The Listowel mutiny occurred 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 ...

when

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 ...

officers under the command of County Inspector O'Shea refused to be relocated out of their rural police station in

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

and moved to other areas. The uprising started on 17 June 1920, and has been cited as finishing when the local Divisional Police Commissioner for Munster, Lt.-Col.

Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth, DSO and Bar, French Croix de Guerre and Belgian Croix de guerre (7 September 1885 – 17 July 1920) was a British Army officer and police officer who was at the centre of a mutiny in the ranks of t ...

was killed by

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 ...

volunteers a month later on 17 July. By this time many police officers in the area had moved into service with the IRA or decided not to engage the IRA in combat, for a variety of reasons. On 19 June, Smyth arrived to inform the police of a new policy regarding rules of engagement with the IRA and their supporters. In the course of his address, he mentioned that in pursuit of their duty they would be given the power to shoot IRA suspects on sight. Order No. 5, which was issued on 17 June, stated that the police could shoot if a suspect failed to surrender 'when ordered to do so'. One of the apparent reasons for the constables' mutiny was because they were horrified by the thought of killing fellow Irishmen "on sight". One of those who refused was Constable

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had atte ...

from Mayo who went on to become a catholic priest and bishop in Nigeria. Replacements were immediately sent from

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 ...

under the command of Head Constable

Tobias O'Sullivan Tobias is the transliteration of the , which is a Graecisation of the Hebrew biblical name . With the biblical Book of Tobit being present in the Deuterocanonical books and Biblical apocrypha, Tobias is a popular male given name for both Christi ...

, who was commissioned to take command of the District. The mutiny was hailed as a success for

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

. Smyth was later assassinated when six IRA men shot him dead in the smoking room of the Cork and County Club. Smyth was buried in his native

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

on 21 July 1920. Railway workers outside

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

had earlier refused to transport his body home and

Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...

"anger boiled over", leading to attacks on

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

homes in Banbridge and nearby Dromore. On 20 January 1921 Tobias O'Sullivan was shot to death in the street as he walked with his seven-year-old son.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Cottrell, Peter ''The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922'' Osprey Publishing, 2006
Contemporary account by constable Michael Kelly
The American Commission on Conditions in Ireland
Interim Report
1920.

''Listowel Police Mutiny'' (1974) a
PoliceHistory.com
Irish War of Independence 1920 in Ireland History of County Kerry Mutinies Conflicts in 1920 Royal Irish Constabulary June 1920 in Europe July 1920 in Europe