
The sack of Balbriggan took place on the night of 20 September 1920, 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 ...
. Auxiliary members of 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 ...
known as "
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
" went on a rampage in the small town of
Balbriggan
Balbriggan (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...
,
County Dublin
County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
, burning more than fifty homes and businesses, looting, and killing two local men. Many locals were left jobless and homeless. The attack was claimed to be revenge for the shooting of two police officers in Balbriggan by 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). It was the first major 'reprisal' attack against an Irish town during the conflict. The sack of Balbriggan drew international attention, leading to heated debate in the British parliament and criticism of British government policy in Ireland.
Background
In early 1920 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 ...
(RIC), the
British-controlled police force in Ireland, faced increased attacks from 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) and boycotts from civilians. The RIC began recruiting reinforcements from Britain, mostly unemployed former soldiers who fought in the First World War. Nicknamed "
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
", they soon gained a reputation for brutality. The Black and Tans were trained at
Gormanston military camp near Balbriggan, a small town north of Dublin.
On the evening of 20 September, Head Constable Peter Burke and his brother, Sergeant Michael (or William) Burke, stopped off in Balbriggan on their way to visit Gormanston camp. They drank in a public house with several Black and Tans. There was an altercation in the pub, and local police were called to restore order. After further rowdiness, an IRA unit arrived. Burke was shot dead by the IRA and his brother was badly wounded.
[Grayson, Richard. ''Dublin's Great Wars: The First World War, the Easter Rising and the Irish Revolution''. Cambridge University Press, 2018. p. 280] The Head Constable had been training British RIC recruits and was reportedly about to be promoted to District Inspector. The shooting does not seem to have been planned.
[McKenna, Joseph. ''Guerrilla Warfare in the Irish War of Independence''. McFarland, 2014. p. 102]
Sacking
At about 11 pm, trucks carrying 100–150 Black and Tans arrived in Balbriggan from Gormanston.
[Gerry White and Brendan O'Shea. ''The Burning of Cork''. Mercier, 2006. pp. 61–64] They began burning homes and businesses, smashing windows and firing in the streets.
["The Sack of Balbriggan to be commemorated"](_blank)
''Fingal Independent''. 19 September 2003. Witnesses said the Black and Tans were cheering and laughing during the attack. In all, 49 homes were destroyed or damaged,
[Leeson, pp. 25–26] twenty of them on Clonard Street.
Many townsfolk fled to the fields. The ''
Dublin Evening Mail
The ''Dublin Evening Mail'' (renamed the ''Evening Mail'' in 1928) was one of Dublin's evening newspapers between 1823 and 1962.
Origins
Launched in 1823, it proved to be the longest lasting evening paper in Ireland. The paper was an instant suc ...
'' reported "men, women and children, some of them only scantily attired…fleeing to the country for refuge" and described how "a poor woman experienced great difficulty in getting her baby from its cot before her house was fired".
Four pubs were looted and burnt down.
John Derham, a
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
town commissioner, was arrested and his pub was wrecked and burnt. He was punched in the face and clubbed with a rifle butt. His son Michael was beaten unconscious and left in the burning building. Other businesses were also attacked. A
hosiery
Hosiery, (, ) also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the foot, feet and human leg, legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also ...
factory, Deeds & Templar, was destroyed. It had employed 130 workers and a further 180 who did work for it from home.
Two local men, dairyman Seán Gibbons and barber Seamus Lawless, were taken to the town's police barracks for questioning. They were beaten and bayoneted to death and their bodies dumped on Quay Street, near the barracks.
["RIC controversy ‘will not help’ FG in town sacked by Black and Tans"](_blank)
''The Irish Times'', 3 February 2020. According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', "one was the chairman and the other was the acting secretary" of the local IRA battalion. A plaque on Quay Street in Balbriggan commemorates the men, and a remembrance ceremony is held there every year.
Historian
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick "Tim Pat" Coogan (born 22 April 1935) is an Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster. He served as editor of ''The Irish Press'' newspaper from 1968 to 1987. He has been best known for such books as ''The IRA'', ''Ireland Since t ...
writes that the burnings were probably unauthorised.
Aftermath
Partly because of its nearness to Dublin, the attack gained widespread coverage in the Irish, British and international press, becoming known as the 'Sack of Balbriggan' or 'Sacking of Balbriggan'.
It was the first major reprisal of its kind, and caused more of British society to question the government's policy in Ireland. Two days after the sacking, British forces carried out another reprisal for the
Rineen ambush in County Clare, burning many houses in the surrounding villages and killing five civilians. The press coverage may also have alerted many British ex-servicemen to the prospect of employment in the RIC. In the weeks after the sacking, there was a sudden surge of British recruits into the force.
It led to a heated debate over reprisals in the British parliament. Former Prime Minister and then Liberal Party Leader of the Opposition
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
likened Balbriggan to a
Belgian town wrecked by the Germans in the First World War. The
Labour opposition, through its deputy leader
Arthur Henderson
Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...
, tabled a motion calling for an independent inquiry into the sack of Balbriggan and other towns in Ireland. He said British forces seemed to be undertaking "a policy of military terrorism, which is not only a betrayal of our democratic principles but is totally opposed to the best traditions of the British people". The British government's
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...
,
Hamar Greenwood, rejected Asquith's comparison and claimed Henderson had been misled by IRA propaganda. He opposed an inquiry, saying the police and military must feel assured that the British government and people were fully behind them. The British parliament voted against holding an inquiry. The Labour Party then decided to establish its own commission, and an American Commission on Conditions in Ireland was also set up.
There were numerous compensation claims for destroyed businesses and homes, including damages totaling over £80,000 for the destruction of the factory, which an inquiry heard had left over 200 jobless and would take two-and-a-half years to rebuild. The families of Gibbons and Lawless were also awarded compensation.
According to local IRA commander Michael Rock, a former British serviceman called William 'Jack' Straw had guided the Black and Tans around Balbriggan, pointing out homes to burn. Thomas Peppard, intelligence officer of the IRA Fingal Brigade, said Straw was "court-martialled and shot" by the IRA for his role in the sacking. His body was found at Bettyville Wood a month later.
IRA volunteer Joseph Lawless said the IRA planned a major attack on the Black and Tans based at Gormanston after the sacking. It involved drawing many of them into an ambush in Balbriggan, while another IRA group attacked and burned the lightly-defended Gormanston camp. This plan was abandoned after the events of
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday may refer to:
Historical events Canada
* Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
* Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...
.
Witness Statement: Joseph Lawless, Brigade Engineer Officer, Fingal Brigade IRA
Bureau of Military History
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
*Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administr ...
. pp. 342–346
See also
*Burning of Cork
The burning of Cork () by British forces took place during the Irish War of Independence on the night of 11–12 December 1920. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve Au ...
References
{{reflist
Balbriggan
Battles and operations of the Irish War of Independence
British Army in the Irish War of Independence
Police misconduct during the Irish War of Independence
Fires in the Republic of Ireland
Factory fires
British war crimes during the Irish War of Independence
History of Ireland (1801–1923)
Royal Irish Constabulary
British military scandals
20th-century terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom
Conflicts in 1920
September 1920
Balbriggan
Balbriggan (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...
Terrorist incidents in 1920
1920 in Ireland
1920 disasters in Europe
1920s disasters in Ireland
1920 murders in Europe
1920 fires
1920s fires in Europe
20th-century terrorist incidents in Ireland
Reprisals
Attacks on shops in Ireland
Residential building arson attacks in Ireland
Attacks on bars in Ireland
Deaths by bayonet
Mass stabbings in Europe