Liam Pilkington (2 June 1894 – 26 March 1977), also known as William Pilkington and Billy Pilkington, was a member of the IRA 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 ...

. Pilkington was

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the 3rd Western Division, IRA, from 1921 to 1923. After the conclusion of the Irish War of Independence Pilkington joined the Anti-Treaty IRA during 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 attempted to become a politician for a short while, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Disillusioned due to the Irish Civil War, Pilkington became a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

for the remainder of his life. He served as a priest in South Africa and Wales before retiring to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England, where he died.

Early life

Pilkington was born in

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

on 2 June 1894 to Margaret Mary Pilkington (née Torsney) and John Pilkington. He was the second of twelve children born to the couple. Only nine of Pilkington's siblings survived into adulthood. He received his education at the local

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

' convent school and the Day Trades Preparatory School. Later he was a student at the Department of Agriculture Forestry College in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

. When the Irish War of Independence began, the college was closed and Pilkington was forced to return to Sligo. He then gained employment with Wehrly Brothers Ltd. (a jewellery and watchmaking store) in Sligo.

Military career

Several notable incidents occurred in Pilkington's military career. On 25 October 1920 at Moneygold, eight miles from Sligo (between Grange and

Cliffony Cliffoney, officially Cliffony (), is a village in the north of County Sligo in the west of Ireland. It lies on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 national route at its junction with the R279 road (Ireland), R279. It is only three kilometres away from M ...

), IRA men led by him ambushed a nine-man

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 ...

patrol, killing four (Sergeant Patrick Perry, Constable Patrick Keown, Constable Patrick Laffey, Constable Patrick Lynch) and wounding two others (Constables Clarke and O'Rourke). In January 1922 Pilkington made clear his opposition to the IRAs General Headquarters (GHQ) support for 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 ...

"We intend to cut away from this headquarters, all of you (pointing to the staff and officers of the GHQ) want to build up a Free State Army so you can march in step into the British Empire. Do it openly. We stand by the Republic." On 6 April 1922, a meeting addressed by Arthur Griffith in Sligo, had been proclaimed illegal by Pilkington, who was the local Anti-Treaty IRA divisional commander. Pilkington's troops took over a number of buildings in the town. Sean MacEoin brought

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

troops from

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and on the day of the meeting, he was joined by further troops led by JJ "Ginger" O'Connell. A tense situation ensued but, at the last minute, Pilkington backed down and the meeting went ahead. On 4 September 1922, an Anti-Treaty IRA unit under Pilkington took the Dromhaire barracks in County Sligo after the Free State garrison surrendered.

Political career

On 27 August 1923, Pilkington ran unsuccessfully in the general election for the 4th Dáil as a Republican candidate, polling 2089 first preference votes.

Anti-Treaty IRA

Pilkington was a prominent member of the Anti-Treaty IRA for many years, but his most important role as part of the Anti-Treaty IRA came on 20 April 1923. The Executive of Anti-Treaty IRA met in Poulacappal (four miles southwest of Callan and three miles from Mullinahone). Present were

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 ...

, Liam Pilkington (replacing Liam Lynch), Sean Hyde, Sean Dowling, Bill Quirke, Tom Barry, Tom Ruane (replacing Michael Kilroy), Tom Sullivan (replacing Sean Lehane), Sean McSwiney, Tom Crofts, P. J. Ruttledge and Sean O'Meara (substitute for Seamus Robinson). Frank Aiken was elected Chief-of-Staff and an Army Council of Aiken, Pilkington and Barry was appointed, although Macardle says that Sean Hyde was also included. Aiken proposed that peace should be made with the Pro-Treaty Government on the basis that "The sovereignty of the Irish Nation and the integrity of its territory is inalienable". This was passed by nine votes to two.

Catholic priest

Pilkington became a

after his foray into politics and due to the disillusionment of the

. He joined the Redemptorist Order and became known as Father William Pilkington CSsR. Pilkington served as a priest in the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa, priest of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales, and retired to the Redemptorist house at Bishop Eton, Liverpool, where he died in 1977.

Later life, death and legacy

In 1954 he was guest of honour at a dinner sponsored by Clan na Gael and the IRA Veterans of America in New York where he said he was returning to the mission fields of Africa, but he remained faithful to the All Ireland Republic.The United Irishman November/December 1954 He died on 26 March 1977 and was buried in Liverpool.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkington, Liam 1894 births People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) 1977 deaths Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish War of Independence Redemptorists Christian clergy from County Sligo Candidates in Dáil elections