote location in the Nire Valley. Several members of the executive proposed ending the civil war; however, Lynch opposed them and narrowly carried a 6–5 vote to continue the war. He had been trying to import mountain artillery from Germany in a vain attempt to turn the tide of the war. When killed, he was carrying documents that appeared to call for the end of the war.


Death

On 10 April 1923, a National Army unit was seen approaching Lynch's secret headquarters in the Knockmealdown Mountains. Lynch was in possession of important papers that he knew could not fall into enemy hands, so he and his six comrades attempted to evade them. To their shock, they ran into another unit of 50 National Army soldiers approaching from the opposite direction. Lynch was shortly afterwards hit by rifle fire from the road at the foot of the hill. Knowing the value of the papers they carried, he ordered his men, including soon-to-be chief of staff
Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...
, to leave him behind. When the National Army soldiers reached Lynch they initially believed him to be Éamon de Valera, but he informed them – "I am Liam Lynch, Chief-of-Staff of the Irish Republican Army. Get me a priest and doctor. I'm dying." His last wish was to be buried next to his comrade, Michael Fitzgerald. In late 1920, Fitzgerald had died after a 67-day
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
. Lynch was carried on an improvised stretcher manufactured from guns to Nugent's (formally Walsh's) pub in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
at the foot of the mountains and was later brought to the hospital in Clonmel, where he died that evening at 9 pm. He was buried two days later at Kilcrumper Cemetery, near Fermoy, County Cork.


Legacy

According to historian Tom Mahon, the Irish Civil War was "effectively ended" by the shot that killed Liam Lynch. Twenty days later, his successor,
Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...
, gave the order to cease military operations. On 7 April 1935, 12 years later, the Fianna Fáil Government of Éamon de Valera erected a
round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...
monument on the spot () where Lynch was thought to have fallen in the Knockmealdown Mountains. The
Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces (, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in other contexts (e.g. ...
barracks at Kilworth, County Cork, was named Lynch Camp in his honour in 1966. The bloodied tunic worn by Lynch on the day he was shot is on permanent display at the National Museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin. The
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
, which ended
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, was signed on 10 April 1998, the 75th anniversary of Lynch's death. Lynch is mentioned in the Irish folk ballad " Soldiers of '22" , along with
Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presid ...
, Dinny Lacey and Neil Plunkett Boyle. The song, it's writer unkown, to the tune of The Foggy Dew, recalls Lynch's death "Brave Liam Lynch on the mountainside fell a victim to the foe"


Notes


References


Sources

* Hopkinson, M., ''Green against Green, the Irish Civil War'' (Dublin, 1988) * Walsh, P.V., ''The Irish Civil War 1922–23 – A Study of the Conventional Phase'' * Ryan, Meda, ''The Real Chief: The Story of Liam Lynch'' (Cork, 1986) * O'Donoghue, Florence, ''No Other Law: The Story of Liam Lynch and the Irish Republican Army, 1916–1923'' (Dublin, 1954 and 1986) * O'Farrell, P., ''Who's Who in the Irish War of Independence & Civil War'' * Borgonovo, J., ''The Battle for Cork, July–August 1922''


External links


Letters of Liam LynchThe Irish War


{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Liam 1892 births 1923 deaths Irish generals Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Military personnel from County Limerick Deaths by firearm in Ireland People killed in the Irish Civil War