Tomás Mac Curtain
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish
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 ...
politician who served as the
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 ...
until he was assassinated 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 ...
. He was elected in January 1920.


Background

Tomás Mac Curtain was born at Ballyknockane, Mourne Abbey,
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 March 1884, the son of Patrick Curtin, a farmer, and Julia Sheehan. He attended Burnfort National School. In 1897 the family moved to
Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...
, where he attended the North Monastery School. Mac Curtain, as he would later be known, was active in a number of cultural and political movements beginning around the turn of the 20th century. He joined the
Blackpool, Cork Blackpool () is a suburb of Cork city in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated in the north of the city, on the N20 road to Mallow. Blackpool is part of the Cork North Central Dáil constituency. History The first official reference to Blackp ...
branch of
Conradh na Gaeilge (; 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 emer ...
(the Gaelic League), becoming its secretary in 1902. He had interests in music, poetry, history, archaeology and Irish history. He worked as a clerk in his early career and taught Irish in his free time. In 1911 he joined
Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna ("Soldiers of Ireland"), is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in se ...
, and was a member of 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 ...
. He met Elizabeth Walsh (Eibhlís Breathnach) at a Gaelic League meeting and they married on 28 June 1908. They had six children, five of whom survived into adulthood. The family lived over number 40 Thomas Davis Street, where Mac Curtain ran a small clothing and rainwear factory.


Easter Rising and military career

In April 1916, at the outset of the
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 ...
, Mac Curtain commanded a force of up to 1,000 men of the Irish Volunteers who assembled at various locations around County Cork. From the volunteer headquarters at Sheares Street in the city, Mac Curtain and his officers awaited orders from the volunteer leadership in Dublin. Conflicting instructions and confusion prevailed and, as a result, the Cork volunteers never entered the fray. A tense stand-off developed when British forces surrounded the volunteer hall and it continued for a week until an agreement was negotiated with Captain F. W. Dickie, aide-de-camp to Brigadier General W. F. H. Stafford, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) in Cork, led to the surrender of the volunteers' arms to the then Lord Mayor of Cork, Thomas C. Butterfield, on the understanding that they would be returned at a later date. This did not happen, however, and Mac Curtain was jailed in Wakefield, in the former
Frongoch Frongoch is a village located in Gwynedd, Wales. It lies close to the market town of Bala, Gwynedd, Bala, on the A4212 road. It was the home of the Frongoch internment camp, used to hold German people, German prisoners-of-war during First Worl ...
Prisoner of War camp in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and in Reading. After the general amnesty of participants in the Rising 18 months later, Mac Curtain returned to active duty a local commandant of what was now 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 ...
in County Cork. In early 1919 GHQ carried out a radical restructuring by creating three brigades with set boundaries. Frank Hynes' battalion was an example of a whole unit being dissolved to be divided into smaller ranks, as two staffs were elected. During the Conscription Crisis in the autumn of 1918, Mac Curtain actively encouraged the hiring of the women of Cumann na mBan to cater for Volunteers. He was personally involved with The Squad that, with a Cork battalion, attempted to assassinate Lord French, whose car was missed as the convoy passed through the ambush positions. He remained brigadier of No. 1 Cork when he became Lord Mayor of Cork. He was elected in the January 1920 council elections as the Sinn Féin councillor for NW Ward No. 3 of Cork and was chosen by his fellow councillors to be lord mayor. He began a process of political reform within the city.


Assassination

On 20 March 1920, his 36th birthday, Mac Curtain was shot dead, in front of his wife and son, by a group of men with blackened faces, who were found, by the official
inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
into the event, to be 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 ...
(RIC). In the wake of the killing, Mac Curtain's house in Blackpool was ransacked. The killing caused widespread public outrage. The coroner's inquest passed a verdict of wilful murder against British Prime Minister
Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
and against certain members of the RIC.
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 Ge ...
later ordered his squad of assassins to uncover and assassinate the police officers involved in the attack. On 22 August 1920, RIC District Inspector Oswald Swanzy, who had ordered the attack, was fatally shot with Mac Curtain's own revolver, while leaving a Protestant church in
Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...
,
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
, sparking what was described by
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 ...
as a "
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
" against the Catholic residents of the town (see
The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1920–1922) 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 ...
). Mac Curtain is buried in St. Finbarr's Cemetery, Cork. His successor to the position of Lord Mayor,
Terence MacSwiney 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 ...
, died while 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
Brixton prison HM Prison Brixton is a Category C training establishment men's prison, located in Brixton area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner- South London. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Before 2012, it was used as a loca ...
, London. MacCurtain Street in the centre of Cork City is named after him.


Tomás Óg Mac Curtain

Mac Curtain's son, Tomás Óg (junior) (1915–1994), later became a leading republican and member of the IRA Executive, the main purpose of which was to elect the Chief of Staff of the IRA. In 1935, while armed, he was arrested by an unarmed
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
Patrick Malone, who received the Silver Scott Medal for bravery. In 1940, Tomás Óg was sentenced to death for shooting
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
Detective John Roche, who subsequently died. However, he was granted clemency and released after seven years. He later served on the IRA Executive during the Border Campaign.


References


Bibliography

* Fitzpatrick, David, ''Harry Boland's Irish Revolution'' (Cork 2003) * Harrington, Michael, ''The Munster Republic: The Civil War in North Cork'' (Cork 2009) * Irish Labour and Trade Union Congress, ''Who burnt Cork City? A Tale of Arson, Loot and Murder: The Evidence of over seventy Witnesses'' (Dublin 1921) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Curtain, Tomas 1884 births 1920 deaths Assassinated Irish politicians Assassinated mayors Deaths by firearm in Ireland Irish Republicans killed during the Irish War of Independence Early Sinn Féin politicians Lord mayors of Cork People murdered in Ireland Police misconduct during the Irish War of Independence People murdered in 1920 People educated at North Monastery Murder victims from County Cork Politicians assassinated in the 1920s People on Irish postage stamps