Derry: The Irish revolution, 1912-1923: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23 1846826594, 9781846826597
In 1912, Derry was a busy port city with a thriving textile industry. An important transport hub, it was also a city div
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English Pages 192 [223] Year 2018
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Table of contents :
Cover
Title page
Copyright page
Table of contents
List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
Acknowledgments
The Irish Revolution, 1912–23 series
1. Derry city and county in 1912
2. Saving the Empire by all means necessary: unionism, 1912–14
3. ‘The majority of Ulster is in favour of home rule’: nationalism, 1912–14
4. ‘The old party bitterness is still strong’: from the First World Warto the Easter Rising, 1914–16
5. ‘Giving constitutionalism a last chance’, 1916–18
6. ‘Like a town on the Western Front’, 1919–20
7. Truce and Treaty: Derry in 1921
8. Partition consolidated, 1922–3
9. Derry in 1923
Notes
Select bibliography
Index
Plates
Citation preview
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Derry The Irish Revolution, ‒
Adrian Grant
FOUR COURTS PRESS
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Set in . on . point Ehrhardt for FOUR COURTS PRESS LTD
Malpas Street, Dublin , Ireland www.fourcourtspress.ie and in North America for FOUR COURTS PRESS
c/o IPG, N. Franklin St, Chicago, IL .
© Adrian Grant and Four Courts Press
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-84682-659-7 (paper) ISBN 978-1-84682-779-2 (ebook)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.
Printed in England by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall.
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Contents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The Irish Revolution, – series
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Derry city and county in
Saving the Empire by all means necessary: unionism, –
‘The majority of Ulster is in favour of home rule’: nationalism, –
‘The old party bitterness is still strong’: from the First World War to the Easter Rising, –
‘Giving constitutionalism a last chance’, –
‘Like a town on the Western Front’, –
Truce and Treaty: Derry in
Partition consolidated, –
Derry in
NOTES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
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Illustrations
PLATES
IVF on parade in Celtic Park, Derry, June . Captain Jack White, Commander Charles McGlinchey and Colonel Maurice Moore at IVF parade, Celtic Park, Derry, June . Infirm voter being helped to polling station, Derry by-election, January . Infirm voter being helped to polling station, Derry by-election, January . Crowd gathered outside Bishop Street courthouse at announcement of Derry by-election result, January . The camp of the nd Battalion, North Derry UVF at Magilligan, July . UVF members arriving at Magilligan, July . Bridge Street, Garvagh, decorated for visit of Edward Carson, April . Derry city UVF members marching to war, September . Ambulance donated to the war effort by the ‘Citizens of Londonderry’, . Group photograph, including James McCarron, taken at the Irish Trade Union Congress meeting in Waterford. Prominent Unionist politician Robert N. Anderson visiting war hospital supply depot, . David Cleghorn Hogg, Liberal MP for Londonderry City, –. Charles McHugh, Roman Catholic bishop of Derry, –. Funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, Glasvevin Cemetery, August . Derry Volunteers in attendance. Derry Jail, Bishop Street. Joseph O’Doherty, prominent Derry republican and SF TD. The O’Doherty siblings of Creggan Street, Derry. Séamus Cavanagh, O/C Derry city IVF/IRA (–), and family. Patrick Shiels, O/C Derry city IRA (–), and family. Apprentice Boys of Derry parade at Guildhall Square, Derry, August . Lecky Road RIC Barracks. Nationalist and SF members of Londonderry Corporation, . British army troops preparing artillery outside Derry city, June . Sandbags barricading the Fountain, Derry, . vii
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Illustrations
Sandbags outside the Hibernian Bank, Shipquay Street, Derry, . British troops mounting an armoured vehicle at Bishop’s Gate, Derry, June . St Columb’s College, Bishop Street, Derry. Hugh C. O’Doherty, first nationalist mayor of Derry. Charles ‘Nomad’ McGuinness, adventurer, gun-runner and Derry IRA member. Peadar O’Donnell, trade union organizer and IRA officer. Elisabeth ‘Lizzie’ Doherty, Derry city Cumann na mBan. Tom Morris, O/C nd Northern Division IRA, . Members of the nd Northern Division IRA at the Curragh, County Kildare, during the Civil War. Mary Ellen Kavanagh, killed in the crossfire at Buncrana bank raid, May .
Credits Illustrations , : © Derry City and Strabane District Council; –: Belfast Telegraph; –: Irish Life; , –, , , : © Magee Community Collection, Ulster University; : James McCarron; : St Columb’s College, Derry; –, : National Library of Ireland; , : Brian Lacey; : Colm Toland; : Patrick Collins; , : ‘Derry of the Past’ Facebook page; : Derry Journal; : London Illustrated News; : O’Doherty family, Buncrana; : web.archive.org; : Emmet O’Connor; –: Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive; : Pa Deeney.
MAPS
Places mentioned in the text Derry city street map Local government divisions Parliamentary constituencies pre- Distribution of Crown forces IRA divisions in
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Abbreviations
ABOD AOH (BoE) AOH (IAA) ASTT ASU BMH BNL CAB CI CMA CO CÓFLA DCSDCA DÉ DI DIB DJ DORA DP DT FIN FJ GAA GHQ GNR GOC GPO HA HC HO ICA IFS IG IHS IMA INAA INAVDF INL IPP IRA IRB ITGWU ITUC IVF IWM KOYLI
Apprentice Boys of Derry Ancient Order of Hibernians (Board of Erin) Ancient Order of Hibernians (Irish-American Alliance) Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses Active Service Unit Bureau of Military History Belfast Newsletter Cabinet Records, TNA County Inspector, RIC/RUC Competent Military Authority Colonial Office, TNA Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive, Armagh Derry City and Strabane District Council Archives Dáil Éireann, NAI District Inspector, RIC/RUC Dictionary of Irish biography Derry Journal Defence of the Realm Act Derry People and Donegal News Department of the Taoiseach Finance, PRONI Freeman’s Journal Gaelic Athletic Association General Headquarters Great Northern Railway General Officer Commanding General Post Office Home Affairs, PRONI House of Commons Home Office, TNA Irish Citizen Army Irish Free State Inspector General, RIC Irish Historical Studies Irish Military Archives Irish National Aid Association Irish National Aid Association and Volunteer Dependants’ Fund Irish Nation League Irish Parliamentary Party Irish Republican Army Irish Republican Brotherhood Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union Irish Trade Union Congress Irish Volunteer Force Imperial War Museum, London King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
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x LGB LOK LS MSPC MUM NAI NCO ND NI NLI NUDL NVF NW O/C PR PRONI RDC RIC RUC SF TD TFP TNA UCDA UIL ULA USC UUC UULA UVF UWUC VDF WS YMCA
Abbreviations Local Government Board Fr Louis O’Kane papers, CÓFLA Londonderry Sentinel Military Service Pension Collection Mid-Ulster Mail National Archives of Ireland Non-Commissioned Officer Northern Division, IRA Northern Ireland National Library of Ireland National Union of Dock Labourers National Volunteer Force Northern Whig Officer Commanding Proportional Representation Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Rural District Council Royal Irish Constabulary Royal Ulster Constabulary Sinn Féin Teachta Dála, member of Dáil Éireann ‘Ten Foot Pikers’ The National Archives, London University College Dublin Archives United Irish League Ulster Liberal Association Ulster Special Constabulary Ulster Unionist Council Ulster Unionist Labour Association Ulster Volunteer Force Ulster Women’s Unionist Council Volunteer Dependants’ Fund Witness Statement to Bureau of Military History Young Men’s Christian Association
Author’s note on terminology The author uses ‘Derry’ to refer to both the city and county throughout this book. ‘Londonderry’ is used when referring to official organizations and institutions, such as ‘Londonderry Corporation’ or parliamentary constituencies. Use of the shorter nomenclature reflects the author’s firmly held opinion that one should feel comfortable referring to the area in whatever way s/he chooses without causing offence or being seen to make a political point. Furthermore, the majority of people in the – period, regardless of political affiliation, referred to the city and county as ‘Derry’. In order to distinguish between Irish nationalists in the broadest sense and members of the Irish Parliamentary Party and allied groups, only the latter are referred to using an upper case – that is, Nationalists. The same convention has been applied to unionists (those in support of the political union between Britain and Ireland) and Unionists (members of the Unionist Party).
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Acknowledgments
A book about Derry in the – period was far from my mind when the editors pitched the idea to me in the summer of . I was immediately impressed by the ambitious scale of the proposed series and was overjoyed to be in a position to contribute the volume on a county that has not often come under the historian’s gaze. My misplaced confidence at finding the freedom and space to research and write the book was rudely interrupted by the reality of precarious work in modern academia. Time to work on the book was restricted to evenings and weekends, and shared with the more inviting concept of ‘real life’. I have been assisted by many people and I can only apologize to anyone whose name I have forgotten or omitted below. Daithí Ó Corráin and Mary Ann Lyons have given superb guidance throughout and their detailed commentary on draft chapters has improved the book immensely. My regular contact with Daithí has been particularly helpful and our conversations allowed me to find much-needed clarity and perspective. I also wish to thank Martin Fanning at Four Courts Press for suggesting me as a potential author for this volume in the series. Mike Brennan provided the maps and I am grateful for his patience in accommodating additional detail while retaining coherence. It has been my privilege to work alongside such great colleagues at Ulster University in recent years, particularly David Coyles, Brandon Hamber, and Greg Lloyd. Our long conversations about history, architecture, planning, psychology and a host of other topics have inspired me to reassess my approach to history writing. Both the Derry Journal and the Londonderry Sentinel published my call for help and stories. Mark Patterson also interviewed me on his BBC Radio Foyle show and brought news of the research to many people who then reached out to me. The following people helped in numerous ways with sources, information, connections and images: Sally Kelly, Chris McKnight, Patrick Collins, James McCarron, Arthur Duffy, Olga Cathers, Mary Margaret Grant, the late Brigid Makowski Shiels (RIP), Pearse Bradley, Charlie Morrison, Ivor Doherty, Fionnbarra Ó Dochartaigh, Martin Melarky, John F. McCartney, Michael Canavan, Brian Lacey, Emmet O’Connor, Owen McGonagle, Brian Hanley, Brendan Lynn, Martin Melaugh, Ted Leath, Karen O’Donnell, Maria Diamond, Janice McQuilkin, John Kennedy, Colm Toland, Fr John Walsh, Niall Kerr and Pa Deeney. Shay Kinsella took on the role of sounding board at family get-togethers. I hope I can now fulfil the same role for him as he embarks on a similar project. I am obliged to those working at the various libraries and archives where the research was carried out; the Ulster University libraries, Buncrana Community Library, Derry, xi
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Acknowledgments
Ballymena and Belfast Central Libraries, Belfast Newspaper Library, the Linen Hall Library, the Derry Diocesan Archives, the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive (Roddy Hegarty went above and beyond), Derry City and Strabane District Council Archives (particularly Ronan McConnell), the National Library of Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland, UCD Archives Department and PRONI (particularly Des McCabe). A special note of thanks is reserved for my family. While working on this book I got married and made a home with my wife, Aoife. Her unceasing support coupled with a razor-sharp copy editor’s eye and an innate ability to challenge and help clarify my thinking has improved the book greatly. Our dog, Larkin, played the role of faithful companion during the long winter nights of writing. Aoife and I welcomed our first child, Robert Emmet, to the world in and he has brought a previously unimaginable and additional joy to our lives. The book is, without doubt, dedicated to my family.
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The Irish Revolution, – series
Since the turn of the century, a growing number of scholars have been actively researching this seminal period in modern Irish history. More recently, propelled by the increasing availability of new archival material, this endeavour has intensified. This series brings together for the first time the various strands of this exciting and fresh scholarship within a nuanced interpretative framework, making available concise, accessible, scholarly studies of the Irish Revolution experience at a local level to a wide audience. The approach adopted is both thematic and chronological, addressing the key developments and major issues that occurred at a county level during the tumultuous – period. Beginning with an overview of the social, economic and political milieu in the county in , each volume assesses the strength of the home rule movement and unionism, as well as levels of labour and feminist activism. The genesis and organization of paramilitarism from are traced; responses to the outbreak of the First World War and its impact on politics at a county level are explored; and the significance of the Rising is assessed. The varying fortunes of constitutional and separatist nationalism are examined. The local experience of the War of Independence, reaction to the truce and the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the course and consequences of the Civil War are subject to detailed examination and analysis. The result is a compelling account of life in Ireland in this formative era. Mary Ann Lyons Department of History Maynooth University
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Daithí Ó Corráin School of History & Geography Dublin City University
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Derry city and county in
Like the rest of Ireland, the city and county of Derry in the – period experienced a great upheaval and transformation. Despite a relatively low level of sustained violent conflict, Derry can be seen as a microcosm of the divisions between nationalism and unionism at the time. Conflict over political, social, economic and cultural issues simmered for centuries prior to , occasionally boiling over when the temperature increased throughout the unionist and nationalist calendars. The infamous and continuing disagreement over what the place should actually be called was fairly innocuous at the time, but is illustrative of the level of cultural division that existed and continues to exist in the county. As in the other potential border counties, partition was the burning issue on most minds, and is a theme that is central to the analysis presented in this book. The looming dread of a border consigned those counties to a shared reality that sets their experience against that of both southern Ireland and the rest of the north. Derry found itself cast further into schism due to the dispute over the future status of the city. With some form of partition a foregone conclusion towards the end of the s, nationalists wished to see the city excluded from the area that became Northern Ireland. The economic and symbolic repercussions that stemmed from Derry city’s future position in either Northern Ireland or the Irish Free State had inevitable long-term implications. For nationalists, the city was the commercial centre of the north-west, the loss of which would have a significant impact on the local economy. For unionists, it was the second city of the emerging Northern Ireland and the historic centre of Protestant resistance in Ireland. Divided allegiances and the vagaries of political geography were then the main issues of concern in Derry during the period. ‘The County of Londonderry’ was formed as part of the Ulster plantation following the Flight of the Earls in . The creation of a defensive city in the north-west was seen as an essential part of the plan, although it soon became clear that the Crown did not have the means to follow through on its grand plans across the province. A scheme was devised to involve the City of London in the plantation of the former Ó Catháin lands in what was known as County Coleraine. A body of twenty-six London citizens, known collectively as The Honourable the Irish Society, was established to oversee development of the area and the construction of two new towns in Coleraine and Derry. The Society was granted control of the new towns and their ‘liberties’, which stretched into Antrim and Donegal, providing strategic access to the Rivers Bann and Foyle. The woods of Loughinsholin (which had previously been in Tyrone) were included to provide the building materials needed for
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Derry city street map
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Derry, ‒
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construction of the new towns and compulsory defensive infrastructure in the rural settlements. The majority of the area outside of the new towns and their liberties was divided among the twelve great London livery companies, the remaining lands passing into the possession of the Anglican Church and a number of individuals. The new County Londonderry developed into the area under consideration in this book and the legacy of the livery companies is etched on the landscape. Plantation towns abound, some like Draperstown retaining an eponymous link to the companies that founded them. The walled city of Londonderry officially retained its link to the English capital and maintained its status as a largely Protestant settlement until industrial development in the nineteenth century facilitated an influx of Catholic migrants from the surrounding rural areas. The county of Londonderry as created in the early seventeenth century remains unchanged today, bordering Donegal to the west, Antrim to the east, and Tyrone to the south. As can be seen in map , the valleys and peaks of the Sperrin Mountains were shared with Tyrone in the south and cut a line to the north coast following the course of the River Bann. The county’s rail links were largely dictated by the physical presence of the mountains. The Belfast line followed a coastal route via Coleraine into County Antrim and the Dublin line went south of the Sperrins via Omagh and Portadown. Lough Foyle and its contributory river of the same name provided sea access to the commercial hub of the county at Derry city in the north-west and served as the county border with Donegal, excepting the liberties of the city on the west bank of the river. The transport infrastructure was well advanced in . Four railway companies operated out of the city, providing multiple lines to the main towns of Donegal, Tyrone, the north of the county and further afield. Connections could be made using the tramcar system that operated along the riverfront. The twin deck Carlisle Bridge linked the city to the growing suburb of Waterside and accommodated trains on the lower deck. Lines extending from Limavady and Coleraine, which followed the Roe and Bann valleys, served the larger towns of the south county. An extensive road network facilitated access between towns and to the mountainous region in the south. The notoriously treacherous Glenshane Pass road through the Sperrins ensured a direct connection between Dungiven and the cluster of towns around Maghera. The port was vital for both the city and its neighbouring counties. It generated prosperity by providing an export centre for the city’s produce of clothing, whiskey and foodstuffs, and facilitating importation of the coal and grain essential to sustain the factories and distilleries. Increasing coal imports were needed to keep the city moving, working, and comfortable. They also provided employment for a large number of dockers and carters. For those less fortunate, or in search of something better, the
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port acted as a gateway to the wider world. Steamships provided daily sailings across the Irish Sea to Fleetwood, Glasgow, Heysham, Liverpool and Morecambe, and were used by seasonal agricultural labourers and other migrants to travel to Britain for work. The port also served as a point of departure for those going further afield. The large steamers of the Anchor Line called to Lough Foyle once a week at Moville as they crossed from Liverpool and Glasgow to the United States and Canada. Derry passengers were connected to the liners by paddle tenders that also acted as transport for day trippers to Inishowen. Derry was the principal port for migrants residing in the north of Ireland. The rail companies offered reduced fares to intending emigrants travelling to the city from stations north of an imaginary line that stretched from Sligo to Dublin. The largely rural composition of the emigrant demographic embarking at Derry is clear from emigration statistics and is also reflected in the names of pubs and boarding houses in Waterloo Street such as ‘The Gweedore’ and ‘The Rosses’. The pubnaming tradition on Waterloo Street persists today with some retaining their names and others, such as the recently closed ‘Bound for Boston’, reflecting the street’s historical links to emigration. Derry, in common with thirty other Irish counties, experienced a drop in population between and . The census return for city and county of , fell to , in . This . per cent decrease was the lowest in Ulster but in common with other parts of the province the county’s urban areas experienced a significant rise in population. Coleraine, Derry city and Limavady, the three urban centres with populations exceeding , people, experienced a . per cent combined rise so that by they constituted . per cent of the total county population. A decrease of . per cent outside these three major towns shows a county experiencing the urbanization process common across Ulster in the – period. The population outside the city stood at , in . Fifty-eight per cent (,) of the definable economically active population outside the city (,) was categorized as belonging to the agricultural class and a further twenty-eight per cent to the industrial class. The former included farmers and their sons, rural labourers and those employed on estates and around animals, while the latter contained a multitude of sub categorizations covering a broad range of occupations such as skilled tradesmen, food producers and printers. The sizeable number of agricultural workers reflects the county’s largely rural composition but a significant industrial and commercial section of the population shows the importance of small- and medium-sized towns to the local economy. Land holdings of less than fifteen acres made up forty-two per cent of land in the county in , a proportion that was below the Ulster and national averages of forty-six and fifty per cent respectively. The proportion of land holdings above acres was also lower than the Ulster and national averages, which
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perhaps reflects the county’s unique experience of its land being planted, managed and administered by trade guilds rather than individual landlords. After agriculture, several of the most popular occupations related to transport and food production, evidence of the interdependence of town and country. The manufacture of clothing and footwear were also important sources of employment. General labourers, as distinct from rural labourers, made up a large proportion of the workforce. Shirt factory outwork also provided employment in small and medium-sized towns with significant stations in Castledawson, Draperstown and Dungiven, and factories in Buncrana, Letterkenny and Strabane. The agricultural and industrial prosperity of the county depended in many ways on access to goods and markets provided by Derry city. For instance, the national coal strike of February–April led to an acute fuel shortage when merchants took the decision to fulfil city orders exclusively to ensure that larger factories remained active. This resulted in curtailment of train services and temporary closure of mills throughout the county until access to coal was restored. Derry city’s housing was relatively new with just under half the stock having been completed since . Rents were among the lowest in urban Ireland and residential density was measured at less than half that of severely overcrowded Dublin. The most common type of housing for the working class had four rooms and a scullery, with small yards to the rear. There were major differences between the working-class areas in the East (Fountain/Wapping/Abercorn Road) and West wards (Bogside), and the more affluent residences on Northland Road. Residents of the Bogside, for instance, had to endure poor sanitation, high levels of tuberculosis, and overcrowding caused by large numbers of people sharing houses in an attempt to keep costs down. Housing in rural parts of the county improved greatly in the early s, partly as a result of government intervention through the construction of public housing for agricultural labourers. Local authorities in Ulster were slow to commence construction of labourers’ cottages but between and , the number of publicly-supplied cottages in Derry had increased almost tenfold from seventy-six to . The London companies and other landlords also engaged in improvements, while most tenant farmers constructed their own dwellings. By a large proportion of the tenant farmer population had purchased their holdings under the various land acts and the London companies had either disposed of or engaged in extreme consolidation of their holdings in the county. The census reported an illiteracy rate of .% in the county, which exactly matched the national average. This was slightly higher than the Ulster average of .%, however. There were less illiterate females in County Derry, .% of the population, compared to a national average of .%. The proportion of the Catholic population that could not read or write was %,
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which was close to the Ulster average but much higher than the national average of .%. Protestants and Presbyterians also reported higher levels of illiteracy as a proportion of the county’s total population. The county had a workhouse population of and a prison population of ninety-five on census night. Derry city was both growing and prosperous at the beginning of the twentieth century. In the sixty years after its population had more than doubled to just under ,. Stephen Gwynn described it in as being ‘clean, tidy, prosperous-looking, with many signs of well-doing and comfort, few of wealth and luxury’. He also recognized that it functioned as ‘the county town in reality of Donegal as well as of its own county’. Rapid population growth followed that of Belfast and was largely fuelled by the city acting as an employment centre for rural dwellers of its hinterland. According to the census, thirty-two per cent of the city’s inhabitants were born outside County Derry, while twenty-three per cent were born in other Ulster counties. The census data does not account for the movement of people from County Derry into the city but it could reasonably be assumed that about a third of the city’s residents were born elsewhere. The declining linen industry gave way to shirt production in the mid-nineteenth century. In the city boasted around forty shirt factories, which employed an estimated , city residents, eighty per cent of whom were women, and more who made the journey on foot from the surrounding districts. Derry’s position as a centre of high quality shirt-making ensured that its employment demographics differed from other Irish cities of similar size. Factory work was the preferred employment of most females. The proportion of women working in domestic service was lower than in Limerick or Waterford in and declined further in the years prior to . Male employment was largely in housebuilding, transport, food provision and shirt factory work. A building boom in the late nineteenth century resulted in largescale employment of men in construction, including a variety of skilled tradesmen. However, numbers employed in housebuilding declined between and . The shipbuilding industry ebbed and flowed from the s. William Coppin closed his shipyard in , but the industry was revived after the Harbour Commissioners invested £, in the redevelopment of slobland into a yard at Pennyburn. It was leased to Charles J. Bigger in – and to the Londonderry Shipbuilding and Engineering Company from until . Trevisa Clarke took over the yard in May and within a year his North of Ireland Shipbuilding Company had built three ships and was employing men. The war economy and post-war boom meant that in the spring of , there were , men and apprentices employed at the shipyard. However, by the yard was closed and the Derry shipbuilding industry ceased to exist.
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The majority of men in the city (,) were categorized as general labourers; others were styled general labourers in factories, on railways and roads. Work was also available at grain, flour and saw mills, at two large distilleries, at bacon factories, boot and shoe factories, two coach works, a corset factory, an iron foundry and a tobacco factory. The city was also home to a sizeable, and growing professional, clerical and commercial workforce. Hiring fairs, known locally and disparagingly as ‘rabbles’, were held bi-annually. Men and boys were hired as labourers, herds and ploughmen, while girls were taken on as dairy workers, domestic servants and for childcare. Rural dwellers from across the north-west flocked to the fair in the Diamond, where they could stand for an entire day waiting to be hired, and with little knowledge of their destinations, wages or conditions. Although the fairs attracted criticism as ‘white slave markets’, they continued into the s. The gender balance of the county tipped ever so slightly towards females, but women outnumbered men in the city by fifty-five to forty-five per cent. The largely female workforce of the city shirt factories consisted of both city natives and migrants from the neighbouring rural districts. This explains in part the numerical dominance of females. Just over half of the county’s , inhabitants were under the age of thirty, with slightly under a quarter falling into the – age group. There was something of a moral panic in the city over what was perceived as a threatening youth culture that had been developing during the first decade of the twentieth century. A radical youth element caused alarm, especially when a group of school children protested the actions of a physically abusive teacher by going on strike in . A hard-core group of around youths eschewed Edwardian respectability in favour of gambling, desisting from work and, in the case of Catholics, refusing to attend Sunday Mass. Their collective challenge to societal norms fizzled out as most of them joined the army at the first opportunity. The police force in Derry was quite small in relation to the population in . A total of Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers and constables manned twenty-seven barracks. Of the five city policing districts outside Dublin, Derry had the second strongest police presence per head of population, behind Belfast, with men of various ranks stationed in five barracks. The opposite was the case in the county, however, as Derry had the second lowest number of police per head of population in the country at per person. Only Down had a smaller police presence at per person. County Inspector (CI) Edward George Cary, an unmarried Galway Protestant, was based at the Strand Road/Victoria barracks and lived at Crawford Square in Derry city. He served until his retirement in mid- and was replaced by Vere Gregory, a long-serving senior officer with a gentry lineage that could be traced back to the ancient kings of France and England, through the Siege of Derry. Four district inspectors (DIs) reported to the CI for their
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respective areas: city (Patrick McHugh), Coleraine (Alexander Dobbyn), Limavady (Michael Horgan) and Magherafelt (James Wilbond). Catholics made up the majority of the police force across the county, but Protestants dominated in the officer ranks. The county was largely peaceable leading up to . The CI reported in January that despite ‘feeling [having] been aroused’ over the home rule legislation that was making its way through parliament, no disorder had occurred. Relations between landlords and tenants were amicable, and employment was plentiful in city and county. However, he regarded the large numbers attending unionist meetings and a great gathering of nationalists for a Gaelic League meeting in St Columb’s Hall as a harbinger of what was to come. The military was ever present in Derry city with a force of around mostly English and Scottish soldiers stationed at Ebrington Barracks, on the east bank of the River Foyle in . Fifty-three army and ten navy personnel were recorded in the county at the census. Beyond the county border, there was also a sizeable British army presence at forts and barracks on the Inishowen peninsula and the regimental depot of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in Omagh. A wide variety of cultural pursuits were catered for in Derry city and county and in many cases one’s choice of pastime reflected confessional background and class status. The interests of Presbyterian and Episcopalian church leaders converged in sport and leisure, as well as in politics during the s. This resulted in the formation of Protestant workingmen’s clubs between and that arranged leisure pursuits, including organized soccer, which became the game of choice for working-class Protestants of the period. Londonderry Corporation’s rejection of plans for a people’s park and a free library in the city, reinforced the clubs’ appeal among the Protestant community. Consequently, their leisure and cultural activities usually featured strong emphasis on religion and respectability. Protestants formed a number of local soccer clubs, including Institute FC (named after the Presbyterian Workingmen’s Institute) but there was very little interest from Catholics whose clergy encouraged Gaelic games. This changed in the s when the clergy favoured soccer on account of the growing influence of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and the fallout from the Parnell divorce scandal. As a result, soccer became the predominant sport in the city. Gaelic games remained popular, however, and was the sport of choice for Catholics in the south of the county. A professional soccer club, Derry Celtic, was founded in and became relatively successful in the Irish League. It played its games at Celtic Park and later at the Brandywell, where violence between rival fans was common. However, the club went into decline in the s and was voted out of the league in , thereafter becoming defunct. Proponents of Gaelic games continued to face a soccer-obsessed populace after the club’s extinction, with most local Catholics
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taking advantage of an improving sports media and supporting Glasgow Celtic and Edinburgh Hibernians after . Smaller clubs continued to attract amateur players and spectators in the city. A playing field, named Parnell Park, near the shipyard at Pennyburn had been used by the GAA in the s and s but was home to the Derry Guilds Football Club from the early s. Catholics generally supported the Guilds while the Watersidebased Institute team held the main allegiance of the city’s Protestants. The city and county also had a healthy golf, tennis, cricket and rugby scene. A group calling themselves ‘The Idlers’ formed a cricket club at the Brandywell shortly after the Boer War. In they moved to a new ground at Upper Duncreggan and became the City of Derry Cricket Club. Residents of the city and its environs also had access to a range of cultural pursuits beyond sport. There were several Catholic organizations like St Vincent de Paul and the Derry Total Abstinence Association, which built the grand St Columb’s Hall in . The premises of these groups were used for well-attended theatre productions, often of the pantomime variety. The Opera House on the Carlisle Road was used for its eponymous purpose bi-annually, and more often staged plays and other performances. The new medium of cinema excited the people in . The city’s first dedicated cinema opened on Shipquay Street in ; the following year St Columb’s Hall was converted into a cinema. The cinemas drew the crowds from the pantomimes, offering a popular and affordable source of night-time entertainment apart from the public house. Those treading the boards could still draw large crowds on occasion, such as during the staging of Louis J. Walsh’s popular The Pope in Killybuck in . Walsh was a solicitor and member of the Gaelic League from Maghera. He joined Sinn Féin after the Easter Rising and became a wellknown republican political figure in Derry and Antrim. Attempts to promote abstinence were relatively successful but there remained a thriving pub trade, with licensed premises in the city in . Plans to build a Carnegie library in the Diamond were rejected by the corporation in . A campaign was successfully mounted by business owners and others to create an open space in the Diamond to improve views and traffic flow. The complainants also argued that the Carnegie grant of £, was insufficient to construct a building of the scale and quality that the city deserved and an alternative site was never secured. Opposition to Carnegie libraries by ratepayers was not peculiar to Derry. Edinburgh engaged in lengthy negotiations around funding before a library was built in and between and , at least thirteen other towns or cities in Ireland failed to claim granted library funds due to disputes over running costs. However, a small lending library was established in nearby Shipquay Street and there were reading rooms in the workingmen’s clubs and at the YMCA hall. Among the many other forms of leisure pursuit were the annual Foyle Festival regatta and horse racing (accompanied by
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Local government divisions gambling and moral outrage) at Ballyarnet. In residents of the city were treated to the spectacle of a Houdini-type character named ‘Tie the Boy’ leaping off the Carlisle Bridge while handcuffed. Given the prominence of class and religion in public discourse, it is no surprise that the local newspapers adhered to these distinctions. The Derry Journal, which covered news from the county, city and further into Donegal and Tyrone, followed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) line and was moderately friendly towards trade unions. The Derry People and Donegal News covered a similar area and took a broadly similar editorial line to the Journal, but demonstrated a bolder attitude towards issues like British army recruitment. The Derry Standard was the newspaper of choice for Presbyterians, while the Londonderry Sentinel was read mainly by Protestants and its outlook closely followed that of Ulster Unionism. The Sentinel was no advocate of trade unionism and was accused on occasion of fomenting sectarian tensions between workers. The Coleraine Chronicle served the north of the county with a unionist editorial line, while other unionist papers, including the Mid-Ulster Mail, based in Cookstown,
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served large parts of the south county and Tyrone. The main nationalist newspapers in south Derry were those published in Tyrone, such as the Ulster Herald, and the Derry city papers. The Belfast- and Dublin-based newspapers were also widely read. There were a number of satirical newspapers during the first decade of the twentieth century. The most successful of these, the Derry Tattler, had a fairly large circulation that reached into the Sperrins, Inishowen, Strabane, Claudy and Donemana in the – period. The tone of the Tattler was whimsical but it also engaged in serious political commentary. It demanded higher wages and better conditions for unskilled workers, while criticizing the corporation and less-than-scrupulous building contractors for their treatment of employees. The paper praised the Harbour Commissioners for efforts to revive shipbuilding in the city in , but was scathing in its criticism when a group of cross-channel industrialists was lavishly entertained at the ratepayers’ expense. Praise was also reserved for public representatives like the labour councillor, James McCarron, and Margaret Morris, who became the first female member of the corporation in . The Local Government (Ireland) Act of created a county council, urban and rural district councils (RDC) and boards of guardians (see map ). The city fell under the jurisdiction of Londonderry Corporation and was converted, like Belfast, into a county borough independent of county administration. The act heralded major changes in the composition of local government across Ireland and broadened the electoral franchise significantly. All householders, or occupants of a portion of a house, were now entitled to vote in local election contests regardless of whether they were property owners or not. Women over thirty years old could vote provided they met the same criteria as men, although they were still excluded from voting in parliamentary elections. The existence of comfortable unionist majorities in the county and the towns of Coleraine and Limavady ensured their dominance on rural and urban district councils. These majorities, coupled with the compositional rules of the county council (where the five chairs of the RDCs were automatically appointed to county council seats without election), ensured consistent unionist supremacy in local government. Although viewed historically as the fortress of Protestant Ulster, in the ‘Maiden City’s’ Catholic population stood at ,, while Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist and other Protestant denominations numbered ,. Until the home rule crisis of –, the Presbyterian population of the city generally took a more radical view of politics than their Anglican counterparts, but as the prospect of Irish self-government became more real in the late nineteenth century, the Protestant community coalesced in a liberal-tory integration around unionism. By the time of the first home rule bill in , the city was politically divided between nationalism and unionism following the Catholic–Protestant religious fault line.
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Derry, ‒
Despite a Catholic majority, there had never been a nationalist mayor of the city and Unionists held what appeared to be a perpetual majority on Londonderry Corporation. During the local government reform process in , Catholics called for the creation of six city wards or the introduction of proportional representation. Unionists responded by gerrymandering the electoral wards and replacing the £ franchise with a rating franchise, thereby ensuring that property-owning Protestants would be able to outvote Catholics, who were more likely to share dwellings between two or more families. Instead of the six wards demanded by nationalists, five wards were created, each electing six councillors and two aldermen. Given that the Catholic population was concentrated in the West and South wards, the unionist majority in the corporation was copper-fastened through its unchallenged control of the North, East and Waterside wards. This majority was then able to control the mayoralty and municipal appointments. Nationalist charges of gerrymander were unceasing and led to heated debates over discrimination in the public appointments process. There was, however, little concern from any quarter of the council chamber when a female applicant for the position of sanitary sub-officer was rejected solely on the basis of gender in . During the debate on the election of a mayor in January , Alderman Campbell claimed that from a municipal salaries budget of £,, only £ went to Catholics. The political and religious affiliation of the city’s first citizen was the source of ongoing debate and controversy. Nationalist councillors decried the fact that those in the majority could not elect a mayor whose religion and political opinions reflected their own. The Representation of the People Act () led to an increase in the number of Catholic male voters and this had a particularly acute impact on Derry city, making the parliamentary constituency too close to call for either unionist or nationalist candidates in most electoral contests thereafter. Political activists in Derry had honed the process of voter registration to a fine art by . The knife-edge marginality and salience of the city’s parliamentary seat meant that all manner of tactics were used to populate the register of electors. One advantage that unionist election agents had was the ability to convince Protestant merchants to manufacture votes by partitioning the rooms of their employees, thereby qualifying them for individual votes. This device paid fewer dividends in the first decades of the twentieth century though, as the rise of limited companies and mass production reduced the influence held by the merchants. Catholics were at a disadvantage due to the high number of females without the right to vote, and a significant number of men who did not qualify for the franchise owing to their living arrangements. A total of . per cent of the adult male population in the city was entitled to a vote in parliamentary elections in . In the county, Protestant denominations numbered , people in , and Catholics ,. Reflecting the residential segregation evident between
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Parliamentary constituencies pre- the city wards, particular parishes and towns in the county were predominantly Catholic or Protestant. For instance, Coleraine, in the north of the county, was home to Catholics and , Protestants in . Conversely, the parish of Ballinascreen, centred around Draperstown in the south, recorded , Catholics and Protestants. These two areas were representative of some of the more extreme cases, but they illustrate a general pattern of division that was evident between the north and south of the county. The consolidated Protestant vote ensured that the parliamentary constituencies (see map ) of Londonderry North and South returned Unionist or Liberal Unionist MPs at every election after when T.M. Healy took the Londonderry South seat on an IPP ticket. There is evidence to suggest that some Protestants voted for Healy based on his reputation in relation to the land question and attempts made by the National League organizers to promote a non-sectarian image. However, a split in the unionist vote between Liberals and Conservatives probably had more impact on Healy’s
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victory. The results of the and elections crystallized divisions between nationalism and unionism, and brought a swift end to hostilities between Liberals and Conservatives as a unionist bloc was consolidated in the county. There remained a small minority of pro-home rule Liberal Protestants, but their impact was minimal outside Derry city. The city constituency of Londonderry became a swing seat between the forces of unionism and nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The walled city was the symbolic bastion of Protestant resistance in Ulster, making the contest more emotive than elsewhere, but the parliamentary seat was also a lightning rod for both political expressions due to the close nature of political competition. Rarely did the margin of victory exceed double figures in the – period. The city was represented by a Conservative from , by a Nationalist from , a Unionist from , and by a pro-home rule Liberal from until Eoin MacNeill took the seat for Sinn Féin in . David Hogg’s victory at a by-election in gave those in favour of Irish self-government a majority of the Ulster seats for the first time. The machinery of the Nationalist organization and the clout of the church locally ensured that home rulers held seventeen of the thirty-three Ulster seats, if only just. Unionism in Derry was led by a combination of landed aristocracy, industrialists, merchants and the professional middle class. Factionalism became a problem for unionism in the city at the municipal level in the s and the expense of registration work to maximize the vote in local and parliamentary contests took its toll. It was in this context that the Abercorn family used its financial clout to unify and lead unionism in the city. The marquis of Hamilton took the parliamentary seat in and held it until he was elevated to the duchy of Abercorn in . Perhaps only a landed aristocrat had the image of impartiality required to represent the variety of interests evident in an industrial and commercial city with a parliamentary seat that was usually won or lost on less than votes. The Unionist representatives on Londonderry Corporation reflected the diverse occupational backgrounds of the city’s leading unionists. For example, John McFarland was a baronet and a five-term mayor who was largely respected by the nationalist population for his attempts to promote greater cooperation in local politics. He owned the steamboat company and chaired the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway for many years. He was also an Apprentice Boy and had an independent streak that often brought him into conflict with his colleagues, but his status as one of the richest men in Ulster meant he had the necessary prestige to do so effectively. The most senior local Unionist politician was Maurice C. Hime, who was the former headmaster of Foyle College and an acquaintance of Jack Butler Yeats. He was also a prominent member of the Orange Order, the Masonic Lodge and was a former governor of the Apprentice Boys.
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Unionist unity was less important in the north of the county where control of the Coleraine and Limavady town councils was easily maintained and the parliamentary seat had been comfortably held by Hugh T. Barrie since and by his Unionist predecessors since . The south county parliamentary seat had been Unionist since but more work was needed to retain it than in the north. John Gordon, the sitting MP since , usually held the seat when contested only by a few hundred votes. He was a staunch defender of the agricultural labourer interest during discussions on the Wyndham Land Act (). Such actions reflect the challenge posed to his authority by the supporters of T.W. Russell, the former Liberal Unionist MP who had been elected in South Tyrone in on a progressive land reform platform. The Russellite challenge was repelled in South Londonderry, but the avoidance of complacency remained essential to ensure the vote was maximized at future elections. Leading figures within the broad structures of the IPP along with Catholic clergy dominated nationalist politics in the city and county. The United Irish League (UIL), founded as a grassroots organization by William O’Brien in , was by the s the constituency organization and fundraising arm of the IPP. The transition from grassroots movement to constituency machine in the service of the parliamentary party created a disconnection between the agrarian motivations at the base and the political priorities pursued by MPs at Westminster. This weakness within the constitutional nationalist movement left room for alternative nationalist ideas and strategies to develop, such as those articulated by Arthur Griffith’s Sinn Féin and by the progressive nationalist wing of the labour movement. The nationalist movement in Derry underwent a period of decline and division after , with national issues impacting on the local organization. Healyite candidates supported by the bishop of Derry, John Keys O’Doherty, challenged UIL-backed candidates in a number of constituencies in the northwest during . The failure of the challengers led to a significant clerical withdrawal from nationalist politics, the development of apathy across the board, and a unionist advantage in politics due to its more structured organizational work. There was, however, a rapprochement between the church and the UIL in and thereafter the nationalist organization began to build itself back up. This resulted in an enthusiastic campaign, backed by all shades of nationalist opinion, to have Shane Leslie elected for Londonderry City on a pro-home rule platform at the two general elections held in . In the event, the marquis of Hamilton retained the seat for the Unionists, but by small margins on both occasions. Leslie’s performance, a significant improvement on the Nationalist failure to contest the seat in , represented a resurgence coming into the s. By the end of , the nationalist movement was in a fairly healthy state across the county, with , members in
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eighteen UIL branches. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (Board of Erin) was active in Derry city but its influence was much greater in the rest of the county. The AOH (BoE) was a Catholic fraternal organization with roots in the underground, agrarian Ribbon tradition that was in many ways a mirror image of the Orange Order. There was a branch in every town by and membership increased in common with the rest of Ulster, particularly after the AOH (BoE) became a benefit society with responsibility for managing national insurance in . An extra-constitutional strand of nationalism can be detected in Derry and traced from Ribbonism, through the Fenians and into the Irish-Ireland movement of the early twentieth century. There was, however, a degree of crossover between the two strains of nationalism. For instance, Paddy Shiels, who later commanded the IRA in Derry city, was a member of the Bogsidebased Robert Emmet branch of the UIL in younger days. There are reports of Fenian ideas reaching urban parts of Derry in the s, complete with meetings in pubs and oaths being sworn with references to arms and aspirations of republican government. There was a tradition of Fenianism in south Derry with some claiming that men who were active as far back as continued to play a role in the opening decades of the twentieth century. Radical nationalists in rural parts of Derry, some of them IRB members, were involved in the land agitations of the late nineteenth century. An upsurge in radical nationalist activity took place around the centenary of the Rebellion concurrently with the reorganization of the IRB in south Derry and east Tyrone. However, a more significant re-emergence of Ulster republicanism did not occur until , when men such as Bulmer Hobson, Denis McCullough and Seán Mac Diarmada led a resurgent campaign to form branches of the Gaelic League, Cumann na nGaedheal, the Dungannon Clubs and later Sinn Féin. These efforts also bore fruit in the search for new members of the IRB. Meetings organized and addressed by prominent IRB members resulted in large numbers joining the National Council (Sinn Féin) in and an attendance of over , people at the Manchester Martyrs commemoration in Toome, addressed by Major John MacBride. Nationalist Derry’s émigré population had some influence in the US, Canada and Scotland. Folk memory in south Derry and east Tyrone placed local men in the American side of the Fenian movement during the latter part of the nineteenth century. John Mulholland, from south Derry, was the Scottish representative on the IRB Supreme Council after and two other Derry men, William Diamond and Patrick McAuley, were the IRB head centres in Motherwell and Portglasgow respectively in the early s. Advanced nationalists were also active in Derry city, where a similar process of pump-priming by leading IRB figures took place. A police informant reported in that the Cumann na nGaedheal branch in the city num-
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bered people. Éire Óg, a youth organization with links to Cumann na nGaedheal and the Gaelic League, was active in the city from at least . In September of that year Bulmer Hobson addressed the group and convinced twelve young men to form a branch of the Dungannon Clubs in the city. The Éire Óg grouping appears to have been a significant staging ground for those who later became involved in separatist actions in the s and s. Liam Brady remembers that the Éire Óg Sunday School gathered youths in the city together in the Christian Brothers’ School to receive instruction in drilling and classes on the Irish language, history and prayer. Brady estimates that there was a membership of over during his time attending the classes in the early s. There was also a sluagh (branch) of Na Fianna Éireann in Derry from at least . A further effort at IRB organization was made in the city at the end of when Hobson stayed overnight in a local hotel with the ‘principal object’ of appointing Paddy Shiels as the IRB organizer for the city. An advanced nationalist faction of the AOH, known as the Irish-American Alliance (IAA), was very active in the city and overshadowed the influence of its constitutional counterpart with members in . The AOH (IAA) campaigned in politics on the basis of Catholic disadvantage locally and nationally, alongside support for Sinn Féin policy and wider advanced nationalistic aims. The Derry division was fully involved in the language and cultural revival, and opened its rooms in St Columb’s Hall for classes and events. Ten of its officers, who were also members of the IRB in December , held positions of national leadership in the organization. For instance, John Gallagher became national president in and John Ferguson, a Glaswegian living in Coleraine, was national secretary in . J.J. Scollan was an AOH (IAA) member in Derry until , when he departed for Dublin and established a military wing, the Hibernian Rifles, that fought alongside the other republican forces during the Easter Rising. The branch president, William Morris, was also a nationalist member of Londonderry Corporation and an advocate for workers and the poor. The Derry division, along with its ‘Ladies Auxiliary’, hosted the north-west branches of the IAA on an excursion to Moville in June , attracting an estimated , people. Radical strains can also be identified in the language revival movement and in anti-recruiting campaigns. The Gaelic League was active in Derry city from early and appears to have built on the earlier ad hoc arrangement of Irish language classes. By some of its most prominent members were also involved in advanced nationalist activity elsewhere. When Maeve Cavanagh, poet and later a member of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), spent a year working in a Derry shirt factory around or , she and some of her female work colleagues formed their own branch of the Gaelic League after they detected a hint of snobbery directed at their occupational status.
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While most definitely a minority strain in the city and county’s nationalist politics, the nucleus of what became the Derry republican movement during the revolutionary period was active and connected with the national leadership of advanced nationalism in the decade prior to . The labour movement in Derry was most advanced in the city, but there were also trade union branches in the towns and intermittent organization of farm labourers in rural areas. The city generally followed the rest of Ireland in terms of labour organization and trends in trade unionism in the nineteenth century. A number of Derry men played significant roles in the Irish Trade Union Congress (ITUC) from its formation in . Thomas Cassidy, W.J. McNulty, and most notably, James McCarron were leading figures in the national movement. McCarron led the Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses (ASTT) nationally and had been prominent during the period of new unionism (–), spending a period of time in prison for strike activity. He was elected to the Parliamentary Committee of the ITUC every year from until , served as president on three occasions and brought the annual meeting to the Guildhall in . McCarron was a nationalist, but his political interventions usually followed the line laid down by the ITUC. He saw no contradiction in holding nationalist or unionist views and leaving them aside when it came to labour matters. Nor did others with a trade union interest. The ITUC noted in that there were six councillors in Derry city who could be described as representing labour, yet most of these identified as either national or unionist. McCarron was the first official labour candidate elected to Londonderry Corporation in and joined Nationalist calls for an end to the effective bar on Catholics ascending to the mayoralty. Perhaps most significantly, he was a staunch defender of British-based unions in Ireland, an opinion that led him to clash with the wave of progressive trade unionism epitomized in the personality of James Larkin from onwards. ‘Big Jim’ Larkin visited Derry twice in , attracting large crowds of dockers and carters to St Columb’s Hall and the Guildhall. During his second visit, he called for a bloodless revolution and quoted William Morris and Karl Marx (whose daughter Eleanor visited Derry in ). Industrial unrest began to rise in Derry as elsewhere at the time. A newsboy strike, accompanied by Larkinite strike tactics and violence, occurred in the city in and Desmond Murphy notes that Derry society was shocked by the violence of a similar strike in , when newsagents were physically attacked and indiscriminate damage to property and person was carried out. However, as Larkin turned his attention to the south in , there was little for workers to be enthusiastic about in Derry. The corporation refused a small wage rise for labourers and over , shirt factory workers were locked out in September. The formation of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) by Larkin in set in train a series of events that caused
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upheaval in Irish labour circles and was accompanied by rising industrial militancy after . The ITGWU represented a break with the established order. It was Irish-based, catered for the core of Larkinite operations – dockers, carters and other transport workers as well the unskilled generally – and it also advanced a politics of socialist republicanism that was anathema to the moderate approach of the ITUC leadership and trade unionists like McCarron. Most Irish branches of the National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL) transferred to the ITGWU immediately but the Derry dockers, along with those in Drogheda and the largely Protestant cross-channel Belfast dockers remained with the Liverpool-based union. The formation of the ITGWU ushered in a radical change in Irish labour that saw supporters of Larkin gradually take over leadership of the movement. McCarron’s prominent role in Irish labour diminished after , but he remained a highly significant figure in Derry through his union and his role as a councillor, and later an alderman, on the corporation. The Derry branch of the NUDL had members in and retained the allegiance of its members thereafter. There was relative industrial peace in the years leading up to , with no major strikes recorded in the city during or . The Board of Trade reported that the Trades Council had members in , but that it ceased to exist after . This seems to be an error as the existence of the council is referenced in local press reports in and . On the former occasion a columnist was strongly critical of local trade unionists for their Anglicized outlook that was in sharp contrast to that being taken in Dublin. The Socialist Party of Ireland had a presence in Derry city in , but it did not grow beyond a small number of members. Labour in Derry and Ulster operated in a very different context to that in the south during the revolutionary period and whereas moves towards republicanism and militancy by the Dublin leadership had a significant impact, they were not always welcomed in the north. The churches in Derry generally rowed behind the Unionist and Nationalist political organizations. The Catholic diocese of Derry covers the entirety of the county along with Inishowen and a large part of County Tyrone. Charles McHugh, the son of a farmer from Dreena, near Castlederg, was appointed bishop in . He had taken an early interest in nationalist politics and was a member of the Irish National League in the s. He served on the teaching staff of St Columb’s College in Derry city, becoming its president in . As bishop, McHugh was outspoken on politics and education, particularly the perceived lack of resources afforded to Ireland in comparison to England and Scotland. He believed that northern Catholics were becoming increasingly forgotten about in home rule politics at Westminster and he immediately moved to increase the influence of the clergy on politics in the diocese in . On his appointment as bishop he stated:
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Derry, ‒ If there be a struggle ... for the welfare of our country, you will not find me at the rear ... The interests of religion and our position as Catholics are inseparably linked with any proposals that may be put forward for the solution of the Irish problem.
McHugh played a pivotal role in Derry and northern nationalism during his term as bishop between and . His interventions on partition, in particular, had far-reaching consequences in the s. The clergy generally followed his political lead but a few were supportive of more advanced forms of nationalism and later supported Sinn Féin. This book assesses the extent to which a revolution – failed or otherwise – took place in Derry. The – period was tumultuous. It saw threatened stirrings of physical resistance to home rule in Ulster, the militarization of Irish politics, significant labour unrest, the outbreak of a major European war, the threat of conscription and the appearance of partition on the political agenda. None of these events, despite their importance as indicators of a coming change in Ireland, can be described as revolutionary. The majority viewpoint in regard to the constitutional status of Ireland in this period was acceptance of the status quo. The division that emerged between nationalists and unionists was over devolution, rather than revolution. The period after Easter in Ireland can, at the very least, be termed an attempt at revolution. It is hardly a spoiler to reveal in this introductory chapter that the Irish Revolution was not carried successfully in any regard in the six counties that became Northern Ireland after . Politics and patterns of violence unfolded very differently in the north compared to the rest of the country. Further, the differing priorities of nationalists in west Ulster and those closer to Belfast were increasingly exposed by the partition question from onwards. Derry and Belfast both experienced urban sectarian violence in the period but at different times and at differing rates of intensity. Perhaps the most blatant difference between the six counties and the rest of Ireland during the period was that the Civil War did not cross the border. If there was a civil war in the north, it was fought between the IRA and the security forces of the new Northern Ireland government for a brief period in . There were times between and when Derry was central to the unfolding of events nationally but more often the revolution passed it by. Nevertheless, the future of the region and the country was shaped by the experience of Derry at this pivotal time in Irish history.
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Saving the Empire by all means necessary: unionism, – The Unionist political consolidation of the late nineteenth century resulted in the north and south county parliamentary constituencies returning Unionist candidates at every election between and . Despite the clear nationalist majority in Derry city, Unionist candidates were able to challenge for and take the parliamentary seat on a number of occasions. That political consolidation masked the diversity of the unionist base in Derry. It comprised men and women; gentry, large, small and tenant farmers; and urban professionals, merchants, factory and mill owners, along with workers in the various industries. The support base was predominantly Protestant, but included some middle-class Catholics and excluded the so-called ‘Protestant home rulers’ who supported the Ulster Liberal Association (ULA). While members of this diverse base could be relied on to return a member of the gentry or a parachuted establishment figure to a parliamentary seat, there was no guarantee that they would repress their diverse interests in pursuit of a consolidated mass movement in opposition to home rule. The shifting tides at elite political level in the years immediately prior to ensured that a crossclass, gender neutral, urban-rural alliance emerged with an unwavering commitment to oppose home rule by any means. The removal of the House of Lords’ veto power in and exposure of unionism to the vagaries of House of Commons arithmetic resulted in an evolved and much expanded movement. This new brand of unionism possessed a volatility that ensured its voice would be heard at the highest level and that it could take pragmatic steps to ensure self-preservation, regardless of the impact on its base. Between and , the Ulster unionist resistance to home rule progressed from public meetings and propaganda campaigns, to drilling and mobilizing large numbers of supporters, eventually with arms and a declared intention to defeat home rule ‘using all means that may be found necessary’. Within a few years, unionism would retreat from its demand for no home rule for Ireland, through insistence on the exclusion of the province of Ulster in its entirety, to a last bastion position that called for the six counties surrounding Belfast to be partitioned from the rest of Ireland. The latter shift had an immense impact on Derry city. If a six-county partition scheme was introduced, the city would be cut off from Donegal, an area seen by the majority of the city’s residents as a natural hinterland and which was, for many, their ancestral home. Derry nationalists, along with their comrades in the western counties of Fermanagh and Tyrone, were strongly wedded to an anti-partitionism that defined politics and life in Ulster over the next decade. The conflict between
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anti-partitionist nationalism and six-county Ulster unionism became the biggest issue in British and Irish politics in and , bringing violence to the streets of Derry and the country to the brink of civil war. The removal of the House of Lords’ veto power under the Parliament Act of meant that the Liberal–Nationalist alliance in the House of Commons was inevitably going to enact home rule legislation for Ireland during the lifetime of the parliament. The unionist-dominated Lords was able to suppress the home rule bills of and without any serious need to resort to threats of extra-parliamentary action. The new rules meant that the Lords could delay legislation on two occasions, but on the third attempt to have a bill made law, any opposition from the upper house could be by-passed and the bill given royal assent based solely on the Commons majority in favour. The impact of this on Ireland was that a home rule bill introduced in would inevitably pass through Westminster in if the government survived. This change saw all those opposed to home rule, from whatever background, flock to the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) in the hope that the body could protect them against the imposition of a Dublin parliament. The UUC was led by Edward Carson, a Dublin lawyer who succeeded Walter Long as leader of the Irish Unionists in parliament in . Within two years Carson became the face of Ulster resistance to home rule. He was ably supported by James Craig who carried out the main organizational work from , when he reformed the Unionist Clubs movement, began a propaganda campaign against home rule in Britain, and later played a prominent role in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The standing committee of the UUC was composed of the most prominent unionists in the six-county area and had a significant influence over the wider direction of the movement. Three members who could be said to represent Derry sat on the forty-strong committee: John Gordon, MP for South Londonderry; William Colhoun, proprietor of the Londonderry Sentinel and high sheriff of Londonderry; and Samuel E. Smythe Edwards, a prominent gentry figure of Bovena House, near Dungiven. The standing committee’s membership was concentrated on Belfast and the north-east, however, and the UUC’s later move towards sixcounty exclusion can be partly explained by this weighting. Although Derry had a significant distribution of loyal orders, the resurgent unionism of – drew its strength not from the Orange Order or the Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABOD), but from the Unionist Clubs. The Clubs were active during the second home rule crisis of and were revived by the UUC in . Their rapid spread was fuelled by intense opposition to home rule, but the broader and less sectarian appeal of the Clubs allowed them to attract unionists uninspired by the loyal orders. At the inaugural meeting of the reformed City of Derry Unionist Club on May the marquis of Hamilton took the chair and was flanked by Maurice Hime,
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the governor of the ABOD, and Robert McCarter, the city grand master of the Orange Order. Hamilton declared that ‘the Club was in no way intended to run counter to the existing organizations … The object of the Club was to enrol the name of every Unionist in the city, whether a voter or not’. He was followed by Captain Frank Hall, secretary of the Unionist Clubs of Ireland, who noted that ‘the Orange institution … were [sic] already organized as a first line of defence … now, a large number of others outside that organization were organizing through these Clubs to work hand-in-hand with the Orangemen’. Earlier in the year, when reorganization of the Clubs was first mooted, the Sentinel held that their object had to be the creation of a counter organization to the AOH that could embrace ‘all Irish Unionists of every class’. Lord Templeton, the prime mover behind the Clubs in and , further reiterated the intention to project an image that transcended social class. At a rare meeting in the south, at Kingstown in Dublin, he explained that ‘the reason why these clubs were formed [was that] in the old days it was asserted – absolutely unjustly – that the objection to Home Rule was confined to the landlords of Ireland and the moneyed classes of the North of Ireland’. He argued that they had to get everyone involved, regardless of religion, and that ‘they had no test except that of loyalty and unionism’. The Unionist Clubs were largely successful in these aims, although Magherafelt took a different view. James Brown, a local solicitor, explained that he and his fellow Orangemen in the town refused to form a Club because membership had to be open to Catholics. They eventually formed a Club in June when they were sure they could successfully resist pressure to allow Catholics to join. Clubs sprang up across all parts of Derry comprising gentry figures, industrialists, merchants, professional men and church men. The Derry shipyard workers formed their own Club in February . By , when the unionist mobilization had built on the Clubs to incorporate an armed resistance body, Lord Londonderry addressed a diverse gathering in London’s Hyde Park, which included ‘gentlemen with silk hats and black coats, as well as representatives of the collarless community, who spend their lives in the East End’. Speaking to these workers directly, he implored them to consider the plight of the trade unionists in the UVF who were under threat of being shot by the British army. The appeal to bring everyone opposed to home rule under the same umbrella extended to women also. Women had been sporadically involved in the and protests against home rule, but in their role became formalized with the establishment of the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council (UWUC) on January. It was a conservative organization ‘with no ambition to shake up the status quo’ but its role was significant nonetheless. By the end of the UWUC had branches across Ulster, including Derry. At the inaugural meeting of the North Derry branch in Coleraine the women
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were supported by a number of prominent unionist men, including the MP Hugh T. Barrie, whose wife took a leading position. Major Torrens condescended to move a vote of thanks, stating that whereas ‘he was opposed to giving votes to women or having them mixed up in political strife’, the meeting showed him that women ‘could sway the multitude as well as they could twist the individual round their thumb’. The branch responded with laughter and applause. The unionist achievement in concentrating solely on a single issue is highlighted by the UWUC attitude to the suffrage question. Its membership held divergent opinions on the matter, one of the hottest political topics of the day. In September, when considering the question of women’s role in a provisional government, Lady Dufferin remarked that ‘on Home Rule we are united; on every other question we are probably divided, and therefore it is all important that we should refrain from any expression of opinion on other policies’. Similar conflicts between issues such as suffrage and labour questions played out in the nationalist and later the republican movement. However, the sheer scale of the unionist consolidation in opposition to home rule is obvious from such determined endeavours to maintain unity, despite a bubbling undercurrent of disagreement on a multitude of other issues. Carson’s announcement in September that a provisional government would be formed in Ulster ‘the morning Home Rule passes’ marked a determined shift in the unionist resistance. At a joint meeting on September of the UUC, the Unionist Clubs and the County Grand Orange Lodges it was unanimously resolved that immediate steps be taken ‘to frame and submit a Constitution for a Provisional Government for Ulster’. Loyalist brethren outside of Ulster were acknowledged but the ship of an island-wide resistance movement had long since sailed. At this point, however, the intention was to use the strength of Ulster to resist home rule for the entire island. Public rallies addressed by Carson were attended by thousands of people. Derry unionists attended a rally in Portrush in large numbers to hear Carson speak alongside the Unionist MPs for the county constituencies. Carson elaborated on his earlier reference to ‘Ulster rebels’ being forged by government actions when speaking about details of the planned resistance. The loyal sons of Ulster would not shoot British soldiers or sailors, but any action on the part of the military would be fiercely met. The discipline and concentration of the envisaged Ulster resistance was negatively contrasted with decades of nationalist agrarian violence against a medley of ill-defined targets. The vast majority of unionist drilling took place indoors in and , so the danger of provocation leading to sectarian clashes was minimal. Nevertheless, tensions between nationalists and unionists in Derry rose significantly in , mainly as a result of wider political developments and some of the large public rallies held by leading political figures on both sides
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of the home rule debate. Unionist opposition to home rule intensified in January when news broke that Winston Churchill planned to speak at a pro-home rule rally at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on February. Unionist anger directed at Churchill, whose father Randolph made the famous ‘Ulster will fight, and Ulster will be right’ speech in opposition to home rule at the same venue in , was palpable. Unionists blockaded the Ulster Hall and the meeting was moved to Celtic Park, where Churchill was joined by the IPP leaders, John Redmond and Joe Devlin. Large unionist rallies were held throughout Ulster in January, February and March. Carson addressed a ,-strong crowd at Omagh on January and smaller public meetings took place in Coleraine, Limavady, Moneymore, Magherafelt and Derry. One of the largest demonstrations of unionist strength in the period occurred at Balmoral on April, two days before the home rule bill was introduced in the House of Commons. The Conservative leader of the opposition, Andrew Bonar Law, joined over seventy of his fellow Conservative and Unionist MPs from Scotland and England, along with Carson and the top brass of Ulster Unionism on the podium. Bonar Law had family connections to Ulster and felt no unease as over , men paraded by the platform in military formation. He made clear that despite the parliamentary majority they faced at Westminster, ‘the Loyalists must trust to themselves, and help would come. When the crisis was over men would say of them “you have saved yourselves by your exertions, and you will save the Empire by your example”’. The presence of such influential allies represented another strong pillar in the structure of unionist opposition to home rule. Recognizing the undeniable reality that home rule would be passed by the House of Commons due to the majority held by the Liberals and Nationalists, the Unionists followed a strategy of using the Lords’ delaying power to buy time that could be used to influence British public opinion. The aim was to force the government to drop the bill or dissolve parliament and go to the polls on the home rule issue. The Unionists sat in opposition with the Conservatives, who were largely united in opposing home rule, at a time when they were divided on a number of other issues. This relationship allowed the Ulster Unionists to mount an effective propaganda campaign in Britain from to . The propaganda strategy did not have the intended effect of killing home rule, but it shifted public opinion to the extent that by the summer of partition was central to the debate on Ireland. The magnitude of the shift took northern nationalists by surprise, particularly in Derry where a responsive mass mobilization was planned to place a spotlight on the anti-partitionist position. CI Cary noted that ‘party feeling’ had ‘become somewhat more acute at Bellaghy’ during February , but the first signs of serious political violence between nationalists and unionists appeared in May when a charity football
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match between rival teams in Derry turned into a mass brawl. The two sides, Derry Guilds and Institute FC, had large support bases in the city. Tensions were already high as the Institute team marched through a nationalist district of the city with a brass band playing Rule Britannia two days earlier. Politics and football were never strange bedfellows, but the – season had seen little crowd trouble or overt shows of political allegiance. The charity match drew a large crowd of spectators to the Brandywell, seen at the time as a neutral venue despite its location in a predominantly nationalist part of the city. Reports of what actually happened at the Brandywell vary wildly. Each set of supporters accused the other of singing party-political songs or chanting ‘offensive’ slogans. Towards the end of the match, two players started fighting. Within minutes the crowd came on to the pitch and a free-for-all commenced before the referee called the game off. The Institute players had to remain in the pavilion, which was surrounded by Guilds fans. They were then escorted back to the Waterside by police at ten o’clock that night. An hour later trouble continued in the city as crowds came on to the street and began throwing stones and shouting ‘Go on the Blues’ and ‘No Home Rule’. It was claimed that the stones came from the direction of the Fountain, leading police to charge into the area after a number of theatre-goers were struck. It was also alleged that threatening crowds assembled outside the houses of known Guilds fans, and that one of the Guilds’ players was attacked on his way home from work the following day. He and two other players were then afforded police protection. Things calmed down in the city after this, and according to the CI, the ill feeling had subsided by the end of the month. However, editorials and letters to the editors of local newspapers also showed the level of intensity and recrimination that went beyond football rivalry. In its editorial of May the Sentinel argued that the events at the match represented a premeditated attack by Catholics on a Protestant team. It linked the violence directly to the playing of Rule Britannia by the team band a couple of nights before and criticized local Catholic clerics for not coming out strongly enough in condemning the violence. A later editorial in the same paper used the events to question the validity of the Derry Standard’s unionist credentials after the usually more moderate Presbyterian newspaper called for peace between the two sides. The centrality of religion and politics to the disturbances was further highlighted by a Guilds fan’s letter to the Standard on May, asking if the events on the streets after the match were a sample of how ‘Ulster will fight’, channelling Randolph Churchill in reference to the upsurge in unionist resistance rhetoric. The post-match violence on the streets was not serious, relatively speaking, but it was the first physical sign of tensions between the confessional blocs in Derry since the upshift in unionist resistance activity from early . It was also the first time in the period of upheaval from onwards that sectarianism took the form of street violence; it would not be the last.
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Just over a month later another violent outbreak occurred in Castledawson. On June members of a Hibernian band returning from a nationalist meeting in Maghera attacked a Presbyterian Sunday school excursion on the road between the train station and the town. Castledawson unionists came to the aid of the excursionists, who were mainly children and young teenagers. A total of seven Protestants and twenty-three Hibernians were subsequently brought to trial. Few disputed what happened, but there were differing interpretations of what led to the riot and what the effects of it were in terms of injuries to the Sunday school excursionists. The Hibernians claimed that they were goaded with anti-Catholic mutterings as they passed the excursionists on the road and that a man carrying a large Union flag at the head of the party was purposefully waving it low so that it knocked the hats off the men approaching them on the other side of the road. Leaders of the excursion strenuously denied these accusations and claimed that the Hibernians waded into their party and began stabbing the women and children. There is no doubt that the women and children in the party were frightened and badly shaken by the experience, but there is no record of injury to anyone other than a number of the men who stood to fight off the attack. This is an important point as the events at Castledawson on June have been interpreted as the catalyst for the shipyard expulsions and violence against Catholics that took place in Belfast throughout the following month. Patrick Maume, for instance, states that Drunken Hibernians returning from the rally [in Maghera] duly attacked a Protestant Sunday school excursion carrying Union Jacks at Castledawson. Castledawson sparked riots in Belfast. Thousands of Catholics were driven from their places of work, many being attacked and injured. Paul Bew recognizes that the events at Castledawson were exaggerated to some extent and that the unionist narrative of Castledawson, rather than the actual events, led to the Belfast violence. As CI Cary drafted police reinforcements into Castledawson on July, the simmering tensions of militant unionist rhetoric and drilling, nationalist hubris and Hibernian aggression combined and exploded, not in the south Derry town, but in the Workman Clark shipyard in Belfast. According to the unionist press, a Protestant riveter whose children had been injured at Castledawson got into an argument with a Catholic colleague, which quickly extended to the other workers. Within a short period a number of people had been injured and Catholic workers were generally expelled from the yard. The violence spread to Harland and Wolff and to the rest of the city with mobs attacking property and people deemed to be enemies of unionism. The intensity of the violence eased throughout the month, and the th of July
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Orange marches passed off peacefully, but over , Catholics and Protestant trade unionists, deemed to be enemies of unionism, remained locked out of the shipyards and other workplaces until August. Some were afraid to return to the Workman Clark yard after the management made clear that it could not prevent further attacks. Protestant workers in a Castledawson mill downed tools until a nationalist colleague, who they alleged was involved in the violence of June, was dismissed from his employment. The dispute was settled, however, and the men returned to work alongside their nationalist coworker the same day. There were no further outbursts in Derry but organized attacks on Catholics took place in Carrickfergus and workplace expulsions occurred in Ballyclare. So, was the Belfast violence of July a direct reaction to Castledawson, or was there a creeping inevitability to that violence, which latched on to the image of County Derry Hibernians attacking Protestant children? Both Ramsay MacDonald and Augustine Birrell made clear in the House of Commons that they believed the events in Castledawson could not be taken seriously as an explanation for the Belfast violence. Birrell, the chief secretary for Ireland, went so far as to say that anti-home rule sentiment in the shipyards had been building for some time and that an outburst such as that witnessed was expected, regardless of Castledawson. Furthermore, the unionist black propaganda machine was in full swing prior to Castledawson with stories circulating about Belfast Catholics running raffles for Protestant houses, businesses, land, property and jobs, to be distributed to the winners on the day home rule came into operation. There was also a rumour that members of the AOH had to take an oath committing to massacre Protestants. In this context, Castledawson was a propaganda gift, and exaggerations started in earnest from the earliest opportunity. As Michael Foy points out, ‘Castledawson seemed to confirm the most apocalyptic predictions of the fate which awaited unionists in a Home Rule Ireland’ and the actions of the AOH in attacking a Protestant crowd made up predominantly of children allowed unionists to ‘reverse the damaging image of them as aggressors and depict themselves as the innocent victims of nationalist intolerance’. MacDonald was forthright in his condemnation of the shipyard expulsions and violence, not least because as leader of the Labour Party he was standing up for the Protestant and Catholic trade unionists who had been expelled. The expulsion of trade unionists and other ‘rotten Prods’ (Protestants who refused to support the official Unionist movement) convinced MacDonald that ‘Castledawson has nothing whatever to do with it’ and that MPs like Carson and Charles Craig (brother of James) had much to answer for by making reckless speeches that stirred up trouble in the preceding months. While the Castledawson affray was directly linked to the Belfast violence of July by unionists and in the modern day by some historians, a closer inves-
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tigation of events across the north in points to a complexity that undermines direct causality. The shipyard expulsions and violence in Belfast appear more likely to have been the result of increasing unionist militancy in opposition to the implementation of home rule, rather than a reaction to Hibernian sectarian violence. For instance, Castledawson did not occur in a vacuum. An attack on a group of Catholic excursionists in Lisburn four days prior to the Castledawson affray must be taken into account also. The group of priests, nuns and children were pelted with stones and mud on their way to Ardglass for the day. This attack was much less serious and appears to have been the work of a group of local children. It was not reported in the press until Joe Devlin raised it in the Commons after the Castledawson controversy. The nationalist press then latched on to the story in an attempt to take the edge off the Hibernian sectarianism narrative. In Derry there had been sectarian violence and revolver fire in the village of Innishrush. Further serious sectarian violence in Kilrea on July, where a riot involving people led to a number of people sustaining gunshot wounds, concerned the CI as much as what happened in Castledawson. The Apprentice Boys’ annual ‘Relief of Derry’ march passed off peacefully in the city on August and the local Orange marches in July were largely peaceable, with the exception of the Kilrea riot and an incident in Bellaghy when an inebriated Orangeman had a police baton broken over his head after punching a local constable and shouting ‘no surrender’. Northern nationalists traditionally marked the Feast of the Assumption on August with bonfires and parades. No parading took place in , but tensions rose in Derry city due to the lighting of large bonfires in both unionist and nationalist districts. The police had difficulty ensuring that both sides remained in their own areas, but disturbances were limited to some stone throwing and minor injuries to two police officers. Unionists built on the momentum of the summer by announcing that ‘Ulster Day’ would take place on September. All men opposed to home rule were encouraged to sign a covenant pledging to use ‘all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ulster’. Unionist women were to sign a parallel declaration noting their ‘desire to associate ourselves with the men of Ulster in their uncompromising opposition to the Home Rule Bill now before Parliament’. Carson and Craig went on a tour of the province in advance of Ulster Day, calling at Derry on September and Coleraine the following day. Scenes of jubilation accompanied their arrival at the Midland Railway station in Derry’s Waterside. They were greeted by local leaders of the UWUC and escorted through the flag and bunting bedecked streets of the city by a guard of Unionist Club members. A torchlight procession was met with some disturbances and smashing of windows by nationalists, but no major violence occurred. The duke of Abercorn, the marquis of Hamilton MP, Hugh T.
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Barrie MP, and other local notables, including the Church of Ireland bishop of Derry and Raphoe, joined Carson at a crowded meeting at the Guildhall. Similar scenes were witnessed in Coleraine the following day, and an openair meeting addressed by Carson, Barrie and John Gordon was held on the grounds of Barrie’s large Manor House. Ulster Day passed off peacefully throughout Derry with religious services in every town and village across the county. Most Protestant-owned businesses closed in the afternoon and the carnival atmosphere echoed that of the previous weekend during Carson’s visit. A total of , people signed the Covenant and Declaration across Derry. This figure was inflated by some Donegal residents signing in Derry city. Consequently, the proportion of the Protestant population who signed the Covenant in Derry was lower than the most responsive counties of Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan. Although small in number, there was a pro-home rule section of the Protestant population in Derry that found expression politically through the ULA. This group did not consider itself to be nationalist but believed that the connection between Britain and Ireland could be strengthened by removing nationalist grievances through home rule. Members of the ULA were vulnerable to intimidation and even physical violence from their neighbours who supported Carson. Robert Bailey was a ULA member from Fawney, just outside Drumahoe, who was the victim of a campaign of boycott, intimidation and violence from onwards. Bailey accused supporters of Hugh Barrie of carrying out an arson attack on his property during the general election campaign. Bailey was a prominent supporter of Arnold White, the Russellite challenger for the seat. The conflict continued for some years after as Bailey was expelled from the Glendermott presbytery and had to have a police escort when returning home from his work in Derry city. The threats to his life became even more serious after he attended Churchill’s pro-home rule speech in Belfast in February . As will be discussed in the next chapter, another Protestant home ruler, David Hogg, was elected as Liberal MP for Londonderry City with the support of nationalists in January . Protestant opposition to official Unionism was not restricted to supporters of the Liberals. Marshall Tillie, the most prominent shirt factory owner in Derry city, refused to fly the Union flag from his premises when Carson visited in September and was booed when he stood on the veranda of the factory as the procession passed by. He was a unionist, but refrained from signing the Ulster Covenant because he believed home rule was inevitable and that unionists should prepare for the new political context, rather than fight a losing battle. There was also a significant section of anti-partitionist Protestants in the labour movement that opposed official unionism in and continued to challenge Carson and Craig into the s. The most organized Protestant opposition to official unionism came in October
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when a group of advanced nationalists and Liberals attempted to organize an alternative covenant. Roger Casement, Alice Stopford Green and Captain Jack White, along with the Presbyterian minister J.B. Armour, arranged a meeting to protest Carson’s claim to speak for the Protestants of Ulster in Ballymoney, County Antrim on October. Over people attended, including some from Coleraine, and heard White call on them to sign a covenant affirming the benefits of home rule and pledging to ‘stand by one another and our country in the troublous days that are before us, and more especially to help one another when our liberties are threatened by any non-statutory body that may be set up in Ulster or elsewhere’. The covenant was distributed across Antrim and signed by around , people. A degree of Protestant dissent from the Carson line was evident from the actions of a number of individuals in Derry and the gap between the total number of Protestants in the county and the number who signed the Ulster Covenant and Declaration. However, the existence of this dissent must be considered alongside the fact that a large majority of the adult Protestant population in all three parliamentary constituencies agreed with Carson enough to sign the Covenant. Whether or not they were willing to resist home rule to the extent outlined in their pledges is a matter of conjecture. Neither should the existence of pro-home rule and ambiguous sections of the population be interpreted as a sign of latent nationalism among Derry and Ulster Protestants. Most of those in attendance at the Ballymoney meeting were prohome rule unionists, rather than nationalists, and it has been argued that their dissent during the third home rule crisis is more accurately traced to the ‘the substantial minority radical tradition with its origins in Gladstonian Liberalism, [Irish Protestant Home Rule Association], Russellism, and … the ULA’, rather than radical Presbyterian republicanism in the guise of Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen. Unionist drilling in anticipation of the need for a physical bulwark against unwelcome political developments began in Ulster as early as December . The first drills noticed by the police in Derry took place in late . By February drilling had taken place in all Ulster counties, except Donegal and Monaghan. Derry and Donegal were slow to commence in comparison to the neighbouring county of Tyrone, which reported the highest frequency and total number of people drilled outside Belfast. A total of people had been drilled in Derry by February , and only Fermanagh drilled less. The standard guidebook, Simple drill for irregular forces, was published in Derry in October , so it appears that the intention to increase the frequency of drilling in the county was evident from an early stage. The initial drilling took place in the Orange halls in Aghadowey and the Waterside district of Derry, and in the Memorial Hall, headquarters of the ABOD, on Society Street. The numbers drilling grew slowly in and , even after
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the formation of the UVF as an organized militia in January . By July there were , UVF members in Derry, of them drilled regularly in Orange halls and the rooms of Unionist Clubs in Castledawson, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, Articlave, Upperlands, Castlerock, Coleraine, Kilrea, Limavady and Derry city. The numbers drilling in Tyrone continued to remain significantly higher than in Derry, however. Michael Foy has shown how drilling and UVF membership varied significantly between different parts of the province. The extent to which the Unionist leadership was willing to go to oppose home rule has been debated by historians in recent times. Paul Bew, for instance, has interpreted the formation of the UVF in January as an attempt by the leadership to keep an unruly rank and file in check. Furthermore, the military capability of the UVF has been called into question, as has the coherence of its strategy and aims across the province. There were , members of the UVF in Tyrone in May , yet Derry, a county with a larger Protestant population, had only , members in July. During the local newspapers continued to report on Unionist Club drilling, showing that there may have been a reluctance to implement official UVF structures in the county until later in the year. There were reports of rifles and ammunition being stockpiled at Garvagh Orange Hall as early as December and rifle imports were detected at Coleraine and Derry in June . Nonetheless, CI Cary noted that despite increasing unionist anger at the progressing home rule bill, those who signed the Covenant in the county ‘did so merely with a view to show their determination to take up arms but that they will not really resort to open force’. He also claimed that Many of the lower element of the Orange Order … will be prepared to proceed to extremities, and there is the danger that they may coerce their leaders to proceed to greater lengths than these latter may wish. They have been led to believe that open armed resistance is necessary, and may possibly get out of hand. Cary took solace in his estimation that only around thirty per cent of Protestants in Derry would resort to armed resistance, but events in the summer and autumn of led to an upsurge in unionist militancy across Ulster that had a decided impact in Derry. Carson embarked on a tour of Ulster to mark the first anniversary of the Covenant from July until October. The unionists of the north-west welcomed Carson to Portrush on August, where the anti-home rule message could be impressed upon a large number of English and Scottish holidaymakers. Large numbers of members of Unionist Clubs, Orange lodges and Apprentice Boys from Derry and north Antrim converged on the town for a mass gathering
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that was addressed by Carson, Barrie, Gordon and others. The Sentinel estimated that , people travelled from Derry city alone. The previous month, during the th of July Orange parades, anti-home rule meetings in Coleraine and Castledawson attracted crowds of up to , people. Events took a more violent turn during the annual ABOD ‘Closing of the Gates’ ceremony on August. There was an ominous start to the day when a woman in Dungannon was wounded after a section of the large contingent on its way to Derry by train fired revolvers out of the windows. An estimated , people from Belfast, Antrim, Armagh, Donegal, Down and Tyrone arrived in the city and three nights of intensive rioting followed. The rioting resulted in the death of Francis Armstrong, a Protestant, who was shot dead on Fountain Street on the night of August. More people were wounded by revolver shots including a police constable and a young nationalist man from the Waterside. CI Cary was struck in the head with a stone, as was the mayor, William McLearn, and Councillor William McGahey was struck by a police baton while trying to contain the crowd in the Fountain. Less serious violence erupted in Maghera on August, where a nationalist was shot by a unionist and trouble flared again in Derry city on and August. A nationalist man was shot in the head on Clarendon Street on the latter date but survived. The real birth of the UVF in Derry came in the wake of the August riots, Carson’s speeches marking the anniversary of the Covenant, and a more determined effort to recruit the working class. Membership reached , in November, bringing Derry much closer to County Tyrone, but the middle class still remained aloof. Business people in Derry city were reliant on the large Catholic customer base and were also slow to respond. The UVF was structured along similar lines to the parliamentary constituencies in Derry. The North Derry Regiment was commanded by Major Ross Smyth and was organized into three battalions. Smyth also commanded the st (Faughan Valley) Battalion, which covered the area around Eglington. The nd (Roe Valley) Battalion was headquartered in Limavady and came under the command of J.C.B. Proctor. The largest of the three was the rd (Bann) Battalion, centred around Coleraine and commanded by Captain Horace Gausson. The South Derry Regiment consisted of two battalions. The st (Aghadowey, Garvagh and Kilrea) Battalion was commanded by C.E. Stronge. The nd (Moneymore, Magherafelt, Maghera and Bellaghy) Battalion came under the control of Major William Arbuthnot Lenox-Conyngham, who also commanded the regiment from his residence at Springhill House, near Moneymore. The landed lineage of the UVF leadership in the two county regimental areas allowed them to host large-scale training camps in . The Bruce Hervey estate at Downhill was the site of a training camp involving over men on June. They used the woods around of the estate to stage mock battles into the night. The City of Derry UVF Regiment also solidified in late and
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early . It was split into three battalions covering the Waterside (st battalion), the south, east and west wards (nd battalion) and the north ward (rd battalion). In an ironic twist given the unionist move towards six-county partition, part of the city actually came under the th battalion of the Donegal Regiment, reflecting the interdependency of the city and its northern and western hinterland. The IRA would later experiment with a similar military structure blending Derry city and Donegal in the early s. The military experience of the Derry city commanders did not reflect that of the county regiments. Timothy Bowman notes that that senior military officer was a nineteen-year-old cadet in the Edinburgh University Officer Training Corps. He was, therefore, often absent from the city and of the nine other members in the city with military experience, only two had been NCOs. When nationalist Ireland embarked on a counter-mobilization to defend home rule with the formation of the Irish Volunteers (IVF) in November , the dynamic in Ulster changed considerably. By February CI Cary noted that that UVF was highly active in Derry and that all classes were now involved. Middle-class merchants and professionals of the city, who had remained aloof from the idea of physical resistance and bemoaned the impact of disturbances on business, reached a point where either the anti-home rule economic arguments of the unionists had finally won them over, or they were swept along with the unstoppable tide of public opinion. Carson urged his supporters to avoid conflict with nationalists and remember that the fight was with the government, while at the same time the IPP leaders pressured Derry nationalists into cancelling a mass meeting showcasing the strength of opinion in favour of home rule in Ulster. Tensions were growing everywhere in Ulster during the opening months of , but Derry became a potential trouble spot, especially after six-county partition was placed on the negotiating table for the first time in March. After the ‘Curragh Incident’, in which a number of British military officers expressed their unwillingness to take offensive action against those resisting home rule, the purpose of the UVF evolved to a point whereby it had the unstated potential to establish a provisional government in Ulster. While the UVF did not have the training or firepower to take on the British army effectively, if that force could not be relied on to enforce the law vis-à-vis home rule, then the UVF faced a less daunting task. The UVF certainly had the potential to engage and defeat the RIC and the rapidly growing IVF in , which it demonstrated on the night of – April. Masterminded by Major Frederick H. Crawford and Captain Wilfred Spender, the Larne gun-running equipped the UVF with , rifles and between three and five million rounds of ammunition. Crawford later stated that he was inspired by the Siege of Derry in executing the plan, and renamed the ship carrying the weapons the Mountjoy II, after the ship that
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broke the boom of the Foyle to relieve the besieged Protestant population of the city. The arms and ammunition were distributed throughout Ulster during a full-scale mobilization of the UVF. A large number of motor cars left Derry, then returned with the cargo, which was distributed under the protection of UVF pickets and patrols that were generally not interfered with by police or nationalists. A group of Irish Volunteers attempted to disrupt the arms distribution by turning up on the Letterkenny road with revolvers, but the police defused the situation, letting the arms through. The RIC Inspector General (IG) noted that the police were ‘powerless to interfere’ throughout the period as the UVF were in ‘overwhelming force’. By September , the Derry UVF numbered , men in possession of , rifles. This compared to , members of the IVF with rifles. The growing confidence of the UVF in Derry is evident from the two large mobilizations that took place during April. Carson inspected , members of the South Derry Regiment at Garvagh and , members of the combined North and City of Derry Regiments at Limavady. Rising tensions in Derry city led to paranoia and moments of chaos between the UVF and the growing IVF. The IG was worried about the situation across Ulster in June, but thought that if trouble was going to occur, it would most likely happen in Derry. Both militias drilled in the city on a nightly basis in June, and in July the UVF moved all its activity indoors due to fears of IVF raids for weapons on their stores. If a civil war was going to take place in Ireland in , Derry was likely to be its ground zero. A fullscale altercation between the UVF and IVF was narrowly averted at Molenan, outside Derry city, in June and various other small-scale incidents reflected the unsettled state of the area. The confidence of the UVF remained very high as was evident by its reaction to an arms seizure in Derry in July. On learning that the requisitioned rifles and almost , rounds of ammunition were due to be shipped to Dublin for transfer to the RIC store on July, a group of UVF, a third of them armed with rifles, planned to ambush the train at St Johnston. The CI for Donegal was convinced that this action was only averted when the commander of the Donegal UVF, Charles Clements, earl of Leitrim, called the action off following confusion over which train was carrying the weapons. Within weeks though, the sting had been removed from the tail by the outbreak of war in Europe. The atmosphere changed noticeably in August as most people responded to calls to come together in support of the war effort. The threat of civil war may have been removed, but the acrimony over home rule was merely postponed. Reports of nationalists and unionists in the north pulling together in support of the war effort are largely accurate, but they mask the strength of feeling that continued to exist in regard to home rule. The IG reported in September that
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Derry, ‒ The appearance of this better feeling is not, however, to be mistaken for a change in the attitude of northern Unionists towards Home Rule: they are bitterly opposed to it, and their leaders declare that when the war is over, active steps will be resumed to prevent it operating in Ulster.
Unionists booed the King at picture houses and music halls in Belfast and some people walked out of religious services when the national anthem was sung. Ulster’s unionists, who by September were organized in a consolidated and powerful bloc, had the strength and the allies in Britain to have their collective voice clearly heard at Westminster. Few believed the progress of the third home rule bill would be free from obstacles, but the strength of unionist opposition and the success of the propaganda campaign in Britain meant that by some form of compromise seemed likely. The exclusion of Ulster, or some part of it, from home rule was the main talking point at negotiations between the government, Unionists and Nationalists in July. As the prospect of all nine Ulster counties being excluded from home rule became less likely, Derry found itself at the centre of the political storm. Carson was reluctant to give any clear support to a measure of partition that would divide the province, leaving fellow Covenanters at the mercy of a Dublin government. A scheme of individual county plebiscites would most likely have resulted in exclusion of the four majority Protestant counties of Derry, Antrim, Armagh and Down. A mooted six-county partition including Fermanagh and Tyrone was more palatable in terms of viability for unionists, but it still undermined unity. Both scenarios ended with Derry city on the periphery, cut off from its hinterland to varying degrees. The outbreak of war in Europe certainly removed the danger of civil war in Ulster, but the strength of feeling over partition ensured that the battle over the future of Derry would be back on the agenda before long.
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‘The majority of Ulster is in favour of home rule’: nationalism, – Derry nationalists entered with a confidence built on increased local unity and a drive towards home rule powered by the IPP holding the balance of power in the House of Commons. The unfolding of politics at an elite level, through the introduction of the third home rule bill at Westminster, was read in millenarian terms by northern nationalists, who were faced with the beginnings of a formidable Ulster unionist opposition. This opposition, however, was viewed as little more than ‘farce’ and ‘bluster’ on the part of Carson and his supporters. The power of Carson’s cross-class, extra-parliamentary opposition was not yet fully in evidence in late , but there was much of significance in the announcement of the resistance and provisional government strategy. Nationalist concentration on parliamentary arithmetic, political opinion in Ireland and Britain, and confidence in the efficiency and authority of parliament to deliver their demands blinkered the movement to the determined groundswell of Ulster unionist opposition emerging in late . Unionist arguments against home rule were not engaged with in any meaningful way. Fears of persecution and intolerance under a Dublin parliament were responded to with a history lesson about Protestant domination of local politics in Belfast and Derry and an assertion that the tables would not be turned. This was justified by pointing to the number of prominent nonCatholic home rulers. The nationalist parliamentary majority on the island of Ireland, the majority in favour of home rule at Westminster, and the close number of pro and anti-home rule MPs in Ulster were all justifications for nationalist confidence. The nationalist press in Derry acknowledged unionist drilling and the rejuvenated campaign against home rule in but concentrated its political analysis on the evolving parliamentary balance of pro- and anti-home rule MPs. The election of T.W. Russell, a home rule convert, in North Tyrone and the Liberal W.G.C. Gladstone, grandson of William Ewart Gladstone, in Kilmarnock Burghs, were covered extensively. No significant pro-home rule events took place in Derry during late and early , despite the unionist show of strength. A large Gaelic League meeting, addressed by Douglas Hyde, was held in St Columb’s Hall on January and, significantly, brought together the advanced and constitutional wings of nationalism in the city. The impending home rule bill was not discussed, however. A small number of locals were among the , people gathered in Belfast’s Celtic Park on February to hear Winston Churchill speak in favour of the home rule bill. The local police did not report any knowledge of Derry nationalists
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travelling to Dublin for the monster meeting in support of home rule that attracted , people to Sackville (now O’Connell) Street on March, but some delegates of the UIL and AOH (BoE) attended a Nationalist convention in Dublin on April. Partition was not yet on the political agenda, but considering the composition of the unionist resistance and the fact that it had been raised as a solution in , it was not beyond the realms of possibility. The local nationalist inaction and quietude was surprising in a city and county likely to be decidedly affected by any form of provincial separation. The lack of nationalist reaction in Derry is all the more perplexing given the fever pitch level of Ulster unionist opposition to home rule demonstrated at the huge rally held at Balmoral on April. The absence of any nationalist mobilization in Derry in response to unionist provocation might be partly explained by the widespread confidence in the power of an unfettered Commons to push through parliament the long-awaited home rule legislation. The prospect of introducing some form of partition by allowing individual counties to opt out of the home rule legislation was floated privately at cabinet level by Asquith in February . The idea was rejected, most likely because the government wished to hold it in reserve as a concessionary chip to be used in the event of a further increase in unionist opposition. On June the rogue Liberal MP Thomas Agar-Robartes proposed an amendment to the home rule bill that exempted Derry city and county, Antrim, Armagh and Down from home rule. The IPP reacted with incredulity. John Redmond noted that there was no attempt to exempt the province of Ulster as a whole, saying ‘that would be too absurd’ given the proportion of Catholics to Protestants in the nine-county area. He calmly explicated his reading of the situation in parliament, focusing on the demographics of the relevant counties and noting the unionist willingness to abandon not only their comrades outside of Ulster, but also those in majority nationalist areas within the province. Others in the IPP were less polite in response and no doubt concerned about the reduced majority that voted against the amendment given forty Liberal abstentions. Between the amendment’s introduction and its defeat, the IPP organized a large home rule rally to take place in Maghera on June. The meeting was to be addressed by John Dillon, T.W. Russell, Joe Devlin and other prominent IPP members. The ‘men of Derry, Antrim and Tyrone’ were called on to ‘attend in [their] thousands’ in a show of strength favouring home rule in the area. The meeting was called off though at the last minute lest it inflame tensions in a mixed area before the th of July, and a smaller meeting, organized by locals and attended by nationalists from neighbouring districts, went ahead on the day. The liberal unionist Northern Whig speculated that the reason the meeting was allowed to proceed was because local publicans had ordered ‘large quantities of refreshments’ and convinced the local party
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leadership to stage some kind of event that would bring people into the town. It was on their return home from this event that the Hibernian band from Castledawson attacked the Protestant Sunday school excursion leaving the town. The Mid-Ulster Mail reported that the speakers in Maghera were ‘Rosemary Street nominees’, referring to the Belfast street on which the ULA had its headquarters. This disparaging reference to Protestant home rulers was accompanied by derision aimed at an anti-sectarian speech delivered by Louis J. Walsh. The image of the Castledawson Hibernians listening to Walsh in Maghera and then attacking Protestant children later in the afternoon was invoked to argue that nationalist anti-sectarianism was a cloak used to hide a sinister agenda within the demand for home rule. Such arguments fed the unionist propaganda machine more effectively in some cases than the more outlandish tales of nationalist conspiracies to massacre Protestants in a home rule Ireland. They also had the added effect of undermining liberal Protestant efforts to support home rule as a means of strengthening the union between Britain and Ireland. Despite a delayed reaction to the anti-home rule campaign, Derry nationalists went into overdrive following the death of the duke of Abercorn on January . His passing resulted in a by-election for the Londonderry City constituency due to the elevation of his son, the sitting MP, to the duchy and the House of Lords. This shifted the attention of the London political elite and the British and Irish press squarely on to Derry throughout the month of January as the by-election result would determine whether those who supported or opposed home rule held a majority of the parliamentary seats in Ulster. The Unionists appeared to have the upper hand at the outset of the contest. The new duke of Abercorn handpicked Colonel Hercules Arthur Pakenham as the Unionist candidate, having made it clear in March that he would not re-contest his parliamentary seat at a subsequent general election. Pakenham had the aristocratic credentials to stand as a credible Unionist candidate in what everyone knew would be a very close contest. He was also commanding officer of the London Irish Rifles but had a short political apprenticeship, having been elected to London County Council only in . Nationalists appeared to have been caught off guard somewhat and there was speculation that Shane Leslie, the twice-defeated candidate from , would be the candidate once again. However, behind the scenes nationalist activists were working tirelessly to update the register of electors and had successfully gained a nationalist majority of fifty the previous year. Both sides claimed to have more voters on the roll, but in the absence of publicly available information in this regard, it was unclear to anyone which claim was more accurate. Those supporting Pakenham began to worry when rumours spread that the government planned to move the Royal Scots Fusiliers from Ebrington Barracks to Gosport in Hampshire. This relocation would result in
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the loss of forty or more votes for the Unionists. In addition, almost all of the registered voters resident outside of the city were Unionist supporters, and there was apprehension about their willingness to travel in severe winter conditions. The first few days of the campaign were also worrisome for the Unionists as the well-known local shirt factory owner, Marshall Tillie, declared his candidacy as an independent unionist. Tillie was, of course, no friend of the unionist establishment in the city. His refusal to sign the Ulster Covenant or fly the Union flag from his factory during Carson’s visit in left few in doubt about his opinion on the official unionist position. There was a chance that some of Tillie’s , Catholic employees might have voted for him, but his candidacy was certainly more damaging to the Unionists than it was to the Nationalists. Tillie’s withdrawal early in the campaign allowed the Unionists to breathe a sigh a relief, but his declaration that discrimination against Catholics in the city must end gave the Nationalists and the Derry Journal an extra stick with which to attack the official Unionist candidate. If nationalists were encouraged by these setbacks for unionism, they showed little sign of complacency. Leslie’s potential candidacy was almost immediately called into question. Given the propaganda value that securing the seat would bring, the possibility of running a pro-home rule candidate from outside the official Nationalist stable was promptly mooted. This could attract the minority of Protestant voters in the city who did not necessarily support the unionist establishment. In the early part of the month, there was speculation that a Labour candidate could act as an agreed candidate in order to attract Protestant workers. Alexander Boyd, a Belfast Protestant, Independent Orange Order and Independent Labour Party member, who played a prominent role in the Belfast dockers’ and carters’ strike alongside James Larkin in , was flagged as a potential candidate. Likewise, James McCarron, the most prominent labour man in the city. McCarron would certainly have been the better bet, given his labour-nationalist politics, his popularity amongst all creeds, and his vast experience of local politics and issues. Within hours, though, rumours began to spread that the Nationalists were considering David Cleghorn Hogg, a Scottish Presbyterian shirt factory owner, as a candidate. Resident in Derry from his youth, Hogg was involved in Liberal politics locally since the general election of . He had a baptism of fire during his first campaign when, he said, ‘an Orange mob’ rushed him, stabbed him and broke his head. He also ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate for Londonderry City in with the support of local Catholics, including his employees. The Nationalist Registration Association of Derry officially announced Hogg as the ‘Home Rule’ candidate on January, but in reality, he contested the election as a pro-home rule Liberal with the support of nationalists of all shades from Derry and beyond. The importance of securing the seat for
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Hogg was not lost on any proponent of home rule and every effort was made to get him over the line. McCarron put his name on Hogg’s nomination papers as an assenter, regardless of their obvious enmity as shirt factory owner and the leading national figure in the ASTT. McCarron’s nationalism definitively trumped his labourism on this occasion, although he made clear that he would stand as a labour candidate for the city when home rule was achieved. Bishop McHugh acted as Hogg’s official proposer, with Revd Samuel Patton, Presbyterian minister and chaplain at Derry Jail, seconding the nomination. The Nationalist machine went to work quickly in order to get the ‘Protestant home ruler’ elected with a combination of traditional nationalist support and some crucial votes that could be picked up from liberal-minded Protestants fearing the rising militancy of official Ulster Unionism. Every vote counted in one of the tightest constituencies in Britain and Ireland, so the attraction of even a dozen stray Protestant votes could make all the difference. Leading members of the IPP from across Tyrone took a fortnight’s holidays to join the campaign. Even the more separatist-minded nationalists of the city campaigned for Hogg. CI Cary reported that ‘the AOH (both sections), Sinn Fein, and IRB societies worked together’. The atmosphere created by the temporary alliance of nationalists aligned to the IPP and pro-home rule voices, whether they be separatist, Protestant Liberals, clergy, or labour started to rattle the city’s unionist establishment in the week leading up to the election. The unthinkable almost happened in Londonderry Corporation after the annual municipal and subsequent mayoral elections. The retiring mayor, local industrialist and independent unionist John McFarland, who had been nominated by the Unionists, pulled back at the last minute, he said, out of gratitude to the nationalists who had stood by him for the previous three years. He then accepted the nomination of McCarron, to the disgust of the Unionists. In the end, the Unionist group managed to nominate and elect its veteran operator, Sir William McLearn. The nationalists raised charges of gerrymandering and de facto penal laws, before Councillor Campbell declared to cheers that ‘the death knell of Unionism would be wrung next week’. The nationalists then left the chamber en masse in protest. Desmond Murphy characterizes Hogg’s campaign as lacklustre, probably because of his less than impressive oratorical skills and because he refused to canvass the electorate. His campaign consisted of speaking for a short time at two large rallies and giving a few short interviews to the press. Hogg’s decision not to canvass was deliberate and it could be argued that his relaxed attitude served to emphasize Pakenham’s lack of connection with the people, despite his conspicuous presence on Unionist platforms in Derry during the previous twelve months. However, the campaign was not about the calibre of the candidate. Hogg and the coalition behind him captured the confidence displayed by Irish nationalists and progressives of all shades in the –
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period. Questions raised about his commitment to home rule are very wide of the mark. He spoke openly about opposing the exclusion of Ulster from home rule due to the effect it would have on southern Protestants, and he was enthusiastically supported by the pro-home rule ULA. Even the emphasis on the significant influence of Bishop McHugh and his clergy on Derry politics in this period has obscured the impact of the collective enthusiasm displayed by the pro-home rule alliance. The clergy actually played less of a role in Hogg’s campaign than those of previous years, with the first mention of the election in the churches coming just a week before polling day, and only then to discourage people from getting into trouble on the streets. The national significance of the by-election was illustrated by the arrival in the city of campaigners for women’s suffrage during the final week of the campaign. Suffrage was, along with home rule and labour unrest, one of the most contentious issues in British politics at the time. The militant tactics of the suffragettes reached Ireland six months previously when a number of women were arrested for smashing windows in Dublin. The following month a group of English suffragettes were charged with throwing a hatchet at Asquith, his wife, and John Redmond, who were travelling together on Sackville Street. The hatchet passed by the Asquiths but Redmond was not so lucky and sustained a cut to his ear. The same group doused a chair in petrol, set it alight and dropped it into the orchestra pit from a balcony in the Theatre Royal later the same day. They also attempted to cause an explosion while Asquith spoke in the theatre using gunpowder hidden in a handbag. Asquith’s clear opposition to female suffrage ensured that much militant suffragist rhetoric was directed at him and the Liberals. Although there was no militant action in Derry, the suffragists were very active, holding nightly meetings at the Guildhall, the Diamond and elsewhere in the city. Some of their pronouncements were greeted with derision and jeers by local crowds, but no trouble occurred. Their initial speeches did not favour either candidate and concentrated on issues affecting female factory workers, in particular. However, the suffragist tactic of placing pressure on the government party ensured that they eventually made a public pronouncement opposing Hogg, without endorsing Pakenham. The latter was on record as opposing votes for women, while Hogg refused to make his position clear until after the election. Hannah Sheehy Skeffington justified the Irish Women’s Franchise League’s ‘keep the Liberal out’ strategy in Derry, due to the alleged connivance of Asquith in the technical parliamentary ruling that ensured the latest franchise bill would either be amended and automatically withdrawn, or thrown out altogether. There was also no love lost between the suffragists and Redmond, who opposed women’s suffrage generally, but was also worried about the effect of the expected initial enfranchisement of wealthier, pre-
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dominantly unionist women. The enfranchisement of such voters was likely to have negatively impacted the IPP electorally, thereby placing the ultimate goal of home rule in jeopardy. Sheehy-Skeffington, at this stage in her life, was happy to put the women’s movement ahead of nationalism. It is interesting to note the prioritization that was required of those who found themselves involved in several political movements, jockeying for position at this time. Sheehy Skeffington and McCarron are two examples of the differing positions that could be taken, and they felt no contradiction in taking a different position on another day. The excitement on election day was palpable. Three hundred extra police were drafted into the city and the Derry Journal reported that non-resident voters on both sides were travelling from all over Britain and Ireland, and from as far away as Bordeaux and Toronto. Others got out of their sick beds to vote and a few voters who were delayed on a steamship disembarked and took a rowing boat to the city. The turnout was estimated at an incredible ninety-eight per cent, or , out of a total electorate of ,, some of which may have been duplicates or deceased voters. Before the result came in there were reports that Catholic votes numbered , to , Protestant votes. Most people trusted that the confessional divide could be used as an indicator of support for either side and there was disillusionment among unionist voters on election night. The three-figure majority from had certainly been reduced. The following morning, it was clear to the opposing bands of supporters outside Bishop Street courthouse that Hogg was about to be announced as the victor. When the news eventually came that he had beaten Pakenham by fifty-seven votes, the nationalist crowd sang and cheered under the falling January snow. Within minutes of the candidates’ appearance outside the courthouse, snowballs were flying, revolver shots could be heard, and an empty porter bottle flew by Hogg’s head. Nationalist spokesmen urged calm from their supporters, and what little trouble did take place in the city was easily met by the police. Nationalist Ulster celebrated with social events and bonfires from Belfast to Enniskillen over the weekend and congratulations poured in from Nationalist and Liberal sources from across the world. At the official reception in St Columb’s Hall, the pro-home rule alliance that had secured Hogg’s victory was represented on the stage by local priests, IPP figures and elected representatives, alongside members of the ULA, and McCarron representing labour. The Protestant home rulers in the ULA and McCarron could feel confident that they had managed to attract the small number of Protestant votes they needed to get their man across the line. Cries of ‘Lundy’ on the streets of Derry were obviously directed at the Liberals but their skins were thick enough by to endure such name-calling. The Nationalists and their Liberal allies had won a major battle in the propaganda war. Lloyd George was quick to pronounce publicly that ‘the majority of Ulster is in favour of home rule’.
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One section of the pro-home rule alliance was absent from the stage in St Columb’s Hall, however. The role played by the city’s separatists in securing the election of Hogg is perhaps understated due to their absence from the public celebrations of the result. Their work in support of the candidate was obviously helpful to the campaign, and even convincing their own followers to ensure they used their votes was always going to be significant in such a closely fought contest. Less than a week after polling day, the Pall Mall Gazette carried a story in which it was alleged that both factions of the AOH in Derry had put pressure on the Liberals to provide favours in return for their support. First, the case of Patrick Arkins, an IAA member, who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for malicious damage in Cork, was examined. Following representations from William Redmond, the chief secretary recommended Arkins’s release after three months. It was further alleged by the London newspaper that the BoE got wind of this deal and made their own inquiries about having those Hibernians convicted of riot in Castledawson the previous summer released. This then occurred, with the men having served less than half of their three-month sentences. The allegation was based entirely on hearsay, however, and it is just as likely that Arkins was released because a seven-year sentence for his crime (knocking down a wall) was excessive. The Castledawson prisoners also had the benefit of a memorial signed by Catholics and sixty Protestants representing clergy, magistrates, merchants and various other middle-class citizens from the town. The judge in the case refused to reduce the sentence, but the lord lieutenant and chief secretary intervened to secure their early release. The excitement of the election soon passed, and all was quiet again in Derry the following month. There was silence in the House of Commons too where Hogg’s lack of oratorical flair on the campaign trail was followed by a single, short speech during which he was told to ‘speak up’ by the other members. He died on August after a protracted illness and was replaced in December at an uncontested by-election by his fellow Liberal Sir James Brown Dougherty, the undersecretary for Ireland and a former professor of English and Logic at Magee College in Derry. Unionists continued to drill and raise funds in early while nationalists kept a low profile and dedicated themselves mainly to national insurance-related work. A significant strike by workers at Tillie and Henderson saw , shirt and collar workers, mostly female, walk out after management imposed wage cuts. They were supported by the Derry Trade and Labour Council and by McCarron, who interpreted the dispute as a lockout due to the severity of the wage cut. The workers appear to have returned to work at the original rates after the ‘misunderstanding’ over wages was communicated to them by a local priest. The summer of saw a return to and an upsurge in sectarian tensions. The police became more concerned about the ability of the UVF to import
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rifles when they seized small consignments arriving from Glasgow at Derry and Coleraine ports in June. CI Cary reported large numbers of both unionists and nationalists, including young boys, carrying revolvers in Derry city in July, and there was the usual trouble that came with the Orange parades in the same month. Regular revolver fire on the streets and the serious outbreak of rioting that resulted in the shooting dead of Francis Armstrong in the city during August made it clear that things were starting to get out of hand. After the August rioting, the police noted that almost every unionist was now in possession of a revolver and that in response nationalists were arming themselves at an alarming rate. Local hardware shops could not keep up the with demand for guns. The UIL and the AOH (IAA) both formed revolver clubs and made large purchase orders to arm their members. Members of a nationalist family living in the Waterside claimed that they bought revolvers for protection in when they noticed a baby’s crib in the house had sustained damage from bullets following the August violence. The CI was convinced that the tense atmosphere, mixed with the number of guns now available in the county, was a recipe for disaster. After more than a year of unionist drilling, a nationalist response in kind came on November when Eoin MacNeill wrote an article entitled ‘The north began’ in the Gaelic League journal, An Claidheamh Soluis. In the article, he refuted the idea of a homogenous unionist Ulster and urged the foundation of a militia similar to the UVF that would have the express purpose of defending and protecting home rule. Throughout the following month, members of the IRB and others began meeting with a view to launching a mass nationalist volunteer movement. MacNeill agreed to work with them and chair a public recruitment meeting at the Rotunda in Dublin on November. A provisional committee made up of IRB, Gaelic Leaguers, Sinn Féiners and eight home rulers was formed in advance of the public meeting. A capacity crowd of , filled the main hall on the night and , others gathered outside and in the gardens. Joseph O’Doherty, a republican from Derry city, was one of those present. There was no criticism of the IPP and very little engagement with the unionist campaign against home rule. The blame for the current situation was laid squarely at the door of the British government. Three thousand people joined the newly formed Irish Volunteers on the night and thousands more joined in the weeks that followed. The IPP leadership refused to give its official approval, however, and AOH (BoE) members in Ulster were ordered not to join. Nonetheless, the movement grew larger. The first reports of IVF activity in Ulster came in January when members were enrolled in Strabane and members carried out a drill at the AOH hall in Newtownstewart before parading the town. Leading nationalists in Ulster called for the gatherings to end and their lack of support for the idea in general may have hindered the initial recruitment in the
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north, but by March more branches had been founded and recruits began pouring in. The CI for Tyrone reported that on March the IVF mobilized a force of , at a few hours’ notice and the first reports of activity in Derry were reported at around the same time. There was still no official backing for the Volunteer movement from the Catholic Church or the Nationalist leadership, but the IG reported rumours that the local clergy in Tyrone were starting to show support. Drills took place during the month in Derry city, at Magherafelt and at Newbridge, near Castledawson. CI Cary reported that the IVF in Derry was making great gains in a short period of time. In April there were eleven branches and , members, and by May, when the IPP endorsed the movement, membership had almost trebled to ,. The support of the local clergy and the upsurge in popularity generally played no small part in this rapid increase. Attempts to stoke the organization of an Irish Citizen Army (ICA) branch in the city came to nought in late , but the labourers and artisans of the area were happy to join the IVF in large numbers alongside shop assistants, clerks and others in . Captain Jack White, the former commander of the ICA, toured Derry, Donegal and Tyrone in March along with Colonel Maurice Moore, inspector general of the IVF, who was at that time travelling through the country overseeing organization and activities. White was appointed commander of the Volunteers in Derry and Inishowen and moved to Derry city in May. He was joined in the officer positions by a group of experienced military men, mainly comprised of locals who had been NCOs in the British army. This rapid expansion of the IVF in the north-west did not occur in a vacuum. The period from March to August saw a ratcheting up of tensions around the issue of partition and the beginnings of a split developing between local nationalists and the leadership. The issue of partition was firmly placed on the agenda in early March when Asquith announced the government’s intention to poll the people of the Ulster counties to ascertain whether they wanted to join the rest of Ireland under a home rule parliament in Dublin, or to remain under Westminster’s jurisdiction for a period of six years. This ‘county option’ proposal was accepted by Redmond, who along with his allies in government, changed course on the partition issue following the physical manifestation of unionist resistance to home rule. There was little concern among nationalists for the city of Derry’s future as it, along with Belfast, was to be treated as a county for the purposes of any plebiscite. The significant nationalist majority meant that the city was likely to come under the jurisdiction of Dublin, but it was also fairly clear that the rest of the county would go the other way, cutting a large portion of the hinterland off. Nationalist confidence that Derry city would be treated as an entity in itself during any partition plans remained solid until it suddenly became clear in
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the early s that the city was to form part of the six-county bloc that became Northern Ireland. In March , however, the nationalists of the north-west were far from ready to accept any form of partition. The acquiescence of Redmond and his Ulster consigliere, Joe Devlin, in the government’s county option proposal was in stark contrast to the staunch opposition of prominent figures in Derry, such as Bishop McHugh. Redmond accepted county option as a means of keeping the peace and ensuring that the home rule bill was not defeated outright. He was also assured that if rejected by the Unionists, there would be no further concessions and the bill would proceed forthwith. This was perhaps his strategy all along, as the Unionist rejection of the scheme was fairly predictable. However, the principle of some form of partition, regardless of its temporary nature, had now been accepted by the IPP leadership. Carson’s definitive rejection of county option did little to quell the fear and anger of north-western nationalists throughout the spring and summer, and may even have contributed to fears that a UVF coup was being planned in Ulster. The first signs of a regional departure from the IPP game plan, apart from the rapid mobilization of the IVF in the north-west, was Bishop McHugh’s plan for a massive anti-partition rally in Derry’s Celtic Park on March. The event was billed as ‘a public meeting of all Ulster Home Rulers’ and its main purpose was to emphasize that Ulster was far from being homogenously unionist. McHugh wrote to Redmond in advance of the meeting informing him that it should not be adjourned and that The opinion of the people generally is that some such meeting has been too long delayed. The Orange faction is never done crying out intolerance and publishing what they might suffer under home rule, but there is not a word about what Catholics and Nationalists would suffer if the Orangemen got control, and what they have already suffered at their hands … the Nationalists of the North have their rights as well as Orangemen, and while agreeable to make concessions, they are not prepared to accept a state of things that would be worse than if they had never stood up for Home Rule. The close relationship between the local IVF and McHugh at this time is evident from the names of Aldermen Charles O’Neill and Charles O’Doherty appearing on advertisements for the rally. Both men were prominent figures in the Derry Volunteers, which had also organized a public drill and parade in the city during the month. CI Cary, along with others, began to worry about the potential for serious rioting or worse from March onwards. As rumour and counter-rumour circulated among drilled and armed Volunteers on both sides, fears rose of a confrontation breaking out that would be very
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difficult to contain. It was in this context that Redmond prevailed on the bishop to call the rally off. McHugh did so but their correspondence shows that relations were becoming strained. McHugh’s reference to northern nationalists being ‘agreeable to make concessions’ shows that he was still on board with Redmond’s strategy, but he also feared that they might be jettisoned in order to secure home rule for the rest of the country. As Eamon Phoenix notes, Bishops McHugh and O’Donnell (of Raphoe) were willing to accept county option as there was no mention of a northern parliament being established and therefore control of education would remain as it was. The west Ulster nationalists were also quite confident of securing majorities in any county plebiscites, including that envisaged to take place in Derry city. Carson’s rejection of county option and call for a full and permanent break of the nine-county province of Ulster thereafter contributed to a gradual withering of support for the Nationalist leadership in the north-west. The decline of the IPP can certainly be traced to these uncertain days when northern nationalist confidence was significantly eroded. The advanced nationalists in the Derry IVF were not impressed with the cancellation of the Celtic Park meeting and continued to push for a more overt response to the frequent UVF mobilizations taking place. The work of most, if not all, advanced nationalists now concentrated on organizing the Volunteers and opposing partition. The Derry City Battalion, which included in its leadership prominent members of the IPP, refused to cancel a planned route march through the city on Sunday March, despite calls from McHugh and Redmond to do so. During the week prior to the planned march, the UVF mobilized in large numbers in anticipation of a British clampdown. The expected military reaction did not occur, and unionist confidence rose significantly after the Curragh incident on March. The crisis brought about by the stated refusal of the officers to take up arms against the UVF not only emboldened unionists, but also quickened the resolve of the IVF, particularly in border areas. McHugh pleaded with the Derry IVF to call off their parade but only received a promise that they would restrict their presence to the nationalist districts of the city. Redmond feared that the Derry parade would be used by unionists as an excuse to justify militancy. The march was called off at the last minute when a telegram reached Derry from the IVF headquarters in Dublin, deferring to Redmond’s advice. Once again, advanced nationalists in the city were disappointed to lose an opportunity to showcase the strength of the movement. Tensions in Derry eased slightly after the cancellation of the March events, but the situation descended into chaos quite quickly thereafter. The Larne gun-running on April meant that the Derry UVF was now a formidable and heavily armed force. This led to an intense period of drilling by both the IVF and UVF. In this situation, there was a strike in the shipyard
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after men walked out, demanding pay parity with Belfast. There was also an attack on a group of girls travelling to a dance at an Orange hall as they passed through a nationalist part of south Derry. Trade was badly affected by the political turmoil with shopkeepers reporting reduced custom, and new housebuilding projects in the city were abandoned for the time being. One enterprising arsonist took advantage of the situation by burning down a vacant house and scattering suffragist literature at the scene. The police were not convinced of political involvement, however. Throughout April and May the city and its surrounding rural districts along with Dungiven were in a disturbed state. The UVF commenced drilling indoors, largely fearing IVF raids on their premises for arms. Colonel Moore told a large crowd gathered in Celtic Park that Derry was the most important place in the country at that time for which reason he was spending most of his time there. The rapidly expanding IVF battalion in the city was inspected by Thomas MacDonagh and Roger Casement on separate occasions as new companies had to be formed to deal with the influx of recruits. When the IPP and the AOH (BoE) finally came on board officially in May, the number of recruits increased again in the area, but tensions also rose considerably. In his report for June, the CI noted that ‘the feeling in the city since the Irish Volunteers became such a formidable association, is one of general unrest, and the people are nightly expecting an outbreak of disturbance’. Large crowds were now gathering to watch the Sunday drills at Celtic Park, and the nightly mobilizations, lasting on occasion until a.m., were accompanied by excited women and children. The situation outside the city was largely similar as the IVF membership rapidly increased and the UVF remained active. Paranoia ran high on both sides. A mock battle was staged in Ballyliffin in early July, with the Inishowen Volunteer battalion acting as a UVF force landing on the beach in an attempt to seize Derry. The Derry Volunteers then successfully repelled the ‘invading’ force. An actual confrontation between the IVF and UVF was narrowly averted on June. A group of IVF, accompanied by a band, went to drill in a field in the Molenan district, just south of the city on the west bank of the River Foyle. The field happened to adjoin the residence of Captain Leo Moore, commander of the St Johnston UVF battalion. On hearing news of the approaching nationalists and fearing a raid on his home for arms, Moore immediately assembled Ulster Volunteers and posted sentries with rifles around the house. The IVF, on arrival in the freshly garrisoned Molenan, summoned a second battalion to accompany them; the ensuing standoff attracted the attention of the RIC. The police sent for Captain White, who immediately ordered the IVF to stand down and return to their headquarters once the drill had been carried out. This rather neat ending to the stand-off masked an internal struggle within the Derry Volunteers, however. White was becoming
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increasingly impatient with the paranoia that envisaged a UVF attack around every corner. He stated that while living in Derry he was awakened from sleep at least once a week with news that the unionists were planning an attack. On one occasion a farmer coming into the city on a motorcycle to consult a veterinarian was accosted, accused of being a UVF dispatch rider and beaten on the spot. Such knee-jerk reactions to unsubstantiated information was, in the opinion of White, going to lead to a serious clash with the UVF that had the potential to spread beyond Derry. In reality, he found it difficult to have his men stand down at Molenan. The second battalion was under the command of the popular local officer, Charles McGlinchey, who White said, was ‘as obstinate as a mule’ and ‘more than inclined to be mutinous’. White managed to talk McGlinchey around but attempts to discipline him proved impossible. The ex-Citizen Army commander dismissed McGlinchey to the ranks, but he was reinstated to his original position after the IVF county board overruled the order. White’s tenure as the IVF commander for Derry and Inishowen came to an abrupt end when he was asked outright whether he would take up arms against the unionists. His negative reply and assessment of the disciplinary situation led him to reconsider his position. The press reported his resignation on July and he was replaced by McGlinchey. As tension in Ulster reached a point where the anticipation of civil war did not represent an exaggeration, the nationalists of Derry city gathered for a meeting in St Columb’s Hall. The purpose of the meeting, held on June, was two-fold. First, the local leaders of nationalism, both lay and clerical, came together to endorse Redmond’s strategy of offering county option as a pacifying measure in an uncertain climate. Carson’s earlier rejection of such a scheme was not considered relevant. The public endorsement of county option was essentially a recognition that if some form of partition were to occur, the nationalists of Derry city were ready to split themselves off from the county. This reflects the city’s strong identification with Donegal, but it was a significant proclamation nonetheless. County plebiscites in Derry city, Tyrone and Fermanagh would almost certainly result in those areas coming under Dublin’s jurisdiction, while County Derry would most likely vote to remain under Westminster. However, such considerations meant little by mid-June, and the real purpose of the meeting was to affirm the determination of Derry nationalists to resist any form of permanent partition by all means necessary. They were reluctantly willing to support Redmond while he was backed into a corner, but they were not prepared to offer any further concessions. Perhaps most significantly, they noted their willingness to ‘fight the old fight over again sooner than see Ireland cut up into fragments’. Carson’s talk of permanent exclusion rattled the Derry nationalists and they were fearful that the IPP leadership and the government would continue to
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bend to threats of physical force. The rhetoric at the meeting continually referred to past struggles and the need to go back and start the fight again if necessary. One message was clear. The nationalists of Derry city, Tyrone and Fermanagh were not going to move another inch on the partition issue, even if it derailed the entire home rule project. Despite the silence on the danger of County Derry nationalists being forced out of a home rule Ireland, similarly strong resolutions were passed at small nationalist meetings in Bellarena, Draperstown, Feeny and Maghera. The political scene had changed irrevocably from the first mutterings of extra constitutional resistance by unionists in late . The initial indifferent confidence that was exuded by Derry nationalists at that time was regretted in an atmosphere where civil war, partition and the derailment of home rule all seemed like very real possibilities. Dr M. O’Kane lamented that the meeting was not held a year earlier so that they could have influenced British opinion and made the case for protecting Ulster nationalists. The determination to move no further on the partition issue was summed up in a Derry Journal editorial published after the meeting entitled: ‘No surrender!’. However, the first significant concession on separate treatment for Ulster had been made, and the nationalists of Derry and west Ulster were moving towards an inevitable clash with Redmond and the IPP leadership from the summer of onwards. Nobody expected that this conflict, and even that between nationalists and unionists in Ireland, would be halted so rapidly only six weeks later by the outbreak of war in Europe.
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‘The old party bitterness is still strong’: from the First World War to the Easter Rising, – Britain declared war on Germany on August. Almost overnight, calm fell on the previously unsettled Ulster. Both unionists and nationalists pulled back, not just from the brink of civil war, but from almost all political action relating to home rule. This was an unofficial, and temporary, truce that came close to breaking point on a number of occasions during the opening months of the war. Unionists remained bitterly opposed to home rule, but their leadership ensured that no action was taken for fear of embarrassing the government or betraying disloyalty at a time of grave crisis. The nationalist leadership, close as they were to achieving self-government and despite the prospect of partition, rallied to the British cause. Home rule was the allimportant goal, and support for the British war effort was interpreted as a means of protecting achievements to date, as well as ensuring that the final hurdle could be cleared. Redmond initially offered the IVF as a home defence force for Ireland that could work in cooperation with the UVF. Advanced nationalists, particularly those in the IRB, saw things differently. For them the war was an opportunity to increase support for a complete break with Britain and their anti-recruiting activities increased in intensity as the war dragged on. Redmond’s subsequent call for the IVF to go beyond home defence and fight ‘wherever the firing line extends’, split the movement. The vast majority of the force, around , men, endorsed Redmond’s strategy and formed the newly named National Volunteers (NVF). The remaining , retained the Irish Volunteer title and continued to operate, where possible, under the direction of Eoin MacNeill. The split was even more devastating for the minority section in Derry. By January the IVF had a reported members, while Redmond’s NVF retained , adherents, although by that stage the force was largely inactive. Fears of conscription led to a surge in IVF membership in late and early , but the Easter Rising was a non-event in Derry. The seeds of a nationalist split, sown at the time of Redmond’s concessions on the county option in the summer of , sprouted into open schism when partition was suggested, this time by Redmond, in the aftermath of the Rising. The people of Derry anticipated an immediate negative material effect due to the outbreak of war. In an editorial two days after the British declaration of war, the Londonderry Sentinel presciently warned that the city factories would likely be placed on short time. The mills in the county towns, which were heavily reliant on imported Belgian flax, lost access to their markets and consequently had to reduce hours and wages almost immediately. The
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Londonderry Chamber of Commerce appealed for government aid for the shirt factories on August, believing that within a very short time a complete stoppage would be necessary. There was little sign of industrial unrest, however, as everyone seemed to pull together in the early stages of a war that most thought would be a short affair. Women workers were urged to lead their households in thrift and keep a tidy and bright home for husbands returning from service. Fears that the working class of the city would be badly hit by the slowdown in textile manufacturing were not realized as work on hand kept the factories open until contracts for army attire were awarded in December . In any case, a distress committee was established to arrange public works in the event of factory closures. During the opening months of the war, livestock prices skyrocketed and provided a boon to farmers. The campaign to increase tillage was also taken up by farmers in the county leading to a scarcity of agricultural labourers and full employment for those who were available. Ireland’s experience of the war was quite different from that of Britain. The agricultural economy boomed and shortages, although a reality, were not felt by all in society. Sir Henry Robinson, vicepresident of the Local Government Board, remembered visiting Derry during the war and seeing A little framed menu which always hung on the porch outside one of the hotels, giving the day’s dinner. On this was the announcement, in large capitals, that it was a ‘meatless day’, but following this, under the head of ‘Fish’, there appeared ‘Boiled Mutton, Caper Sauce’, and under ‘Joint’ there was a blank, so as to convey to all and sundry that, notwithstanding the piscatory boiled mutton, the management realized its obligations in regard to the meatless day. Despite this typically sharp example of Derry wit, the reality of poverty was recognized as the war progressed. Rising prices, particularly of coal and bread led to distress for the poor, while farmers were criticized for making large war profits and refusing to increase the share afforded to their labour force. Farmers’ sons, along with shop assistants, were singled out for criticism due to their lack of enthusiasm for enlistment in the armed forces. The enlistment estimates for members of the Derry UVF and IVF in the first month of the war are quite high. Around (. per cent) pre-split IVF and UVF members (. per cent) had enlisted by the end of September. A further National Volunteers forwarded their names for enlistment at a nationalist pro-recruitment meeting in the UIL hall in the Bogside on November. Enlistment by the rural working class affected farmers, who complained of difficulty in engaging able-bodied men during the November hiring fair. Farmers noted the large number of potential agricultural labourers who
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had travelled to Derry city on hiring fair day to enlist rather than work the fields. Accurate figures for non-aligned recruits are not available but it is reasonable to assume that a fair proportion of the urban working class enlisted in the city, based on the tradition of military service among the city’s workers and patterns of contemporary recruitment from other urban areas. The total number of recruits for the city and county in mid-January stood at , or . per cent of the total population. This suggests that more than a third of those who joined up in the first fifteen months of the war did so during the opening weeks. These figures reinforce the theory that many joined up on the assumption that the war would be over quickly. Fergal McCluskey further highlights how the larger urban working-class population of Derry ensured that enlistment was much higher in the county as a whole than it was in Tyrone (,/. per cent), Donegal (,/. per cent) or Fermanagh (,/. per cent). It must also be noted that employers were quick to encourage their workers to enlist by offering generous allowances to wives and children, and by promising that the vacated positions would be available at the end of the war on the same pay and conditions as if one had remained in post. The mayor, William McLearn, called for the city’s employers to communicate with him if they wished to make commitments to retain positions for workers at the front or to provide family supports, presumably so that he could promote recruitment among this section of the population more effectively. In addition to this, army pay rates, combined with the government-sponsored separation allowance, meant that the gross weekly income for a private could reach s. d. for a husband, wife and two children. By comparison, in the average weekly rate of pay for an unskilled labourer in the Derry building trade was s. It is no coincidence that unskilled urban labourers made up seventy to eighty per cent of the Irish recruits to the army in –, at a time when they accounted for twentyeight per cent of the male population aged –. By October , . per cent of the Irish industrial workforce had joined the armed forces. Financial imperatives and the concerted campaign to recruit from within the urban workforce paid dividends and perhaps partly explains the success of the recruitment campaign in Derry, relative to the neighbouring counties of Tyrone and Donegal. While unionists generally rallied to the flag, and to King and country, nationalist support for the war effort depended to a great extent on the enactment of home rule. The home rule bill received the royal assent on September and Redmond’s Woodenbridge speech urging his followers to contribute to the war effort ‘wherever the firing line extends’ followed two days later. Even though the legislation was immediately suspended for the duration of the war, nationalists could now go to the front with a much stronger rationale and their leaders could encourage others to join them with
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more authority. The significance of this is highlighted by the actions of a group of British army reservists in Derry in August . The men attended a nationalist meeting in the city and pledged to ignore the call up order until home rule was enacted with even greater powers than those in the existing bill. This action caused alarm, but the men were convinced to answer the call before their demands were met. Reports of widespread support for the war effort in Derry during late are largely accurate, but they also mask the undercurrent of advanced nationalism that quickly realized the opportunity to promote a separatist agenda. Within weeks of the outbreak of war, the RIC IG reported that ‘Sinn Feiners and other extremists’ had been disseminating seditious literature setting forth the proposition that ‘England’s difficulty is Ireland’s opportunity’. They also attacked Redmond and the IPP for accepting the home rule bill as it stood in September and discouraged members of the Volunteer movement from joining the army. Antirecruitment activities provided separatists with a means of regrouping after the split in the Volunteers, and a public profile that belied their numerical weakness. There were, by some estimates, forty members of the IVF in Derry city during –, with another seventy concentrated mainly in the south of the county. Anti-recruitment notices were posted on walls and distributed in the city and towns of south Derry from October. One Fianna member with a talent for concocting chemical reactions developed a device that released sulphurated hydrogen at indoor recruitment meetings, causing people to flee and avoid the stench of rotten eggs. In November members and supporters of the Magherafelt and Newbridge IVF companies paraded in Magherafelt to mark the anniversary of the executions of the Manchester Martyrs. The parade was followed by a meeting presided over by Louis Smith, a veteran IRB member, and attended by younger blood in the form of Thomas Larkin, Henry McKeown and others who pledged ‘to make Ireland a nation free and independent’. Accounts of outside agitators being responsible for most of the post-split Irish Volunteer organization in Derry are somewhat wide of the mark. Ernest Blythe was appointed IRB organizer for Antrim, Derry, Donegal and Tyrone in late and embarked on an east-to-west tour of Derry, starting in Toome. Denis McCullough provided him with the names of old IRB men in the area, whom he called on in an attempt to assess the situation and begin building a consolidated force. His account suggests a poor state of affairs in Derry, where vocal opposition to the AOH and IPP was the height of activity. However, the reported anti-recruitment activity and public IVF meetings suggest otherwise. Blythe did carry out important groundwork, however. He swore some younger Volunteers into the IRB, including one of the Larkin brothers from Bellagherty, and invited speakers from Belfast and Dublin to address public events in early . The first of these
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meetings took place in the Magherafelt district in January, when twenty people gathered to hear Herbert Moore Pim speak. Pim addressed two further meetings, in Derry city and Toome in February, where he discouraged those in attendance from considering enlistment. The campaign against army recruitment continued to provide Derry separatists with a framework for organization and a platform for public address throughout . They made slow and steady progress, their anti-recruitment activity piquing the interest of the police in April and June in particular. A group of thirty-six Irish Volunteers armed with rifles paraded around Derry city on June. Two weeks later Pim was welcomed back, and on this occasion was received by a guard of twenty-six armed Volunteers before he gave an open air address to people in the Bogside. The IVF took advantage of the growing confidence and held a training camp for officers at Tromague, County Tyrone, in July . The following month Joseph O’Doherty and John Fox, two of the most prominent IRB members in the city of Derry, stood beside Patrick Pearse at the graveside of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa and were accompanied by a contingent of fifty mourners from Derry. The forty or so Derry city Volunteers who refused to follow Redmond’s lead in September had as their first task the discovery of a new premises because the Shamrock Hall in the Bogside remained under the control of the UIL and the NVF. The Irish Volunteers took over the upper floor of a building in Orchard Street and named it ‘John Mitchel hall’. It had a stage and seating for seventy people. This facilitated the arrangement of cultural pursuits such as concerts, ceilidhes, and Irish language and history classes. Branches of Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna were founded and by they numbered around fifteen and twenty-six members respectively. Familial connections were strong with husbands and wives, fathers and sons, and brothers and sisters all belonging variously to the three bodies. Together they organized Sunday night plays that attracted double capacity crowds on occasion and raised funds through the provision of refreshments and other activities. Individual members of the IVF took on various roles as actors, musicians, comperes and event managers. Paddy Hegarty gave history lessons and outlined the aims of the Volunteers to the Fianna boys, while Séamus Cavanagh, the Volunteers’ O/C in the city and a Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers veteran of the Boer War, provided drill training and taught the less experienced how to clean, strip and assemble rifles. The hall also had a shooting gallery with two Winchester rifles allowing the younger, less experienced men to increase their proficiency. Michael Joseph ‘The’ O’Rahilly travelled to the city in November to deliver an oration on the anniversary of the Manchester Martyrs. Again, a noted public speaker was welcomed with an armed guard and was escorted to the Mitchel hall by Cavanagh. After making his speech he distributed a small amount of ammunition to the company and made a great impression on Liam Brady, a young Fianna
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member, by promoting him to O/C and promising to send him a sword on his return to Dublin. The labours of local and national figures began to pay dividends by September . A small increase in membership across the county resulted in the total number of Volunteers rising to . In January that number was and remained constant until news reached the county of an uprising in Dublin on Easter Monday. The impact of external actors was important, but the role of locals should also be noted, particularly due to the level of independent activity that took place in the period. The fairly significant membership increase in January should also be viewed in the context of the conscription threat and a consequent rise in Irish Volunteer membership across the country at the time. During the summer of a press campaign calling for the introduction of conscription, led mainly by the Daily Mail, gained traction. The IPP was quick to set out its position of ‘vigorous resistance’ to the introduction of any conscription measures in Ireland or Britain. The threat of conscription loomed over Ireland for the rest of the year, however, until the cabinet announced the introduction of a military service bill that excluded Ireland from its remit during the last days of December . Despite this, the position of Ireland in relation to conscription remained uncertain for the duration of the war. Advanced nationalists from various backgrounds came together at anti-conscription meetings, some of them making speeches about preferring to die resisting conscription in Ireland than on the European battlefields for a cause they felt was not theirs. Members of the Irish Neutrality League, a conglomeration formed in October of republican trade unionists, Sinn Féin members, pacifists and others were regularly quoted in the press alongside the anti-conscription pronouncements of the IPP. This represented a change that seems to reflect a growing fatigue with the war and its consequences for Ireland. In Derry, it is interesting to note the changing news coverage and tone of the weekly Derry People during the opening months of . In an editorial on New Year’s Day, the news that conscription would not be extended to Ireland was accompanied by a comment on war losses and how the conflict had brought ‘raging death … into touch with many Irish homes’. Employment was not as easy to find as at the beginning of the war and government contracts held by local factories were nearing their end. The building trade was practically at a standstill and rising prices started to impact heavily on the lives of the urban poor. By December the price of bread had increased by ½d. since the start of the war to a high of ½d. Fuel prices also shot up but remained lower in Derry than in the other Irish cities. Derry was the only city not represented at a conference to address the problem, as local representatives felt the prices were not sufficiently exorbitant in the city.
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However, the impact on the poor can be clearly seen from reports of stealing from the docks and the widespread lifting of coals that fell off carts on the streets. Distress was particularly acute in Limavady, where unemployment was problematic enough to see calls for public relief works to be introduced. Editorial commentary also rounded on a perceived lack of appreciation for the war sacrifice made by nationalist Ireland in terms of ‘flesh and gold’ and readers were warned that the situation was destined to get even worse as the war dragged on, and before an inevitable economic downturn took hold. The enthusiastic pro-war sentiment of late had certainly waned by , as was further evidenced by rising wage demands and strike activity by workers from multiple employment sectors. Teachers, railwaymen, low-paid Corporation workers, carpenters and masons all made wage demands in early . The railwaymen made clear that their hard-taken decision to observe industrial peace for the duration of the war was at breaking point due to estimated price rises of between four and eight times the rate at which wages had risen. The re-establishment of Derry Trades Council in March was a further consequence of worker impatience and anger at price rises they claimed were artificially created by a profiteering business class. There were further signs of war fatigue in . Reports of fatalities, casualties and missing men from the north-west appeared in every edition of the newspapers at a time when the mayor of Derry estimated that twenty per cent of the adult male population of the city was at the front. Sugar and paper shortages were coupled with reports that a tax on amusements was to be introduced in the upcoming budget. Many seasonal labourers from the north-west were afraid to make their annual trip to Scotland for the potato harvest because of a lack of clarity in regard to conscription rules for the Irish in Britain. This resulted in a large reduction in the number of people using the cross-channel steamer service from Derry. There were also complaints about the impact that the naval headquarters in Lough Swilly had on the fishing industry in west Inishowen, at a time when other north-west ports were thriving. The confidence of the nationalist movement, so high following the placement of home rule on the statute book, ebbed as the war dragged on. The partition issue had still not been addressed and relations between nationalists and unionists, while largely cordial during the war, were far from perfect. IPP leaders felt the need to reiterate the nationalist contribution to the war effort because it was frequently denigrated in unionist circles. Similar mud was thrown from the nationalist side as rumours circulated about members of the th (Ulster) Division being excused from front-line duties. Tensions rose in Limavady and St Johnston on St Patrick’s Day when nationalist bands attempted to parade through the towns. Serious trouble was only averted when the bands agreed to abandon the parades, but events such as
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these demonstrate the reality of unionist–nationalist relations in Ulster during the war. While common sacrifice on the battlefield may have led to some form of reconciliation in the context of trench warfare, the situation on the ground in Derry and the rest of Ulster was very different. This was captured by the IG when he observed that ‘although relations between nationalists and unionists appear to be, and are, more friendly since the outbreak of war, under the surface the old party bitterness is still strong’. That observation was not lost on the grassroots of the constitutional nationalist movement, which not long after the placing of home rule on the statute book, began reorganizing the UIL to ensure that home rule would be successfully implemented. New branches were formed, and the leadership turned out for a revival meeting in Maghera in August . Joe Devlin was a regular at such events, keeping his finger on the pulse of the support base in Ulster. All appeared well as large crowds attended AOH and UIL events, while the IVF and other separatist groups could only muster a few hundred members and supporters across the county. A regular columnist writing in the Derry People under the initials ‘N.D.’ penned a series of articles in the month leading up to Easter in which he or she mused on the future of nationalism in Ireland. The articles are interesting not only because the predictions about the immediate political situation proved so utterly wide of the mark, but because the warnings issued about the potential role of the IVF were so prescient. The writer defended the Redmondite position and stated that ‘there is not the remotest prospect of the very small minority who adhere to the programme of the Irish Volunteers being converted to a majority’. However, in the same article the author suggested that anticipated post-war economic difficulties, including the mass unemployment of demobilized soldiers, will play directly into the separatist position. The position of the Irish Volunteers was also affected by the actions of the state in its vigorous application of the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA), which gave the government wartime powers of requisition, censorship and arrest with the ability to make regulations creating new criminal offences. The use of DORA to place deportation orders on Ernest Blythe, Liam Mellows and Alfred Monaghan in late led to large protest marches in Dublin, and boosted the separatist position, while also stirring the IVF to prepare more thoroughly for action. ‘N.D’ worried that further coercive action against the IVF might lead to a reaction that would result in the spilling of blood. The big fear, as articulated in the articles, was that any attempted disarmament of the IVF would lead to an uprising with an inevitable spilling of Volunteer blood. The author warned that such martyrdom would result in the ultimate success of the separatist ideal in the long run. The oft-repeated claim that the Volunteers had orders not to engage militarily in Ulster during Easter seems to have its basis in the BMH state-
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ment of Denis McCullough, who was at that time president of the Supreme Council of the IRB. McCullough stated that Pearse and James Connolly’s plan for the Belfast group under his command was to mobilize with all arms, ammunition and equipment available and proceed to Tyrone. Once there, they would meet with Volunteer contingents from Tyrone and Monaghan, then ‘proceed with all possible haste, to join Mellows in Connaught and act under his command there’. It is clear from other sources that the rendezvous point in Tyrone was at Coalisland and that a significant detachment of south Derry Volunteers journeyed along the western shore of Lough Neagh into the town also. McCullough was unsurprisingly concerned as to how the group was to make its way to Connacht unmolested, and suggested that they raid RIC barracks for arms on their way. It is claimed that Connolly became irate at this suggestion and ordered: ‘You will fire no shot in Ulster: you will proceed with all possible speed to join Mellows in Connaught, and … if we win through, we will then deal with Ulster’. He then added ‘you will observe that as an order and obey it strictly’, a direction to which Pearse assented. The Coalisland mobilization was abandoned on Easter Sunday, largely due to confused communications between the Dublin leadership and the leading IRB figure in the area, Dr Pat McCartan. It has also been claimed that neither McCartan nor McCullough was in favour of a pre-emptive uprising, and that the diminishing prospect of German aid arriving in Ireland discouraged them from action. More definite orders arrived from Dublin on Easter Monday night via Nora Connolly who carried a message from her father and Pearse. Contradicting the previous order delivered to McCullough, Connolly and Pearse now instructed that the men in the area be mobilized and that they ‘seize all police barracks and hold up all trains with military supplies going south’. McCullough had already ordered his contingent back to Belfast on Easter Sunday and those remaining in Coalisland, including the south Derry Volunteers, were ordered to return home after hearing news of Eoin MacNeill’s countermanding order. Some of the south Derry men, led by the IRB head centre for Derry, Hugh Gribbon, returned home after they met McCullough’s demobilized group on route to catch the train to Belfast. Despite a rank and file eagerness to act, the only action that took place during Easter week was a raid for arms held by the National Volunteers in Dungannon. McCartan continued to hold back, despite orders, and in later years claimed that if he’d had clear direction from the outset, the Tyrone and Derry Volunteers could have raided and burned all police barracks, seized Omagh, cut rail and wire communication to the south, and been well armed and ready on Easter Monday. Similar confusion reigned in Derry city. Joseph O’Doherty was the first to know of plans for an uprising. Arguably the most prominent republican in the city, O’Doherty was an IRB member and served on the Irish Volunteer exec-
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utive from . Although not a member of the IRB military council that planned the Easter Rising, he was particularly close to Seán Mac Diarmada. His Dublin-based brother, Séamus, was a member of the military council and was therefore aware of the plans for the Rising. O’Doherty, his father, and four siblings were centrally involved in republican politics locally and the wider family was pivotal to the distribution of arms across the country prior to Easter . Derry was an important centre for the attainment and distribution of arms and ammunition both before and after the Rising. The significant army presence in the area and a large number of soldiers visiting on leave provided a small trickle of hardware through small-scale purchase of arms. That this was common practice was illustrated by the fact that Paddy Hegarty regularly met with soldiers from Dunree and Leenan forts in Inishowen and had an agreed price for the purchase of British army service rifles. Small numbers of weapons could also be acquired from local unionists trying to make some extra cash. Larger consignments of arms and ammunition were brought in through the port and then deposited in dumps on the outskirts of the city and around south Inishowen. A network of trade unionists, seamen and sleeper Volunteers who did not identify publicly with the movement were involved in the secret gun-running operations throughout the period. Richard Walsh, a brigade adjutant in Mayo who also served as a gun-runner in , made it clear that Derry was one of the main ports for arms importation after Dublin and Cork, and that it certainly saw a lot more material pass through it than Belfast. It seems likely that Derry port played a similar role in the pre-Rising period as arms dumps and distribution networks existed to channel arms to Dublin. The O’Doherty family were central to this distribution channel, particularly Róisín and her brother Séamus. Róisín, a Cumann na mBan member, claimed to have taken trunks full of guns, as much as she could take, on the Derry–Dublin train on four or five occasions before the Rising. Joseph confirmed this, adding that almost every member of his family did the same, and that even larger consignments went by road. Séamus O’Doherty worked as a travelling salesman for Gill’s publishing company in Dublin, which served as the perfect cover for his role in ferrying a significant amount of weaponry around the country in cars and on trains. His wife, Kitty, a Cumann na mBan member at the heart of preparations during Holy Week, stated that before the Rising: ‘I had myself a regular arsenal under the floor in my sitting-room … It was my husband, of course, who was really responsible, but he was away travelling and I was in charge’. Séamus regularly brought home tins of gelignite and on Holy Saturday, Kitty remembered him arriving into the house with ‘a big case of guns from Derry. It was a huge case, like a cabin trunk’. Paddy Shiels, later O/C of the IRA in Derry city, also made arms deliveries to Dublin on Palm Sunday weekend, . Half a tonne of small arms and ammunition was procured in Britain
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in early and sent as ‘ironware’ to Edmiston and Scott’s hardware store in Derry under the name of a prominent unionist. Joseph O’Doherty successfully collected the consignment by stating that the addressee had hired him to transport it to Letterkenny. Despite the efforts of the O’Doherty siblings, Shiels and possibly others transporting arms to Dublin, and the distribution of arms from Derry city to Coalisland during Holy Week, there remained at least one more large consignment of guns in the city that did not make it to Dublin. Two Belfast men, Archie Heron and Seán Cusack, were summoned to Dublin to meet Michael Collins in July . He informed them that he needed men with knowledge of the northern roads to go to Derry, meet Joseph O’Doherty, and pick up a large quantity of . ammunition that had been acquired prior the Rising. It is quite possible that this was the same . ammunition that local Volunteers obtained through a friendly soldier in Ebrington Barracks, who handed , rounds over the wall in parcels during a recruitment parade. The Volunteers marched along with the parading soldiers, parcels in their arms, until they reached the John Mitchel hall from where the ammunition was taken to a dump. The use of Derry port and city as a centre for the importation and distribution of arms during the revolutionary period was never uncovered by the authorities and Joseph O’Doherty was proud to declare that they never lost a single bullet. Preparations for action in Derry city on Easter weekend were considerably less well co-ordinated than the arms distribution network. Joseph O’Doherty went to Dublin on Spy Wednesday to see his then girlfriend, Margaret Irvine, a medical student. The following day he visited his IRB comrade Seán Mac Diarmada at the offices of Irish Freedom on D’Olier Street, Dublin. Mac Diarmada, perhaps slightly paranoid in the days leading up to the planned rising, questioned O’Doherty about his presence in Dublin and inquired if he ‘had heard anything of importance’. Expressing genuine ignorance of the plans, O’Doherty signalled his intention to stay in the city for the weekend in order to spend time with Margaret. Mac Diarmada then asked if the arms and ammunition held in Derry had been distributed to Dublin and Tyrone, to which O’Doherty replied in the negative. Realizing that he had to bring O’Doherty into the fold, Mac Diarmada emphasized the gravity of the situation by re-administering the IRB oath to O’Doherty before telling him about the plan to strike at p.m. on Easter Sunday. O’Doherty’s expressed desire to remain in Dublin and be part of the action was quickly curbed by Mac Diarmada, who gave him orders to return to Derry at once, as each of them would be required in his own area. Séamus O’Doherty was also dispatched back to Derry with orders to collect as much ammunition as possible, and then return to Dublin without delay to participate in the arrest and detention of Bulmer Hobson. The brothers got on the night mail train and arrived in their home city at a.m. Joseph sent word to the local Volunteers to pack up
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as much arms and ammunition as Séamus could carry with him on the train. He took the early train to Dublin on Holy Saturday morning, and arrived home, as his wife Kitty remembered, with the large consignment ready to be distributed. While Séamus was waiting in Derry on Good Friday, Joseph and Róisín set off by car to distribute arms and search for Pat McCartan in Tyrone. Their intention was to seek information on plans for Tyrone and south Derry, and to arrange for more weapons to be sent to the area. Failing to find him, they returned home to regroup. Joseph met with Séamus Cavanagh on the Saturday and told him to expect orders from Dublin without informing him of the plans to strike at p.m. on Sunday. Joseph had been told to await orders and that if nothing arrived by p.m. on Saturday, they were to ‘at liberty to strike’ as they saw fit. This created the situation where Cavanagh, as O/C of the Volunteers, was reporting to his subordinate, awaiting orders, and unaware of plans to strike despite being a member of the IRB. O’Doherty’s position on the IRB Supreme Council, and probably more importantly, his chance presence in Dublin that week, elevated him above Cavanagh in the conspiratorial hierarchy. Nonetheless, O’Doherty informed Cavanagh of the planned rising after p.m. and they agreed to meet the following morning. O’Doherty later claimed he was well aware of the importance of secrecy and told Margaret that his hasty departure from Dublin was due to his sister falling seriously ill. However, Margaret somehow gained prior knowledge of the planned uprising. Louise Gavan Duffy, the suffragist and founder member of Cumann na mBan, who was in the GPO during Easter Week, claimed that the first she heard of a planned rising was when she went to student digs on Haddington Road and Maggie Irvine ‘told me there was going to be a rebellion’. Confusion followed confusion as O’Doherty made his way down William Street to his meeting with Cavanagh on the docks. He called into the shop of Charlie Breslin, another Volunteer, and picked up a copy of the Sunday Independent wherein he read of Eoin MacNeill’s countermanding order. He had earlier received a letter from Pat McCartan with a message telling him to go and meet a man in Strabane that afternoon. On hearing this, Cavanagh speculated that the meeting would either be for the purposes of confirmation of the countermand, or instructions to ignore it as it might have been a means of throwing the authorities off the scent. Unable to locate his contact in Strabane, O’Doherty returned to Derry, by which time it was after p.m. Cavanagh called a meeting of Volunteer officers above Breslin’s shop at p.m. Plans for the Rising were relayed to the men, who were then mobilized under arms. A plan was put in place whereby O’Doherty would set off once more in an attempt to locate McCartan in Tyrone, while the men in the city awaited his return. If he did not arrive back before a.m. on Easter Monday, they
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would assume he’d been killed or captured and they would begin offensive action. Cavanagh ordered a group of seventeen Volunteers to meet at . p.m. in a shed adjoining Watt’s distillery at the top of William Street. ‘Each man was to bring the heaviest top coat he had, his rifle, revolver and ammunition, with all the other equipment and enough rations to last two days’. The mood in the shed was tense. The men sat in silence, unable to smoke or light a match for fear of detection. They were armed with five Lee Enfield rifles, five Mausers, two Howth rifles and five Martini Henry short carbine rifles, along with rounds of ammunition each and twenty-two hand-made bombs. The lack of information about what action they would take, if any, added to the tense atmosphere, which only increased when they spotted two policemen through a crack in the door. The policemen rested against the shed door for ten minutes while the Volunteers inside held their loaded guns, ready to react to any unexpected movement. Relative calm returned as the policemen moved on but the agreement to act in the event of O’Doherty not returning started to grind on Cavanagh. He realized that something as trivial as a car breakdown could lead to his missing the deadline. With this in mind, Cavanagh ordered the men in the shed to disperse at . a.m. O’Doherty reached Derry at . a.m. and met Cavanagh by chance on Foyle Street. With McCartan still proving impossible to track down, both men went home. The following morning O’Doherty received a personal telegram from Margaret Irvine. When his attempt to send a reply failed, and the post office staff blamed bad weather cutting communications the previous night, he knew something was amiss. The presence of the RIC in the post office also fuelled his suspicion that something was happening in Dublin. O’Doherty once again met with Cavanagh and the decision was taken to mobilize the Volunteers on Easter Monday night with a view to taking action on Tuesday. Contact was finally made with McCartan on Tuesday when Barney McKenna arrived in Derry from Strabane with a message stating: ‘hold in readiness, with you tomorrow or Thursday’. The Derry Volunteers followed this direction from McCartan but by Tuesday morning the troops in Derry had already been confined to barracks, and the public and industrial buildings in the city were heavily garrisoned. The momentum was gone and with it the opportunity to take action. Most of the active Volunteers in the city were arrested on and May. Éamonn MacDermott, Patrick Hegarty, Charlie Breslin, Joseph and Vincent O’Doherty, Séamus Cavanagh, Paddy Shiels, John Fox and Edward O’Duffy were all taken to Derry Jail. They were joined by eleven men from Donegal and Tyrone, and from the Magherafelt district by Anthony McGurk, Hugh Gribbon and the old Fenian, Louis Smith. The Mitchel hall and other known Volunteer meeting places were raided across the north-west, but little of significance was found. Two men were released and the other twenty-one were marched to the Great Northern Railway (GNR) station on the morning of
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Monday May from where the train took them to Richmond Barracks in Dublin, and thence to prisons in England before internment in Frongoch. They were joined in prison by a number of fellow Derry men who had been involved in or got caught up in the events of Easter week. John Lafferty, from Magilligan, was sworn into the IRB and joined the IVF in Glasgow. He was mobilized and sent to Dublin along with a group of Volunteers from other British industrial cities in March . These men became known as the Kimmage Garrison after they trained and prepared weapons in the area before joining the fight on Easter Monday. Lafferty fought in the GPO and was part of the retreat down Moore Street on Easter Saturday before surrendering with his comrades. He is the only known person from Derry to have fought in the GPO during Easter week. Séamus O’Doherty, as well as being a senior figure in the IRB, was a member of G Company, nd Battalion IVF, which fought in the area around Jacob’s biscuit factory. When he reported for duty at the GPO on Easter Monday morning, he received orders from Tom Clarke to lay low and continue the work of the IRB. His significant role in the planning of the Rising led to his arrest and internment along with his comrades, however. Three other Derry natives were arrested in Dublin during Easter Week. The men were in the city to attend the opening of a new Orange lodge on Easter Monday. They were arrested as suspected rebels after being stopped and found in possession of revolvers when attempting to leave the city. The men were imprisoned in Dublin before being shipped to England with the vanquished Volunteers. One of them, David Norrie, gave his address as ‘Memorial Hall, Londonderry’, the ABOD headquarters on Society Street. Norrie was a Unionist party registration agent in Derry and the general secretary of the Apprentice Boys. The Derry People reported that the ‘local machinery was set in motion and they were released’ before they ended up in Frongoch. Garbled news of what was happening in Dublin reached Derry on the evening of Easter Monday. The soldiers stationed at Ebrington were the first to hear of events and given that it was a holiday many of the men were socializing in the city. A bugle call went out and notices ordering all soldiers to report to barracks were placed on cinema screens. Troop trains were immediately prepared to send soldiers to Dublin. Those remaining were confined to barracks and armed guards were mounted at the gasworks, the power station, and the shipyard. A -strong guard under the command of Major W.E.H. Workman was mounted at the Guildhall until May. Army and police sentries were placed around the city with orders to fire on anyone who failed to halt. Rumours spilled through the city overnight and by Tuesday a few of the locals who had been visiting Dublin over the weekend managed to get back home, some carrying bullets as souvenirs and relaying stories of what was happening. Rumours of a German invasion were quickly dispelled
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but the full truth of what was happening in Dublin did not reach the northwest until the Rising was over. All remained calm in the city, however, despite the garrisoned buildings and an order closing pubs at p.m. On Monday May bayonet and machine-gun practice was carried out in Guildhall Square to the interest of watching locals. Initially, public opinion appears to have been very much against the Rising. Local interest news reports trickled in to clarify that there had been local casualties on the streets of Dublin. Charles Love Crockett, a former student of Foyle College and a member of Second Derry Presbyterian Church, was a soldier in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers stationed at Enniskillen. He and his comrades were ordered to Dublin to put down the Rising. Crockett was shot and killed on the Thursday while attempting to reach the headquarters of the Dublin Fusiliers on Fitzwilliam Street. The circumstances of his death were unclear at the time, but it appears that a British army sentry shot him in error. A second fatality with connections to the north-west was Sergeant-Major Patrick Brosnan of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. Brosnan was a native of Dublin who was a musketry instructor stationed at Buncrana. He happened to be on leave in Dublin when the Rising commenced and was visiting his family in the living quarters at Dublin Castle. When the rebel attack on the Castle took place, he offered his services in defence but was wearing mufti and was shot dead after being mistaken for a rebel. Two other Derry men, Sergeant Fred Hawkins and Sergeant R. Joliffe, are named in the official list of wounded men. Lord Dunsany, who was stationed in Derry and resided in the officer accommodation at Braehead House, was also wounded. The two main nationalist newspapers, the Derry Journal and the Derry People, lamented the folly of the Rising and the ‘misguided’ actions of those who could not see, or await, the fruits of the Redmondite policy. The Journal speculated on where the blame should lie at a very early stage in an editorial that admitted the lack of information made it too early to judge the impact of events. However, this did not stop the leader writer from stating that Sinn Féin was too small to pull something of this magnitude off, laying the blame squarely at the door of the ICA. These frequenters of Liberty Hall were, in the Journal’s opinion, inspired by the ‘syndicalist Larkin’ and were disciples of Proudhon and Bakunin. In fairness, the Journal was ahead of most in its placement of Liberty Hall and the ICA at the centre of events, but assuming that the Easter Rising was led by anarcho-syndicalists was somewhat farfetched. The contempt for unskilled workers drips off the page. Dublin’s dockers are described as dupes who lack ‘political sagacity’ and ‘less discriminative capacity to senseless and suicidal action’. Sympathy for the rebels could be detected from the outset, but more particularly after the first round of executions on May. An editorial in the Derry People on May questioned the wisdom of the Rising but found common cause with the ‘unfortunate rev-
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olutionaries’ in their belief to have been ‘engaged in a righteous cause … assured of success [and] in spiritual communion with the great heroes and martyrs of the past’. Unionist press criticism of the government for allowing the IVF to drill openly and reach the point where they could stage an insurrection was angrily rejected by the paper, and it was advised that the focus should be placed on the earlier inaction in relation to the UVF. Similar sympathy and increasing regard for those associated with the Rising could be detected on the ground quite soon after the events of Easter Week. When the north-west prisoners were conveyed from Derry Jail to the GNR station early on the morning of Monday May, there were very few people on the streets. However, a number of people at the station witnessed the scene of handcuffed men being boarded on trains for Dublin. One bystander asked a prisoner if they were allowed to smoke while in custody. When the prisoner replied in the negative, the man turned to a soldier and said: ‘Many a box of cigarettes I have sent to the front, but that finishes it’. By the end of May the press recognized that the political atmosphere had changed and that reaction to the Rising was affecting all nationalists, including supporters of the IPP. John Dillon’s warnings about the effect of house raids and arrests on IPP supporters, Laurence Ginnell’s probing parliamentary questions about British army actions during and after the fighting, and the debate on the extension of conscription to Ireland were all prominently reported in Derry. The papers also published biographies of the executed leaders and provided detailed reportage of the gruesome North King Street massacre where fifteen civilians were bayoneted or shot to death by soldiers from the Staffordshire Regiment. CI Cary reported that there was ‘a good deal of unrest and excited feeling’ in Derry city in the weeks after the Rising. Perhaps the first public sign of post-Rising support for Derry republicans came when an anonymous sympathizer wrote a letter to the Derry Journal calling for the establishment of an official dependants fund for the families of the prisoners. The Irish National Foresters had already provided aid, as had the Derry dockers, despite the fact that they were on strike at the time. This call was taken up largely by members of Cumann na mBan and those in the O’Doherty family who managed to maintain their liberty. The Cumann na mBan members, including sisters Róisín and Mary O’Doherty, organized funds and arranged for messages to be sent into Derry Jail by a local priest. They later made arrangements to send messages and supplies to the interned men. Prior to the establishment of the Irish Volunteers’ Dependants’ Fund and the National Aid Association, the head of the O’Doherty household, William, took in prisoners’ family members and distributed his own money to those in need. The Easter Rising was marked by confusion and consequent inaction in Derry. The absence of clear orders to Tyrone and south Derry led McCartan
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to claim that their potential was hampered from the outset. However, McCartan and local notables, including clergymen, also counselled against any uprising in the absence of German support. It is unclear what plans the men in the shed on William Street had if orders to act had been received in the early hours of Easter Monday morning. It is likely that they would have journeyed out of the city to join with a larger force, possibly those in Coalisland. Derry city had much too high a military presence, as well as a significant proportion of the population that was extremely loyal to the authorities. There were plans, however, for the Volunteers remaining in the city, under the command of Paddy Lafferty and James Lynch, to destroy the bridges over the River Faughan, and to disrupt the GNR line at several points. A plan to blow up a troop train leaving Derry for Dublin on the Tuesday of Easter Week was also considered, but not executed. There are two possible explanations for this. The first is that civilian casualties could have resulted, and this consideration led the Volunteer officers to reconsider. The second, more likely explanation places the responsibility for inaction directly on McCartan. After the Derry city Volunteers received McCartan’s ‘hold in readiness’ order on Tuesday, they passively watched the troop train leave Derry that evening in the belief that action would be taken over the following days. As Wednesday and Thursday passed and there was still no word from McCartan, the Derry Volunteers accepted that their chance to strike had passed. The outward calm that descended on Ulster following the outbreak of war in Europe masked the divisions that remained below the surface. In Derry, the relentless bickering over which side was giving more to the war effort was illustrative of a conflict being carried on by other means. Fear of, and anger at, the proposed introduction of conscription coupled with rising prices and stagnating wages led many nationalists to question the sacrifices made for the war effort. The confidence that Derry nationalists placed in the Redmondite strategy took a blow when partition was raised in . A growing war-weariness among Derry nationalists combined with the turning tide of public opinion nationally in the post-Rising period to push the sympathies of the people closer to the separatist ideal of the martyred insurrectionists. The first signs of a mass move towards a more advanced nationalism in Derry came soon after the Rising and represented a localized response to the re-emergence of partition as a solution to the home rule impasse. The IPP’s acquiescence in the partition proposals of signalled the final nail in the coffin for the party in Derry city, and severely weakened it in the rest of the county. The threat of partition was, once again, the major factor in precipitating a change to the political landscape in Derry.
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Nationalist political opinion shifted quickly in Derry during the summer of . The IPP and the British political establishment were wise enough to realize that some kind of intervention was necessary to stem the haemorrhaging of IPP support. Redmond pushed for the immediate implementation of home rule and Asquith, since head of a coalition government that included Carson and other prominent unionists, was thinking along the same lines. Having tested the waters in with the county option proposals, Redmond now waded into the Rubicon, promoting a scheme that would see Antrim, Armagh, Down, and more controversially, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone, temporarily excluded from the home rule settlement without plebiscite. The impact on constitutional nationalism in west Ulster was devastating. The period between the Easter Rising and the general election of December was marked by the decline of the IPP and the rise of SF nationally. In Derry city, the twin threats of partition and conscription combined and laid waste to what remained of the IPP, while also driving more young nationalists into the separatist movement in its various forms. The radicalization of nationalist politics in Derry during this period quickly led to a breakdown in the uneasy truce with unionists that had held fairly solidly since the outbreak of the war. In December the people of Derry joined the rest of the post-war world in witnessing the beginnings of a considerably altered society in Ireland and across the globe. The appointment of John Gordon, the sitting Liberal Unionist MP for South Londonderry, as a judge in April triggered the first Irish by-election held after the Easter Rising. The Unionists nominated Denis Henry, a Catholic lawyer from Draperstown who had come close to winning the North Tyrone by-election in . The Nationalists, observing the uneasy wartime political truce, followed the precedent set after the death of David Hogg in August , when the Unionists refrained from fielding a candidate in Londonderry City, allowing the Liberal, J.B. Dougherty, to be returned unopposed. While the Easter Rising had no particular impact on the election, the changing political atmosphere can be observed in the nomination of an independent candidate from Glasgow, Dr Arthur Turnbull, and the issues he raised. Turnbull was a lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps, who, having returned from the front, began campaigning across Britain and Ireland for an end to the wartime electoral truce and a speedy resolution to the war. He made several interventions at by-elections in Britain during to raise awareness of his campaign. In the weeks prior to the South Londonderry contest he made headlines by jumping from the strangers’ gallery on to the
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floor of the House of Commons to insist on the provision of steel helmets for soldiers at the front. He also campaigned in favour of universal suffrage and against rising prices and conscription in Ireland. Turnbull ran a lacklustre campaign. He refused to take a position on home rule, which alienated him from unionists and nationalists alike. The Nationalists and Liberals were forced to make a statement denying that they surreptitiously brought Turnbull to the constituency after persistent rumours alluded to this, but their commitment to the truce was accepted by the Unionists after Turnbull’s refusal to be drawn on Irish issues. His message resonated with some, as he polled votes, but Henry took the seat with a comfortably majority of ,. The local Catholic clergy were said to have remained aloof from the election and omitted to mention it at Sunday Masses prior to the vote. Representatives of the government and the Irish parties met to discuss how the political situation might be addressed. David Lloyd George was the government minister tasked with finding agreement on a revised home rule scheme. He managed to convince both Carson and Redmond to agree to a ‘heads of settlement’ that proposed the Home Rule Act () come into operation as soon as possible. In addition, it was agreed that the six Ulster counties be excluded from the remit of the Irish parliament. The IPP leaders were convinced of the scheme’s merits due to assurances that the exclusion arrangements were temporary, and that a permanent settlement would be considered by an Imperial conference after the war’s end. The six counties were to remain under the jurisdiction of Westminster with a local administration headed by a British secretary of state. What the IPP leaders did not seem to consider, or at least highlight, was the ability of the government to extend the duration of the ‘temporary’ arrangement. Despite the ‘no further’ warnings of west Ulster nationalists after county option was floated in , Redmond staked his and the party’s reputation on this last-ditch effort to get home rule across the line. It has been argued that the IPP leadership was under pressure to deliver something in the context of the changing political climate. If they refused to reach a settlement and engaged in criticism of the government, the sacrifices wrought of their pro-war strategy would be undermined, leaving the field open to those with pro-SF tendencies. It later emerged that Carson had been provided with a written guarantee from Lloyd George that ‘at the end of the provisional period Ulster does not, whether she wills it or not, merge in the rest of Ireland’. With this assurance he was able quickly to get the UUC’s unanimous approval of the terms of agreement on June. Redmond’s path towards gaining the support of his followers was not so smooth. The newspapers reported that a home rule settlement with a partition clause was imminent at the end of May. All talk in Derry turned from the Rising to partition and what it would mean for the north-west. The Catholic bishops and clergy of Ulster became centrally involved in the strategic debate
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on the future of home rule. On June a group of senior clergy and ‘representative nationalists’ met in Omagh to formulate a strategy of opposition ‘against any proposal being made to partition the country by the exclusion of Ulster or any part thereof’. The meeting was attended by a group of Tyrone solicitors with strong IPP pedigrees. Within a month they had joined Bishop McHugh in a new constitutional political movement, and within year they became the leading lights of SF in the area. The Omagh meeting ended with a call to oppose partition and led to a series of conventions with the express purpose of highlighting the level of opposition to the Lloyd George proposals. While fearing the potentially violent repercussions of any scheme that ignored the wishes of nationalists in Derry, Fermanagh, and Tyrone, McHugh was confident that the IPP would not be found wanting. He informed the Omagh group that ‘your interests are safe in their hands. I am confident they will never agree to any proposals that are opposed to the principle of a united Ireland’. Further anti-partition meetings were organized in Ulster towns ahead of a planned nationalist convention to consider the proposals to be held in St Mary’s Hall, Belfast, on June. Large numbers of clergy attended and contributed to the organization of these meetings, where the same set of anti-partition resolutions were adopted alongside demands for an end to martial law in Ireland. A well-attended meeting in St Columb’s Hall was presided over by James McCarron on June. The motions were put and supported by a cross section of priests, professional and commercial men, nationalist members of the corporation and representatives of other local bodies. Revd James McGlinchey, dean of St Columb’s College who had recently begun allowing his students to drill with dummy rifles on the school grounds, was a named supporter of the resolutions. A meeting was held at the same time in Maghera to forward the opinion of the nationalists in the north and south of the county. The clerical influence was again noted and with every parish in the county represented, a unanimous vote meant that nationalist County Derry joined Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry city in steadfast opposition to partition. However, the situation in County Derry was not as clear cut as in the other areas. For instance, Magherafelt Board of Guardians refused to pass an anti-partition resolution after Joseph Davison appealed to the members to trust the IPP leadership, even if it temporarily led to the exclusion of ‘a few counties’ from home rule. The letters page of the Derry Journal was kept busy with clerical and lay correspondents warning of the dangers of partition and expressing fears that the St Mary’s Hall meeting would result in a rigged ballot to buttress the leadership position. A County Derry priest demanded that the delegates be elected from each parish and that no representation should be offered to the AOH, UIL or other IPP-aligned organizations. He also noted the symbolism of holding the convention in Belfast, a city where there had been no protests
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against partition, rather than Armagh, Derry or Omagh. The Ulster bishops met with Redmond on June and then went into conference at Maynooth on June. McHugh gave the public some indication of the hierarchy’s collective thinking when he permitted a letter that he had written to McCarron to be published in the Derry Journal and several other newspapers on June. Thanking McCarron for accepting the request to represent the city’s workers at St Mary’s Hall, McHugh also revealed that his fellow bishops followed the view of Cardinal Logue that ‘it would be infinitely better to remain as we are for years to come under English rule than to accept these proposals’. This echoed similar commentary and warnings from Derry nationalists in , when they stated that they were prepared to tear everything down and start again, rather than move an inch beyond the concession of county option. Departing slightly from the abstract anti-partitionist argument, McHugh revealed ecclesiastical fears that the proposals could lead to an Ulster parliament under the control of the unionists, stating: ‘But what causes more alarm to the bishops than the voluntary surrender of the National ideal is the perilous position in which religion and Catholic education would be placed were these proposals, so imperfectly understood by the public, reduced to practice’. This would inevitably result in the control of education passing into Ulster Protestant hands, a prospect that unnerved the bishops to the extent that they were prepared to sabotage the imperfect home rule proposals and retain the status quo of government from Westminster. McHugh’s analysis of the situation was on point. He noted Carson’s confidence in recommending the proposals as a permanent solution and questioned the planned establishment of an independent judiciary and executive in Belfast with independent Boards of Education and Agriculture. McHugh reflected the anger of those in his diocese, who had done so much to further the cause of home rule and had put their faith in Redmond’s leadership. The roots of the imminent break with the IPP can be traced in McHugh’s letter to McCarron, where he also lamented the fate of ‘Poor Derry’ after all it did to secure a Parliamentary majority for Ulster in favour of home rule, [it] is to be treated as a castaway. Who could believe that Irishmen who were so enthusiastic … over the victory won by Mr. Hogg in Derry a few years ago could so soon turn their backs on our brave and historic city … It is said that these are not the proposals of the Irish Party. I grant they are not. But I say to stand up in defence of them, to suggest the acceptance of them, is just as bad as to be branded with the dishonourable reputation of having fathered them. The St Mary’s Hall convention was destined to be a contentious affair as the anti-partitionists felt proceedings were stacked against them from the off.
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Cardinal Logue’s recommendation to Redmond that members of local government bodies, the UIL, the MPs and clergy be represented was followed, but his specific recommendation to exclude ‘Benefit Associations’ was ignored when the Irish National Foresters and the AOH were allocated forty seats each. The purpose of this was clear in the opinion of those in west Ulster. Devlin’s control of the AOH was common knowledge and charges of stacking the composition of the delegates in favour of the partition proposal had already been aired. There were allegations of patronage being used to sway votes. Fr Hendley of St Malachy’s College in Belfast noted that ‘all those who voted for exclusion were either looking for jobs, or had got jobs for themselves or their friends through the Party’. Fr Michael Curran claimed that three of Devlin’s agents came to Derry in advance of the convention to speak with local delegates and informed them that the leadership already had a majority. Redmond opened the convention with a threat to quit as leader if the proposals were rejected, and was followed in this action by Devlin. Such drastic, almost desperate, behaviour convinced many wavering delegates to support the exclusion proposals out of fear that a headless nationalist movement would be trounced in the post-war period. Not only was SF on the rise, but the Unionist party was now firmly re-integrated with the British political establishment through membership of the coalition government. Carson had the necessary clout to gain further concessions on exclusion and a stronglyled IPP was essential to act as a counterweight. The partition proposals were approved at the convention by a significant majority (–), but the victory was hollow and short-lived. Even before the home rule scheme collapsed in July, west Ulster was lost to the IPP. Soon after the convention, a group of councillors from Derry city, Fermanagh and Tyrone wrote to Asquith in protest at the removal of county option from the table. The first overt call for a constitutional alternative to the IPP came from Fr Philip O’Doherty, parish priest of Carndonagh in Inishowen. As part of his call for the establishment of an ‘All-Ireland Unity League’, he invoked the memory of the mass meeting planned for Celtic Park on March that was grudgingly cancelled at the behest of the IPP leadership. McHugh came next asking: ‘are we going to surrender even without a national protest the inheritance of an united Ireland, handed down to us intact through ages of persecution and bloodshed?’ He then called explicitly for a ‘National Convention’ that would be independent of the IPP, ‘summoned by the people, controlled by the people, and under the presidency of some great and fearless Irish lay man, chosen by the people’. The break was completed when the calls of Fr O’Doherty and Bishop McHugh were acted on by a group of seceding nationalists who organized a large anti-partition meeting in St Columb’s Hall on July. The Derry Journal deemed it ‘one of the largest and most representative nationalist meetings … witnessed in Derry for over
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a generation’. This claim may have been made in reference to the ‘very strong citizen attendance’ and a sizable female contingent looking on, but those making speeches were largely middle-class professionals. Along with the almost priests noted on the platform, there were at least fifteen solicitors. The other noted delegates were members of the UIL and the AOH, and elected representatives. James McCarron was joined by his trades council colleague, William Logue, to represent labour. Interestingly, two members of the AOH (IAA) also sat on the platform. It is unknown if any of those in the IVF, Cumann na mBan or allied organizations attended. Certainly none of those who made later recollections of this period mentioned the meeting. The largely inactive NVF under the command of Charles McGlinchey acted as stewards, illustrating their break with the IPP. Their attendance further represents the extent of the split. Only three months previously the NVF offered to act as a home defence guard in the aftermath of the Rising. Now, they formed a central part of an anti-government, anti-IPP gathering. Many of the laymen on the platform, such as P.J. McGoldrick, went on to take leading positions in the local SF movement after . The speeches struck an exasperated and aggressive tone. B. Campbell, a Belfast solicitor, told of how he had visited the men recently interned in English prisons and informed them of ‘the attempt that was being made to mutilate and divide the country’ and that they promised to come out and fight again if partition became a reality. McCarron described himself as a follower of the party who was forced to part ways with it due to the leaders’ position on partition. He spoke of how the IPP leadership was afraid to coerce the unionists into a home rule Ireland, while Redmond and Devlin acted as dictators to force the nationalists of the six counties out of it. He also questioned the tactical wisdom of treating ‘Orangemen of Belfast’ with kid gloves in order to persuade them gently of home rule’s benefits. The intolerance of the Belfast shipyard workers proved the folly of that approach, he argued. Finally, echoing the radicalized language of the other speakers he spoke of his rage at the claims during the St Mary’s Hall convention that the interned prisoners would be released if the delegates voted in favour of exclusion. The Anti-Partition League was formed after the meeting with the object of resisting partition ‘by every means in their power’ and establishing branches in every parish in Ireland. The Derry city branch was presided over by Hugh C. O’Doherty, a solicitor, and more branches were formed in Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry and Inishowen in late July. In some cases UIL branches switched their allegiance to the Anti-Partition League. By the end of July there were five branches in Derry with eighty-two members. On August the leading figures in the movement met and decided that to increase appeal outside Ulster a change of name would be necessary. Consequently, the Irish Nation League (INL) was born and ‘monster meetings’ were organized
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throughout the province with , turning out in Enniskillen and , in the small town of Carndonagh. The INL leaders obtained approval to hold an open-air meeting in the Phoenix Park in Dublin on September. This was the first major political demonstration held in Dublin since the Rising, and it attracted a crowd of at least , people. This led to the formation of two branches in Dublin (north and south) and one in Limerick. There was even a short-lived branch in the Redmondite stronghold of Waterford city in . By the end of September there were ten branches and members in Derry. The spread of the movement gathered pace and a total membership of , in forty-three branches was reported at the same time. The prominence of lawyers in the INL, including Hugh C. O’Doherty and Charles O’Doherty from Derry, led to it being labelled the ‘League of Seven Attorneys’ by the editor of the Donegal Vindicator. This negative moniker was then enthusiastically taken up by the pro-IPP Freeman’s Journal. The attempt at humour also held an element of truth. The INL was highly influenced by members of the legal profession, and also by Ulster clergy. Michael Laffan has argued that the INL lost momentum after September due to a number of factors. It struggled to promote the anti-partition message nationwide and retained an image as a single-issue movement. It was also amateurish and failed to maintain a national profile due to a lack of organizers and having its base in Omagh rather than Dublin. The influence of the clergy and Bishop McHugh was also highlighted by Laffan, although his argument that the INL’s strength in Inishowen can be explained by the peninsula’s position in the Derry diocese and the influence of McHugh ignores the massive economic, geographical and familial connections between the area and Derry city. The INL’s main problem was its lack of distinction from the IPP. Its ‘Appeal to the People’, a quasi-manifesto, was vague, with partition, taxation and the development of natural resources the only real issues addressed. It took a strong line on conscription, but so did the IPP and all other nationalist bodies at that time. At a meeting in Belfast in November , for instance, intelligence observers noted that the audience was disappointed at the timidity of the speeches. After the collapse of the attempt to implement home rule in July, public anger over partition died down and the INL stagnated, retaining only its base in the north-west. The significance of the INL lay in its status as a transitional form of constitutional nationalism on the road to a SF takeover. The allusions to physical force through support for the prisoners, emotive language about sacrifice for the nation, and talk of resisting partition by all means in their power were all building towards a complete break with constitutional nationalism. The INL aspiration of forming an independent opposition at Westminster was soon overtaken by the abstentionist strategy advocated by SF. Kevin O’Shiel’s claim that the INL represented a process of ‘giving constitutionalism a last
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chance’, chimes with Fr Michael O’Flanagan’s comment that the party was like a form of purgatory ‘where some Parliamentarians suffered for a time before they joined SF’. Indeed, most of those involved with the INL supported the separatist cause by the time the party merged fully with SF in September . Notably, Hugh C. O’Doherty, leader of the INL in Derry who became the city’s first nationalist mayor in , was one of the few prominent members who did not join SF. Looking back on the huge INL meeting that took place in the Phoenix Park in September , O’Shiel noted that the driving force behind its success was the IRB and Irish Volunteer element that used it as a cover to reestablish contacts and structures. Similarly in Derry, all was quiet on the separatist front until September. With many of the Volunteer officers interned, and due to heightened surveillance and vigilance by the authorities, activity was restricted to collecting for the dependants’ funds. The significance of the constitutionally aligned Irish National Aid Association (INAA) and the more separatist Volunteer Dependants’ Fund (VDF) should be emphasized. These organizations, which merged to become the Irish National Aid and Volunteer Dependants’ Fund (INAVDF), provided a similar staging ground for those not quite ready to take the plunge into all-out support for SF. By August the IG reported that the INAVDF was under the control of SF. Kitty O’Doherty was one of the main organizers of the group nationally and, as noted, her in-laws in Derry were the main instigators of fundraising in the city. Róisín O’Doherty stated that there was a general lull in Derry after the Rising but that Cumann na mBan continued to meet throughout the summer months. The prisoners transported from Derry Jail were largely kept together until they were dispersed to different prisons in England and then brought to Frongoch. Paddy Hegarty was appointed new IRB centre for Derry city and Hugh Gribbon took up the same post in the county. Seven of the Derry prisoners were released in July and the rest were out by the end of August. There was very little fanfare, but the families of the men turned out to greet them at the train station on their return. The prisoner releases probably had some bearing on the upsurge in advanced nationalist activity thereafter, but the changing political climate certainly had a greater impact. The main national reorganization of the Volunteers took place in October and November . It is likely that Derry was following the national trend in this regard. CI Cary was in no doubt that there was sympathy with the republican movement in July. In September the IG summed up the feeling in the country after progress towards home rule collapsed in August. He observed that blame for the lack of progress on home rule was directed at the government, and that people were beginning to think that one act of physical force did more for Ireland ‘than a quarter century of Constitutional agitation’. The release of the prisoners actually increased resentment and was interpreted
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as proof that those interned were innocent. The unresolved partition issue and a renewed conscription threat emerged in September after army recruitment collapsed, even in Derry city where a steady stream of working-class recruits could usually be counted on. It was in this context that the reorganization of the Volunteers and a general upsurge in advanced nationalist activity took place. The Derry GAA was rejuvenated in October and the Gaelic Literary Society, which had been ‘practically dead for three years’ was re-established with longtime SF member J.L. Murrin at the helm. These developments have been interpreted as a great leap forward for the cultural side of the advanced nationalist movement in Derry, but Irish language and sports were well established in the area prior to the Rising. For instance, it is not the case that there were no GAA clubs in Derry prior to Easter , as has been previously claimed. There were actually eight clubs in the city and eighteen in the South Derry League. In fact, Gaelic games were in such a state of health in Derry that some members were sent to Donegal to help establish a county board. The Irish language movement was also in a healthy state prior to the re-establishment of the Gaelic Literary Society and Irish language classes took place in the Mitchel Hall throughout the war period. The changing political atmosphere in Ulster did not immediately translate into a rise in IVF membership. Initial energy was directed at building the SF movement through public meetings and the formation of clubs. This did not begin to take place in earnest until mid-, however. Heightened police surveillance convinced many to keep their heads down and pursue culturaland aid-related activities prior to this. There were people in the INAVDF who carried out house-to-house collections for the families of internees. The first anniversary of the Rising was not marked in any way but on the night of – April a group of young men in Ballyronan were reported to the Competent Military Authority (CMA) for ‘making use of disloyal language and singing a seditious song’. The Derry Journal noted that the county seemed ‘to have been struck by the SF epidemic’ in June. Clubs were formed in Derry city and Magherafelt during the month and the flying of SF flags and the wearing of badges became much more common during the summer months. The upsurge in separatist political activity was matched by an upturn in both constitutional nationalist agitation and unionist public demonstrations. Anti-partition meetings were held under the auspices of the UIL and AOH in Magherafelt and the first Orange and Apprentice Boys parades since the beginning of the war took place in . The annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party took place in the Guildhall in August where the labour movement’s view of partition as ‘suicidal and disastrous to the working class movement’ was affirmed. The north of the county saw very little violence or Volunteer activity in the period after the Rising, but there were pockets of political organization
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around which republicans could congregate. John Lafferty was sent home to Magilligan by Michael Collins to form a SF club and IVF company in . He enlisted the organizational help of Paddy Shiels and Joseph O’Doherty, which illustrates that there was an element of communication between republicans in Derry city and part of the county, at least. SF clubs were also formed in Ballyness and Swatragh in September and December. Such developments also show that the rise in the number of SF clubs and members can be attributed as much to the sweep of enthusiasm for the new political movement locally, as with the stimulus coming from outside agitators. In September SF was estimated to have members in Derry. By December there were members in nine clubs, and in the immediate aftermath of the conscription crisis the following May, membership reached in twelve clubs. The changing atmosphere can also be detected from the rising numbers of people attending SF meetings. A crowd of , turned up at St Columb’s Hall in September to hear Ginnell and MacNeill speak about the SF programme. The RIC assessment of this meeting and others attracting similar numbers throughout the county in early concentrated on the absence of anyone of ‘importance’ in attendance. Such traditional analyses of political gatherings failed to take note of the changing nature of what constituted acceptable political action. Neither did it anticipate the impact of universal male suffrage and partial female suffrage. Both were on the horizon and had the potential to turn electoral politics on its head in Britain and Ireland. Other actions that were unthinkable only a year earlier began to take place in Derry city. In July a crowd gathered in London Street to prevent the military authorities from arresting a deserting soldier. This represented the first sign of organized civil disobedience with a political undertone in Derry during the post Rising period. A number of factors coalesced in mid-to late to aid the rise of SF in Derry. The growing unpopularity of the war, which was evident from early , led to a complete collapse of enlistment. The IPP’s support for the war and its role in the recruitment campaign did it no favours when the tide of public opinion shifted towards SF. The drop off in enlistment inevitably led to renewed calls for conscription in Ireland, and the IPP’s consistent opposition to any form of conscription was, by , overshadowed by SF’s wider strategy that coupled opposition to compulsory military service and anti-partitionism with an aspiration for Irish representation at the post-war peace conference. A number of other factors at the national level were mirrored in the rise of SF in Derry. The rising membership figures and the establishment of new clubs coincided with the release of the final batch of prisoners in June and a national reorganization of the movement. As Michael Laffan points out, in March SF was little more than a loose conglomeration of small groups but by October it represented the political side of separatism in its entirety and
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was a unified and organized political party. Its rise in Derry was quite stunning, but despite the partition debacle of there remained a strong ‘Hibernian’ element, particularly outside the city, that added to the difficulties faced by SF and the IRA, even when operating in nationalist districts. The Irish Convention, which ran from June to March , was yet another government attempt to settle the Irish question. The American entry to the war in April placed pressure on Lloyd George, who replaced Asquith as prime minister in December , to find some resolution that would mollify Irish-American opinion. There were also rumours that the Labour members of the coalition government threatened resignation if something was not done to reach a settlement urgently. SF refused to attend due to the terms of reference being restricted to consideration of Ireland’s future within the British Empire, but the IPP threw its full weight behind the Convention as a final throw of the dice. Hugh T. Barrie, MP for North Londonderry, led the Ulster Unionist delegation and was joined by Sir Robert N. Anderson (Londonderry Corporation) and J. Jackson Clark (Londonderry County Council). Barrie and his colleagues entered the Convention with the express purpose of ensuring the exclusion of Ulster, but they also wished to promote an image of engagement with the debate due to fears that British public opinion had grown tired of unionist intransigence and may have been inclined to accept the recommendations of a nationalist-dominated body. Barrie’s most significant contribution to the Convention was to propose a scheme of Irish government that would see the entire province of Ulster excluded. There had been some hope that his delegation would compromise and accept an all-Ireland parliament with reduced fiscal powers and unionist safeguards, but a lack of confidence in nationalist bona fides ensured the maintenance of the hard line position. It is interesting to note the lack of Derry nationalist representation at the Irish Convention, despite the neighbouring counties of Tyrone, Fermanagh and Donegal having a single delegate each. James McCarron was the leader of the Labour delegation but despite his strong nationalist credentials, his energies were directed at ensuring the maximum democratic accountability of the future Irish parliament through opposing nominated membership. However, he and his fellow Labour delegates were willing to compromise on this point in order to make an Irish parliament operational in the swiftest manner possible. An assessment of the IPP and the evolving nationalist politics in Derry can be more thoroughly reached by looking at what was happening outside of the Irish Convention at this time. Bishop McHugh, fearing renewed partition proposals, began building towards the production of an anti-partition manifesto in late April. The manifesto was released to the press on May. It was signed by eighteen Catholic bishops, including Cardinal Logue and Archbishop William J. Walsh of Dublin, three Church
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of Ireland bishops, five county council chairmen and two others. It was endorsed by all the Ulster bishops with the exception of Bishop O’Donnell of Raphoe, who believed his support for county option in precluded him from adding his name. The Irish bishops and archbishops announced after a meeting on June their unanimous decision to accept an invitation to send delegates to the Irish Convention, but McHugh declined the nomination. He continued to push an anti-partitionist line outside the Convention and complained that delegates should have been directly elected, rather than nominated. The anti-partitionists opposed to the Irish Convention held a rally that attracted , people in the Phoenix Park on July. It was attended by anti-partitionists from across the country but the large Derry representation was in stark contrast to that sitting at the Convention. Four priests from the Derry diocese took prominent speaking roles, including Dean McGlinchey, who denounced the Convention ‘as a sham and a fraud’. McHugh had decisively broken with the IPP at this stage, but he never placed his support fully behind SF. His views on the Rising are unclear, but he may have had prior knowledge that some form of insurrectionary action was due to take place at Easter . Róisín O’Doherty couriered a collection of mobilization orders and other notes from Dublin to Derry and Tyrone during Holy Week, including a message for McHugh. A network of priests distributed mobilization orders in Tyrone and more of the priests in the Derry diocese moved closer to the separatist movement in the post-Rising period. The inability to find agreement between the IPP and the Ulster Unionists rendered the Irish Convention a failure. In any case, the publication of the Convention report was almost immediately overshadowed by events in Europe which changed the shape of politics in Ireland irrevocably. On March the German army launched its Spring Offensive on the Western Front. The combination of artillery bombardment and attacks by fast-moving stormtroopers allowed the Germans to take the Somme region and move within firing distance of Paris. There was already a manpower shortage in Britain and Lloyd George resisted unionist calls for Irish conscription in January due to nationalist opposition and the potential for physical resistance. The Spring Offensive changed everything and jolted the British political establishment into action. Within days, a short bill was drafted that would give the government powers to increase the age limit for military service to fifty-five, to conscript the clergy, to send conscientious objectors to the labour corps, and to extend conscription to Ireland. The scheme, which envisaged the conscription of , Irishmen, was introduced against counsel from the IG and the GOC Irish Command, who warned of bloodshed, mass opposition from the clergy and all shades of nationalism, and organized strikes ‘dislocating the life of the country’. They also warned that more troops would be needed in Ireland to enforce con-
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scription and that martial law would have to be introduced. Even Carson advised the cabinet against it. In a fit of blinkered panic and naivety, the government published Irish conscription legislation alongside the vague promise of ‘a measure of home rule’ on April. Carson called the move a bribe that would please no one. Not only did it fail to please, but it pushed the entire nationalist population of the country into an unprecedented alliance of resistance. John Dillon, the new leader of the IPP following Redmond’s death the previous month, led his MPs out of Westminster and into a tactical abstention that placed them, temporarily, in the same camp as SF. The labour movement, constitutional nationalists, SF and the Catholic Church came together to resist conscription. The conscription issue was mixed with separatist language, even by those not normally associated with such radical sentiments. The usually moderate and careful Tom Johnson, leader of the Irish Labour Party, spoke in Belfast about armed resistance and the prospect of a general strike. Meetings were held in Derry on April to discuss how resistance should be organized. Hugh C. O’Doherty presided over a meeting attended by , people in St Columb’s Hall. Passive resistance was advocated at this and the other meetings around the county, but in Maghera some speakers suggested telegraph wires should be cut and railway lines and bridges blown up. When the vice chairman of Londonderry County Council advised against such action, he was not given a sympathetic hearing. Derry unionists took a predominantly pro-conscription stance. For instance, each unionist member of the Derry Trades and Labour Council voted against a resolution to send delegates to an all-Ireland Labour convention, which was expected to advocate direct action in opposition to conscription. Nationalist unity was evident across Derry as resolutions were proposed and seconded by Hibernians and Sinn Féiners in Dungiven, Maghera and Kilrea. In Magherafelt, separate AOH and SF meetings were held, but they came together for an outdoor overflow meeting afterwards, and no trouble was observed. The Irish Anti-Conscription Committee was convened at a conference in the Mansion House on April. This gathering of constitutional nationalists, separatists and trade unionists commenced planning, while the same evening the Catholic bishops met and released a statement of support affirming the right of the people ‘to resist by all means that are consonant with the law of God’. Large public meetings were organized after Sunday Masses in every parish on April so that people could sign an anti-conscription pledge. On Saturday April the all-Ireland Labour convention was held at the Mansion House and attended by , delegates. It was unanimously decided that there would be a general strike on April as a means of affirming the country’s opposition to conscription. The pledge was signed by large groups of people across Derry on April. On the same evening in Derry city a meeting was held by representa-
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tives of the Catholic Benefit Society, the UIL, the AOH, SF and the Irish National Foresters and a joint public anti-conscription pledge was made. The Derry branch of the National Amalgamated Union of Railwaymen came out against the ‘monstrous and undemocratic’ action of the government. The general strike was well observed in Derry city with the docks and the shipyard at a standstill. The factory workers walked out in the afternoon and were joined by engineering and grain mill workers. The Derry Journal noted that its staff did not attend work until p.m. on the day. There was a bank holiday type atmosphere as workers gathered in Waterloo Place to discuss conscription and politics. Anti-conscription meetings continued to take place throughout the country in May and June. The appearance of Dillon and Éamon de Valera on the same platform was mirrored at the local level. A crowd of , people attended a meeting in Magherafelt where Joe Devlin and T.J. Harbison shared the stage with Darrell Figgis of SF. There was some excitement, however, when Figgis called for extreme measures to resist conscription. Things took a slightly different turn in Ulster though, as unionist counter-demonstrations were organized and the first serious sectarian clashes took place since the start of the war. A gathering of anti-conscriptionists was attacked by unionists in Tobermore on May. The police blamed ‘Sinn Feiners’ for an attack on unionists at Maghera hiring fair on May. They also believed that SF supporters, probably members of the IVF, were responsible for cutting the telegraph wires on the same day so that police reinforcements could not be called in. Home rule was off the table for the time being, as even the IPP continued to abstain from parliament. Most of the SF leaders, including Joseph O’Doherty, were arrested in May on the basis of an alleged insurrectionary conspiracy known as the ‘German Plot’. However, a majority of people angrily interpreted the allegations as a desperate attempt by the government to halt the continuing rise of separatism. The RIC in Derry saw no corresponding anger in the county following the arrests. The government quietly dropped Irish conscription from the agenda after American troops flowed into the Western Front and the Germans struggled to maintain the gains won during the Spring Offensive. Despite the reaction to conscription in Ireland, Lloyd George continued to come under pressure to implement it in Ireland, even as late as October , when Sir Henry Wilson spent the best part of an evening badgering him about it. This remaining threat, regardless of how serious it was, ensured that the pan-nationalist/clerical/labour alliance held firm in Ireland until the end of the war on November . When the IPP’s rationale for abstaining from Westminster was removed with the end of the war and the lifting of the threat of conscription, the extent of the rot that had begun to take hold in , and which had been spreading rapidly since , became blindingly obvious. However, the desire to minimize the number of unionist MPs
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returned at the post-war election to be held in December led to calls for an electoral pact between the IPP and SF in Ulster. The SF electoral surge saw it win four by-elections in , but it was clear by that there was still an element of support for the IPP, especially in Ulster. The Nationalists won South Armagh in February, and Waterford and East Tyrone in March. SF came back with victories for Pat McCartan in Tullamore and Arthur Griffith in Cavan in April and June respectively. The uncertain situation led to an agreement, reached on – December, that eight of the Ulster seats would be divided between the parties. Cardinal Logue was tasked with choosing which constituencies would go to which party. Of the three Derry seats, only Londonderry City was part of the pact and it was allocated to SF. The party had already proposed Eoin MacNeill as an agreed candidate for the city in September, a move that earned a rebuke from Bishop McHugh for its prematurity. However, when MacNeill was selected as the agreed candidate under the Logue agreement, McHugh urged the nationalist voters of the city to make every effort to get him over the line, regardless of whether or not they agreed with the SF programme in its entirety. The gravity of the situation was not lost on anyone in Derry. Every election in living memory had been too close to call and this was no exception. The influenza epidemic spiked in Derry at the end of the year and coincided with the election. Schools were closed and some teachers in the north-west used their spare time to join the election campaigns. MacNeill took the seat with a majority of votes over the local Unionist councillor, Sir Robert N. Anderson, who had been a delegate to the Irish Convention the previous year. Not everyone in the city was happy with the pact. The Nationalist candidate remained on the ballot paper, despite his withdrawal from the contest, and received votes. The north and south county constituencies were taken comfortably by Unionist candidates. Denis Henry retained the seat he won at the South Londonderry by-election with a total vote that exceeded the combined tally of the IPP and SF candidates. In the safe unionist seat of North Londonderry, the IPP did not run a candidate and Patrick McGilligan only managed twenty-seven per cent of the vote in a two-way contest. Joseph O’Doherty capitalized on his family roots in Inishowen and comfortably took the North Donegal seat, defeating the sitting Nationalist MP, Philip O’Doherty, by almost , votes. The story of the election nationwide was the collapse of the IPP vote and its drastic reduction from seventy-four seats to six. The only IPP seat outside Ulster was that retained by John Redmond’s son in the family stronghold of Waterford city. The return of seventy-three SF candidates left no one in doubt as to which version of nationalism now represented majority opinion in Ireland. The IVF in Derry made tentative steps towards re-organization in the immediate post-Rising period. Their energies were directed at mobilizing
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politically and starting or rejuvenating cultural groups. As occurred elsewhere, such cultural activities and political meetings were used to recruit interested men and women to the relevant separatist groupings. Thereafter, Volunteer companies were formed or reorganized, usually under the pre-Rising leadership. Once a decent base was established, the Derry city Volunteers held mobilizations each Sunday after Mass and drilled on one other day during the week. They were given training in road sketching, judging distances and map reading and were also ordered to read the Volunteer journal, An tÓglách, from onwards. Much activity in the south of the county during the immediate post-Rising years centred on rowing with Hibernians and getting into scuffles with them after church and at public events like hiring fairs. The old leadership in the south county, which was mainly centred around the IRB, took a step back after the Rising and the younger men who had joined in came to the fore. The old leadership remained in place in Derry city, however, resulting in tension with the younger contingent from onward. The old stalwarts – John Fox, Paddy Shiels, Séamus Cavanagh, Paddy Hegarty, Éamonn MacDermott and Charlie Breslin – remained in the leadership positions in . They concentrated to a large extent on political activities by supporting the cultural and political activities of the P.H. Pearse SF club, which held concerts at its Richmond Street premises every Sunday night, and welcomed prominent guests on occasion, such as Pearse’s mother and sister. Some of the leading republicans also played significant roles in supporting SF electoral work during the and by-elections. There was, however, significant pressure coming from a group of younger Volunteers eager to see more definite action being taken. Michael Sheerin, who joined the Fianna in , graduated to the Volunteers in and was made O/C No. section in the west of the city. By this time there were also companies in the Brandywell and Waterside and the ranks were filled by young local men, as well as by those who came to the city from other parts of the country for work. As early as , the first signs of internal dissension were evident. Sheerin claimed that a large section of the membership was working class and that many of them resented the level of control that the middle-class O’Doherty family exerted over the Volunteers, SF and other republican organizations in the city. Ernie O’Malley was sent to Derry to sort out this local squabble, and Sheerin claims that most of the older men faded away thereafter, but their prominent role in later events and in the structures of the IRA leadership contradicts this assertion. What is possible, however, is that some of the younger Volunteers were given more autonomy after O’Malley’s attempt to clear the air. A young Dubliner, Gabriel McGrath, was placed in command of the west city company and began a process of reorganization that resulted in more frequent action taking place, but this also generated further tension between the
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older and younger men. McGrath ring-fenced the no. section of the company as an unofficial Active Service Unit (ASU). All the men in this unit were sworn into the IRB and ex-servicemen were excluded. It was also composed of a mixture of locals and men from outside Derry in an attempt to avoid local rivalry and argument. They named themselves the ‘Ten Foot Pikers’, or the TFP squad, and set about taking control of all the republican organizations in the city. They were not completely successful in this regard and their actions were met by resistance from the local leadership. There appears to have been an attempt to control the growth and level of activity of the Volunteers in Derry in this period. Dan Kelly, another member who had much stronger credentials than the young men in the TFP, faced strong resistance when he attempted to start a SF club and IVF company in the Waterside. Kelly wrote to Michael Collins and SF headquarters and got permission to extend organization efforts to the Waterside. This was not the only time when an appeal to Dublin resulted in the local leadership being overruled. Liam Brady claimed that Séamus Cavanagh had orders from Dublin that restricted military activities in the city. They were to concentrate on drilling and recruiting for the present, as Derry was seen as a sanctuary for Volunteers on the run. It is impossible to verify this claim, but it may explain the lack of activity in the city at the time. The TFP took things a step further during when they began raiding local ‘big houses’ for arms. One house was raided in January, and a number of guns and a cavalry sword were taken, but the main activity commenced in August when Troy Hall on the Culmore Road was raided. A more daring raid took place at Beech Hill House in Ardmore on September, when a group posing as policemen and carrying revolvers ransacked the house. A number of arrests were made and when Seán Haughey, a TFP member, was brought to court, he described himself as a ‘soldier of the republic’. Cavanagh ordered the court martial of the TFP men for disobeying orders but McGrath went to GHQ and told them that the potential for arms raids in Derry was greater than anywhere else. He was directed to return to Derry and report to Cavanagh with orders that he could carry out any actions necessary to procure arms. Plans were then put in place to continue such actions and most of the IVF activity until the middle of concentrated on this. CI Cary did not notice the influx of new recruits to the Volunteers during the conscription crisis in April . His recording of an increase in SF membership may have been a mistaken action in the context of large numbers filling the ranks of the wider separatist movement at this time. This confusion goes some way towards explaining Derry’s unique position in not seeing a spike in IVF membership during the conscription crisis. Sheerin claimed to have enrolled an extra Volunteers in his section but ‘they were no good. Most of them thought the IRA was some sort of organization one joined if he
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wanted to be protected from conscription escorts’. As elsewhere in the country, most of the new recruits dropped out after the conscription threat receded, but Sheerin enjoyed the power he continued to hold over them. He informed lapsed Volunteers that they were considered deserters and could be called on at any time to engage in active service. He found it amusing to see them abruptly leave when he turned up at football matches or dance halls. Arms raids and other activities also increased in the south county. For instance, a group of four armed men raided a house in Upperlands in September and left an elderly women in a dangerously ill state after striking her with a stick and knocking her down. However, most Volunteer activity at the end of the year was directed at supporting SF electorally. Paddy Shiels was the director of elections for Eoin MacNeill in Derry city and the TFP squad claimed to have engaged in tampering with the postal vote. The general upsurge in IVF activity in did not continue on an upward trajectory as it did elsewhere in Ireland. In January a grenade was thrown into Derry Jail, but this was an isolated event, rather than the beginning of a sustained period of attack on the forces of the Crown. The period from the summer of to the post-war general election saw the political context in Derry change dramatically. The once-dominant IPP had lost Derry city when partition was mooted in June . The period thereafter basically allowed former party members the time to float along through experimentation in the INL and eventually into SF or some form of independent constitutional nationalism that was generally behind the separatist agenda. It also became abundantly clear that there was a divide between city and county in terms of opposition to partition. The east–west perspective of Derry nationalists was exacerbated when they were forced to declare where they stood on the question of partition. Those in the county more passionate about partition tended towards SF, while the strong Hibernian element, particularly in the south of the county, retained a large degree of influence and support going into the turbulent years ahead. While Derry remained relatively peaceful during the opening stages of the War of Independence, major events such as the local elections and the institutionalization of partition through the Government of Ireland Act (), had a significant impact and shaped events in the county during the opening years of the s.
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Three events rocked Ireland in January and proved that the SF landslide victory at the previous month’s general election was no radical anomaly. Workers at Belfast shipyards called a strike in support of the demand for a forty-four hour week on January. The strike became general and brought the city to a standstill for almost four weeks. The forty-four hour week was discussed at labour meetings in Derry in February , but all strikes over working conditions or wages in the period were conducted by individual trades, occupations or workplaces rather than collectively. Urban and rural Derry was affected by a wave of strikes by farm labourers, shipyard workers, shirt-cutters and many others. The newly elected SF members of parliament followed through on their abstentionist promise, and those who were at liberty to do so met in Dublin’s Mansion House on January to form Dáil Éireann – an alternative parliament and executive that directly challenged British rule in Ireland. On the same day, coincidentally and without the sanction of the Dáil, a group of IRA (as the Irish Volunteers were termed from onwards) ambushed and shot dead two RIC men at Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary. On January the IRA journal, An tÓglach, declared that every Volunteer was entitled to use ‘all legitimate methods of warfare against the soldiers and policemen of the English usurper, and to slay them if necessary to overcome their resistance’. Thereafter, a steady upsurge in offensive operations against Crown forces swept across the country. Despite three police deaths and numerous police injuries taking place in Derry during and , the first RIC fatality as a result of deliberate IRA targeting did not take place until April . However, the political situation in Derry was altered to an unrecognizable degree between January and December . The urban municipal elections of January resulted in a nationalist majority taking control of local government in Derry city for the first time. This prompted a surge in sectarian tension and what has been termed a ‘civil war’ in Derry, which ensured that was the county’s most violent year of the revolutionary period. IRA activity remained at a relatively low level in Derry from the beginning of until the middle of when rising sectarian tension was accompanied by orders from IRA General Headquarters (GHQ) to burn vacated police barracks and other government buildings. Raiding for arms was the principal action carried out by local Volunteers prior to this. While more offensive actions took place in neighbouring Donegal, Derry remained quiet and awaited central direction, rather than taking local initiative. However, the activity level in Derry at this time was similar to most of the Ulster counties,
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apart from the aforementioned Donegal, and the similar majority nationalist counties of Armagh and Monaghan. The existence of opposing blocs of unionists and constitutional nationalists severely restricted the potential field of operations for most IRA companies in Ulster. It should also be noted, however, that the GHQ order sanctioning offensive actions against the Crown forces was not made until January . Prior to this, Derry was one of eighteen counties that did not take the local initiative seen elsewhere. Such attacks on Crown forces were largely concentrated in Dublin city, the Munster counties and in parts of the west. Heavy police and military reinforcements meant that a GHQ order to burn vacated RIC barracks and other government buildings at Easter was not carried out in Derry until May, and only then on the less well-guarded barracks immediately outside the city in Donegal. The level of IRA activity throughout the middle of has been largely obscured by the sectarian events of the June ‘civil war’. Attempts by the republican leadership in the city to avoid further significant loss of civilian life as was witnessed in June influenced their mostly prudent approach thereafter. A ratcheting up of action with attacks on Crown forces did not occur until later in the year, however, and thereafter the hostile context faced by the IRA in Derry city and county accounts largely for the lower level of activity than that witnessed elsewhere. A grenade lobbed into Derry Jail on January has been explained as a simple test of the weapon, but the timing suggests otherwise. Of course, the grenade could have been tested much more safely and without risk of arrest in an area that was not heavily surveilled and populated by loyalist citizens. The attack also occurred one week after the Soloheadbeg ambush and the first meeting of Dáil Éireann. It was certainly not the beginning of a concerted action against government targets in Derry, but IRA activity continued, mainly through raids for arms and other low-level actions thereafter. The TFP squad operated in the districts outside the city, including a raid on the Moville residence of the mayor, Robert N. Anderson. Michael Sheerin, a TFP squad member who worked in Craig’s foundry, located a large consignment of Mills grenade casings in his workplace in . He and a group of other TFP squad members smuggled , casings out of the foundry in small batches throughout and . It was during one of these smuggling operations on the night of January that Dan McGandy, a -year-old post office employee, went missing. His heavy coat, postbag and uniform cap were located alongside a loaded revolver on the quay near the foundry. His body was found on the river bank over a month later and a verdict of death by drowning was returned. Rumours of foul play were aired by locals and his family, however. Hugh C. O’Doherty, the leading nationalist political figure, put forward the theory that there was a link between McGandy’s fate and his alleged falling out with the military personnel who also worked at the post
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office. Foul play was not proven at Derry police court, despite O’Doherty’s efforts, though the jury made clear there was no evidence to show how McGandy ended up in the water. His comrades strongly alleged that a group of soldiers accosted McGandy, stripped him of his possessions and dumped him in the river. McGandy was late arriving at the foundry on the evening in question and was due to use his postbag to smuggle a quantity of grenades. Sheerin went so far as to claim that the military might have been wise to the smuggling operation and encountered a lone McGandy at the foundry. Liam Brady went even further by claiming that two soldiers fought with McGandy and all three fell in the river, where the struggle continued until he was dead. Others agreed that foul play was most likely and McGandy’s father later stated in a submission to the Military Service Pensions Board that his son’s comrades were afraid to come forward with the true story at the time due to dangers associated with the political situation. The IRA in south Derry, while much stronger than elsewhere in the county, was even slower to begin offensive action than its counterpart in the city. Tensions ran high in , but no major trouble was noticed by the police until a raid for arms in Magherafelt in October. The south Derry IRA faced the difficulty of dealing with the opposition of the unionist population, but also of the strong Hibernian element. Fights between large numbers of SF supporters and Hibernians were common at sporting events, political meetings and after Sunday Masses in south Derry in the same period. The local IRA did not discriminate when it came to obtaining arms and raided Hibernian farmers as often as their unionist neighbours. Many smaller or unsuccessful raids than were reported in the press or by the RIC appear to have taken place. For example, Paddy Diamond, who was O/C South Derry Battalion IRA in , claimed to have organized and taken part in over seventy raids for arms between April and his arrest in March . The residences of British officers were the most fruitful target, but Hibernian farmers were also raided. A glut of raids took place in late and early in the south Derry and north Tyrone area. The most noticeable of these was a raid on Springhill House, the residence of the former UVF commander Major William Arbuthnot Lenox-Conyngham in Moneymore, but there were many more in the Killybearn townland and surrounding area. Most of these raids were carried out near the Bellagherty IRA company’s sphere of operations. All available members of the company were involved in the Springhill raid. It was also rumoured that family members of the local IRA worked in the house and were able to provide detailed plans of its internal layout. When raiding close to their area they walked across the fields, but on more distant raids they brought bicycles, which were left about a mile from the location of the raid. Most of the time they encountered little opposition, but on more than one occasion they came up against residents willing to defend their prop-
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erty. When an attempt was made to raid the Hessan house in Killybearn, the Bellagherty men were met with gunfire and beat a hasty retreat. One of their officers, Tom Morris, later commented that they should have burned the place to the ground in reaction. Morris was an ex-serviceman who until was fighting with the th (Irish) Division. He was awarded a medal for his service at the Battle of Messines and was promoted to the rank of major in the chaos of the field, returning home after his demobilization in . His first inkling that a political change was occurring in Ireland came during a period of home leave in when he saw Constance Markievicz speak in Cookstown. Following this he brought bags of souvenir weapons home when on leave and after demobilization. Returning servicemen were not searched, and Morris claimed that he could have taken a machine-gun home if he had a bag big enough to carry it. What he did manage to get through was distributed to members of the Bellagherty company. GHQ appointed Morris chief organizer for Derry and Tyrone in January and he went about bringing local companies into shape immediately, starting with Bellagherty, Newbridge, Moneymore and Mullinamore before going to Cookstown and Coalisland in Tyrone. Morris was a strict disciplinarian who took a hard line with his young subordinates, particularly when it came to the consumption of alcohol. His immediate concentration was on providing more weapons for the IRA in Derry and Tyrone, but after the GHQ order to burn the vacated police barracks at Easter , a much more offensive strategy was adopted. This transition from arms raiding to attacks on RIC barracks and government buildings accords with the first stage in Charles Townshend’s conception of the IRA’s guerrilla war as a three-stage process, although it occurred later in Derry than in other parts of the country. A general clampdown on republicans took place in Derry on September , the same day that the Dáil was suppressed; raids and arrests took place nationwide. Police with large military reinforcements raided the SF hall on Richmond Street and the houses of all prominent republicans in the northwest. Arms, ammunition and seditious literature were seized at most of the raid locations. When the police called to Paddy Shiels’s door he drew two loaded revolvers and aimed them at the sergeant leading the search. Shiels, who was at that time O/C B Company in the Derry city IRA Battalion, was later court-martialled by the CMA and sentenced to two years in prison for the gesture. While in Derry Jail he was allowed to attend the weekly revision sessions in his capacity as the SF registration agent, but this privilege was rescinded when he was moved to Mountjoy. While there was no overt IRA reaction to this or later clampdowns, a large portion of the Derry city population came close to engaging in a serious conflict with the Crown forces. When the police and army attempted to remove Shiels to Victoria Barracks
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in September, they were rushed by an angry crowd that assailed them with stones and other missiles. The crowd remained outside the barracks and on Sackville Street until they were advised to disperse by Joseph O’Doherty, whose house had also been raided that morning. The O’Doherty house, along with that of Paddy Hegarty in the city and the Larkin family in south Derry, were constantly raided by police thereafter. Further targeted raids was carried out in February and guns, grenades, gelignite and SF literature were all seized. Caldwell Hyndman, William McVeigh and Joseph McMurray were raided in the city, but there was a larger concentration at this point on the townlands of Derrygarve and Bellagherty in the south of the county. Paddy Diamond, Francis Hinphy, Letitia McNicholl, John Hurl and the Larkin home, which doubled as a local IRA HQ, were all raided. Seán Larkin received a two-year sentence and joined Shiels in Mountjoy, where they both went on hunger strike in . There were further clampdowns in early , such as the banning of a SF concert in Magherafelt. A marked intensification of IRA action in Derry during the second half of followed a general upsurge in violence nationally. The GHQ order to burn barracks was heeded to varying degrees from April onwards. In May a well-supported campaign in support of the Mountjoy hunger strikers was buttressed by a general strike, which resulted in the release of the IRA prisoners. This success fed a growing and further radicalized support base, and led to an upsurge in IRA action, particularly after an order from GHQ to boycott the RIC. Police reinforcements were then introduced in the form of the notorious Auxiliaries and Black and Tans, which engendered a further radicalization of the civilian population. A significant effort also went into increasing the organizational presence of SF and ensuring that voter registration lists were up to date. Some resources were directed at an early by-election called in North Londonderry in March , but with little chance of success in a unionist-dominated constituency, a three per cent rise in the SF vote was a relative success. Nationally, SF concentrated on having an Irish case heard at the Paris Peace Conference but by the autumn of it was clear that the strategy was not yielding the dividends expected. This resulted in a turn towards passive resistance and the construction of the counter state through an alternative justice system, a republican police force, and a drive to shift the allegiances of local authorities from the British Local Government Board (LBG) to Dáil Éireann. These moves coincided with the crackdown on republicans in August and September and facilitated the congealing support base for passive and active resistance that developed strongly from onwards. SF in Derry continued to build up its structures in . New clubs were formed in Draperstown and other parts of the county, but from May onwards there was a determined concentration on registration work, particularly in Derry city
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where a SF–Nationalist alliance was presented with a very real chance of ending unionist control of the city. Moves towards an accommodation between the two parties became more obvious in the months prior to the local government election. SF moved its headquarters to the former NVF hall in the Bogside after it was evicted from Richmond Street following the September raids. Joseph O’Doherty, who took over as president of SF in the city at the same time, was joined by Eoin MacNeill and Hugh C. O’Doherty in November for a joint rally that attracted over , people. The introduction of proportional representation (PR) for the January elections was intended to protect the unionist minority in the south, but it had the added effect of putting unionist domination of Derry and other parts of the north under threat. From the summer of onwards, most accepted that failing some kind of last-minute gerrymander, a determined and combined effort by nationalists could produce a historic victory in the city. While Derry may have followed a nationwide pattern of insurrectionary intensification in , events locally had an impact that ensures analysis cannot effectively utilize national patterns or measurement of the dynamic between local initiative and central direction, as has been carried out elsewhere. The summer months of July and August retained a hint of violent threat despite the peace that descended on Ulster during the war. The Orange marches across County Derry on July passed off peacefully, including the largest parade in Derry city for over twenty years. Similarly, the annual Closing of the Gates demonstration by the Apprentice Boys on August drew little negative attention. Three days later, August, was the Feast of the Assumption when Catholics traditionally paraded and lit bonfires in various parts of Ulster. In Derry city over , men representing both factions of the AOH, the Irish National Foresters, SF and the recently formed Irish Nationalist Veterans Association took part in the procession. Nationalist confidence and steps towards unity in the city were demonstrated, not only by the presence of Sinn Féiners and Nationalists marching together, but through the displays of banners and decorated arches throughout the procession route. One of these arches contained the inscription: ‘we miss our trusted leader, John E. Redmond’, while another displayed portraits of Pearse and de Valera. The final arch in Bishop Street was decorated with the entwined banners of SF and the Nationalists. The presence of about , demobilized soldiers marching alongside IRA members and carrying a banner proclaiming: ‘We fought for the rights of small nations: Ireland a Nation’ added to the political unity on display. The procession was banned from marching on the city walls and a large detachment of the Dorset Regiment was deployed to block the various entry points. The surreal scene, where soldiers and sailors in uniform stood on opposing sides, brought home the stark reality of the nature of the wartime political truce in Ulster. It is also notable
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that the Sinn Féiners, along with the Nationalists, made a verbal protest against ‘the British garrison in Ireland’ preventing Derry citizens from exercising their rights, while an ex-serviceman went further and tried to storm the walls, producing a loaded revolver before being tackled by the RIC. The procession ended with a rendition of The Soldiers’ Song and most of the crowd dispersed. However, in the evening rival crowds of nationalists and unionists gathered at the junction of Fountain Street and Bridge Street with the Carlisle Road. The Dorsets on the walls were reinforced by another contingent with a Lewis gun that had been waiting in Victoria Barracks. They drew cordons across the rival factions and attempted to keep them apart throughout the evening, having to rush the crowd with fixed bayonets on a number of occasions. Bonfires were lit after nightfall and an effigy of Carson was burned on Bridge Street. Revolver shots were fired and in the early hours of the morning businesses in Butcher Street were looted and windows smashed. The trouble spread to other parts of the city, including the Waterside when two men were accused of throwing a grenade and lighting a bomb on Strabane Old Road. There were no major injuries and the main impact of the night’s events was the damage to property estimated at around £,. The night of August was, however, a harbinger of much worse to come. The urban municipal elections of took place in January, with the rural districts following in June. The electoral dominance of SF was consolidated as the party took control of of Ireland’s local government bodies. The great surprise nationally was the Labour Party’s performance, coming in second place and forming ad hoc coalitions with SF to take control of councils in many areas. Labour also performed well in Belfast, taking twelve of the sixty seats and upsetting the unionist establishment in the process. Things were different in Derry as labour did not run any candidates in the city. Its stalwart for so many years, James McCarron, perished along with fellow trade unionist Patrick Lynch and others when the RMS Leinster sank in the Irish Sea following a U-Boat attack on October . The trades council intended to run designated labour candidates, but unspecified ‘difficulties’ led prospective working class candidates to run for either SF or the Nationalists. The Ulster Unionist Labour Association (UULA) fielded three candidates but they went forward as official Unionists and two of them were elected. Eight of the SF or Nationalist candidates, all of whom were elected, had labour backgrounds or were decidedly working-class candidates. Aware of the threat posed to their hegemony by PR, the Unionist majority on the outgoing corporation attempted to re-draw the ward boundaries in an effort to maximize the potential number of Unionist councillors returned under the new system. Nationalist attempts to challenge this with the LGB and in court were unsuccessful, leading them to put all their efforts into voter registration and ensur-
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ing that the electorate was fully aware of how the notoriously-complex PR system worked. The intensive registration effort and the public awareness campaign proved successful. The north ward, for example, had the smallest percentage of spoiled votes in the country. The Unionists returned nineteen of their twenty candidates by successfully instructing voters to mark the ballot papers in alphabetical order, regardless of personal preference. The failure to gain more than nineteen seats left the Unionist domination of the forty-seat corporation in jeopardy. The SF-Nationalist alliance did not extend to a vote transfer pact, but the final results showed a total of ten seats each for the two parties. Margaret Morris was elected for SF as the first female member of Londonderry Corporation. The final seat went to Hugh C. O’Doherty, standing as an independent nationalist. He was elected the first nationalist mayor of the city, and the first Catholic to hold the position since Cormac O’Neill was appointed by James II in . O’Doherty’s first speech as mayor rehearsed the history of Catholic exclusion from the position and the significance of the nationalist victory, but he was also eager to emphasize that bread and butter issues would be addressed head-on in the context of a severe housing shortage in the Bogside, and problems with the water and electricity supplies. However, much attention was afforded to some of his more headline grabbing actions. He refused to attend any official function where a loyal toast was made, or where any formal recognition of the British government took place. He also proposed that the flying of flags on the Guildhall be banned so that all citizens could identify with the new council. He urged caution when a SF motion to remove Lord French as a freeman of the city was put before him, but he recognized that to vote against it would call his status as leader of a nationalist authority into question. French had angered the nationalist population in his role as lord lieutenant when he called for the imposition of martial law, the proclamation of SF and most emotive for Derry, he advocated letting the Mountjoy hunger strikers die. This occurred at a time when the nationalist population of the city was engaged, along with the mayor, in an emotional campaign to have a very weak Paddy Shiels reprieved. The election of the first nationalist corporation in Derry held a significance that went well beyond the psychological validation of placing the majority in control of the city’s administration. When home rule again made its way to the floor of Westminster in late it quickly became obvious that partition was going to be a central part of the legislation. Even more obnoxious to six-county nationalists was the fact that by Christmas most were in agreement that the Government of Ireland bill to be published in the New Year would provide for the establishment of two bicameral parliaments, one for six counties in the north, and another for the twenty-six counties in the south. In this context, the stakes were significantly raised in the western border counties and areas like
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Derry city and south Armagh. Nationalists believed that if they could take control of local government in these areas, then they could more forcefully argue against partition in general, but also make a case for nationalist-held council areas to come under the jurisdiction of the southern parliament. The election of a nationalist corporation in Derry city, along with nationalist county councils and urban councils in Tyrone and Fermanagh, gave the anti-partitionist campaigners a solid boost in as the Government of Ireland legislation passed through parliament. The strength of this argument was such that the new political context in Derry placed the unionists of the city on a war footing. This development, along with increasing IRA action and an attempt to extend the city ward boundaries from April , created a powder keg situation that made the tensions of – look tame by comparison. The police and military were out in force in anticipation of IRA attacks in Derry city over Easter weekend . The wave of arson attacks on police barracks, tax offices and other government buildings was anticipated, and all potential target buildings were guarded. Armed troops were posted throughout the city at night and military checkpoints were placed on approach roads. Derry remained untouched, as the closest attack was the destruction of records in Buncrana excise office. Tensions continued to rise throughout April, as fears of a general uprising by republicans spread across the country. The Londonderry Sentinel reported IRA plans to increase its use of guerrilla tactics by quoting from directions in An tÓglach and highlighting unionist disadvantage through criticism of the government’s failure to declare a state of war in Ireland. Furthermore, a proposal to revise the Derry city ward boundaries and effectively copper-fasten nationalist control of local government came before Londonderry Corporation in April. Rising unionist fears of a permanent nationalist takeover, locally and nationally, was matched by a surge in nationalist self-confidence. Street violence returned to Derry on April as large crowds gathered to celebrate the success of the general strike and release of the Mountjoy prisoners. When a detachment of police and military arrived at the GNR station to escort a prisoner to the jail, a notice had been posted on the entrance warning against fraternization with the police, signed ‘G.O.C. Irish Republican Army’. The crowd, including a contingent of striking labourers, immediately started pelting the police and military with stones to such an extent that they had to retreat to a room within the station. Two companies of the Dorsets then arrived from Ebrington Barracks and charged the crowd away from the station to Bridge Street where the disturbances continued and revolver fire was reported. The soldiers loaded rifles and took aim, which dispersed most of the crowd, but a significant number of men remained, defiantly flying flags and throwing stones. The soldiers opened fire, first with blanks and then with live ammunition. Three civilians were wounded, one an ex-serviceman, and the crowd dispersed, only to
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regroup outside the jail on Bishop Street. The attempt to prevent the prisoner from being lodged in the jail led to the outbreak of a riot, as unionist residents of the Fountain came in to Bishop Street. When the crowds dispersed, significant damage to property was noted and a number of police and soldiers had sustained minor injuries. The streets remained quiet until the weekend, when on the night of Saturday April, a series of attacks was made on small groups of soldiers socializing in the city. More bills had been posted throughout the city calling for attacks on police and soldiers after the events of Wednesday April and protests took place on Saturday afternoon when Séamus Cavanagh and five other prisoners were removed from Derry Jail to Wormwood Scrubs. The attacks on the soldiers led to renewed rioting in the by now regular flashpoint between Bridge Street and Fountain Street. Detachments of troops were sent to the city from Ebrington to rescue the isolated groups of soldiers, who had been forced to barricade themselves into various buildings. As the police attempted to address the disorder on Ferryquay Street, news arrived that Lecky Road Barracks was under attack. When the police and soldiers ran down ‘sinister Fahan Street’, as one Dorset Regiment soldier termed it, to come to the aid of their colleagues, they came under fire, but no injuries were sustained. After they forced the attackers to retreat, they noticed that ‘McCurtain’s [sic] murderers’ had been scrawled on the barracks’ door, referring to the killing of the mayor of Cork by off-duty RIC men in March. The rioting continued on Sunday night, and spread to other parts of the city, with revolver fire continuing between unionists and nationalists. A number of people were seriously injured, including one man who was shot in the chest, and minor injuries were reported to be widespread. Bishop McHugh and Mayor O’Doherty made appeals for calm, the latter refusing to apportion responsibility to either unionists, nationalists or the soldiers who opened fire on Wednesday. He was happy, however, to lay the blame squarely on the ruffians of the city who, he claimed, were leading the ‘respectable’ citizens astray. His principal concern was with the burden that the damage to the city would have on ratepayers. The IRA took advantage of the public anger and the disturbed state of the city to step up its campaign in May. The raids and arrests of leading figures left it in a state of disarray in the early part of the year but there was a noticeable upsurge in activity at this time and many men were active to the extent that they had to leave their employment. Three RIC constables were shot in two separate incidents on the night of May. Five days later a further two constables were shot at but there were no major injuries arising from any of the attacks. The vacated Burnfoot RIC Barracks, a few miles from the city in Donegal, was burned by the Derry city IRA on May, and an attempt was made to burn the Carrigans Barracks on the same night, but the
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flames were extinguished by locals. Another group of armed IRA members raided the income tax offices on Bishop Street and destroyed all the records relating to Inishowen. This was the first such attack on a records office in Derry. The munitions of war strike, a direct action taken by trade unionists who refused to transport British troops or military materials in , was largely observed by rail workers living in Derry. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway dismissed some of the Catholic workers engaged in the strike action, inspiring the solidarity of their Protestant colleagues. Some local IRA members countered the threat of dismissal by ‘kidnapping’ those workers who wished to observe the strike without facing the prospect of unemployment. Others were actually kidnapped to prevent them from breaking the strike. The first signs of an overtly organized unionist resistance to this upsurge in IRA activity came on May. Previous riots and skirmishes commenced with people gathering at interface areas, resulting in shouting and stone throwing escalating to shooting and serious injury. On this occasion, however, a group of unionists went into Bridge Street firing revolvers and making clear that they sought vengeance for an attack on a Protestant clergyman in Downpatrick. The police charged down Bridge Street in an attempt to quell the resulting riot, at which point someone fired a shot that struck Detective Sergeant Denis Moroney in the chest, fatally wounding him. He was the first policeman to be shot in Ulster during the period and it is highly likely that it was at the hands of a member of the Derry IRA. A short time later, an ex-serviceman named Bernard Doherty was shot dead while trying to make his way along Orchard Street during a lull in the fighting. Many others were injured, including IRA member Hugh Martin, and the violence reached such an extent that, according to the Derry Journal, the police and military held back from engaging further. A group of unionists with blackened faces or wearing scarves with eye holes over their faces seized control of the Carlisle Bridge and harassed all those intending to pass. Sporadic shooting and violence continued to take place over the following weeks and threats and counter threats were posted throughout the city. Anecdotal evidence was presented from a variety of sources in support of allegations that the police retreated from active engagement on the streets as the unionists became bolder in their displays of strength. A number of other factors combined with the rising violence of the previous weeks to contribute to the outbreak of Derry’s ‘civil war’ in late June. Wartime stories of Catholics taking the jobs of Protestant enlistees on the shipyard resurfaced. Bishop McHugh emerged from his political silence to write an open letter once again opposing partition, but this time the imminent creation of a Belfast parliament provoked him to use much stronger language. He termed the bill a ‘perpetual Coercion Act’ that nationalists would not accept without a struggle: ‘To become hewers of wood and drawers of
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water for Sir Edward Carson, Catholic Ulster will never submit’. The south Derry IRA commenced the burning of vacated RIC barracks in June, a little later than their colleagues in Derry city and the neighbouring counties. Park, Feeny and Ballyronan barracks were all burned down, and an attempt was made to do the same in Innishrush. The unionists of Derry city now faced a radicalized population in the city, determined to resist the establishment of a Northern Ireland state. They were also witness to more daring IRA action, resulting in attacks on police in the city and destruction of property in the county and in Donegal and Tyrone. There was also the very real possibility that the nationalists would be strong enough to push Derry city into the remit of the envisaged southern parliament. While it is unclear if the moribund UVF had officially reformed in Derry during May and June , it is certain that some of its thousands of rifles were used in the June fighting. What have been termed ‘loyalist vigilante groups’ were formed in Fermanagh, Belfast and Armagh from April onward. They, along with the Derry group and others, were reformed as the UVF on June when the UUC standing committee made a revival announcement. By July the UVF was calling its former members back for duty, but independent loyalist vigilante groups still existed in Moneymore, Castledawson and Maghera in October. The Sentinel reported on rioting that took place in the Waterside on Friday June with a short news piece that betrays how street violence had become uniform and almost expected. The next night, after some of the usual scuffles took place on Bishop Street, a group of unionist snipers took up positions and aimed into the nationalist district of Long Tower. People began running in terror and within a short period, two men lay dead. Firing into Long Tower continued, and a large, curious crowd gathered at the Diamond to investigate. The gunmen then began firing towards the crowd and advancing down Bishop Street towards them. Michael Sheerin and Alfie McCallion were walking in the area when they heard the rifle fire and immediately mobilized their IRA unit. Kathleen McGuinness similarly put her Cumann na mBan section into action. The initial IRA fightback was no match for the superior firepower of the unionists. Edwin Price, who served in the Ambulance Corps of the th (Ulster) Division, was shot by unionists outside the Diamond Hotel and died soon after. The unionists held the Diamond for an hour after the Dorsets arrived and retreated back to Fountain Street singing. At . a.m. while leaving the wake of the first victim in Long Tower Street, and unaware that the Dorsets had returned to barracks at ..a.m, James Doherty was shot dead as he stepped out of the front door. Many more people were seriously wounded by the rifle fire during the night. The following day shooting continued but there was a slight lull as soldiers attempted to take control of the situation. However, rioting broke out in the Waterside while the bulk of the troops were on the streets of the city side.
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The same pattern took place over the following days. The unionist gunmen, who were in position on top of prominent buildings, held fire and moved on to areas not under military control to recommence their targeting. The IRA marched from the Bogside to St Columb’s College on Saturday night June, where they set up a headquarters. They were welcomed inside by Dean McGlinchey and Fr McShane, president of St Columb’s, both of whom were by now SF members. The college had also come under attack, and rifle fire pierced windows throughout, including those in Bishop McHugh’s living quarters. The IRA members, joined by a significant number of nationalist ex-servicemen with rifles, occupied the streets around St Columb’s up to the Fountain. Cumann na mBan members were also ‘on active service’ in St Columb’s and contributed greatly to its defence, according to some of the men present. Máire Larkin (sister of Seán and Tom from Bellagherty) was a pivotal figure in the republican underground in Derry city. Her shop doubled as a meeting place and communications centre and her knowledge of goings on in the city saved a number of Volunteers from arrest throughout the – period. She formed part of the St Columb’s College garrison from its establishment and carried arms across the city during the week. Shiels took command of the garrison, and his standing with the wider nationalist community allowed him to lead the fightback effectively in what had become a pan-nationalist effort. Rifles and two Colt machine-guns in the possession of the NVF were transferred to the IRA and a large amount of weaponry was rapidly shipped in from Donegal. While the IRA organized the community defence efforts, there was also an offensive element to its operations from an early stage. Lecky Road Barracks was attacked and besieged by revolver fire for three hours at the outset of the violence. One of the republicans involved at the time later claimed that the police inside the barracks actually offered to supply the IRA with weapons provided they were left unmolested, but the offer was refused to keep up appearances. The principal action of the IRA, however, was reactionary and consisted of engaging the unionist marksmen to hold them back from advancing into nationalist districts, and also policing the city in an effort to minimize looting and rioting. A republican court was established to deal with those arrested and when Catholics were forced from their homes in the middle of the week, including the widow of Sergeant Denis Moroney, shot dead in April, an IRA guard was deployed to protect the homes of Protestants in majority Catholic streets. The situation was unprecedented. Even the Walter Mitty-type memoirist, Charlie McGuinness’s description of the city as ‘like a town on the Western Front’ was not that wide of the mark as all shops were closed, the streets were deserted, and those who dared to venture out were almost immediately shot at. The dead and injured lay in the street as people feared the consequences of attempts to remove them. The dockers refused to go to work after
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they came under fire and a group of RIC offered their resignations due to suspicions that some police and soldiers were fraternizing with and even supporting the unionist gunmen. An ongoing shirt-cutters’ strike affecting – , workers meant that some of the factories were already idle, and the fatal danger of walking on the city streets convinced many more workers to stay at home. The Irish Independent’s reporter on the ground emphasized that the events could not be described as a riot; it was ‘war pure and simple’. Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, both members of IRA GHQ, visited the St Columb’s College garrison during the week and Eoin MacNeill arrived in the city in the middle of the week to find the streets barricaded and sandbagged. In the absence of any effective military intervention, Shiels made a statement to the effect that the IRA was taking control of the city in an attempt to restore order. There was a noticeable impact as the IRA began its engagement with the unionist gunmen. Rumours emerged of a group of sharpshooters arriving from Dublin, such was the impact of the fightback, but there is no evidence of any arrivals from the south, other than by Clancy and McKee in support roles. It is more likely that the devastating counter-attack was mounted by existing Derry Volunteers and the trained ex-servicemen who offered their services on the first night, now armed with a supply of NVF rifles. By Wednesday June, the Colt machine-guns were in operation and fears that an IRA invasion from Donegal was imminent spread through unionist districts. Martial law was declared on the Wednesday and troop reinforcements from the Norfolk, Northumberland and King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) regiments arrived thereafter. The IRA garrison in St Columb’s College evacuated when the extent of the troop reinforcement became clear. Armoured cars travelled up Bishop Street and machine-gunned the makeshift barricades to smithereens. The ex-servicemen manning the outer defences retreated into St Columb’s College and a decision was taken to evacuate and dump arms in William Street before dispersing. By the end of the week most of the trouble had died down, leaving the city shocked and devastated at the ferocity of the fighting. A citizens’ conciliation committee was established early in the week after SF councillor Cathal Bradley approached his unionist counterparts in an attempt to end the violence. This and similar bodies in Garvagh and Kilrea worked to promote the avoidance of similar outbreaks for the rest of the summer. A similar attempt at cross-community conciliation was attempted in Belfast at the height of the sectarian violence there in . However, the Belfast conciliation bodies had little impact, possibly due to the longer duration of the violence and a perception that the middle-class nationalist representatives did not wholly reflect the views of the city’s Catholic population. Allegations that the police fraternized with the unionists in the lead up to the violence and retreated to allow the gunmen free reign were swiftly
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reported by the Derry Journal. Most of the IRA veterans who recorded their memories of the fighting held the strong belief that the troop reinforcements were only sent into Derry after the IRA gained the upper hand in the fight. Such allegations were fuelled by the comments of a soldier at an initial inquiry who spoke of a password that existed to allow safe co-operation between the Dorsets and the UVF. Denis Henry, now the attorney general for Ireland, was the chief government spokesman on the Derry violence in the House of Commons. He made clear from an early stage that the imposition of martial law would not be necessary, and that the ‘loyal’ citizens of the city could be appealed to for help. There was a general consensus on the opposition benches that the Crown forces had completely lost control of the situation. Colonel John Gretton, MP for Burton, went so far as to state that Henry’s reliance on ‘loyal citizens’ meant in effect that the government was supporting the loyalist gunmen and perpetuating the violence. After martial law was finally imposed in Derry on June, Henry was asked if the civilian population would be disarmed. His simple response – ‘the disarmament of the disloyal portion of the population has always been proceeding in Derry’ – did little to quell allegations that the British authorities stood on the side of the unionists. As peace returned to the Derry streets, enforced by martial law and a curfew order, twenty people lay dead and a large number wounded. The conciliation committee released a statement providing political leadership and appealing for no recrimination. Given the scale and ferocity of the violence, it is surprising that further serious outbreaks did not occur, particularly after the Lisburn burnings and the intense violence that took place in Belfast later in the summer. The harrowing stories of the victims emerging from the inquests did little to quell the anger of the people. George Caldwell, a year-old orphan, who was shot dead when he popped his head out of a window in the Nazareth House was not the only child victim. Joseph McGlinchey, the -year-old son of Charles McGlinchey, former commandant of the Volunteers, was shot dead by a unionist sniper. There is evidence of deliberate sectarian targeting by both unionists and nationalists, despite the efforts of the IRA leaders to contain such action by the latter. Some IRA members were not so high-minded, however. Charlie McGuinness claimed to have shot and killed a female civilian on Bishop Street after she disrespected the corpse of a slain bystander known to McGuinness and ignored warnings to cease. Howard McKay, son of the governor of the Apprentice Boys, met a gruesome end at the foot of Lone Moor Road. He was placed against a wall, blindfolded and executed, allegedly after he refused to divulge the location of UVF arms dumps. Those accused of his murder were acquitted at trail in March . Three of the accused claimed to have been engaged on picket duty protecting unionist homes at the time. The evidence suggests that a large crowd was present at the scene of the crime,
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which took place in the mid-afternoon. William McAnaney, a Derry city IRA member, later claimed to have been present ‘at the execution of McKay’, which suggests some form of republican acquiescence in the act. He also claimed to have killed three ‘spies’ on June, but a Mr Plunkett who fell victim to a rifle shot was the only reported fatality on that date. Most of the other victims of the fighting were killed either in the crossfire or in targeted attacks by snipers, rather than the execution style action directed at McKay. It was quite clear that the thrust of nationalist anger was directed at the government for its inaction in the opening days of the fighting. The government delegation that arrived on Saturday June was received coolly. Even the coroner, when returning a verdict of murder by persons unknown in the case of the orphan’s death, angrily lashed out at a soldier in the court, stating that there would have been fewer deaths if action had been taken earlier. As peace bedded in and a return to work slowly occurred under heavy military guard, Catholic priests publicly thanked and prayed for the men who came out to defend nationalist areas during the week. The IRA continued to portray itself as a body of responsible citizens that acted in an attempt to restore order in the absence of government intervention. For example, IRA member Éamonn MacDermott called for businesses to be reimbursed from a relief collection after his colleagues had commandeered food during the week. The Derry city IRA faced an even more oppressive atmosphere in which to operate after June. By the end of the month, the military presence had risen from to ,. The city was divided into four zones and around fifty block houses were constructed to ensure that all movement could be monitored, and any activity locked down quickly. The seven gates in the city walls and the Carlisle Bridge also had military posts. There were a further two permanent posts at the top and bottom of Shipquay Street and an observation post with a visual link to Ebrington was established on the spire of St Columb’s Cathedral. The four railway stations, the dock buildings, the power station, gasworks, waterworks and the Guildhall all came under armed guard. Checkpoints and cordons were established on all roads into and out of the city. Nightly curfew patrols were carried out and anyone encountered without a pass was arrested and detained, or shot at if they refused to halt. This led to a lull in offensive IRA activity and a large effort was directed at policing nationalist parts of the city to discourage any continued looting or riotous behaviour. Sheerin noted that prior to the military lockdown, they had a very good relationship with the police in the nationalist districts, and that armed and uniformed Volunteers patrolled the streets at the same time as the RIC. It is ironic that it was in this atmosphere that IRA actions in the city actually became more daring, as the reinforced security presence allowed for higher profile, and more lethal attacks. By the end of , when one included all police and soldiers, along with a company of Auxiliaries in
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Victoria Barracks, twenty Black and Tans and four NCOs in each of the city barracks, and the flow of recruits into the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC), there were over , Crown forces personnel stationed in Derry city. With a population of less than , and an IRA membership of no more than a few hundred, and even fewer active members, Derry was not a place where open revolt was likely. However, the Derry city IRA, which was reorganized during the June fighting, had little to do in furtherance of the GHQ order for northern units to ‘engage the maximum enemy Force and take the pressure off the South’. Vere Gregory, the new CI, had a baptism of fire when he succeeded the retired Cary in June. In August he worried that a similar situation to that prevailing in Belfast would engulf Derry. All parades and public processions were banned in the city, which ensured some level of quietude, but Lecky Road Barracks was finally destroyed in an IRA arson attack on the night of August, just hours after it was vacated. CI Gregory was also concerned to note that the UVF was reorganizing on an official basis in the city, and large numbers of formerly inactive members of the NVF had shifted allegiance to the IRA. IRA members regularly caused public nuisance by firing shots into the air, which would cause a lockdown of the city, much to the annoyance of the citizens, who largely directed their anger at the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries tasked with the job. The vacated and destroyed RIC barracks in Park was again targeted in July and a man on his way to a SF dance was shot dead by police who had come under fire in Coleraine. Joseph O’Doherty, who was arrested while making his way to Derry city during the June fighting, was due in court in July. Burnfoot courthouse, where his case was due to be heard, was burned down days before the sitting. Buncrana and Carndonagh courthouses were subsequently burned down when the case was transferred. He was eventually tried in Bishop Street courthouse, but refused to recognize the court and was accompanied by twelve armed soldiers at all times. There was no major upswing in activity levels in the county during the second half of the year, with arms raids and mail robberies being the most frequently reported actions. Sporadic rioting continued in Derry city for the rest of , however. So regular was it that CI Gregory noted in October how things had calmed down a lot, despite his report that Constable John Flaherty had been shot dead by unionists in the Fountain during riots. He also omitted that Derry Jail was destroyed during a riot by IRA prisoners during the month. The relative calm in Derry city did not last long. The arrival of the Black and Tans into the city and an IRA GHQ order to step up activity led to a significant attack on the night of Saturday November. Four IRA members and their accompanying scouts attempted to disarm three policemen on guard duty at the GPO. In the struggle that ensued, the IRA members discharged their weapons, and shot their way through the city while escaping. They
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managed to get away unscathed, but at least one of the policemen was left wounded. While this attack raised the bar slightly, it is notable mainly due to the reaction it provoked. Hours after the policemen staggered into the safety of their barracks, a gang of police in mufti went on the rampage through the city throwing bombs, firing rifles and revolvers, and breaking windows. The commercial and residential properties of the most prominent republicans in the city were singled out for attack. The masked police attacked the fire tenders and their military escort rushing to the burning buildings. After an altercation, three RIC men in civilian clothing lay gravely wounded. One of them, Hugh Kearns, later died of his wounds. The following morning the local clergy discouraged IRA activity while leading a Novena for peace in St Eugene’s Cathedral. Some minor counter-attacks were made on unionist business premises the following night by the IRA. More organized reprisals were carried out by the IRA in early , taking the form of arson attacks on unionist businesses and property. This sectarian retaliatory shift caused little concern as the IRA actions were subsumed in an upsurge of arson cases where blame was also directed at unscrupulous owners of dilapidated buildings taking advantage of the situation, and at local ‘roughs’ with no political motives. As more stories of the night began to emerge, it became clear where responsibility lay for the majority of the carnage, regardless of the fact that the chain of events began with the attack on the police at the GPO. The lack of response to the killing of Constable Flaherty by unionists the previous month was noted by a SF spokesman the next day, alleging that reprisals were aimed solely at nationalists. The type of reprisal witnessed in Derry followed the pattern throughout the country: the property of known republicans was burned, and livestock killed. The effectiveness of these reprisals in terrorizing civilian supporters of the IRA led to such action becoming official government policy in late December . However, this was the first and last major reprisal in Derry city. The practice had proved counterproductive and resulted in a higher police casualty rate than from the initial IRA attack that provoked the reprisals. Unionists had been lobbying for an auxiliary police force to combat the IRA since April and the official reorganization of the UVF from the middle of the year fed directly into the formation of the USC in October. This placed the nascent Northern Ireland government in a robust and favourable position, as control of a paramilitary police force could consolidate its power and give it the upper hand in the fight against the IRA. The formation of the USC had some other advantages in this regard. It gave the new government the ability to legitimize the UVF as an arm of the state, thereby controlling its unruly nature, while harnessing its power. It also allowed the government to enrol a large number of unemployed veterans of the th (Ulster) Division, thereby avoiding awkward questions of class being raised
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within the unionist alliance. Unionists distrusted the RIC due to the largely southern and Catholic composition of its rank and file and many felt that the formation of the USC would allow for a portion of these men to be redeployed to the south as reinforcements. The UVF was officially reprised in Derry after the June fighting. R. Spencer Chichester, the county lieutenant, chaired recruiting meetings and Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfred B. Spender, head of the UVF, sent Colonel George Moore Irvine to Derry as a full-time organizer. By September, Irvine was liaising with the GOC regularly and could boast that he was practically the ‘Governor of Derry’. The relationship was such that the army began using the UVF for intelligence purposes in Derry ahead of the RIC. It was not long before a direct link between the UVF and the USC was established. The DI in Coleraine openly appealed for ‘recruits [to the USC] from what was formerly called the Ulster Volunteers’. CI Gregory was less enthusiastic, and worried that What the ultimate result of the introduction of [the USC] into a peaceful county like Derry will be is a matter of conjecture, but, as far as the city of Derry is concerned, great caution and moderation will have to be adopted to prevent serious trouble between [the USC] and () the nationalists, () the police, especially the Catholic members. There are some features in connection with this scheme which I regard with considerable anxiety. Ernest Clark, the assistant under-secretary for Northern Ireland, took Gregory’s concerns into consideration but he eventually concluded that the benefits of having Specials in Derry city would outweigh the negatives. For the county he ordered the recruitment of Class ‘A’, who were full-time, paid paramilitary police; , Class ‘B’ reservists to be called on when necessary; and an indefinite number of Class ‘C’ reservists to consist of ‘all suitable persons’. For the city, he recommended the introduction of eighty A Specials, , B Specials, and , C Specials. Irvine wrote to prominent men in the city on November outlining the role the USC would have when deployed. He expected at least , applicants for the , ‘B’ positions and noted that their primary duty would be to patrol loyalist areas. He also expected a good portion of the city’s ‘gentlemen’ to play their part, and his perception of the wider role of the ‘B’ Specials went further when he noted that The establishment of an armed SC Force marks the beginning and foundation of our own rule in the province, and the success of the undertaking will prove our willingness to govern. I look to category ‘B’
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Derry, ‒ to be our chief controlling agency during the forthcoming transition stages of government.
By the time Derry’s turbulent year of rolled into , Irvine was establishing the headquarters of the Derry USC in the old UVF hall on Hawkins Street in the Fountain and preparing to play his role in bedding down the Northern Ireland parliament and executive that nationalists had fought tooth and nail against since . From until the middle of the IRA’s fight was largely directed at the institutions of Northern Ireland. The fight, political and military, which had already changed so much since , evolved into active and passive non-recognition of the new government and its institutions. This was a rebooted anti-partitionism, recast to oppose a political border that existed whether people actually recognized it or not. The campaigns of – and – represented the final chapters of the fight against partition and it was clear at the end of that the euphoria engendered by the local election victories during the year was misplaced. Derry city and county were now under the jurisdiction of the soon-to-be-convened Northern Ireland parliament. The city’s nationalist corporation and its abstentionist SF TD could do little but promote non-recognition and rely on the southern SF leadership for military and political leadership. The quality of that leadership was to shape the future of border areas and the fate of northern nationalists for a century thereafter.
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Truce and Treaty: Derry in
Derry remained in a precarious position as its people greeted the New Year in . Rising prices and unemployment ensured that bread and butter, and coal rivalled partition and war as issues of major concern to the people. Hugh C. O’Doherty was re-elected as the nationalist mayor of a city that now officially came under the jurisdiction of the yet-to-be-convened Northern Ireland parliament. Once again, partition was the central issue, and the various nationalist and unionist responses to it intensively characterized the political and military landscape until the middle of . The IRA greatly improved its organizational coherence and began more offensive action in Ulster during . At the same time, the extent of the army presence became apparent in Derry city. St Columb’s Hall and other prominent buildings were occupied. Streets were cordoned off and sandbagged machine-gun posts were established at strategic locations. At the same time, unionists engaged in an initial attempt to consolidate power in the six counties. The truce called in July led to a period of republican legitimization that angered a fearful unionist population and propelled its leaders into a more coercive and wide-ranging consolidation of power, backed by the financial, political and military clout of Westminster. By the end of the year, when the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed by the Dáil Éireann delegation in London, Derry nationalists once again pondered the commitment of a largely southern leadership to anti-partitionism. Robert Lynch’s negative assessment of the northern IRA before is largely accurate when its actions are considered alongside those of more active areas in the south. The restraining role of experience in the divided north seems to have had a significant influence on the Derry IRA, particularly when overt orders from GHQ were not forthcoming. Regional histories of the War of Independence will inevitably look to the action zones of Munster and Dublin for comparison, but the singularity of the north meant that a different tactical approach was essential. It is unhelpful, therefore, to compare levels of activity without taking the wider context into consideration. For instance, the violence of June in Derry city was unprecedented and something that was unlikely to occur in the cities of the south. The Derry IRA was prepared for this eventuality and was reflexive enough to borrow the expertise of ex-servicemen, quickly avail of help and weaponry from its rivals, and restrain reactive sectarian violence in response to a targeted attack on the nationalist community. The violent inferno of Derry in June and in the aftermath of the November attacks on the police patrol at the GPO goes some way towards explaining the lack of local appetite to follow the initiative of the southern IRA in the profoundly different northern political context. All was
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Distribution of Crown forces quiet in Derry city and county after the November reprisal and CI Gregory noted that ‘unless Sinn Fein extremists are imported into the city to give trouble, I do not anticipate that the local Sinn Feiners will proceed to any extreme courses’. The arrival of Peadar O’Donnell in the city in December and of Charlie Daly and Eoin O’Duffy to south Derry in late and early had a significant impact on the organization and level of IRA activity in the county thereafter. The arrival of these ‘imported extremists’ coincided with the complete re-organization of the IRA through the divisionalization of its structures in March . The latter process gave GHQ a much stronger hand in the operational activity of regional units. This was interpreted as interference from Dublin elsewhere in the country, but in the north, where activity had hitherto been sporadic, the belated involvement of GHQ on a sustained basis was largely welcomed.
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Prior to the upsurge in activity that accompanied divisionalization, the Derry IRA continued to take part in some isolated operations. A group of men fired on a police patrol outside a SF dance in Boleran national school, near Garvagh, on December. The police fired back and shot dead a young passer-by, Joseph Doherty. The police action was deemed justified at the inquest. A large number of arms raids took place in the Magherafelt district in February and two attempts were made to burn the vacated Swatragh RIC Barracks in the same month. However, by March Swatragh Barracks and all but two others in the county were reoccupied (see map ). This resurgence in confidence by the police largely came about as a result of the reinforcements provided by the USC, but the IRA in south Derry continued to keep the pressure on by burning buildings identified as replacements for destroyed barracks that were beyond repair. The situation was much quieter in Derry city. One of the only military actions during the first three months of the year was an IRA raid on the military store at the Midland Railway goods yard. Armed and masked raiders were searching for a Lewis machine-gun, but passed over it in their haste after being accosted. The Sentinel claimed that southern accents were heard by railway workers and that the raid was likely the work of outsiders with help from local republicans. This may well have been true, as the local active IRA membership had been incapacitated in a number of ways since December . However, at least one local man, Dom Doherty, took part in the raid. He claimed that they found the machine-gun parts, but being of little use to them in pieces, they threw them into the Foyle. A new RIC barracks was established on Lecky Road in March when police commandeered a large house owned by the Watt family, thereby filling the policing vacuum in the district most sympathetic to the IRA. A stream of USC came into the city in batches from January and were dispersed across the city’s police stations. By the end of March , there were A Specials of various ranks in Derry along with ten motor drivers and six civilian staff. The B Specials were also increasing in number with , members sworn in, although recruits were slow to make themselves available to the C Class, which reported only members. In Derry city, the extra police manpower resulted in the opening of an additional barracks at a commandeered hostel for shipyard workers on the Strand Road. Shipyard employment had decreased from , during the war to only in May . The link between economic decline, unemployment, and the formation and swift recruitment of large numbers of police reinforcements was certainly no coincidence. The provision of paid employment to potentially angry unemployed loyalist workers acted as a safety valve, which had the added effect of solidifying the foundations of Northern Ireland through a cross-class alliance in active opposition to IRA violence.
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Peadar O’Donnell had been active in Derry city as an ITGWU organizer since when he established a branch for cinema workers. His impact on the labour movement was keenly felt, particularly when his union engaged in a strategy to poach members on the docks, and when he became centrally involved in the shirt factory workers’ strike that coincided with the sectarian upheaval of June . The ITGWU’s close identification with republicanism and O’Donnell’s stated intention to ‘smash every Cross-Channel union in Derry’ did little to endear him to either unionist workers or the local trade union movement, which was built largely in the image of James McCarron, practicing moderation in industrial relations and constitutional nationalism in politics. By the end of O’Donnell was prominent in the city, having established a Workers’ Educational Committee and a branch of the James Connolly Labour College. His political viewpoint was in little doubt when he sought election to the Poor Law Guardians as a ‘workers’ republican organizer’ in April . By the late summer of , and after provoking some largely unnecessary aggravation in the Derry labour movement, O’Donnell devoted more time to his role in the IRA. He was appointed commander of the nd Battalion, Donegal IRA, which also covered Derry city. When forced to go on the run in November, he gave up his position in the ITGWU and became a full-time IRA commander. O’Donnell surreptitiously returned to the city just before Christmas and addressed an IRA meeting in the Shamrock Hall. He announced his intention to take an active service unit (ASU), recruited from the city IRA, into Donegal and carry the fight to the British as had been done elsewhere in the country, perhaps most famously by Tom Barry’s ASU at Kilmichael, County Cork. Nine men volunteered to join him at the meeting and they left the city on the night of December, meeting up with Con Boyle and Peadar’s brothers, Frank and Joe, when they got to west Donegal. The ASU was fairly active, but O’Donnell and his men did not engage in any activity in Derry again until April . With nine of its most active men fighting with O’Donnell in Donegal, the Derry city IRA was stretched. This was compounded by the continuing internment of suspected IRA and SF members from across the country in and . Following the IRA attacks on the British intelligence network in Dublin on Bloody Sunday ( November ), a general sweep was carried out across the country and a large number of IRA were arrested and interned in the newly opened Ballykinlar internment camp in County Down. Fifteen prominent men from Derry city, including the Frongoch veterans Joseph and Vincent O’Doherty, Séamus Cavanagh, Johnnie Fox, and Éamonn MacDermott were all interned during , along with at least six from the county, including Tom Larkin and the solicitor and recently elected SF councillor, Louis Walsh. While some IRA activity continued in the south county, there was a large concentration on the implementation of the Belfast boycott in Derry city. The
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boycott emerged as a response to further shipyard expulsions and violence against Catholics in Belfast from July onwards. Originally intended as a boycott of Belfast-based banks and insurance companies, in it was widened into a general campaign to discourage goods from the mainly Protestant businesses of the north being consumed in the south. The campaign took the form of preventing such goods from reaching the south by various means, and also producing blacklists and discouraging Catholic use of Protestant businesses in the north. Derry was the sole area outside Belfast where a large-scale boycott of local Protestant businesses was implemented. Fox was appointed as a paid worker for the Belfast boycott committee, and he led a team of IRA and Fianna members in drawing up, distributing and enforcing blacklists. Trains carrying goods produced in Belfast were attacked by the IRA in Derry, as were the bread vans of unionist companies. The effectiveness of the boycott in Derry was debateable, however. Letters to the press questioned the commitment of Catholic merchants in the city to the boycott and by August, DI Connor noted that there were around seventy Protestant firms on the blacklist, but Protestant customers ignored it and Catholic customers tended to patronize Catholic shops anyway. One major act that did take place was the rescue of Frank Carty from Derry Jail in February. Carty was an IRA commander from Sligo who was accused of murdering two members of the RIC. He had already escaped from Sligo Jail in June and after his recapture he was sent to Derry, which was seen as one of the most secure prisons in the country. No jail breaks had taken place before Carty’s, and the prison’s imposing structure and proximity to the loyalist Fountain area decreased the likelihood of sympathizers supporting escape attempts. Conditions inside the prison contrasted sharply with the physical security of its structure and location, however. Former IRA inmates from across the country related stories of the laxity of the prison regime prior to late . Prisoners were allowed to converse freely and associate during the day and could talk to each other from their cells at night. They were permitted to receive incoming parcels and could smuggle various items and messages out. The prisoners also shaved their heads to create a more confused atmosphere. There were at least three friendly warders, one of whom was a clandestine IRA member, who provided copies of keys and other information. Even after the Carty escape, the relaxed atmosphere in the jail continued. On St Patrick’s Day the prisoners had a large quantity of poteen smuggled in from Inishowen, with the help of temporary warders who were ex-servicemen. They staged a concert and both prisoners and warders partook in the celebrations. One of the chief warders failed to notice that a tri-colour badge had been placed on his uniform to mark the occasion! The hospital wing from which Carty escaped, had been reserved for Linda Kearns who, for a time had been the only female prisoner. She had food brought to her from a restaurant every day and the
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warder arranged facilities for her to wash and iron her clothes. Certainly, the treatment the prisoners received in Derry was favourable in comparison to that meted out in Sligo. Despite the lack of discipline, availability of friendly warders, and the generally relaxed atmosphere within the prison, the escape was still a daring move. The planning was carried out in the main by Charlie McGuinness and Shiels, who had hacksaw blades, black boot polish, and soap sent in to Carty so that he could saw through the window bars and hide the evidence. A large team of IRA members assembled on the night of the escape and ensured that Carty was able to get over the wall with ropes and escorted to a safe house until curfew ceased. McGuinness arranged for Carty to be removed from Derry and placed him on board his father’s steamer for Glasgow. The mate on the ship was a Swede called Oscar Norby, who was an IRA member and had assisted with the importation of weapons in the past. Carty was again captured in Glasgow later in and McGuinness advocated carrying out a daring seaborne rescue attempt when he was being transferred back to Ireland. When McGuinness got to Glasgow in May the IRA there made a botched attempt to spring Carty from a prison van, and he was later sent to Mountjoy. The rise in IRA activity in south Derry during late and early can be largely attributed to the appointment of Charlie Daly, a young Kerryman, as organizer for south Derry and Tyrone. His predecessor, Tom Morris, was arrested for possession of firearms and ammunition in September . Daly arrived with GHQ orders to raid for arms and he followed the more offensive tone of the times by using the active Volunteers under his command to pursue a strategy that might stir quieter areas into action. The arrival of Daly presaged the significant changes to come with the divisionalization of the IRA in March . GHQ created five divisional areas in Ulster in an attempt to better co-ordinate activities and take the war to the north in a much more aggressive fashion. The previous GHQ strategy, as articulated by Richard Mulcahy in February , of ‘a little action wisely and well done’ was revised to allow the maximum engagement of enemy forces, thereby taking the pressure off the hard-pressed parts of south-west Munster. Derry city came under the st Northern Division (ND) (see map ) along with the entirety of County Donegal. The st ND was under the overall command of Frank Carney but the nd Brigade, which covered east Donegal, Inishowen and Derry city, was commanded by O’Donnell. He wasted no time in making plans to up the ante and commence offensive action against multiple targets. Eoin O’Duffy, who had proved his salt in his native Monaghan, commanded the nd ND, which covered all of Derry apart from the city, along with the vast majority of County Tyrone. O’Duffy, assisted by Daly, took a similar line to O’Donnell, Carney and the other Ulster commanders and began planning offensive action immediately.
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IRA divisions in O’Donnell was unhappy with the lack of activity in the Derry city area. Carney had already been planning to send an ASU under the command of Charlie McGuinness out of the city into Donegal in late March . Others were sent to GHQ for munitions duty, so the city was fairly quiet and action limited to what could be carried out by Cumann na mBan and Fianna members. In late March O’Donnell began planning a series of simultaneous attacks to take place on April. He and Séamus McCann arrived in the city the night before and made a mobilization order for all members to report to Shamrock Hall next evening. The quartermaster, James Keenan, handed out guns and bombs to a number of different teams and they were given orders to hit their targets at p.m. One team was sent to attack the Lecky Road Barracks, while another was detailed to attack a military post on the Strand Road. A third group had orders to wander around the city in pairs and shoot any RIC they encountered. McCann was in one of the pairs hunting for
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police. He spotted Sergeant John Higgins making his way home from a shift along Creggan Street and shot him in the head with a revolver. Almost immediately, a loud explosion, followed by gunshots, was heard. Dom Doherty and James Taylor had scaled the walls of the mental hospital on Lawrence Hill and from the safety of that vantage point attacked the military post beside the electrical station on the Strand Road. They threw four grenades into a group of soldiers from the KOYLI regiment, wounding two of the group seriously. A short time later, the newly re-opened Lecky Road Barracks came under sustained attack with bombs and gunfire for a period of forty-five minutes. The garrison retained its position inside the building until reinforcements arrived. However, one member of the USC was wounded on the forehead by a grenade, and RIC Constable Michael Kenny was shot through the abdomen and later died of his injuries. Two civilians were also wounded by gunshots and sporadic attacks on police and military continued through the night without resulting in casualties. Coincidentally, two accidents took place the previous night resulting in the death of one private in the KOYLI regiment and the wounding of another. O’Donnell’s determination to up the ante in Derry city resulted in two dead and four wounded Crown forces, along with the two civilians caught in the crossfire. There was a very real fear in the aftermath of the attacks that dangerous sectarian tensions would once again break out in the city. Bishop McHugh called for calm and stated that ‘one would think the city should have learned a lesson from what took place last June’. From all reports it appears that the city, and its IRA leadership up until March , was thinking along the same lines as the bishop. O’Donnell slipped out of the city along with McCann the next night, leaving the locals to deal with the potential fallout. Although tensions were high, no serious rioting took place after the attacks. O’Donnell maintained the idea of bringing the fight to the police and military in his brigade area. He continued to come into Derry and carry out random attacks against the wishes of the local IRA, and direct orders from GHQ that he stay out of the city. In June he ordered an ambush on the – troops that travelled daily between Derry and Buncrana. Joe McLaughlin, O/C rd Battalion, ignored him, citing the ridiculously outnumbered and outgunned position of the Inishowen IRA. O’Donnell’s actions led to a complete breakdown in his relationship with the Derry IRA officers. GHQ sent Liam Archer to investigate and he found that the dispute arose due to a number of factors. O’Donnell initially attempted to increase the auxiliary role of Cumann na mBan in the city, but this move was opposed by Shiels, who was engaged in a personal dispute with some of its leaders. When O’Donnell stepped up activity in the city, he was further opposed by Shiels and the other officers, who disseminated rumours about O’Donnell’s lack of military experience. It emerged that those in Derry viewed O’Donnell
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as incompetent and untrustworthy, and matters had reached the point where some of the officers were on the verge of refusing to serve under him and requesting transfer to another area. O’Donnell’s relationship with Carney was also strained to breaking point, although this problem was resolved when Carney was arrested and replaced by Joe Sweeney. The further problem of mutiny in the nd Brigade was averted when Derry city was declared an independent battalion within the st ND. The removal of O’Donnell and the devolution of local autonomy to the Derry IRA ensured that Derry city remained free of any serious IRA activity until the truce. O’Donnell maintained that his actions in the city on April were carried out with the approval of Shiels and some of the other officers. They told Archer that O’Donnell hijacked a company parade and made the orders over their heads, but Shiels later claimed to have been involved in the operation. Liam Brady also remembered that Charles McWhinney was the one who chose the Volunteers who would attack the Strand Road electrical station. The breakdown in the relationship appears to have arisen from O’Donnell’s tendency to take unilateral action based on his personal assessment of any given situation. This led to a clash of personalities and a poisoned relationship with the Derry officers. The relationship deteriorated over a period of time and cannot be attributed solely to the attacks on April. O’Duffy’s command of the nd ND led to a similar rise in activity in County Derry and Tyrone. He reported that the situation in Derry was slightly better than Tyrone, but that there was a desperate shortage of arms, supplies and committed leadership. An ambush on a train was carried out by a large group of IRA at Castledawson on March. However, due to the refusal of the signal woman to stop the train, it was a largely ineffectual action, as the party simply fired at a speeding train without causing much damage. There was also a notable rise in actions like kidnappings, cutting telegraph wires, trenching roads and destroying bridges throughout the spring. The Magherafelt district stood out as the rest of the county and the city was largely peaceable in May. A number of small-scale ambushes took place in the district, but they had little more effect than placing the police and USC on high alert. On June an IRA ambush on a police patrol was carried out under the command of Johnny Haughey in Swatragh, and resulted in the death of Sergeant Michael Burke and the wounding of two constables. The changed policing context in the north at this time could result in major clampdowns and reprisals being carried out, however. On the evening of the Swatragh ambush, a SF member was shot dead by police while cycling through the town, and houses were raided over the following days. The RIC, which had been apprehensive about the formation of the USC, had by mid- come around to the idea of having a large armed force on call to discourage and combat IRA actions. There were, by this time, strong and
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active B Special companies in all the policing districts in the county carrying out nightly patrols, trenching roads, raiding houses and gathering intelligence where possible. O’Duffy departed the nd ND in May to take up a GHQ position in Dublin, and has consequently been accused of stirring a hornet’s nest in the divisional area before walking away to leave the local IRA members to deal with USC reprisals and mass raids. However, O’Duffy’s replacement, Charlie Daly, followed a similar strategy until the truce. This contrasts with the case of Derry city, where an outside firebrand’s actions were not welcomed by locals, and a reversion to the previous hands-off approach was immediate once O’Donnell departed. What is clear, however, from the upsurge in violence in Derry from March to July is that the presence of the USC in the county had changed the rules of the game and made the life of an IRA member or supporter much more precarious. It is at this point that Derry diverges significantly from Townshend’s concept of a three-stage guerrilla war. In Townshend’s second stage (mid- to early ) the IRA began forming ASUs composed of full-time fighters carrying out large-scale operations, such as ambushes. While more Derry Volunteers had to leave work, go on the run, and devote their full energies to guerrilla activities in this period, the two Derry city ASUs were only formed in December and April respectively. The particularities of Derry city meant that these ASUs operated almost exclusively in Donegal. Consequently, Derry city saw little IRA activity during this stage of the War of Independence when other areas experienced an increase in actions such as ambushes. Townshend’s third stage (early until the truce) outlines a move away from headline grabbing actions towards ‘small jobs’ like raids on post offices and individual assassinations. Again, Derry diverges from the concept given that that some of the most significant attacks on Crown forces in the county took place during this period. The Carty jail break in February, O’Donnell’s night of coordinated attacks in Derry city in April, and the Swatragh ambush in June exemplify the disparity in the Derry experience. This is explained to some degree by the lack of activity in the county during the earlier stages and by the influence of newly appointed officers with orders to increase activity levels in . On the political front, SF’s strategy of ignoring the existence of Northern Ireland was placed under pressure when an election to the new parliament was called for May . The party leadership was split on how to approach the contest, with Griffith seeming to advocate a complete boycott, and Collins and de Valera proposing variants of abstentionism. De Valera’s publicly professed position on the north evolved during the opening months of to a point where he considered the possibility of a federal solution. The idea of providing Ulster Unionists with local autonomy under an Irish administration was not new, but the change in de Valera’s position showed
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that SF may have been willing to compromise beyond its strategy of killing partition by non-recognition. At the election, however, de Valera agreed with Collins that an abstentionist campaign would show northern nationalists the Dáil remained committed to them. SF faced the election with a strategy to intensify the Belfast boycott, continue anti-partitionist propaganda and create a strong electoral machine. The issue of how to deal with the still-significant IPP rump in the north under Devlin also arose. Alongside de Valera’s public moves towards compromise with Unionism, Devlin had taken a hardened stance by calling for the withdrawal of British troops, negotiations with the Dáil and the establishment of an all-Ireland assembly. An election pact was agreed between de Valera and Devlin whereby SF and IPP candidates stood on an anti-partitionist platform and ensured the maximum return of candidates through vote transfers under PR. Both agreed to abstain from the Northern Ireland parliament, but the IPP retained the option of taking their seats at a later date. De Valera advocated this quasi-abstentionist compromise on the basis that if the resultant northern parliament had no sitting nationalist opposition, then the class divide in unionism would be exposed, thereby causing a split that could be exploited later. The pact was respected in Derry with separate campaigns and rallies under SF and IPP auspices mirroring each other in calls for anti-partitionist vote transfers. A revision of the traditional constituency boundaries resulted in an immediate disadvantage for the anti-partition cause, however. The three Westminster constituencies were amalgamated to form a multi-member single constituency that returned five MPs to the new parliament. The city constituency, which had always been pivotal to the anti-partitionist cause in lining up alongside Fermanagh and Tyrone, lost the impact of its emotional and symbolic importance. Speaking at a SF election rally in the city, Cathal Bradley stated that the ‘voice of the city’ had been ‘drowned in the noise of the county’, and claimed the amalgamation came about as a result of the nationalist electoral victories in and . The IPP selected two candidates, George Leeke from Bellarena and Arthur W. Shields from Desertmartin. SF selected two prisoners, Eoin MacNeill and John Walsh from Maghera. MacNeill’s attempt to secure a release from Mountjoy was unsuccessful but Walsh, in common with his fellow internees at Ballykinlar, was released unconditionally a week before the election in a public relations exercise designed to illustrate that the elections were free and fair. The SF campaign was supported by a significant number of priests in Derry city, including Dean McGlinchey who claimed that the Unionist candidates, all of whom he said were ‘capitalists’, were more fearful of labour than they were of SF. He therefore encouraged workers of all creeds to vote for anti-partitionist candidates in an attempt to strangle the parliament at birth, as once the capitalists got into power it was most likely that they would rig the system
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in favour of their own interests. Prominent SF members from the south, including Fr Michael O’Flanagan, Kathleen Lynn and Helena Moloney, came to Derry to canvass and promote the SF message, which was to kill the parliament through voting for abstentionist candidates. There was a general concentration of SF resources on the northern elections after the planned southern elections were rendered meaningless by an agreement allowing sitting SF TDs to retain their seats and create the Second Dáil. There were charges of intimidation against nationalist voters across the north, particularly in Belfast. Canvassers in Derry were stopped and searched by the USC and motor cars were seized on election day, while a strong presence of RIC, USC and military patrolled Derry city and the border with Donegal. The election results were disappointing for the anti-partitionists. The Unionists took forty of the fifty-two available seats on a total of two-thirds of the vote. The IPP and SF shared the remaining twelve seats evenly. This pattern was matched in Derry with three Unionists returned alongside MacNeill and Leeke. The vote to seats ratio for anti-partitionists and Unionists was fairly proportional in Derry, but the symbolism of the city standing with Fermanagh and Tyrone was stripped away due to the amalgamation of the constituencies. The antipartitionists polled fifty-five per cent in the city but only forty-five per cent in the county as a whole. It is interesting to note that the SF vote was more than double that returned by the IPP candidates, yet they both returned one candidate each. Leeke and Walsh went head to head for the fifth and last seat at the count in Coleraine, with the former storming ahead to take the seat only after the elimination and transfer of his running mate’s votes. While the nationalist population of Derry wholeheartedly endorsed the abstentionist strategy in opposition to partition on the political front, the IRA continued in its organizational and offensive drive. The area around Magherafelt remained the most disturbed part of the county but reports of road trenching and destruction of bridges became more common in the Coleraine and Limavady districts in June and early July . Derry city remained quiet into the summer as the most active IRA members were either interned or fighting in the second ASU that was sent to Donegal under McGuinness in April. Despite the best efforts of the Derry ASU to engage the Crown forces in Donegal, they failed to do so, other than on a few occasions when large numbers of Crown forces deliberately engaged and overwhelmed them. McGuinness was badly wounded and captured while providing covering fire for his comrades’ escape during an attack on the ASU by RIC and Black and Tans on June . He was taken to Ebrington Barracks under sentence of death and Sheerin took over command. The daring McGuinness then added to his list of exploits by escaping from Ebrington on the night of July. He managed to make it across the river the next morning and went into hiding in the house of a republican sympathizer
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in the Fountain. The following week he made his way back to Donegal dressed as a priest, and arrived with the ASU just as the truce was called on July. The remaining Ebrington prisoners faced much harsher conditions, being handcuffed together at night, in reaction to McGuinness’s flight. The inclusion of most of Derry and Tyrone in the nd ND area led to greater cooperation between IRA companies in the two counties. The upsurge in IRA activity under O’Duffy and then Daly continued to occur until the very hour that the truce came into effect. The Black and Tans and elements of the USC burned a numbers of cooperative creameries owned by nationalists during the summer of . Partly in reprisal for these actions, and partly in reprisal for the burning of the SF office in Dunamore, County Tyrone, Daly ordered a major arson attack on Doon’s, a Protestant-owned creamery in the town. The job was carried out by IRA companies from both counties with Daly in command. The majority of the Derry IRA contingent was from Maghera, which at the time came under the nd Battalion, No. Brigade, commanded by Johnny Haughey. Paddy Diamond was also present and was battalion commander, and more Derry men travelled from Draperstown and Moneymore. Haughey, Dan McKenna and Thomas Kelly commandeered an RIC constable’s motorcycle on the way and the entire IRA group took two RIC members and the creamery manager hostage. The fire had completely gutted the complex and the prisoners were released just before noon, when the truce officially came into effect. This headline-grabbing action was a deliberate move by Daly to show the strength of the nd ND and avenge some of the actions against nationalist property and the SF hall before he and his men had to abide by the terms of the truce. This was not an isolated action and a spike in IRA violence can be detected across the country between the announcement of the truce on July and its implementation on July; for instance, the Derry city IRA stockpiled weapons and made plans to blow up the bridges over the Rivers Foyle and Skeoge. The truce was agreed following talks, which commenced largely in reaction to King George V’s speech calling for conciliation during the opening of the Northern Ireland Parliament in Belfast on June. The terms agreed meant that British troops would be largely confined to barracks and no military or police reinforcements would be made. There would be no interference with Irish civilians or IRA members. The IRA agreed to suspend attacks on Crown forces and civilians, to refrain from provocative displays of force, to cease interference with government and private property, and ‘to prevent any action likely to cause disturbance of the peace which might necessitate military interference’. Unionist fears of betrayal by the British were immediately heightened at the sight of de Valera travelling to meet with Prime Minister Lloyd George in July. The USC was demobilized and the IRA was conferred with a certain legitimacy as the ‘army of the Republic’ that appointed liaison offi-
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cers to work alongside the police in monitoring the truce at a local level. Shiels was appointed for Derry and Donegal, but was later relieved of his home county duties by Patrick Lynch from Maghera. The IRA took full advantage of its new found respectability, particularly in Derry where previously, outward political expressions or displays of militancy could lead quite quickly to suppression. Membership increased significantly, although many of the new recruits were nominal members and were accused of jumping on a much less dangerous bandwagon. Morris commented that after the membership surge, ‘sure ye didn’t know where ye were then’. This confusion and suspicion was directed towards new members, known disparagingly as ‘Trucileers’ – preTruce IRA members who were deemed not to have proven themselves sufficiently when the army was on a war footing. One of the latter was stripped of the Volunteer uniform he wore proudly to Sunday Mass in Draperstown. He was also suspected of being an informer, but no further action was taken. The terms of the truce were tested by the IRA in Derry city and to a greater extent in the nd ND, which set up training camps in remote parts of the Sperrins, principally in the open at Glenelly and Broughderg but also in houses and on farms near Maghera, Moneymore and Tobermore. Groups of around men were trained in the use of Thompson sub machine-guns and bomb throwing. Similar, though less frequent, training exercises were practiced in Galliagh, between Derry city and the border with Donegal. Uniformed officers, including Dan Breen, attended the training camps in the Sperrins, and were not afraid to demonstrate shows of strength in larger population centres. With the USC demobilized, Breen walked armed and uniformed around Draperstown. The RIC, often unsure of what constituted a breach of the truce, or simply in an effort to avoid trouble, retired to barracks rather than confront him. A similar atmosphere prevailed in Derry city, where armed and uniformed IRA members walked the streets unmolested. The sight of Charlie McGuinness, the Ebrington escapee, freely and confidently striding the streets of his home city was like a red rag to the demobilized members of the USC. Other armed and uniformed IRA members engaged in horseplay with their unloaded guns outside Lecky Road Barracks, and when a special constable complained to the policeman on duty, he was told that the RIC could not interfere with the IRA. The RIC truce liaison officer, Major H. Carew, relied on intelligence from demobilized USC members. These men were angry at the bravado of the IRA, particularly in towns and at camps bordering unionist areas. The IRA went as far as to set up road blocks and question unionists travelling along country roads, often refusing permission to proceed to areas near training camps without a permit. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Wickham, RIC divisional commissioner, feared that if something was not done to curtail IRA activity in unionist areas, the local population would take matters into their own hands.
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The intensive training and recruitment being carried out by the IRA led directly from the widely held feeling that the truce was temporary, and that the IRA had to be ready to return to a war footing if negotiations failed. Daly, for example, believed the truce would last only a few weeks. The inexperience of some of the men in the training camps was tragically highlighted when a young Volunteer, James McNally, was accidentally killed as he examined a loaded revolver belonging to Dan Breen. McNally was buried secretly in a nearby graveyard in the pre-war Volunteer uniform that had earlier been stripped from the suspected informer. Alongside the training camps, arms continued to be distributed in south Derry, with the police now commonly referring to Thompson guns being delivered to and tested by the IRA in the area. Some kidnappings were also carried out in the city and county, most of which seem to have been attempts to ensure new recruits followed through on their commitment, while at least one kidnapping was carried out in an effort to scare some petty criminals straight. An upsurge in confidence by SF and the IRA in the north of the county could be detected during the truce as drilling took place openly and an attempt was made to rejuvenate the dormant IRA outpost in Magilligan. Republican political confidence also increased during the truce as republican courts sprang up throughout Derry. There had been very few sustained examples of the SF counter state judiciary in the county prior this. Louis Walsh had presided over a SF court, which was regularly held in his brother’s chemist shop in Maghera, and Tom Morris ensured that any sentences imposed by Walsh were adhered to. The court seems to have ceased after Walsh and Morris were imprisoned. Courts met regularly throughout the county in late , however, and a network of courts was formalized in Derry city in October. Parish magistrates, usually longstanding IRA and SF members such as Shiels, Paddy Hegarty, J.L. Murrin and Cathal Bradley, were sworn in by Dean McGlinchey and Fr McShane of St Columb’s. The courts sat in the SF halls in the Bogside and Waterside, while provocatively a third court sat near the Crown court in Bishop Street. Active enforcement of the Belfast boycott continued but its impact in Derry remained minimal. Republican confidence in the city was running high, as a similar IRA levy on businesses to that issued by O’Duffy in the county was instituted. Rising unionist anger at republican displays of confidence was compounded on the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December . The Londonderry Sentinel declared that the British government had been outmanoeuvred by the Sinn Féiners, despite not having seen the terms of the Treaty. The Belfast Newsletter was more circumspect the following day, simply expressing concerns about the potential danger posed to unionism by the Boundary Commission. On December SF held a celebratory céilidh in Magherafelt, a town that one IRA member in the district noted ‘did not
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cover itself with glory in the fight for Ireland’s freedom’. By the end of the night, a member of the USC lay seriously wounded, and the IRA had taken control of Magherafelt and enforced a curfew in nearby Tobermore. It is unclear how the trouble in Magherafelt started. The USC claimed that they were fired on when passing the town hall, where the céilidh was taking place. The IRA claimed that the USC fired into the hall and Barney Young then returned fire and shot the USC member. The RIC in Magherafelt later concluded that a group of Specials, some of whom were drunk, started harassing, beating and shooting at people in the town. They attempted to restrain the USC but were not successful in doing so until the DI arrived on the scene. It appears that due to the RIC’s lack of control over the USC, a detachment of armed IRA was deployed by Tom Morris to help calm things down. Arms were brought into the town from Bellagherty and Seán Larkin stood ‘ready for action’, armed with a machine-gun. The DI seems to have turned a blind eye to the presence of armed IRA patrolling the town as it allowed him to keep the USC confined to barracks, something he would have struggled to do alone. This action, in a majority unionist town, did little to reduce the anger and sense of betrayal felt by the local population. While the Magherafelt action was a breach of the truce that was largely overlooked, the action of IRA prisoners in attempting to escape from Derry Jail on the night of – December had serious political repercussions. The botched escape had been in preparation for some time and took advantage of the services provided by two friendly warders, Patrick Leonard and George Lloyd. The two men were regulars at Paddy McGee’s public house near the prison on Bishop Street. There was some talk of having Leonard and Lloyd smuggle guns into the prison, but in the end McGee provided them with chloroform to incapacitate the guards on the prison gates. On the night of the planned escape, the prisoners who possessed duplicate keys, opened their cell doors and overpowered the warders, who were tied up and placed in the cells. There were, however, two police, one RIC and one USC, on duty inside the prison. The prisoners, now in possession of the chloroform, administered it to the police constables, but without sufficient knowledge of its effects, caused them to ingest fatal doses. The militarized state of the city did not make escape as easy as McGuinness had made it look earlier in the year. When the first prisoner went to scale the wall, he was spotted by a Special patrolling Bishop Street, who shot at him and alerted the prison staff and the military. The men in the getaway cars fled, leaving their motors and arms to be seized. Within minutes the group of fourteen barefoot prisoners was apprehended at the jail wall. The prisoners, along with Leonard and a warder named Finnegan who was not aware of the escape plans, were all arrested and charged with murder. Finnegan gave evidence at the trial that ensured Leonard was implicated and that the two ring leaders, Thomas
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McShea and Patrick Johnston, were identified. The judge, Denis Henry, who had previously been MP for South Londonderry and the Irish attorney general, swiftly passed a sentence of death on the three men. They were taken back to Derry Jail and placed in heavily guarded cells close enough to where the gallows were being built that they could hear their impending fate draw closer. After the Treaty was signed and the political landscape changed rapidly in early , the men became pawns in a deadly game of strategy that unfolded between the new governments north and south in the guises of Michael Collins and James Craig. Incidents such as that at Magherafelt and the botched Derry Jail break provided retrospective justification for the transfer of security powers to the Northern Ireland government on November . The RIC in the six counties was placed under the control of the Northern government and the USC was remobilized and reinforced under these powers. This proved crucial to both the defeat of the IRA in the north and the consolidation of power in the hands of the Unionist establishment. The provocative activities of the IRA in unionist areas and the intensification of violence in Belfast during the truce period led to renewed unionist vigilante groups coalescing once again in a reformed UVF. The suspicion that unionists would be betrayed by the British government during the Treaty negotiations, coupled with fear of an IRA invasion from across the border also influenced the reformation of these ‘loyalist defence forces’. By November, there was an estimated , people involved in such groups with plans to expand to ,. Unionist establishment figures recognized both the danger and potential of such a formidable force. Craig and senior military figures were already planning on making use of such forces if the Treaty negotiations broke down. However, if the government could bring the groups under its control, it would ensure their most effective use for defensive purposes, while also crushing dissent. The northern government was also presented with an opportunity to make the vigilantes part of the official unionist project. The potential dividends that could accrue from this tactic were significant. By providing tens of thousands of angry unionists with guns, uniform and pay, Craig was effectively able to combat the threat posed by the IRA and ensure that establishment unionism was not threatened from within. The unionist project and the sustainability of Northern Ireland depended as much on the endurance of cross-class Protestant unity and the maintenance of a solid political power bloc as it did on keeping the nationalist minority in check. Moves towards some form of USC remobilization became clear to all when Colonel Wickham, RIC northern divisional commissioner, wrote a circular to RIC CIs and USC county commandants on November. Wickham called for the creation of a new form of C Special force, which would source its recruits from the UVF and be formed into military units of battalion
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strength on a territorial basis. The circular was leaked and caused controversy during the Anglo-Irish negotiations, as the chain of command placed Wickham under British government control. His actions represented a significant breach of the truce, but the British claimed he was not acting under orders. Wickham had taken his direction from the Northern Ireland government, but the circular was withdrawn due to the public controversy it created. Craig did not back down, however, and a similar force, albeit a police rather than military reserve, was created along the lines of the circular. This armed and trained C Special Constabulary had its numbers capped at , men, two-thirds of whom was to be based in Belfast, with the remainder in Derry and Lisburn. If an emergency situation developed the cap could be removed and an unlimited number of men recruited. The Treaty allowed for Northern Ireland to opt out of the settlement and maintain its status as part of the United Kingdom with a devolved government. The inevitable opt out meant that the remobilized USC and the power of a consolidated and coherent unionism could be brought to bear not only militarily on the IRA, but on political dissension of any kind. This began in earnest in as the south edged closer to civil war and the republican movement struggled to present a coherent response to the indisputable partition now in place.
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Partition consolidated, –
Partition continued to play a pivotal role in the politics of the north-west in and . Northern nationalists were as uneasy about the Treaty negotiations, and where they might lead, as unionists were in late . The SF councillors on Londonderry Corporation maintained a strict silence on the Treaty in January , despite calls from their Nationalist counterparts to declare their position. This initial public impartiality on the Treaty reflects the prevalence of partition as an issue of concern for northerners. Derry republicans eventually did take public positions on the Treaty, but most engaged with the IRA factions principally on the basis of procuring support and arms for offensive action against Northern Ireland. While the nd ND was officially anti-Treaty, the majority of its members did not participate in the Civil War and viewed it as a southern fight they should have no part in. The st ND was largely pro-Treaty, but the independent Derry city battalion took an antiTreaty position from its position of exile in Donegal. Again, those IRA members from Derry city who actually engaged in fighting during the Civil War were in a minority. Moderate nationalists were more willing to accept the Treaty and placed their hopes in the Boundary Commission, arguing that it provided the best means of ensuring Derry city was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State (IFS). By the end of the Boundary Commission was placed on ice and any prospect of a joint IRA attack on Northern Ireland was washed away in the carnage of the southern Civil War. Meanwhile, the institutions of Northern Ireland solidified and a coercive crackdown on dissent resulted in an exodus of nationalists from the six counties. By , when the Boundary Commission process resulted in the retention of the frontier, Derry’s status as part of Northern Ireland was as secure as the border that cut the city off from the IFS. De Valera began hosting delegations of northern nationalists in September in an effort to show that SF remained committed to the north. A group representing the city met with de Valera, Griffith and Erskine Childers on September, following on from meetings with Tyrone, Fermanagh and Down delegations. They were introduced by Eoin MacNeill, TD for the city. The deputation was led by the SF alderman, Cathal Bradley, who informed the Dáil cabinet members that ‘Derry is the second city in Ulster, and is by position, population, trade and industry the capital of north-west Ireland’. He lamented the possibility that not only could Derry be cut off from Donegal, but that the latter county would be isolated in a form of geographical limbo between the two parliaments. Councillor Robert McAnaney echoed Bradley’s views from the perspective of the Derry Trades and Labour Council. De Valera declared that
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the unity of Ireland was just as important as the subject of self-determination but he made no commitment to the deputation other than to offer an assurance that the Dáil ‘would bear in mind the case of Derry City, as well as of other portions of Ulster in any negotiations that might take place’. The lack of a clearly articulated anti-partitionist commitment was further demonstrated less than a week later when MacNeill visited Derry and advised his constituents not to let the subject of partition ‘distress them too much’, as it would ‘settle itself’. This equivocation on the partition issue reflected the SF policy of boycotting the ‘phantasy’ Belfast parliament and its institutions. It was only in the weeks leading up to the Treaty negotiations that the Dáil established a special committee to collate data about Ulster in support of its position. The suggestion by some northern SF members that an advisory body of experts on the north be set up to support the negotiators was not taken up by the leadership. This approach was beginning to make some in Derry uneasy. The nationalist-controlled Fermanagh and Tyrone County Councils had followed the SF policy through to its logical conclusion by declaring allegiance to the Dáil in November and December respectively. The northern government reacted swiftly on each occasion by sending police to occupy the premises of the councils in Omagh and Enniskillen. The transfer of security powers on November also allowed the minister for home affairs to disband the ‘recalcitrant’ county councils and replace them with a paid commissioner. Tyrone reacted by following a moderate position of shifting its allegiance back to Belfast in an attempt to retain a nationalist voice at local government level. Fermanagh, however, taking the SF line, remained suspended a year later. Derry nationalists, like Hugh C. O’Doherty, Bishop McHugh and the members of the Nationalist Party began questioning the wisdom of the SF policy if followed through to a similar conclusion in Derry city. Cathal Bradley put forward a motion declaring Derry’s non-recognition of the Belfast parliament on August. The motion passed by votes to , but it is notable that at this stage the SF councillors, while voicing their aspiration to declare definitive allegiance to the Dáil, did not push the issue too far for fear of risking a defeat and a split in the local nationalist bloc. Under the Treaty signed on December , the northern parliament was faced with two options. It could either acquiesce in the Treaty settlement and be granted regional autonomy under the IFS government, or opt out of the Treaty within one month of its ratification. The latter path would then see Northern Ireland maintain its status under the Government of Ireland Act (), but a Boundary Commission would be instituted to redraw the border based on the wishes of the inhabitants ‘so far as may be compatible with economic and geographic conditions’. Ulster nationalists, unsure of what to make of the Treaty initially, travelled to Dublin on December to meet with the Dáil ministry in the
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Mansion House. Both SF and wider nationalist opinion for Derry was represented by, among others, Hugh C. O’Doherty, George Leeke and Fr. W.B. MacFeely. Eoin MacNeill took the chair and reiterated the position outlined in September, assuring his fellow Ulstermen that although the danger they faced ‘is a real danger, it is an artificial one. It has not got the strength of permanency’. He expanded on this by asking them to pursue a fully-fledged policy of non-engagement with the northern parliament to include non-payment of taxes and non-recognition of the courts. The central pillar of this strategy, however, was to be non-recognition of the Belfast education authority. If Catholic schools accepted any endowment from the northern government, MacNeill told them he believed that ‘the fight is lost’. The Dáil later paid the salaries of teachers in northern schools that refused to recognize the authority of Belfast, but only until October , by which time the fight against the northern government was jettisoned due to the all-encompassing Civil War in the south. The non-SF delegates at the meeting were thoroughly dissatisfied with the policy. This was articulated by O’Doherty, who commented that Once the Northern Parliament is put into operation there is a breach in the unity. We are no longer a united nation. You have nothing to give us for sacrifices you call upon the people to make. If … Belfast contracts out you are handing over manacled the lives and liberties of the Catholics who live in that area … If they contract in, the position you hand to the Northern Parliament is that they have full legislative powers in the Act of Parliament that will enable them to gerrymander us out of existence as they have done from time immemorial. They will be able to fill every appointment. No guarantee is asked from them in respect of any of these matters. We will be ostracized on account of our creed. O’Neill made it clear that the Treaty could not be amended and the alternative was a return to war. While the Nationalists and SF did not agree on everything during their time in control of Londonderry Corporation, this was the first major public split on how they should proceed in relation to the political settlement, the border, and new parliaments of the north and south. Leeke and MacFeely supported the mayor in his criticism of the strategy, but the Tyrone and Fermanagh delegates appeared to be satisfied that the Boundary Commission would deliver them to southern salvation. The split between SF and Nationalists in Derry city widened considerably as the Treaty was debated in the Dáil in December and early January . The SF councillors pushed ahead with MacNeill’s strategy, attempting to build on the corporation’s non-recognition of the northern parliament in
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August by declaring full allegiance to the Dáil. A motion proposed by Dominic Shiel and seconded by Paddy Hegarty called for a special meeting of the corporation to consider the resolution: Whereas the City of Derry by reason of its economic and geographical position and by the wishes of its inhabitants is entitled to be included in the Parliament of the Irish Free State and whereas this Corporation had already repudiated allegiance and connection with the Parliament of ‘Northern Ireland’, we, the Corporation of Derry City, thoroughly representative of the citizens and acting in their best interests, hereby pledge our allegiance to Dail Eireann [sic] and shall endeavour to the best of our ability to ensure that our city shall take its rightful place in the Parliament of the majority of the Irish People. Bishop McHugh emerged from his self-imposed political silence on Christmas day to make a direct appeal to MacNeill to have the motion withdrawn. McHugh feared that the motion would have little practical benefit and would place Derry in the same position as Fermanagh, with ‘neither a Catholic mayor nor Catholic Corporation to present our case to the Boundary Commission’. His language in the letters to MacNeill illustrates the critical nature of the situation and the deeply held belief that the Boundary Commission was the most feasible means of having the city included in the IFS. He demanded that MacNeill and the Dáil take ‘immediate action’ to avoid a split in the nationalist ranks and the alienation of whatever Protestant support they had for bringing the city under IFS jurisdiction. Perhaps reacting to the Dáil debates on the Treaty, McHugh also felt the need to remind MacNeill that he ‘still’ represented the city and should come north to sort the problem out if necessary. MacNeill was the only TD officially representing a Derry constituency in the Treaty debates. He sat in the chair for a large part of the proceedings, but when given the chance to voice his opinion, he concentrated on oaths and sovereignty, rather than partition, Derry or the north. It appears that MacNeill took little action in response to McHugh’s letter, and a special corporation meeting was held to discuss the motion on January, just days after the Dáil voted in favour of the Treaty. O’Doherty held the view that declaring allegiance to the Dáil was counterproductive while the constitutional situation remained in a state of flux. To do so now would alienate unionist opinion, split the nationalist bloc in Derry and bring the full force of the Northern Ireland government down on the corporation. Councillor James Gallagher (SF) urged them not be intimidated by the ‘Black Militia’ surrounding the Guildhall, ready to suppress the council. He and his SF colleagues were largely of the opinion that the benefits of having a Catholic mayor and nationalist-controlled council, as articulated by the
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Nationalists, meant little unless they made a bold move in solidarity with Fermanagh and a statement of intent that could leave little doubt about where the city stood. O’Doherty thought differently: I am told by the gentleman who has brought forward this resolution that the passing away of this council into the hands of the military or the police will help our case. Such folly! ... Does any man tell me that Derry city, speaking by a heterogeneous mass, collected together into a committee, and going around with hat in hand to pay counsel, without records and without maps, can present the case of Derry as the mayor of Derry, standing and speaking in the name of Derry Council behind him, and with the rates of Derry fighting Derry’s case to be included in the Free State[?] The mayor, playing the moderate card, used his right as chair of the corporation to have the motion by-passed. In doing so he alienated the SF councillors while also doing himself no favours with the Unionists by repudiating the Belfast parliament. The SF councillors refused to take a public position on the Treaty during the debate on the motion. However, both SF cumainn in the city unanimously declared against the Treaty on January. Announcing their support for de Valera, they also moved to cut relations with the Nationalists by instructing the SF councillors to ‘abstain in future from all co-operation with avowed Partitionists’. Bi-partisanship was not forthcoming from either party as the Nationalist alderman Patrick Meenan engaged in an extended war of words over the Dáil recognition motion with an unnamed republican correspondent in the Derry Journal. Meenan questioned the logic of furthering anti-partitionism by supporting de Valera, whose ‘Document No. ’ proposal committed to provide Northern Ireland with ‘privileges and safeguards not less substantial than those provided for in the [Treaty]’. Neither the Nationalist nor the SF councillors could have foreseen what was to come later in , and that both their strategies would become completely redundant by the end of the year. The outbreak of the Civil War in June pushed the first meeting of the Boundary Commission to late . The northern government abolished PR in local elections in October , prompting nationalists to boycott subsequent local electoral contests. They lost control of Londonderry Corporation in January and with it the much touted voice it might possibly have given them had the Boundary Commission not become an abortive exercise in subterfuge. Despite the very public split affecting the nationalists in the corporation, they continued work together in their attempt to ensure Derry city was removed from the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland. O’Doherty made clear that he and Shiel shared a common goal, but disagreed on how to achieve it.
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The corporation agreed to send a deputation to meet Michael Collins on February . Nationalist and SF councillors, along with one Unionist, supported a resolution stating that the corporation and citizens were determined ‘to resist the cutting off of the city from the Free State’. Five Unionist councillors were named as part of the deputation but they refused to attend the meeting. The changed political context between north and south provided the impetus to meet with Collins, and the corporation’s decision to open communications with the Dublin and Belfast governments. Craig and Collins had reached an agreement on January that stoked some fear in Derry that the city had been abandoned by the Provisional government. The terms of the Treaty had been revised under the Craig-Collins pact to facilitate a bi-lateral agreement between Dublin and Belfast on the shape of the border. The Belfast boycott was also brought to a conclusion and Craig committed to facilitate the return to work of the expelled Catholic shipyard workers. O’Doherty voiced his concern that Craig’s interpretation of the pact allowed him to state that he ‘will never give in to any rearrangement of the boundary that leaves our Ulster area less than it is under the Government of Ireland Act’. However, Craig’s statement was ambiguous as it allowed for the possibility of border rectifications, so long as the total land mass under Northern Ireland’s jurisdiction was not reduced. This could, for example, have allowed Derry city to be in the IFS and a predominantly unionist section of east Donegal to come under Northern Ireland. O’Doherty’s fears were stoked by the ambivalence of the agreement, however, and led him to warn that if Derry had been given up by Collins without referral to its people, a ‘grave position will have arisen’ and the people will ‘not allow themselves to be disposed of like a flock of sheep’. Collins, accompanied by MacNeill, Griffith and Kevin O’Higgins, made no firm commitment on how the future shape of the border might affect Derry. He simply stated that an advisory committee would be established and that they could all agree on a general aversion to partition. Another issue causing alarm in Derry was the impending execution of the men convicted of murder during the botched escape from the jail in December . A campaign and petition calling for their reprieve was established immediately after sentencing. During the meeting with Collins, O’Doherty pressed on him the responsibility of the Provisional government to ensure that the men would not be executed. Collins’s statement that ‘every effort’ was being made on the prisoners’ behalf is indicative of his statesmanlike public persona at this time. However, he was also intent on using the IRA to ensure that the death sentences would at least be delayed, if they could not be stopped by political means. Unsuccessful efforts had already been made to break the men out of the prison. A team of Gaelic footballers travelling from Monaghan to Derry on January for an Ulster final were
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arrested at Dromore, County Tyrone by the USC and lodged in Derry Jail. The team was accompanied by a squad of prominent Monaghan IRA members who carried escape plans with them. In reaction to this, Eoin O’Duffy, now IRA chief of staff, ordered the mass kidnapping of prominent unionists in border raids to take place on February. The kidnapped men were taken back across the border and held as hostages. Ironically, the death sentences had been reprieved the previous day, but Collins noted that the last minute nature of this reprieve only served to further anger those who carried out the border raids. In any case, the hostages now acted as a strategic card to play in order to have the Monaghan football team prisoners released. Collins’s frustration with the slow pace of the political negotiations on the death sentences led him to send two teams of IRA members to England. These men tracked down the two executioners who were due to carry out the sentences in Derry. The IRA had orders from Collins to assassinate the executioners if no deal was reached, but both men were already on their way to Derry by the time their homes were located. The reprieve of the death sentences came about largely as a result of Collins’s representations to Churchill and Austen Chamberlain, who then put pressure on Craig to act. The Craig-Collins pact of January was stillborn, as both leaders failed to implement their commitments fully and the ambiguity on the border issue created an open breach. On February the leaders met again in Dublin and it became clear that Lloyd George had given them both completely different impressions of the extent to which the border might be revised. It was in the context of the agreement floundering in early February that the border kidnappings took place. On February a serious confrontation took place between the USC and the IRA at Clones, County Monaghan. Four USC members and one IRA commandant died in what became known as the ‘Clones affray’. These incidents were the result of anger emanating from the Derry death sentences that continued to simmer even after the prisoners were reprieved. The Clones affray, the kidnappings and the fear of an IRA invasion from Donegal led the Northern Ireland government to introduce significant border reinforcements in Derry. The effect of growing tensions on the border was also felt in Belfast, where an increase in reactive violence occurred. This escalation of tensions and violence has been attributed to Collins’s policy towards the north that concentrated on propaganda, direct negotiation with Craig, and selective IRA attacks along the border and in Belfast. The IRA slowly began to splinter into pro- and anti-Treaty factions as soon as the Treaty was accepted in the Dáil on January. It was not until March that a definite split occurred when IRA members opposed to the Treaty held a convention in Dublin and established the anti-Treaty IRA executive. Thereafter, tensions between the pro-Treaty IRA GHQ and the executive
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increased considerably, culminating in the attack on the executive headquarters at the Four Courts in June and the consequent beginning of the Civil War. Prior to this, though, Collins and others attempted to find ways and means of keeping the IRA united. Opposition to partition and the fight against the northern government was the principal issue uniting the IRA factions throughout the first half of . Collins, using his position in the IRB as a bridge between the IRA factions, pursued a strategy of uniting the IRA through concentrating action on the north, while also engaging in political negotiations with Craig and London. An ‘Ulster Council’ or ‘Northern Command’ was established in January to co-ordinate IRA activity. It was headed by Collins under the auspices of the IRB and it included the commanders of each of the Northern Divisions. This joint IRA Ulster Council planned and executed all IRA actions in the six counties and the border region during February and March while Collins played the public role of seeking some form of peaceful co-existence with Northern Ireland. An arrangement was brought about whereby arms provided to the IFS by Britain were sent to an anti-Treaty unit in the south, which then sent its own less identifiable arms to the north. This exchange programme ensured that Collins could not be implicated in any IRA action north of the border should the arms be captured. The impact of these developments was keenly felt in Derry as the upsurge in offensive action coincided with the more aggressive tactics adopted by the USC after the ratification of the Treaty. The city remained quiet, but the county saw continuing actions in February such as a highly successful arms raid on the Chichester property of Moyola Park near Castledawson. Some minor incidents also occurred, such as the destruction of bridges, but the bulk of effort in the nd ND went into planning for a large-scale offensive, which took place at the end of March. Daly, who had aired his anti-Treaty views in January, was making plans for such an offensive, but was replaced by Tom Morris on February . Daly was accused of mismanaging the division and failing to bring the activity levels in Derry and Tyrone up to the standard of other counties. He made an impassioned and detailed defence of his command and accused his superiors of removing him due to his anti-Treaty position. While dismissing the criticism against him point by point, Daly also argued that due to the extremely difficult circumstances faced by the nd ND, the ‘area did far more than several Southern Counties situated under far more favourable circumstances’. On March the IRA descended on the town of Maghera from the Sperrins and took control of the RIC barracks, relieving the garrison of a significant quantity of arms. A friendly police officer in the barracks made the job easier, but the IRA still had to ensure its safe retreat by blowing up the Moyola bridge near Tobermore, thereby stopping the strong B Special
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platoon in Magherafelt from coming into the town. While doing this they were apprehended by a number of B Specials, one of whom was shot. A number of arson attacks were carried out during the month, including one on a flax mill in Tobermore belonging to the local head constable of the B Specials on March. A USC patrol attending the fire was then ambushed by the IRA. This intensification followed an order to all brigade O/Cs in the nd ND on March, which directed that the property of ‘prominent Orangemen’ be destroyed and that reprisals should be carried out six fold upon the ‘enemy’ to prevent them from continuing in the same vein. The violence of late March led Churchill to bring Craig and Collins back to London for discussions on and March. The first clause of the resultant second Craig-Collins pact read ‘peace is today declared’ and the IRA was ordered to cease offensive action in the north. While the pact had a noticeable impact in early April, IRA action continued across County Derry. Moneymore post office was raided, but the bulk of attacks consisted of the burning of property belonging to USC members and Hibernians. The police, however, noted that there was a significant IRA build-up on the Derry– Donegal border. Despite Collins’s best efforts to conceal his role in fomenting trouble in the north, the pro-Treaty influence over the northern IRA was noted by the Belfast authorities. A potentially inflammatory situation was developing in south Derry as the pact struggled to gain the confidence of the public across the north. Attacks on nationalist civilians in Belfast led the IRA to send threatening letters to B Specials informing them that they would be held personally responsible and that ‘no matter how much we dislike the methods employed by your people we are forced at least for the present to adopt them’. Harry Clark, one of the Specials who received a threatening letter, was not at all impressed with the pact. He attempted to organize a mass resignation of USC in Magherafelt if they did not receive greater support to repel the type of attacks witnessed in the area during March. He also wrote to Colonel Moore Irvine, Derry USC county commandant, informing him of the threats and noting that there had been no USC retaliation, thus far, in reaction to the killings of USC and the burning of their property. However, he also noted that ‘if there is another murder although I have no connection with it, I understand a body has been formed who will immediately destroy hundreds of Roman Catholics. About this there is no possible doubt’. The second Craig-Collins pact did not last much longer than the first. When it became clear that northern nationalists had gained little from the agreement, a second, more daring joint IRA northern offensive was planned. A number of things had changed since the first offensive in March, however. The IRA was now officially split into pro-Treaty GHQ and anti-Treaty executive, with the latter occupying the Four Courts in Dublin. The prospect of a concerted action provided the diversion needed to keep the two sides from
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moving into open conflict. The northern parliament passed the Special Powers Act in April, which introduced a range of emergency powers to be used against the IRA, such as internment and the commandeering of property. These changed circumstances were to have a debilitating impacting on the IRA in the north, and led to its final defeat after the failure of the offensive in May. The plan for the offensive was to have co-ordinated action take place by units on both sides of the border and a general offensive to take place within Northern Ireland. A large number of men were sent from the south to take leadership roles and reinforce the local units. Seán Lehane, from Cork, was appointed O/C of a new force comprising the st and nd NDs covering Derry, Donegal and Tyrone. Daly was brought back into the fold as vice O/C of this joint force. Generally, GHQ supplied the arms required for the offensive, while the Executive provided the extra manpower. Morris was clear about which side was more committed to the north in advance of the offensive, stating that the executive ‘didn’t give a damn’. However, his assessment should be read in the context of his later close relationship with the IFS and the National army. Large quantities of the exchanged weaponry were smuggled into the north by a variety of means. On one occasion, Morris accompanied a consignment of Lee Enfield rifles from Beggars Bush to Porthall Barracks in Lifford, County Donegal. He and Johnny Haughey then smuggled them across the border in an oil tanker. Morris based himself in border locations across Donegal with a trained ASU ready for action in the six counties. Following a series of meetings between the northern divisional commanders, or May were agreed as potential start dates for what was commonly referred to by IRA members as ‘The Rising’ or the ‘May Offensive’. The joint operation quickly turned into a disaster. Belfast requested a postponement, but the Tyrone and south Derry units were instructed to go into action as planned on and May. The cross-border units took no action, with the exception of an anti-Treaty IRA attempt to invade Derry city from Inishowen led by Lehane and Daly. This left the IRA in south Derry and Tyrone severely exposed as the Northern Ireland government instituted an unprecedented clampdown on all IRA suspects and the USC reacted by carrying out terrifying reprisals on suspected IRA members and their families. The south Derry IRA engaged in a large number of attacks on and May. One eyewitness viewing the scenes from a high hilltop noted that ‘it reminded me of what one was accustomed to see during the Great War in France. Signals were being exchanged by the Sinn Féiners all along the Sperrins’. On the first night, large numbers of IRA attacked the RIC barracks at Bellaghy and Draperstown. At Bellaghy, one constable was shot dead and a sergeant was seriously wounded after the IRA entered the barracks
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armed with rifles and a Thompson machine-gun. The Draperstown raid had much less of an impact. The driver let slip to a Catholic policeman that something might happening on May so there was a suspicion that the police were prepared for the attack. The IRA party, led by Haughey and Dan McKenna, arrived at the barracks expecting to gain easy entry. They pretended to be the USC platoon from Magherafelt and knew the password to gain admittance. However, they were refused entry and had omitted to bring the necessary hardware to force the barrack door. Some of the party also demurred from opening fire on the barracks due to its proximity to the parochial house in the town. There were also plans to take Magherafelt RIC Barracks but the potential attackers deemed the job too dangerous due to a heavy military presence and a lack of perceived support from the townspeople. An ambush was carried out on the RIC at Moneymore and two constables were shot, one of them later dying of his wounds. Other actions included the blowing up of bridges and cutting of telegraph wires throughout the county, while mills were burned in Limavady and Ballykelly. In the early hours of May, the anti-Treaty IRA in Donegal attacked border posts in Derry at Buncrana Road and Elagh manned by the USC and British army, and made an attempt on the house of Major Moore at Molenan. The force, comprising over men in lorries and cars armed with machine-guns and rifles, gave the impression that an invasion of the city was occurring. The attacks, with Lehane and Daly leading two separate teams, were carried out by a combined force of Donegal, Derry city and county, and Cork IRA members but without a wider rising taking place across the north they had little effect. The decision by Joe Sweeney, commander of the pro-Treaty faction in Donegal, not to rise along with Lehane and Daly’s group can be partly explained by the rising tensions between the two groups. This distrust and suspicion produced tragic results later the same day. Lehane sent his men on an operation to raid a bank in Buncrana on the morning of May. They were spotted by a local pro-Treaty IRA member who alerted his comrades to the raid in the town’s Market Square. Lehane’s group opened fire on the proTreaty side and a desperate fight took place amid civilian panic. Two of the anti-Treaty IRA were wounded. Tragically, a -year-old girl was shot as her father attempted to shield her from the bullets. She later died of her wounds, as did a -year-old female bystander. Later that afternoon, at Newtowncunningham a detachment of pro-Treaty IRA, aware of what had happened in Buncrana, was passing through the village in Crossley tenders, as Lehane and Daly’s men lined the streets. Tom Glennon, who was in charge of the pro-Treaty force, fired a single shot at Lehane and this triggered a severe fire fight that ended with two pro-Treaty forces dead and more wounded. The already strained relationship was at breaking point after May, ensuring that further joint IRA cross-border attacks were improbable.
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The action and reaction that had the most devastating impact on the south Derry IRA took place in Ballyronan on May. The IRA ambushed and killed a three-man USC patrol. The three IRA members who carried out the attack, Patsy Hinfey, Hugh O’Neill and David McVeigh, all escaped the immediate crackdown and left the north. However, savage reprisals by the USC on Catholic civilians and IRA suspects over the following weeks echoed the doomsday scenario warned of by Harry Clark after the March offensive. During the early morning of May, six men with blackened faces arrived at the door of Hugh McGilligan in White Mountain, near Dungiven. They ordered the two men within, John Carolan and his nephew Denis Kilmartin, outside for questioning about arms locations. When they protested their ignorance of such matters the Specials began shooting and riddled them with bullets before dumping the bodies in a watery flax hole. Kilmartin survived long enough to relate his story but died soon after in Derry Infirmary. At a.m. on May Ballyronan was again the centre of violence. A group of men wearing police caps entered the house of the McKeown family in Ballymulderg and demanded that the male members of the family line up in the kitchen. The three sons present, Frank, Thomas, and James, were shot while their parents looked on. James was shot in the head and died instantly, but the others survived despite suffering grave wounds. The Specials were seeking another brother, Henry, who was a prominent IRA member and had visited the homestead the previous day. He was also known to have worked on identifying USC members for IRA targeting. On the night of May the large Starrett’s flax mill in Desertmartin was burned to the ground by the IRA. The Specials reacted by burning the business premises and residences of known Catholics in the town, and shooting into pubs and houses. A short distance away, another group of USC called at two houses and brought the men out on suspicion of burning the mill. As the men from the second house were being marched along the road back into Desertmartin they were told to halt and line up against a bank on the side of the road. The four men, Michael McGeehan and his three sons Henry, James, and John were riddled with bullets and left to die on the roadside. On July a fifth man was killed in Desertmartin. Dominick Wilson was an IRA member who thought it safe to come back into Northern Ireland after spending some time in the south. He was followed home from a local pub, taken from his house by twelve men in police caps, and shot dead on the nearby railway line. A large number of arson attacks on Catholic property and non-fatal gun attacks on civilians took place throughout May, June, and July. Desertmartin was engulfed by sectarian conflict throughout the summer. Catholics received threatening letters telling them to clear out of the village and many homes were draped in Union flags against the will of the inhabitants. Protestants were threatened with dismissal by Catholic employers in reaction to the campaign.
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The IRA members in Derry who had not already fled across the border went on the run to avoid the twin threats of arrest and the rampaging Specials. They slept out in bogs and on hillsides in fear of being found at home. Some spent the nights floating in boats on Lough Neagh before it became clear that the situation was too dangerous to remain in Northern Ireland. After the McKeown murders every IRA member was on the run. Tommy O’Neill, who was Tom Morris’s driver but not a fully active IRA member, was badly beaten by Specials who stopped him between Magherafelt and Ballyronan. On another occasion some of his passengers were beaten with rifles butts. He later managed to smuggle an IRA party across the border by having them dress as a wedding party. On May the IRA assassinated the Unionist MP, William Twaddell, in Belfast. With the six counties already in a state of turmoil, the crackdown was immediate and unrelenting. The Special Powers Act was invoked to proscribe the IRA and introduce internment without trial. Most of the IRA members not picked up and interned had made it across the border into Donegal. Those arrested were interned on the prison ship Argenta, at Larne workhouse and at Derry Jail. Internment, while a reaction to the IRA threat, acted as another means of quelling all opposition to the construction of the unionist polity. The authorities ignored the intricacies of nationalist political divisions and those without a history of active service were interned alongside pro- and anti-Treaty IRA members. Conditions were reported to be terrible and two abortive hunger strikes were launched by the prisoners in and . The last of the internees were released at the end of , but many had refused early release prior to this due to the strict bail conditions. With almost half the IRA internees rounded up on the day internment was introduced, the IRA’s war in Derry was effectively over as early as June . The plan for the huge number of Derry and Tyrone IRA members who fled to Donegal in late May was to have them regroup and form a fighting force that could be raised to invade the north once more. It has been contended that this strategy was devised more as a means to promote IRA unity than out of any sense of duty to end partition or protect the nationalist majority in the six counties. This argument is largely vindicated by the experience of some Derry IRA members who took part in the joint IRA actions on the border. Following the B Special reprisals in Desertmartin during May, Seán Larkin was so incensed that he gathered a number of his fellow south Derry comrades then in Donegal and made plans to lead a retaliatory expedition across the border. Larkin also asked a Cork man, Michael O’Donoghue, to come along with them. Lehane, however, prohibited this and told O’Donoghue that it was a matter for the northerners to sort out themselves. The defence of the northern minority, therefore, appears to have been lower on the list of priorities for the joint IRA operation in .
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Just hours before the Four Courts was attacked and the Civil War began on June, the Donegal operation remained the great hope of preserving IRA unity. However, once hostilities commenced in Dublin, any semblance of unity in Donegal was shattered. Sweeney ordered the National army to attack Lehane and Daly’s forces. Within a short period they were isolated in a few strongholds at Glenveagh Castle and at Raphoe. The Derry IRA members attached to the anti-Treaty IRA forces at the border camps in Skeoge and St Johnston retreated to Inch Fort. The vast majority of the Derry IRA viewed the Civil War as a fight that was irrelevant to northerners. Some, including Seán Larkin, joined up with Daly on the anti-Treaty side in Donegal, while others joined the National army. The vast majority, however, were placed in barracks under the command of Tom Morris as a neutral force that could be used in renewed attacks on Northern Ireland. Many stories of ill-treatment have emerged from this group, some of whom alleged that attempts were made to try and force them to fight with the National army. Morris came in for criticism from some of the Derry men, although he denied putting pressure on them and claimed that he remained completely neutral during the Civil War. He even went so far as to say that he was disappointed that Dan McKenna, Johnny Haughey and others let him down when they joined the National army. The neutral men were shipped to Keane Barracks at the Curragh, County Kildare, on August, leaving their weapons with Sweeney in Donegal for ‘storage’. The outlined plan was to have the northerners train and regroup before a renewed northern offensive could be arranged. After the death of Collins on August the prospect of this northern plan being put in place was slim and it has been argued that the – men were retained at the Curragh to preclude them from joining the anti-Treaty IRA. Ernest Blythe largely shaped the IFS’s northern policy after the Civil War ended in May . His peace strategy left the refugees in the Curragh without any military purpose and he swiftly ordered them to either ‘join the Army’ or ‘clear out’. Those who refused to join the army were taken to the border near Dundalk and forced to make their return to a hostile territory, facing the prospect of indeterminate internment. While most Derry republicans viewed the Civil War as a southern squabble, many of those who decided to fight never returned home, either settling in the south or meeting their deaths in what was a bitter war. A number of Derry Cumann na mBan members went to Donegal initially to support the joint IRA force, but when the Civil War broke out they rowed fully behind the anti-Treaty side. Máire Larkin escorted IRA officers over the border to join up with the ASUs in Donegal. Róisín O’Doherty engaged in propaganda and intelligence work along with the prominent Donegal republican, Eithne Coyle O’Donnell. O’Doherty’s contacts with the Derry city recruits to the National army, many of whom were motivated by financial necessity, led
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to an attack on Lifford Barracks by the anti-Treaty forces, including armed Cumann na mBan members. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Catherine McAnaney, a Derry city Cumann na mBan dispatch carrier, was accidentally killed when an IRA sentry’s gun went off as she approached his post in Burnfoot. Less than a fortnight into the fighting William Browne, from Bishop Street, was shot by the anti-Treaty IRA during an altercation near the border at Kilderry and died in Derry Infirmary. He had joined the National army as an officer, having been a truce-period member of the Derry city battalion of the IRA. Albert Devine, another Derry city man who became a corporal in the National army, was killed in a republican attack on a barracks in Glenties two weeks later. Luke Burke, a native of Keady, County Armagh, who lived in Magherafelt, was executed by a National army firing squad in Mullingar on March . He was one of four civilians executed by the National army during the Civil War, although he was certainly involved with the IRA while in Magherafelt. Frank Ferran, an antiTreaty SF TD for Sligo–Mayo East, who was originally from Magherafelt, died of pneumonia while interned at the Curragh camp on June . Perhaps the best-known Derry fatality of the Civil War was Seán Larkin, who was executed along with Charlie Daly and two other Kerrymen, Timothy O’Sullivan and Daniel Enright, at Drumboe Castle outside Stranorlar on March . A significant campaign was mounted to have Larkin reprieved. A deputation was sent to wait on Mulcahy in Dublin, and Larkin’s south Derry comrades, including Paddy Diamond, Dan McKenna and Johnny Haughey, went to Drumboe to plead with Joe Sweeney not to go through with it. Tom Morris was adamant that the execution was a mistake, and that a last minute message from Mulcahy was improperly relayed to the radio operator at Drumboe. Sweeney, in a discussion with Ernie O’Malley years later, described Larkin as ‘the man shot by mistake with Charlie Daly’. The executions went ahead in any case, and by the time the Civil War drew to a close a few months later, the fate of the north and the nationalist minority had long been relegated down the list of southern priorities. The nationalists of Derry city clung to the forlorn hope that the Boundary Commission would be their salvation, while in the county, the collapsing nonrecognition strategy meant that the nationalist population had to prepare for life under a coercive one-party polity, backed by a British government that was happy to turn its face away and be done with the tumult of Ireland. Derry’s three Westminster parliamentary constituencies were amalgamated to return one MP at the November general election. SF refused to participate in the contest in protest at the amalgamation and a number of other issues, and the independent anti-partition candidate, Captain E.L. MacNaughten, polled only thirty-two per cent of the vote. Within two years the collapse of the Boundary Commission meant that Derry city was firmly held in place as
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Northern Ireland’s second city. The intensity of the Northern Ireland government’s crackdown on dissent and the abandonment of Derry city by southern nationalist leaders reduced whatever resistance remained to a whimper. Derry became a peripheral city in the Northern Ireland and United Kingdom contexts. Charges of discrimination, deliberate underdevelopment and seething resentment at the re-consolidated local unionist establishment led inevitably to protests in the decades that followed culminating in the mass movement swept up in the global radical direct action trend of the s. The partition of Ireland and the nationalist defeat in the north ended the violence of –, but in reality it only buried the underlying issues for another day. Decades of arrogant Unionist misrule locally and regionally as the result of an imposed settlement led inevitably to the decades of violence in Derry and Northern Ireland at the end of the twentieth century. The region lamentably continues to live with the legacy of war, partition and underdevelopment today.
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Derry in Few inhabitants of Ulster in would have welcomed the partition of Ireland and the creation of two separate political jurisdictions on the island. The unionist espousal of a nine-county, and eventually a six-county, ‘Ulster’ separate from the rest of Ireland was a compromise arrived at following a long process of reassessment in relation to the movement’s original aim. The image of a unionist journey from all-out opposition to home rule for the island of Ireland in the early s to the determined construction of a ‘home rule Ulster’ in the s is a largely accurate narrative at the macro level. However, as with all such narratives, there are intricacies that highlight the complexity of political developments in times of great upheaval. Unionists in Derry city represented a dominant minority retaining local power through a blatantly gerrymandered electoral ward design that was successfully challenged under PR in . There was a fierce reaction to this challenge, which is plainly understood in the context of what was occurring in the rest of Ireland at the time. Unionist fears, stoked by IRA violence and the prospect of an Irish republic dominated by SF, provoked a robust and often extremely violent response in the six counties. The Unionist establishment grasped the opportunity to consolidate the powers provided under the Government of Ireland Act () and subsequent local legislation. The Special Powers Act () and the practical clout provided by the recently established Royal Ulster Constabulary and the USC allowed the government to pacify dissent in its own ranks and efficiently shut down the republican threat after the abortive joint northern offensive in May . Unionist dominance of local government was promptly restored with the abolition of PR in . As had been the case in , there remained a dissenting unionist voice in Derry, however. In a debate on the Treaty in the House of Lords on December , Carson instanced all that Ulster had done for Britain, and how that loyalty had been rewarded with nothing but condescension and disdain from the government. He feared a tipping point, a possible break in the contractarian relationship between Ulster Protestants and the imperial parliament going back to the seventeenth-century planters. In the correspondence he had received on the Treaty, one letter from an official in Derry stood out. The writer informed Carson that The feeling here … is very bitter, and a strong feeling exists that if solid, reliable guarantees could be got, Ulster should join in with a Republican Ireland and wash its hands from all connection with such a perfidious people. In my opinion all faith of the Ulster Protestants in Englishmen’s honesty or capacity has been wrecked.
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Much had changed, of course, between December and when Derry was definitively confirmed as part of Northern Ireland under the Boundary Commission. Any unionist wavering had been steadied in the interim. Those with concerns about the economic and familial impact of the break with Donegal were more likely to advocate that Donegal become part of Northern Ireland, than they were to suggest Derry try its luck in the IFS. The Boundary Commission was the last great hope for Derry nationalists. Their withdrawal from electoral politics in protest at the abolition of PR was instituted with the hope of a positive outcome from the Boundary Commission. When the border as it stood in was confirmed, a reassessment was essential. The non-recognition strategy started to peter out in October , when the IFS ceased paying northern school teachers. The Cumann na nGaedheal government encouraged Nationalist MPs to take their seats in the Northern Ireland parliament, despite the latter’s intention of using abstention to embarrass Craig’s government into a U-turn on PR. Joe Devlin took his seat in , thereby weakening the potential of abstentionism to force concessions. Some nationalists felt that the strategy had the potential to play on Craig’s fear of a class-based schism in unionism, provoking a socialist threat to the dominance of ‘big house’ unionism. Having a Nationalist opposition in parliament, however, would ensure that the tried and tested sectarian unifier card could be played efficiently by the Unionists. Most of the other Nationalist MPs swiftly followed Devlin into the parliament. George Leeke sought to give Craig a chance to show his bona fides in regard to treating nationalists fairly. He argued that taking his seat was a temporary measure to test the waters, and that it was necessary to abandon the ‘discredited creed’ of abstentionism in order to have a voice for labour in Derry city and agriculture in the county. On March the Derry constituency convention, ‘composed of leading Devlinites and clergy’, directed Leeke and Basil McGuckin to take their seats. The Fermanagh and Tyrone MPs continued to abstain until , by which time local representatives began taking seats on councils again, and Fianna Fáil had taken the symbolic step of entering the IFS parliament with a sleight of hand that obscured previous justifications based on principle. The role of the Catholic Church in assimilating the nationalist population to the institutions of Northern Ireland was key. Lord Londonderry, the Northern Ireland education minister, intended to transfer all schools under denominational control to the ministry as part of the Education (NI) Act , but faced significant opposition from the Catholic hierarchy. Cardinal Logue refused to sit on the Lynn Committee, which mapped out the future structure of education and recommended a secular, state-controlled system that would ensure religious instruction occurred outside formal school hours. The training of teachers also became a bone of contention, with the Catholic Church demanding that Catholics be trained separately from Protestants, and
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that Catholic men and women also be trained in separate institutions. Securing political representation of some description became a priority for the Catholic hierarchy in this regard, particularly after the IFS ceased paying the salaries of dissenting northern teachers. The provenance of this hard-line stance can be traced back to the bitter reaction by the Catholic bishops to the first signs that a Belfast parliament was being considered in . Bishop McHugh’s break with the IPP, and his pivotal role in pushing the north-west towards the INL and a more advanced form of anti-partitionist nationalism, was largely driven by his genuinely held abstract anti-partitionism. However, in practice, control of education was paramount for the Church, and the actions of the hierarchy, with the support of the Nationalists in the s further highlights the central role the bishops played in opposing partition and the creation of Northern Ireland in the s. Some former SF members, mainly those who had taken a pro-Treaty position, reconciled with the former Redmondite and now Devlinite Nationalists to sit as one bloc in the Northern Ireland parliament. For many of those who attempted to fade back into normal life, and for those who maintained a steadfast non-recognition of Northern Ireland, life was extremely difficult. A significant number of those interned and suffering terrible conditions on the Argenta refused bail in acts of non-recognition or in protest at the strict conditions imposed on released internees. The dying mother of Willie Donnelly, who often greeted the USC calling to her door with a meat cleaver, refused to sign a parole application to have her son at the funeral. Other similarly staunch republicans left Northern Ireland. For instance, public servants refused to take the newly introduced oath of allegiance. Margaret O’Doherty, the student fiancée of Joseph O’Doherty in , was a medical doctor in Derry in the early s. The young family moved south after Margaret lost her job for refusing to take the oath. She had also been used as a hostage by the USC while engaged in raids in Derry city. Many others took a similar route. The military service pension records released by the Military Archives in Dublin over recent years have shown that a large number of former IRA, SF and Cumann na mBan members moved south after . Many were men who joined the National army and remained in officer positions after the Civil War. Others who took a pro-Treaty position found favour with the IFS government, taking up roles in An Garda Síochána and the public service. Johnny Haughey, for instance, moved south as a solider in the National army. His son, Charles, later became Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach. Those who opposed the Treaty, and those who maintained a neutral position in Keane Barracks, fared much worse in the post-Civil War period. Tom Morris secured a job in the Free State Foyle fisheries agency, which became a joint north-south body in . He noted in later recollections that the neutral men, some of whom accused him of trying to coerce them to join the National
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army, practically all emigrated to the US. Patrick Maguire, an officer in the nd Brigade, nd ND, noted that only a small number joined the National army under pressure from Morris, but more emigrated to Britain or the US, and the rest eventually returned to their homes in the north where they worked ‘on their little farms, or in some cases as farm labourers or road workers’. Such an experience is illustrated by the story of John Lafferty, who was the only person from Derry to fight in the GPO during the Easter Rising. Lafferty went to Greencastle, County Donegal, in May with many of the other nd ND men from Derry and Tyrone. In June he was convinced by Morris to join the National army on the basis that he would not have to engage in action against the anti-Treaty IRA. He attested for a twelve-month period, but in August, Haughey and McKenna attempted to bring him under their command with a further attestation. He was placed under arrest by Morris and McKenna after refusing this request, but he escaped and went to Dublin to report the matter to Richard Mulcahy, then minister for defence and commander-in-chief of the National army. While in Dublin he continually refused to join the National army and was detained in Wellington Barracks. He was eventually released after threatening hunger strike. Lafferty’s story is indicative of the pressure placed on the neutral men, and the inducements offered to enter the Civil War on the pro-Treaty side. When he eventually returned home to the north, his luck worsened considerably. Lafferty had given up his apprenticeship in Glasgow when he crossed to Dublin for the Rising and had no recognized skills in . He believed that his refusal to fight in the Civil War unofficially disbarred him from securing public service employment in the IFS, and his IRA record precluded him from gaining employment in Northern Ireland. After his wife’s death in , Lafferty and his four young children moved back to his parents’ farm in Magilligan. He attempted to revive a game and poultry business in north Antrim, but to no avail. By , the children were unable to attend school for want of food and clothes, and the family farm had to be put up for sale. Lafferty went to Canada in April , and crossed into the US, settling in Chicago later that year. He remained there until his death in , separated from his children who remained in the care of his parents in Magilligan. The later experiences of IRA veterans in the north differed significantly from those in the south. While southern ‘old IRA’ members came together legitimately in the s to begin preparing records in support of military service pension applications, the Derry old IRA was raided by the RUC on its first meeting, and thereafter had to route all communications with the pensions board through addresses in Donegal. Lafferty’s story shows how the effects of poverty could be significantly worsened as a result of one’s status and past actions, but the poorest in society struggled in the s regardless of political or religious affiliation. The post-war economic slump hit hard in – and the unemployment rate in
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Northern Ireland fluctuated between ten and twenty per cent until . The Derry shipbuilding industry was in terminal decline in the early s, the shirt trade suffered the severe negative effects of the slump, and Watt’s Distillery had closed with significant job losses in . Large numbers of northern men crossed to the IFS and joined the National army, motivated largely by economic necessity. A total of , men from the six counties, of them from Derry, joined up between April and the end of December . A group of unemployed unionist men from the Shankill, Newtownards and Crumlin Roads in Belfast even crossed the border to enlist. The RUC noted that the Dublin government was most anxious to recruit unionist ex-soldiers and ex-USC members, as they were likely to be ‘far more vigorous in the execution of their duty against the Republicans than those joining from the Free State’. Discrete inquiries by the RUC found that the main motivations for northern recruitment to the National army were unemployment, good pay and separation allowances, open recruitment, and depletion of the fund that provided relief to the expelled shipyard workers of Belfast. The northern government, intent on keeping working-class discontent to a minimum, happily bade farewell to undesirables regardless of their religious affiliations. National army recruitment agents worked steadily in the six counties and were not interfered with by the northern authorities, unless their presence in unionist areas was likely to cause a breach of the peace. The secretary at the ministry of home affairs noted in March that the National army recruiting agents operating in Derry should be left free to pursue their work, as the majority of those signing-up were ‘out of works’ and ‘ne’er do wells’. Further, it would ‘probably lead to the removal from the Counties of a number of men whose loyalty to N. Ireland is doubtful & who if not recruited openly for the F.S. Army may be surreptitiously recruited for the Irregulars’. The recruiting agents in Derry called for , enlistees from the city in early . A group of recruited men left the city on February and were interviewed by the RUC and USC at the border. The RUC commissioner for the city noted that ‘most of the men who joined up were drawing out of work Donation at the Labour Exchange and their absence from the City and six Counties should mean a considerable saving of money to the Northern Government’. Further large groups assembled in Derry, and smaller groups and individuals joined up in Buncrana until recruiting ceased in May . The Derry trade union movement diverged from the trajectory taken by southern labour after . The city’s trades council and labour leaders remained committed to the strategy of the amalgamated unions, and were able to keep politics and trade unionism separate to a great extent. As Emmet O’Connor has noted, there were no workplace seizures, no soviets, no speeches about workers’ republics and no red flags flying anywhere in the city at a time when such actions were fairly common in the south. Peadar
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O’Donnell’s socialist republican actions as an ITGWU organizer in the city stood out for their radical novelty. Historians have been mostly negative in their assessments of his intervention, but his later stated regrets about causing division in the local labour movement may well have been coloured by his negative experience as an IRA commander in the city. Neither did rural Derry experience the trappings of agrarian syndicalism common in parts of the south, although there were some large wage strikes by agricultural labourers. The city’s trade unionists did, however, support the politically motivated direct action of the time, including the general strike against conscription and the munitions strike. Solidarity across the religious divide was evident in some major industrial actions. For example, during the unprecedented violence of June , the shirt-cutters’ strike held firm, with the predominantly Catholic dockers refusing to handle ‘tainted goods’ in solidarity with the mostly Protestant cutters. The working class did, however, take opposing views on the partition issue, despite the anti-partitionist stance of the labour movement nationally. Mirroring the modus operandi of James McCarron, most unionist and nationalist trade unionists kept politics outside of the workplace. This meant they could combine in solidarity on industrial issues, even when the city was being torn to shreds by sectarian violence. However, politics was a different world, and positions on the constitutional question were firmly held and defended beyond the shop floor. When the political situation eventually settled in the late s, and the Northern Ireland government was sufficiently bedded down, nationalist politicians continued to protest about issues like gerrymandering and the abolition of PR. The civil rights marches of the s were, in reality, the mass expression of something that had been occurring on a smaller scale from the earliest days of Northern Ireland’s existence. The Outdoor Relief Riots of were framed in the language of ‘British rights for British citizens’ later utilized effectively by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. In Derry, Andrew McDermott, a blind IRA veteran from the Bogside, was the leading figure in a cross-community grassroots campaign to improve local conditions for the visually impaired in . Opposition to the actions of the state, whether from the Nationalists, labour leaders, republicans or communists and other radicals, was wide-ranging and built towards the mass movement of the s. Everyday life in Derry continued on much as before, only with another layer of institutionalized discrimination against nationalists, particularly in the area of housing and jobs. The nationalist experience of living in Northern Ireland was generally not as extreme as the stories of some IRA veterans might suggest. However, the sense of everyday fear and repression was eloquently articulated by Seamus Heaney in his collection North. In ‘A Constable Calls’, Heaney recollects his youth on the family farm in Bellaghy. When an RUC man called to ensure his father was paying the correct amount of tax on his
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produce, Heaney’s description of the constable leans heavily on oppressive imagery. His pristine uniform, ‘the boot of the law’ on his bicycle pedal, and a gleaming dynamo ‘cocked back’ invoke the policeman’s pride in his position, alongside the fear on the part of the nationalist family that he is monitoring: Arithmetic and fear I sat staring at the polished holster With its buttoned flap, the braid cord Looped into the revolver butt. Anna Bryson’s oral history work in Maghera and the surrounding area is fascinating in its exploration of how collective memories are shaped, but it also provides a further perspective on the everyday in Derry. While unionists remembered the pre-Troubles decades as a golden age of community relations, nationalists were more inclined to qualify their memories with reference to discrimination and oppression. Mary Armstrong, a Catholic from a mixed-marriage who socialized frequently across the religious divide noted that There was always them and us. Always, no matter what happened […] sectarianism was there underneath – all you had to do was sweep it a wee bit away – it was there … they were in charge and there was no way anybody was going to rock their boat – they could afford to be nice the odd time, as long as you didn’t ever put a foot wrong. Armstrong’s account, while potentially coloured by events after , is interesting in its depiction of the everyday being ‘normalized’ to a large extent, with ever existing sectarianism lurking beneath the surface, and the nationalist sense of inferiority being blamed on a unionist determination to retain power at all levels of society. The intention of this study of Derry in the – period has been to explore politics, society and culture at a time of great change. Inevitably, the demographics and geography of Derry have impacted significantly on the narrative and analysis. The sectarian divide permeated almost every aspect of life in the city and county, from sport to education and politics. It is no surprise, therefore, that analysis of politics concentrates largely on the dynamic between unionism and nationalism. It is extremely important, however, to consider the micro dynamics of these movements in the local context. Neither unionism nor nationalism were monolithic entities in –, although they became more consolidated at certain times. The unionist establishment’s determination to create a cross-class bloc was challenged on numerous occasions. However, unionist cohesion was largely achieved through conciliatory action, such as the formation of the USC and the neutralization of rising class division through the formation of the UULA. The liberal Protestant home ruler,
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or dissenting unionist, was in such a small minority by the end of the s that they could make no noticeable impact in the drive to create what nationalists pejoratively termed ‘Carsonia’. The second major theme running through this book is that of partition. Derry’s geographic location made fear of partition among nationalists much more than a political issue. The familial and economic ties between Derry and Donegal were noted even by James Craig, who stated that Ulster could never be considered complete without the latter. His comment that ‘Donegal belongs to Derry, and Derry to Donegal’ could be subscribed to by the most fervent nationalist with the same level of vigour. Most nationalists firmly believed that Derry city, with its strong nationalist majority, could never be coerced into a unionist ‘Ulster’. Such an attitude explains the grudging willingness of Derry nationalists to provide Redmond with the leeway of county option in . It also highlights that some form of partition, while a dread for Derry nationalists, was recognized as an inevitability quite readily. The acceptance of county option demonstrated that nationalists were willing to see the city cut off from the county before they would see it divided from the western counties of Donegal, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Despite the varying levels of anti-partitionist rhetoric after , the hard reality was that the real debate was always going to be about the position of any future border. Devlinite nationalists were quick to accept the inevitability of partition, but the border nationalists in Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone ensured that it remained a contested topic that certainly contributed to the decline of the IPP as a national political force. Redmond’s acceptance of Lloyd George’s exclusion scheme in , which spooked the Catholic bishops with its allusions to executive powers being transferred to Belfast, signalled the end of the IPP domination of politics in Derry city. The maintenance of a strong Nationalist movement in the county ensured that republicans struggled to mount an effective guerrilla campaign during the – period in the face of Hibernian and unionist opposition. The IRA in the city struggled similarly with a vigilant loyal population and a massive military and police presence, that grew stronger throughout the period. The republican proposition of combatting partition through the guerrilla tactics of the IRA, and non-recognition at a political and administrative level may have given a utopian glimmer of hope to those with dreams of retaining full Irish unity, but the strategy fell flat on its face in late . The clear abandonment of the north by the Cumann na nGaedheal government, and a distinct lack of viable alternatives coming from the anti-Treaty opposition, left Derry nationalists clinging desperately to the Boundary Commission for salvation. When that too was sacrificed on the altar of the twenty-six county state-building project, Derry’s nationalist population bowed its head and prepared for life under a Unionist government dominated by those committed to the ideal of ‘a Protestant Parliament and a Protestant State’.
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Notes CHAPTER ONE
Derry city and county in
James Stephens Curl, ‘Reluctant colonizers: the City of London and the plantation of Coleraine’, History Ireland, : (Nov./Dec. ), –. The Belfast and province of Ulster directory (Belfast, ), pp –. For the year ending , , people went to Canada and the US through Derry yet only , emigrants giving Derry city or county addresses emigrated to all destinations from all Irish ports in the same year. Emigration statistics for the year . Report and tables showing the number, ages, conjugal condition, and destinations of the emigrants from each county and province in Ireland during the year ; also, the occupations of the emigrants, and the number of emigrants who left each port in each month of the year, HC, – [Cd. ]. Dublin and Kildare were exceptional in experiencing population increases in the – period. The city of Belfast continued its rapid expansion, but its status as a county borough for census purposes ensured that rising populations in Antrim and Down were not recorded as such. Census of Ireland, , Area, houses, and population. Also the ages, civil or conjugal condition, occupations, birthplaces, religion, and education of the people. Province of Ulster, County and City of Londonderry, HC, – [Cd. ], p. vi; L.A. Clarkson, ‘Population change and urbanization, –’ in Liam Kennedy and Phillip Ollerenshaw (eds), An economic history of Ulster, – (Manchester, ), pp –. The commercial (%), professional (%) and domestic (%) classes formed the remainder of the economically active population. Those outside of the five categorizations used here were labelled as ‘indefinite and non-productive class’. This accounted for % of the total population outside the city and included children aged and under, persons retired from business, those without a specific occupation, those returned by rank, degree or property, inmates of almshouses etc., and lunatic asylums. Report of the census, Londonderry, p. . Census of Ireland, , Part II. General Report, with illustrative maps and diagrams, tables and appendix () Cd. , Table , p. . Report of the census, Londonderry, pp –. Belfast and Ulster directory, pp , , , –, –, –. Irish Independent, Mar. . Emmet O’Connor, Derry labour in the age of agitation, –: : new unionism and old, – (Dublin, ), pp –; Cost of living of the working classes. Report of an enquiry by the Board of Trade into working-class rents and retail prices, together with the rates of wages in certain occupations in industrial towns of the United Kingdom in (in continuation of a similar enquiry in ), HC, [Cd. ], p. . Murray Fraser, John Bull’s other homes: state housing and British policy in Ireland, – (Liverpool, ), pp –; Padraic Kenna, Housing law, rights and policy (Dublin, ), pp –. Labourers’ cottages (Ireland). Return in respect of labourers’ cottages in Ireland … HC, , p. ; Labourers’ cottages (Ireland). Return showing the number of cottages built or in course of construction … HC, , p. . James Stevens Curl, The Londonderry plantation, –: the history, architecture, and planning of the estates of the City of London and its Livery Companies in Ulster (Chichester, ), p. ; CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). Report of the census, Londonderry, pp , .
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Stephen Gwynn, The famous cities of Ireland (Dublin & London, ), pp –. Report of the census, Londonderry, pp –. This compares to a figure of twenty-two per cent of Belfast residents who were born outside the city or counties of Antrim and Down. O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Brian Mitchell, The making of Derry: an economic history (Derry, ), pp –. One local estimate put the number of shirt factory workers in at ,. This did not include outworkers. Minutes of the Derry Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital AGM, Apr. (Private Archive). O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Robert Gavin, William P. Kelly & Dolores O’Reilly, Atlantic gateway: the port and city of Londonderry since (Dublin, ), pp , –, , , . Report of the census, Londonderry, pp , ; O’Connor, Derry labour , p. ; Walter Gallagher, ‘People, work, space, and social structure in Edwardian Derry, –’ (D.Phil, University of Ulster, ), p. ; Belfast and Ulster directory, pp –. Jonathan Bell and Mervyn Watson, Irish farming life: history and heritage (Dublin, ), p. ; Derry People and Donegal News (hereafter DP), Dec. . Report of the census, Londonderry, p. . Desmond Murphy, Derry, Donegal and modern Ulster, – (Derry, ), p. . Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police. Appendix to the report of the committee of inquiry, , containing minutes of evidence with appendices, HC, [Cd. ], appendix viii. Vere R.T. Gregory, The house of Gregory (Dublin, ), pp –, tables , . Irish Constabulary records, (TNA, HO ), Report of the census, Londonderry. CI Derry, Jan. (TNA, CO /). Report of the census, Londonderry, p. . Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, pp , –, ; Seán McMahon, A history of County Derry (Dublin, ), p. ; Dónal McAnallen, ‘Michael Cusack and the revival of Gaelic games in Ulster’, Irish Historical Studies (hereafter IHS), : (May ), –, –. John F. McCartney, Pennyburn: an historic part of Derry city (Derry, ), pp –, , ; McMahon, History of Co. Derry, p. . Sam Hughes, City on the Foyle (Derry, ), pp –; Nicholas Allen, ‘Walsh, Louis Joseph’ in James McGuire and James Quinn (eds), Dictionary of Irish biography (DIB) (Cambridge, ). Belfast and Ulster directory, pp –. Londonderry Sentinel (hereafter LS), Feb. . Brendan Grimes, Irish Carnegie libraries: a catalogue and architectural history (Dublin, ), pp –. LS, Feb. ; Derry Journal (hereafter DJ), Dec. . Hughes, City on the Foyle, pp –. O’Connor, Derry labour , pp –. Hughes, City on the Foyle, p. . Gallagher, ‘People, work, space and social structure in Edwardian Derry’, pp –. O’Connor, Derry labour , p. ; Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, p. . DP, Dec. , Apr. . Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, p. . Report of the census, Londonderry, p. . Brian M. Walker, ‘The and general elections in Ireland’, History Ireland, : (Nov./Dec. ), . The three Londonderry constituencies were amalgamated to return one MP from the British general election onwards. This occurred after the formation of the Northern Ireland
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parliament and the reduction in the number of Irish MPs attending Westminster. Murphy, Derry, Donegal and modern Ulster, pp –. DJ, May . Gerard Hanberry, More lives than one: the remarkable Wilde family through the generations (E-book, Dublin, ), Ch. ; Northern Whig (hereafter NW), Nov. . Patrick John Cosgrove, ‘The Wyndham Land Act, : the final solution to the Irish land question?’ (PhD, NUI Maynooth, ), p. . Phillip Bull, ‘The formation of the United Irish League, –: the dynamics of Irish agrarian agitation’, IHS, : (Nov. ), , ; Adrian Grant, Irish socialist republicanism, – (Dublin, ), pp –. Patrick Maume, The long gestation: Irish nationalist life, – (Dublin, ), p. ; Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, pp –. DP, Feb. . Quarterly returns relating to UIL branches in Co. Londonderry, – (TNA, CO //). Sinn Féin movement, – (TNA, CO /); Irish News, Aug. ; Anthony D. Buckley, ‘“On the club”: friendly societies in Ireland’, Irish Economic and Social History, (), –. DJ, Jan. . Kerron Ó Luain, ‘Ribbonmen, Fenians and lower class nationalism in nineteenth century urban Ulster’, unpublished conference paper, available at http://bit.ly/imiTjM Ernest Blythe (BMH WS , pp –); Thomas O’Neill interview transcript, Sept. (Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive (CÓFLA), Louis O’Kane papers (hereafter LOK), IV.B.); Patrick Tohill interview transcript, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK IV.B.). Owen McGee, The IRB: the Irish Republican Brotherhood, from the Land League to Sinn Féin (Dublin, ), pp –, –. Précis, RIC, – (TNA, CO /). Interview with Thomas O’Neill and Mrs O’Neill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK, IV.A.). Patrick McCormack (BMH WS , pp –). Précis, RIC, – (TNA, CO /). Ibid. Brady notes the role played by figures such as Cavanagh, Hegarty, MacDermott, Charlie Breslin, John Keys O’Doherty, P.S. O’Flanagain and Séamus Murrin in the decade before . John Keys O’Doherty was the nephew of his namesake, the bishop of Derry (– ), which might partly explain the willingness of the Christian Brothers to allow the use of their premises for instruction. Liam Brady, ‘Derry’s part in the War for Irish Independence: Part one’, DJ, Mar. ; ‘duty to the nation’ in DP, Oct. . Marnie Hay, ‘The foundation and development of Na Fianna Éireann, –’, IHS, : (May ), Précis, RIC, June–Nov. (TNA, CO /). Précis, RIC, – (TNA, CO /). John Joseph Scollan (BMH WS , p. ). Précis, RIC, – (TNA, CO /); DJ, May , May . DJ, June . DJ, Dec. ; Feb. . Ibid., Jan. . Maeve Cavanagh (BMH WS , pp –). Joost Augusteijn, ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’ in Gerard O’Brien (ed.), Derry/Londonderry: history & society (Dublin, ), p. . Augusteijn suspected that national IRB figures were active in Derry but could find no direct proof. RIC Special Branch records indicate clearly that Bulmer Hobson and others visited the city in and after.
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C. Desmond Greaves, The Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union: the formative years, – (Dublin, ), p. . Report of the nd annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party (Dublin, ), p. . Emmet O’Connor, Derry labour in the age of agitation, –: : Larkinism and syndicalism, – (Dublin, ), p. . Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, p. ; Weekly Irish Times, Sept. ; DJ, Sept. . O’Connor, Derry labour , pp –. Ibid., p. . Ibid., pp , . Board of Trade (Labour Department). Report on trade unions in –, HC, – [Cd. ], p. . DP, Oct. ; Dec. . C. Desmond Greaves, The life and times of James Connolly (London, ), p. . Patrick H. Arkinson, ‘McHugh, Charles’ in DIB. Daithí Ó Corráin, ‘“Resigned to take the bill with its defects”: the Catholic Church and the third home rule bill’ in Gabriel Doherty (ed.), The home rule crisis, – (Cork, ), p. . Finbar J. Madden & Thomas Bradley, ‘The diocese is Derry in the twentieth century, c.–’ in Henry A. Jeffries & Ciarán Devlin (eds), History of the diocese of Derry from the earliest times (Dublin, ), p. . CHAPTER TWO
Saving the Empire by all means necessary: unionism, –
Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant (PRONI, UUC papers, D///). Patrick Buckland, Irish unionism, vol. : Ulster unionism and the origins of Northern Ireland, – (Dublin, ), p. . Alvin Jackson, ‘Craig, James’ in DIB. Belfast Weekly News, Aug. ; Witness, Feb. . Buckland, Irish unionism, vol. , p. . Michael Foy, ‘Ulster unionism and the development of the Ulster Volunteer Force before the First World War’ in Jurgen Elvert (ed.), Nordirland in geschichte und gegenwart/Northern Ireland: past and present (Stuttgart, ), p. . LS, June . Ibid., Jan. . Dublin Daily Express, Mar. . Mid-Ulster Mail (hereafter MUM), June . CI Derry, Feb. (TNA CO /). Belfast Newsletter (BNL), Apr. ; Daily Herald, Apr. . Diane Urquhart, ‘“The female of the species is more deadlier than the male”: the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council, –’ in Janice Holmes and Diane Urquhart (eds), Coming into the light: the work, politics and religion of women in Ulster, – (Belfast, ), pp –. LS, Mar. . Dufferin quoted in Urquhart, ‘The Ulster Women’s Unionist Council’, p. . BNL, Sept. . Ibid., Sept. . Ibid. CI Derry, Jan. (TNA CO /). Ibid., Jan.–Mar. (TNA CO /). NW, Apr. . Buckland, Irish unionism, vol. , p. . Aberdeen Press and Journal, Apr. . DJ, Feb. . LS, , , May ; DJ, , , May ; BNL, May ; NW, May .
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CI Derry, May–June (TNA, CO /); LS, , May ; Derry Standard, May . Weekly Freeman’s Journal, July ; CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /); NW, July . Maume, The long gestation, p. . Paul Bew, Ideology and the Irish question: Ulster unionism and Irish nationalism, – (Oxford, ), pp –. LS, July . Derby Daily Telegraph, Aug. . MUM, July . DJ, July ; Michael Foy, ‘Ulster unionism and the development of the Ulster Volunteer Force’, pp –. Hansard (Commons), July , vol. , cols. –. Michael Foy, ‘Ulster unionist propaganda against home rule, –’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), . Hansard (Commons), July , vol. , cols. –. Freeman’s Journal (hereafter FJ), July ; Sunday Independent, July ; Brian Ward, ‘Border identities in Galway and Derry’, Irish Studies Review, : (), –. CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). MUM, Aug. . Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant (PRONI, UUC papers, D///); https://apps.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenant/image.aspx?image=W. CI Derry, Sept. (TNA, CO /); LS, Sept. . LS, Sept. . Ibid., Sept. . These figures have been arrived at by collating the figures for the three Londonderry parliamentary divisions available on the PRONI Ulster Covenant and Declaration searchable database: https://apps.proni.gov.uk/ulstercovenant/Search.aspx. Fergal McCluskey, Tyrone: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ), p. . Northern Constitution, Mar. ; Conor Morrissey, ‘“Rotten Protestants”: Protestant home rulers and the Ulster Liberal Association, –’, The Historical Journal (published online ), doi:./SXX. CI Derry, Jan. –Apr. (TNA, CO /–). NW, Jan. . Arthur Mitchell, Labour in Irish politics, – (Dublin, ), pp –; Grant, Irish socialist republicanism, pp –, –. Morrissey, ‘Protestant home rulers’, pp –. DJ, Oct. ; J.R.B. McMinn (ed.), Against the tide: J.B. Armour: Irish Presbyterian minister and home ruler (Belfast, ), p. . Morrissey, ‘Protestant home rulers’, . Ibid., . Timothy Bowman, Carson’s army: the Ulster Volunteer Force, – (Manchester, ), p. . Drilling in Ulster, Feb. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Jan. –July (TNA, CO /–). Michael Foy, ‘The Ulster Volunteer Force: its domestic development and political importance in the period to ’ (PhD, Queen’s University Belfast ), p. . Bew, Ideology and the Irish question, p. . Timothy Bowman, ‘The Ulster Volunteer Force and the formation of the th (Ulster) Division’, IHS, : (Nov. ), –. McCluskey, Tyrone, p. ; CI Derry, May (TNA CO /). Quincey Dougan, ‘How City of Derry Volunteers prepared for siege against home rule’, BNL, Dec. . CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /).
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LS, Aug. ; CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). CI Tyrone, Aug. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). BNL, Aug. ; DJ, Aug. . CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). IG, Nov. (TNA CO /). CI Derry, Nov. (TNA, CO /); Bowman, Carson’s army, p. . IG, ‘Report on the condition of Ulster’, Aug. (TNA CO /). Hugh Smyth Morrison, Modern Ulster: its character, customs, politics and industries (London, ), p. . Ronnie Gamble (ed.), The Killowen series : Militias and rebellions (Coleraine, ), E-book, Ch. . Dougan, ‘City of Derry Volunteers’, BNL, Dec. . Bowman, Carson’s army, pp , , . CI Derry, Feb. (TNA CO /). IG, Feb. (TNA CO /); Charles McHugh (RC bishop of Derry) to John Redmond, Feb. (NLI, Redmond papers, MS ,/). Fred H. Crawford to Brother McIntyre [ABOD], June , cited in LS, Oct. . IG, Apr. ; CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Sept. (TNA CO /). CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO /). IG, June (TNA CO /). NW, July . St Johnston UVF alleged plot to hold up train on July ; Deputy IG to MajorGeneral L.B. Friend, Dec. (TNA, CO /). IG, Sept. (TNA, CO /).
CHAPTER THREE
‘The majority of Ulster is in favour of home rule’: nationalism, –
DJ, Sept. . Ibid.; DP, Sept. . CI Derry, Feb. (TNA, CO /). Hansard (Commons), June , vol. , cols. –; June , vol. , cols. – ; June , vol. , cols. –. MUM, June . NW, June . MUM, July . DJ, Apr. . NW, Jan. . Daily Herald, Jan. . BNL, Jan. . Daily Herald, Jan. . DJ, , , Jan. . Ibid.; Leeds Mercury, Jan. . DJ, Jan. ; NW, Jan. . Andrew Finlay, ‘Sectarianism in the workplace: the case of the Derry shirt industry, – ’, Irish Journal of Sociology, (), –. DJ, Jan. . LS, Jan. . NW, Jan. . McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . CI Derry, Jan. (TNA, CO /). NW, Jan. . Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, p. ; Dublin Daily Express, Jan. . LS, Jan. ; CI Derry, Jan. (TNA, CO /); NW, Jan. . Ronan Gallagher questions Hogg’s commitment to home rule in Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, – (Dublin, ), p. ; Murphy claims that he stayed completely silent on the issue, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, p. ; Conor Morrissey, ‘Protestant home rulers’, –.
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Murphy, Derry, Donegal & Ulster, pp –; Colm Fox, The making of a minority: political developments in Derry and the North, – (Derry, ), pp –. NW, Jan. . Staffordshire Sentinel, July . Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, Jan. . Draft article by Hannah Sheehy Skeffington, ‘Suffragists and the Derry election’, no date [Jan. ] (NLI, Sheehy Skeffington papers, MS ,/). Vivien Kelly, ‘Irish suffragettes at the time of the Home Rule crisis’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), ; FJ, Jan. . DJ, Jan. . Ibid., Feb. . Pall Mall Gazette, Feb. ; Bew, Ideology and the Irish question, p. . Bew, Ideology and the Irish question, p. . Hansard (Commons), June , vol. , cols. –. CI Derry, Mar.–Apr. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Mar. ; LS, Mar. . CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). Illegal importation and distribution of arms and reports of seizures of arms, – (TNA, CO /). LS, Sept. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, REF). IG, Jan. (TNA, CO /). IG, Mar. (TNA, CO /); CI Derry, Apr.–May (TNA, CO /). Grant, Irish socialist republicanism, p. ; NW, June ; CI Derry, May (TNA, CO /). Joseph P. Finnan, John Redmond and Irish unity, – (Syracuse, ), pp –. McHugh to Redmond, Feb. (NLI, Redmond papers, MS ,/). Donegal Independent, Feb. . Eamon Phoenix, Northern nationalism: nationalist politics, partition, and the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, – (Belfast, ), pp –. McHugh to Redmond, Mar. (NLI, Redmond papers, MS ,/). DJ, Mar. ; CI Derry, Mar. (TNA, CO /). DJ, May ; Apr. ; Donegal Independent, May . Pat McCartan (BMH WS , p. ). Donegal Independent, July . CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /); LS, June . Leo Keohane, Captain Jack White: imperialism, anarchism and the Irish Citizen Army (Dublin, ), p. . The Scotsman, June . Keohane, Jack White, pp –; Jack White, Misfit: an autobiography (London, ), pp –; NW, July . LS, June . Ibid.; DJ, June . CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). DJ, June . CHAPTER FOUR
‘The old party bitterness is still strong’: from the First World War to the Easter
Rising, – LS, Oct. ; CI Derry, Sept. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Sept. .
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LS, Oct. ; CI Derry, Dec. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Sept. . CI Derry, Nov. (TNA, CO /). Henry Robinson, Memories: wise and otherwise (London, ), p. . CI Derry, May (TNA, CO /). Ibid., Sept. (TNA, CO /). LS, Nov. . David Silbey, The British working class and enthusiasm for war, – (London, ); Eric Mercer, ‘For King and country and a shilling a day: Belfast recruiting patterns in the Great War, History Ireland, : (Winter, ), –. McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . LS, Sept. . Ibid., Sept. . O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Cost of living of the working classes. Report of an enquiry by the Board of Trade into workingclass rents and retail prices, together with the rates of wages in certain occupations in industrial towns of the United Kingdom in (in continuation of a similar enquiry in ), HC, [Cd. ], p. . O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . State of employment. Report of the Board of Trade on the state of employment in the United Kingdom in October , HC, – [Cd. ], p. . Mortimer O’Connor (BMH WS , p. ). IG, Aug.–Sept. (TNA, CO/). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); CI Derry, Sept. (TNA, CO /). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). IG, Oct.–Nov. (TNA, CO/); MUM, Nov. . Augusteijn, ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’ pp –. Ernest Blythe (BMH WS , pp –). Ibid., pp –; CI Derry, Jan. ; IG, Feb. (TNA, CO /). IG, Apr. (TNA, CO /); CI Derry June (TNA, CO /). Seán Corr (BMH WS , p. ). DJ, Jan. ; Irish News, Aug. ; DJ, Aug. . Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –); Army form B. for James Kavanagh (duplicate held by Derry City and Strabane District Council Archives). Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –). CI Derry, Sept. , Jan. (TNA, CO /–). Augusteijn attributes the rising membership largely to the actions of people like Blythe, see ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry’, p. . Weekly Freeman’s Journal, June . Former Sinn Féin president and ex-IPP MP John Sweetman made this speech on July , NW, July . DP, Jan. . Ibid., Jan., Mar. . Ibid., Apr. , Feb. . Ibid., Feb., Apr. . Ibid., Feb. . Ibid., Apr. . Ibid., Jan., , , Feb., Mar. . BNL, Apr. ; NW, Jan. ; FJ, Jan. ; DJ, Apr. . IG, Mar. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Aug. . DP, Apr. . Shane Kenna, Thomas MacDonagh: lives (Dublin, ), pp –. DP, , , Apr. . Denis McCullough (BMH WS , p. ). Interview with Thomas O’Neill and Mrs O’Neill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK, IV.A.). Denis McCullough (BMH WS , p. ).
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McCluskey, Tyrone, pp –; John Shields (BMH WS , p. ); Patrick Joseph Diamond, sworn affidavit, May (IMA, MSPC, SP). CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO/); Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare: the experience of ordinary volunteers in the Irish War of Independence ‒ (Dublin, ), p. . McCluskey, Tyrone, pp –. Liam P. Manahan (BMH WS , p. ). ‘An Irishman’s diary’, Irish Times, Apr. . Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , p. ); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Ibid., p. . Richard Walsh (BMH WS , p. ); Gerard Noonan, The IRA in Britain, –: ‘In the heart of enemy lines’ (Liverpool, ), p. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Mrs Róisín Murray (née O’Doherty) on Sept. ; Letter of reference for Róisín Murray from Joseph O’Doherty to Military Service Pensions Board, July (IMA, MSPC, REF). Kitty O’Doherty (BMH WS , pp , –). Patrick Shiels’s statement to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family). Joseph O’Doherty to Willie John Doherty, Jan. , published in Donegal Annual, (), pp –; Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); Brian Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, Donegal Annual, (), . Rev. James O’Daly (BMH WS , p. ). Seán Cusack (BMH WS pp –); Archie Heron (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. .) Reference for Róisín Murray from Joseph O’Doherty to Military Service Pensions Board, July (IMA, MSPC, REF). Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, p. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). Louise Gavan Duffy (BMH WS , p. ). Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, pp –. Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –). Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, pp –; Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO /). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). DJ, May . DJ, May . Sinn Fein rebellion handbook (Dublin, ), pp –; Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , pp –); DP, May . Adrian Grant, ‘The County Derry man who fought alongside Pearse and Connolly in the GPO’, Derry Journal, Mar. ; John Lafferty to Peter Hughes [Minister for Defence], Apr. (IMA, MSPC, WSP). Kitty O’Doherty (BMH WS , p. ); Feargal McGarry, The Rising: Ireland, Easter (Oxford, ), pp –. ‘An Irishman’s diary’, Irish Times, Apr. . DP, May . Sinn Fein rebellion handbook, p. ; Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, p. ; DP, May . Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF); LS, May .
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Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, p. ; CI Derry, Apr. (TNA CO /). LS, May; DP, May . DP, May . Ibid., Apr., May . LS, May . Grant, ‘The County Derry man who fought alongside Pearse and Connolly in the GPO’. DJ, Apr. . DP, May . Daily Mail, Apr. ; DP, Apr. . DJ, May . Charles Townshend, Easter : the Irish rebellion (London, ), pp –; DJ, May ; DP, May . CI Derry, May (TNA CO/). DJ, May ; DP, May . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Mrs Róisín Murray (née O’Doherty) on Sept. (IMA, MSPC, REF). McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Eugene Coyle (BMH WS , pp –). Ibid.; Lacey, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, p. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF).
CHAPTER FIVE
‘Giving constitutionalism a last chance’, –
Berwick Advertiser, Aug. ; Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Sept. . A.D. McDonnell, The life of Sir Denis Henry: Catholic unionist (Belfast, ), p. . Nottingham Evening Post, June ; LS, May . LS, May . DJ, May; LS, May . Thomas Hennessey, Dividing Ireland: World War One and partition (London, ), p. . Mary Harris, The Catholic Church and the foundation of the Northern Irish state (Cork, ), p. . Hennessey, Dividing Ireland, p. . Harris, The Catholic Church, p. . Buckland, Irish unionism, vol. , pp –. CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). Patrick H. Arkinson, ‘The political role of Bishop McHugh of Derry during the partition crisis’ (MA, University of Ulster, ), p. . Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . Arkinson, ‘Bishop McHugh during the partition crisis’, p. . DJ, June . Ibid., June . Ibid.; Thomas J. Kelly interview transcript, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK, IV.B.). DJ, , June . Ibid., June . Ibid., , , , , , June . Ibid., June . Aisling Walsh, ‘Michael Cardinal Logue, –’, Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society, : (/), –. Arkinson, ‘Bishop McHugh during the partition crisis’, p. . DJ, June . Ibid., June . Harris, The Catholic Church, p. . Ibid., p. . Ibid., p. . Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . DJ, July . Ibid. Ibid., July . Ibid., July . Kevin O’Shiel, The rise of the Irish Nation League (Omagh, ), p. .
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DJ, July . CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). O’Shiel, Irish Nation League, p. . Ibid.; Eda Sagarra, Kevin O’Shiel: Tyrone nationalist and Irish state builder (Dublin, ), p. ; Michael Laffan, The resurrection of Ireland: the Sinn Féin party, – (Cambridge, ), p. . Pat McCarthy, Waterford: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ), p. . CI Derry, Sept. ; IG, Sept. (TNA CO /). Kevin O’Shiel (BMH WS , p. ); FJ, Aug. . Laffan, Resurrection, pp –. Irish Nation League, ‘Appeal to the People of Ireland’ [Aug. ] (Dublin Diocesan Archives, William J. Walsh papers, /). Military reports: intelligence officers. Northern district, Sept. (TNA CO /). Ibid., July . Patrick J. Little (BMH WS , pp –); McCluskey, Tyrone, pp –. Military reports: intelligence officers. Northern district, Mar. (TNA CO /). Kevin O’Shiel (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Caoimhe Nic Dháibhéid, ‘The Irish National Aid Association and the radicalization of public opinion in Ireland, –’, The Historical Journal, : (Sept. ), –. Ibid., ; Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Mrs Róisín Murray (née O’Doherty) on Sept. (IMA, MSPC, REF). Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , pp –); Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . CI Derry, July-Aug. (TNA, CO /). IG, Sept. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Aug.-Sept. (TNA CO /–). CI Derry, Oct. (TNA CO /). Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . DP, Mar. . Ibid., Mar. . Augusteijn states that the first Irish language class since the start of the war took place in April , From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. ; Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). State of County Derry, Jan. (TNA CO /). CI Derry, Feb., Apr. (TNA CO /). DJ, June . CI Derry, June–July (TNA CO /). Report of the rd annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party (Derry, ), p. . John Lafferty to [Peter Hughes] Minister for Defence, Apr. (IMA, MSPC, WSP). CI Derry, Sept., Dec. (TNA CO /). Augusteijn follows the outside agitators argument in ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’, p. . Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . CI Derry, Dec. , May (TNA CO /–). Ibid., Sept. , Jan.–Feb. (TNA CO /–). Ibid., July (TNA CO /). Laffan, Resurrection, p. . Michael Laffan, ‘The unification of Sinn Fein in ’, Irish Historical Studies, : (Mar. ), –. Dublin Daily Express, May . Hennessey, Dividing Ireland, pp –.
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Report of the proceedings of the Irish Convention (Dublin, ), p. . Ibid., p. . Bishop Charles McHugh to Archbishop William J. Walsh, May (Dublin Diocesan Archives, Walsh papers, /). Arkinson, ‘Bishop McHugh during the partition crisis’, p. . Harris, Catholic Church, pp –. Arkinson, ‘Bishop McHugh during the partition crisis’, p. . FJ, July . Francis O’Duffy (BMH WS , p. ); Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Mrs Róisín Murray (née O’Doherty) on Sept. (IMA, MSPC, REF). Liam Brady also claims that it was Róisín O’Doherty who delivered the mobilization orders to Séamus Cavanagh in Derry. However, she did not mention this in her MSP statement, nor did Joseph O’Doherty in later recollections. David Lloyd George, War memoirs of David Lloyd George volume II (London, ), p. . General Mahon and General Byrne quoted in ibid., p. . Alan J. Ward, ‘Lloyd George and the Irish conscription crisis’, The Historical Journal, : (), . ‘Notes of speech to Belfast workers, ’ (NLI, Thomas Johnson papers, MS ,/). CI Derry, Apr. (TNA CO /). LS, Apr. . DJ, Apr. . Irish Independent, Apr. . Grant, Irish socialist republicanism, p. . DP, Apr. . Grant, Irish socialist republicanism, p. . CI Derry, May-June (TNA CO /). Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). Lloyd George, War memoirs, ii, p. . Arkinson, ‘Bishop McHugh during the partition crisis’, p. . Walsh, ‘Michael Cardinal Logue, –’, . McHugh to J.L. Murrin, Sept. (NLI, Eoin MacNeill papers, MS ,/). BNL, Dec. . Ibid., , , Nov. ; Thomas McShea (BMH WS , p. ). BNL, Dec. . Brian Mercer Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, –: Irish elections to parliaments and parliamentary assemblies at Westminster, Belfast, Dublin and Strasbourg (Dublin, ), p. . Séamus Dobbyn (BMH WS , p. ). Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ). Transcript and notes from interview with Hugh Breen [in group], July (CÓFLA, LOK, IV.B.). Augusteijn, ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’, p. . Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ). CI Derry, Jan. (TNA CO /); Augusteijn, ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’, p. . CI Derry, Jan. (TNA CO /); Patrick Shiels statement to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –). Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). The People, Jan. ; DJ, Aug., , Sept. ; LS, Oct. .
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Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). CI Derry, Apr. (TNA CO /); Marie Coleman, The Irish Revolution, – (Abingdon, ), p. ; Peter Hart, The IRA and its enemies: violence and community in Cork, – (Oxford, ), p. ; Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , appendix , p. ); Coleman, Irish revolution, p. . DJ, Sept. . Patrick Shiels statement to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family). CI Derry, Jan. (TNA CO /). CHAPTER SIX
‘Like a town on the Western Front’, –
CI Derry, Feb. (TNA CO /). Kevin Haddick Flynn, ‘Soloheadbeg: What really happened?’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), . Liam Ó Duibhir, The Donegal awakening: Donegal and the War of Independence (Cork, ), pp –. Peter Hart, The I.R.A. at war, – (Oxford, ), pp –. Robert Lynch, The northern IRA and the early years of partition, – (Dublin, ), p. . Hart, The I.R.A. at war, p. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty, July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –). DJ, Mar. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , p. ); Daniel McGandy senior to Military Service Pensions Board, Sept. (IMA, MSPC, D). CI Derry, Oct. (TNA CO /). Interview with James Harkin, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Transcript of interview with Hugh Breen et al., July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Affidavit of Patrick Joseph Diamond, May (IMA, MSPC, SP). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Transcript of interview with Patrick Tohill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Interview with Thomas O’Neill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Transcript of interview with Hugh Breen et al., July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Interview with Thomas Morris, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Charles Townshend, ‘The Irish Republican Army and the development of guerrilla warfare, –’, English Historical Review, : (), –. CI Derry, Sept. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Sept. ; Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family). CI Derry, Dec. –Jan. (TNA, CO /–); Weekly FJ, Sept. . Weekly FJ, Sept. ; DJ, Sept. . Jeremiah Mee (BMH WS , p. ); Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. . CI Derry, Feb. (TNA, CO /).
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Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family); Margaret Larkin to Seán MacEntee (Minister for Finance), Sept. (IMA, MSPC, DP). CI Derry, Feb. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Aug. . CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). Ibid., Aug. (TNA, CO /). DJ, Aug. . Ibid.; LS, Aug. . LS, Sept. . DJ, Oct. . Ronan Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, – (Dublin, ), p. ; O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, p. . Fox, Making of a minority, p. . LS, Jan. . Fox, Making of a minority, p. . The religious profession of O’Neill during his mayoralty in the pre-Siege of Derry years was questioned by Thomas Witherow in Derry and Enniskillen in the year : the story of some famous battlefields in Ulster (Belfast, ), p. . DJ, Feb. . Fox, Making of a minority, p. . Dublin Evening Telegraph, May . Town clerk, Derry to governor, Mountjoy prison, Mar. (DCSDCA, Council letter books, uncatalogued); DJ, Apr. ; Richard Holmes, The little field marshal: a life of Sir John French (London, ), p. . LS, Apr. ; Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty, July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). LS, Apr. . Ibid., Apr. . Weekly summary of outrages against the police. Riot in Londonderry, Apr. (TNA, CO /); DJ, Apr. . DJ, Apr. ; LS, Apr. ; Reminiscences of Major George Neville Wood relating to the ‘military control of Londonderry, –’ (IWM, Documents, ). LS, Apr. . Michael Sheerin reference for Hugh Martin, Dec. (IMA, MSPC, SP); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –). DJ, , May . BNL, May ; LS, May ; Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –); Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty, July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). Dominic Doherty (BMH WS , p. .); Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty, July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF); DJ, May . O’Connor, Labour , p. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , appendix , pp –). DJ, May ; Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, p. ; Jim Herlihy, The Royal Irish Constabulary: a short history and genealogical guide with a select list of medal awards and casualties (Dublin, ), p. . DJ, May ; Summary of actions of Captain Hugh Martin, –Mar. (IMA, MSPC, SP). Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, pp –. Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . DP, Mar. .
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CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). Ibid. Bowman, Carson’s army, pp –; Arthur Hezlet, The ‘B’ Specials: a history of the Ulster Special Constabulary (London, ), p. . LS, June . DJ, June . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Irish Independent, June . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). DJ, June ; Michael Tierney & F.X. Martin (ed.), Eoin MacNeill: scholar and man of action, – (Oxford, ), p. ; Michael Farrell, Arming the Protestant: the formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, – (London, ), p. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); Fox, Making of a minority, pp –. Máire (Cis) McCallion (née Larkin) application to the Minister of Defence for a service certificate (IMA, MSPC, REF); Patrick Shiels reference for Máire (Cis) McCallion (née Larkin), [n.d.]; Monsignor J. McShane reference for Máire (Cis) McCallion (née Larkin), Sept. (IMA, MSPC, MSPREF). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ). Sheerin’s claim to have led the IRA in the city for two days before Shiels arrived and took command appears to be a lapse in memory as most memoirists note Shiels’s assumption of command from the earliest stage. Séamus McCann (BMH , pp –); CI Gregory noted that a significant proportion of the NVF rifles in Derry were in IRA hands by Nov. . CI Derry, June, Nov. (TNA, CO /). BNL, June . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , appendix , p. ). CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). DJ, June ; Weekly summaries of outrages, Londonderry city, June (TNA, CO /). Ibid., , , June ; Charles McGuinness, Nomad: memoirs of an Irish sailor, soldier, pearl-fisher, pirate, gun-runner, rum-runner, rebel and Antarctic explorer (London, ), p. . DJ, , June ; Fox, Making of a minority, pp –. CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). Irish Independent, June . Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family); Tierney & Martin, Eoin MacNeill, p. . DJ, June . Ibid. Hansard (Commons), June , vol. , cols. –. Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ). Sheerin’s self-professed low opinion of ex-servicemen appears to have coloured his criticism of the retreat, which has been accepted as fact elsewhere (see Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –; Charles Townshend, The Republic: the fight for Irish independence, – (London, ), p. ; Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. ). His version, which notes a cowardly dispersal and the abandonment of arms and ammunition on the streets, does not match other recollections or contemporary reporting. DJ, June ; CI Derry June–July (TNA, CO /). Alan F. Parkinson, Belfast’s unholy war: the troubles of the s (Dublin, ), p. . DJ, June ; Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); McGuinness, Nomad, p. .
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Larne Times, July ; Farrell, Arming the Protestants, p. . Hansard (Commons), June , vol. , cols. –. Ibid., June , vol. , cols. –. Irish Independent, June . DJ, July . McGuinness, Nomad, pp –; this could have been either Margret Mills, shot on Bishop Street on June, or Eliza Moore, also shot outside her home on Bishop Street the next day. Both were middle-aged Presbyterian women. LS, July ; Larne Times, July . DJ, Dec. . BNL, Mar. . Undated note outlining service of William McAnaney (IMA, MSPC, SP); LS, June . James Dobbin, a unionist from the Waterside, was shot at close range by a group of four men and dumped in the River Foyle approximately twelve hours before McKay was attacked. He later died of his injuries. LS, Oct. . DJ, July . Weekly FJ, July . Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, p. . Reminiscences of Major George Neville Wood relating to the ‘military control of Londonderry, –’ (IWM, Documents.); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , appendix , p. ); John D. Brewer, The RIC: an oral history (Belfast, ), p. . Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Ibid., p. ; Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ); Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Weekly Irish Times, June . CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /); LS, Aug. . CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF); BNL, July . CI Derry, Oct. (TNA CO /); Herlihy, Royal Irish Constabulary, p. . Londonderry prison. Report on disturbances, Oct. (PRONI, FIN///). DJ, Nov. ; Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , pp –); DJ, Nov. . DJ, Nov. ; Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Séamus McCann (BMH WS , p. ). George Doherty reference for William McAnaney, Dec. (IMA, MSPC, SP); DJ, May . DJ, Oct. . Ibid., Nov. . Coleman, The Irish Revolution, –, pp –. Farrell, Arming the Protestants, pp –. CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). Col. F. Crawford diary, – (PRONI, D///). Farrell, Arming the Protestants, p. . DI Coleraine quoted in Farrell, ibid., p. .
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CI Derry, Nov. (TNA, CO /). Ernest Clark to Anderson, Nov. (PRONI, FIN///). Lieutenant-Colonel George Moore Irvine to [unknown], Nov. (PRONI, FIN///). CHAPTER SEVEN
Truce and Treaty: Derry in
Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp –). Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –. CI Derry, Nov. (TNA, CO /). Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –. CI Derry, Dec. –Mar. (TNA, CO /–). Interview with Willie Hull, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). LS, Jan. ; CI Derry, Jan. (TNA, CO /). Dominic Doherty (BMH WS , p. ). DJ, Mar. . USC returns for Co. Londonderry, Mar. (PRONI, FIN///). Premises commandeered by civil authorities in Northern Ireland for use as police barracks (PRONI, FIN///); NW, Apr. . CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO /). Farrell, Arming the Protestants, p. . Anton McCabe, ‘“The stormy petrel of the Transport Workers”: Peadar O’Donnell, trade unionist, –’, Saothar, (), . Donal Ó Drisceoil, Peadar O’Donnell (Cork, ), p. . McCabe, ‘Stormy Petrel’, . Ó Drisceoil, Peadar O’Donnell, p. . Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –). Liam Ó Duibhir, Prisoners of war: Ballykinlar internment camp, – (Cork, ), pp , ; Louis J. Walsh, ‘On my keeping’ and in theirs: a record of experiences ‘on the run’, in Derry Gaol, and in Ballykinlar internment camp (Dublin, ), p. ; NW, Jan. . Brian Hughes, Defying the IRA?: intimidation, coercion, and communities during the Irish Revolution (Liverpool, ), pp –. Liam Brady (BMH WS , pp , –). Divisional Commissioner, fortnightly reports, , Dec. (PRONI, HA//). CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /). Michael Farry, Sligo: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ); McGuiness, Nomad, p. . Patrick Rankin (BMH WS , p. ). James McCaffrey (BMH WS , p. ). Thomas McShea (BMH WS , p. ); Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Charles John McGuinness, May (IMA, MSPC, REF); Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , p. ). Denis Houston (BMH WS , p. ). Linda Kearns (BMH WS , p. ). Kearns was married to Charles McWhinney for a time. Stephen Donnelly (BMH WS , p. ). McGuinness, Nomad, p. ; Henry S. Murray (BMH WS , pp –). McGuinness, Nomad, pp –. Ibid., p. ; Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). McGuinness, Nomad, pp –. Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); BNL, Oct. .
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McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Mulcahy quoted in Townshend, The Republic, p. ; Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); An tÓglach, Mar. . Charles John McGuinness, Statement of Service, – (IMA, MSPC, REF). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Ó Drisceoil, Peadar O’Donnell, p. . Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –); Dominic Doherty (BMH WS , pp –); DJ, Apr. . DJ, Apr. ; CI Derry, Apr. (TNA, CO /). Séamus McCann (BMH WS , pp –). Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . P.H. O’Doherty (BMH WS , p. ). Ó Duibhir, Donegal awakening, p. ; Peter Hegarty, Peadar O’Donnell (Cork, ), p. . Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –. Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Messrs. N. Blaney, S. McCann, H. Brady and major-general Sweeney on Nov. re No. Brigade (Donegal) and No. Brigade and Derry Battalion; notes on meeting of old Derry Battalion, no date [] (IMA, MSPC, RO/A). Ó Duibhir, Donegal awakening, p. ; O’Donnell later remembered this differently, saying he did not have permission from the Derry officers. Peadar O’Donnell interview (UCDA, Ernie O’Malley notebooks, Pb//–). Report from Liam Archer, June (UCDA, Mulcahy papers, Pa//–); Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Transcript of interview with Hugh Breen et al., July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); CI Derry, Mar. (TNA, CO /); BNL, Mar. . Wallace Clark, Guns in Ulster (Belfast, ), p. . CI Derry, May (TNA, CO /). Paddy Diamond reference for John Haughey, Dec. (IMA, MSPC, SP); Augusteijn, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare, p. ; Clark, Guns in Ulster, pp – . CI Derry, June (TNA, CO /). Clark, Guns in Ulster, pp –. Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Townshend, ‘The IRA’, . Ibid., –. Phoenix, Northern nationalism, pp –. John Bowman, De Valera and the Ulster question, – (Oxford, ), pp –. Phoenix, Northern nationalism, pp –. DJ, May . BNL, May ; DJ, May ; Walsh, ‘On my keeping’ and in theirs, p. . DJ, May . Ibid., , May . DJ, May . Ibid., Nov. . Ibid., May . CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Charles John McGuinness, May (IMA, MSPC, REF). Charles John McGuinness, Statement of Service, – (IMA, MSPC, REF); Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ). Michael Sheerin (BMH WS , p. ); Dominic Doherty (BMH WS , p. ).
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Charles John McGuinness, Statement of Service, – (IMA, MSPC, REF); John McGuffin and Joseph Mulheron, Charles ‘Nomad’ McGuinness: being a true account of the amazing adventures of a Derryman (Derry, ), p. . The house in the Fountain was also used as a safe house for Carty after the escape in February . It is likely that this was the family home of an IRA member’s (James McAuley) future wife. Her father allowed McAuley to hide out in the Fountain at various times when wanted by the police. I am indebted to James McAuley’s grandson for this information. John Shields (BMH WS , p. ). Joseph McKenna, Guerrilla warfare in the Irish War of Independence, – (Jefferson, ), p. . Ibid.; Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Transcript of interview with Patrick Tohill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Thomas Kelly reference for John Haughey, Jan. (IMA, MSPC, SP). Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); William J. Kelly Junior (BMH WS , p. ). Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Townshend, The Republic, p. . CI Derry, July (TNA, CO /). Statement by Patrick Shiels to Military Service Pensions Board, July (Private archive courtesy of family); Liam Brady (BMH WS , p. ). Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Ibid.; Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ). Breaches of the Truce, Co. Londonderry, drilling and camps, Sept. (TNA, CO /). Breaches of the Truce, drilling in Donegal, Oct. (TNA, CO /). Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Truce Liaison Officer, Derry to Intelligence Office, Belfast, Oct. (TNA, CO /). DI Magherafelt to CI Derry, Oct. (TNA, CO /). Lt-Col. Wickham to IG RIC, Oct. (TNA, CO /). McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). CI Derry, Sept. (TNA, CO /); Breaches of the Truce, Co. Londonderry, drilling and camps, Sept. (TNA, CO /). HC Dillon to DI, Lecky Road, Derry, Oct. ; Sergt Frizell to DI Magherafelt, Nov. (TNA, CO /); Divisional Commissioner, fortnightly reports, Nov. (PRONI, HA//). DI Limavady to Liaison Office, , Oct. (TNA, CO /). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). DI Connor to CI Derry, Oct. (TNA, CO /). CI Derry, Aug. (TNA, CO /); Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ). LS, Dec. ; BNL, Dec. . Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); NW, Dec. . Divisional Commissioner, fortnightly reports, Dec. (PRONI, HA//); Transcript of Interview with Barney Young [n.d.] (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Revolver shooting in Church Street, Broad Street and Union Road, Dec. ; Statement re shooting near Town Hall on Dec. (PRONI, HA//).
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Shots fired at SF dance Magherafelt, (PRONI, HA//); Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Transcript of interview with Barney Young [n.d.] (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Daniel Kelly (BMH WS , p. ). Peadar O’Donnell was also planning a mass escape earlier in ; Pádraig Ó Conchubhair (BMH WS , pp –). Thomas McShea (BMH WS , pp –); Dublin Evening Telegraph, Dec. . Thomas McShea (BMH WS , pp –). Hezlet, The ‘B’ Specials, p. . Bowman, Carson’s army, p. . Ibid. NW, Nov. . Hezlet, The ‘B’ Specials, p. . CHAPTER EIGHT
Partition consolidated, –
DJ, Sept. . Ibid.; Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . DJ, Sept. . MacNeill quoted in ibid. Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . DJ, Dec. ; NW, Dec. . McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, pp –. Anglo-Irish Treaty of Dec. signed by the British and Irish delegates at Downing Street, London (NAI, DT, //). Phoenix, Northern nationalism, p. . Ibid., p. . Councillors Shiel, Hegarty, Bradley, Carlin and Cosgrove to Town Clerk (F. Henry Miller) and Mayor of Derry (Hugh C. O’Doherty), Dec. (NLI, Eoin MacNeill papers, MS ,). Bishop McHugh to MacNeill, , Dec. (NLI, MacNeill papers, MS ,). Eoin MacNeill. Dáil Éireann debate . Debate on Treaty, Dec. [online]; Joseph O’Doherty representing Donegal North concentrated similarly on sovereignty, while also highlighting the British threat of war. Dáil Éireann debate . Debate on Treaty, Jan. [online]. DJ, Jan. . Gallagher, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, p. . DJ, Jan. . Proposed Treaty of Association between Ireland and the British Commonwealth presented by Éamon de Valera to Dáil Éireann, Jan. (NAI, DE, //); DJ, Jan. . LS, Jan. . Ibid.; Miller (Town Clerk) to Michael Collins (Chairman of the Provisional government), Jan. (DCSDCA, Council letter books, uncatalogued). LS, Jan. . The Collins-Craig agreement (copy), London, Jan. (NAI, DT, SA). LS, Jan. . LS, Jan. . DJ, Feb. . BNL, Jan. . DJ, Feb. . Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ); Michael Hopkinson, ‘The Craig-Collins pacts of : two attempted reforms of the Northern Ireland government’, IHS, : (), . Scotsman, Feb. . James W. Cunningham (BMH WS , p. ); Joe Dolan (BMH WS , pp –); Patrick G. Daly (BMH WS , pp –). Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Hopkinson, ‘The Craig-Collins pacts’, . Terence Dooley, Monaghan: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ), pp –. Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, Mar. (PRONI, HA//). Ibid., Feb. .
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Robert Lynch, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive, May–November ’, IHS, : (), . Lynch, Northern IRA, p. . Robert Lynch, ‘The northern IRA and the early years of partition, –’ (PhD, University of Stirling, ), p. . McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, Feb. (PRONI, HA//); Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . Daly to Eoin O’Duffy, Mar. (CÓFLA, LOK.III.C.). Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, Mar. (PRONI, HA//); Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Clark, Guns in Ulster, p. . O/C nd ND to Brigade OCs, Mar. (PRONI, HA//). Hopkinson, ‘The Craig-Collins pacts’, . Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, Apr., May (PRONI, HA//). IRA to H.J. Clark [n.d.] in Clark, Guns in Ulster, p. . Clark to Norman Stronge, Mar. in Clark, Guns in Ulster, pp – Clark to Colonel Moore Irvine, Apr. in Clark, Guns in Ulster, pp –. Lynch, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive’, . Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Lynch, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive’, ; Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, May (PRONI, HA//); McCluskey, Tyrone, p. . BNL, May . Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, May (PRONI, HA//); Clark, Guns in Ulster, p. . Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Transcript of interview with Thomas J. Kelly, Apr. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). DJ, May . Moore’s property at Molenan had been the scene of the tense stand-off between the IVF and the UVF in . Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, May (PRONI, HA//); DJ, May . Michael O’Donoghue (BMH WS , p. ). Ibid., p. ; Patrick [?] to John McAleer, Mar. (CÓFLA, LOK.I.A.); DJ, May . Liam Ó Duibhir, Donegal and the Civil War: the untold story (Cork, ), pp –. Ó Duibhir, Donegal and the Civil War, pp –. Transcript of interview with Patrick and Mary Tohill (nee Hinfey), Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Transcript of interview with Barney Young [n.d.] (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). DJ, May ; Pearse Lawlor, The outrages: the IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the border campaign (Cork, ), pp –. Lawlor, The outrages, p. . Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.); Interview with Thomas O’Neill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Lawlor, The outrages, pp –, –; Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Divisional commissioner, fortnightly reports, May, , June (PRONI, HA//); Clark, Guns in Ulster, p. .
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Affidavit of John Haughey for certificate of military service, Nov. (IMA, MSPC, SP); Transcript of interview with Roddy O’Kane, July (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.B.). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.); Interview with Thomas O’Neill, Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –. Denise Kleinrichert, Republican internment and the prison ship Argenta, (Dublin, ), pp –. Ibid., pp –; Unnamed [probably Rory Graham] to Miss Seeton concerning conditions on the Argenta, Mar. (CÓFLA, LOK.III.F.). Lynch, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive’, . Michael O’Donoghue (BMH WS , pp –). Lynch, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive’, ; Hugh Morrison, who was a member of the TFP squad in Derry, died from wounds received while testing a defective grenade at Skeoge on June , Seán Hegarty response to MSP Board query, Apr. (IMA, MSPC, RB). Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ); John Lafferty to [Peter Hughes] Minister for Defence, Apr. (IMA, MSPC, WSP). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Lynch, Northern IRA, pp –. Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ); Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Máire (Cis) McCallion (née Larkin) application to the Minister of Defence for a service certificate (IMA, MSPC, REF). Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Mrs Róisín Murray (née O’Doherty) on Sept. (IMA, MSPC, REF). Catherine McAnaney was killed on May . She was the daughter of SF councillor and Derry Trades and Labour Council member, Robert McAnaney. James Gallagher to MSP Board, May (IMA, MSPC, RB). GOC Donegal Command to Adjutant General, Records Dept., Portobello Barracks, Dublin, Dec. (IMA, MSPC, WD); Sean Hegarty, response to MSP board query, July ; Statement by Paddy Shiels to MSP board query, May (IMA, MSPC, WMSRB); LS, July . DJ, July . Dependant’s allowance or gratuity: Neil Devine (for Albert Devine), Jan. (IMA, MSPC, D). These four civilian deaths bring the total number of official executions to , which goes some way towards explaining the popularly quoted figure of . BNL, Mar. ; Breen Timothy Murphy, ‘The government’s executions policy during the Irish Civil War, – ’ (PhD, NUI Maynooth, ), pp –; Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Larne Times, June . Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Joseph Sweeney interview (UCDA, Ernie O’Malley notebooks, Pb//–). DJ, Nov. . CHAPTER NINE
Derry in
David W. Miller, Queen’s rebels: Ulster loyalism in historical perspective (Dublin, ), pp –. Hansard (Lords), Dec. , vol. , col. .
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[Boundary Commission] Secretary’s memoranda on Bessbrook, Fermanagh, Keady and Newtown Hamilton, Londonderry and Strabane, Lough Erne, Newtown Butler and Newry, Sept. (TNA, CAB /). Phoenix, Northern nationalism, pp –. Ibid., pp –. Kleinrichert, Republican internment and the prison ship Argenta, , pp –. Interview with Mrs T. Tomoney and Mrs K. Tomoney, , Sept. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Brian Lacey, ‘Joseph O’Doherty, –’ in Tower Museum, Remembering : Untold Stories Exhibition programme (Derry, ), p. . Sworn statement made before advisory committee by Joseph O’Doherty on July (IMA, MSPC, WMSPREF). Interview with Thomas Morris, Oct. (CÓFLA, LOK.IV.A.). Patrick Maguire (BMH WS , p. ). Lafferty to Peter Hughes [Minister for Defence], Apr. (BMH MSP WSP); Lafferty to Eamon De Valera, Nov. (BMH MSP WA). Lafferty to Desmond Fitzgerald [Minister for Defence], July ; Lafferty to Army Finance Officer, July ; Lafferty to T.M. Healy [Governor General], July (IMA, MSPC WA). Officers of the Derry battalion, pre-Truce IRA to Military Service Pensions board, July (IMA, MSPC, RO/A). A.M. Gallagher, Majority minority review : Employment, unemployment and religion in Northern Ireland (Coleraine, ), section ; Susannah Riordan, ‘Politics, economy, society: Northern Ireland, –’ in Thomas Bartlett (ed.), The Cambridge history of Ireland: volume , to the present (Cambridge, ), p. . Return showing number of men who have left counties in NI during the period from Apr. to Dec. to join the Free State Army (PRONI, HA///). DI [Belfast] to Secretary, Ministry for Home Affairs, Jan. (ibid.). DI [Belfast] to IG RUC, Jan. (ibid.). DI Dungannon to CI Tyrone, Feb. (ibid.). IG RUC to unknown, Oct. (ibid.). City Commissioner, Derry to IG RUC, Belfast, Feb. (ibid.). Sergeant J.J. Roberts to DI, Victoria Barracks, Derry, , , , Apr., May (ibid.). O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Ibid., pp –. CI Derry, Apr.–May (TNA, CO /–). O’Connor, Derry labour , p. . Máirtín Ó Catháin, ‘“Blind, but not to the hard facts of life”: the blind workers’ struggle in Derry, –’, Radical History Review, (Winter, ), –. Seamus Heaney, ‘A Constable Calls’ in North (London, ), pp –. Anna Bryson, ‘“Whatever you say, say nothing”: researching memory and identity in midUlster, –’, Oral History, : (Autumn, ), –. Ibid., . K.J. Rankin, ‘The provenance and dissolution of the Irish Boundary Commission’ (Institute for British-Irish Studies, working paper no. , ), p. . James Craig, speaking in , cited in Jonathan Bardon, A history of Ulster (Belfast, ), pp –.
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Select bibliography PRIMARY SOURCES A. MANUSCRIPTS
Armagh Cardinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library & Archive Fr Louis O’Kane papers. Belfast Public Records Office of Northern Ireland Crawford papers. Ministry of Finance. Ministry of Home Affairs. Ulster Covenant and Declaration database. Ulster Unionist Council papers. Derry Derry City & Strabane District Council Archives Londonderry Corporation letter books, –. Uncatalogued papers. Dublin Dublin Diocesan Archives Archbishop William J. Walsh papers. Military Archives Applications for Military Service Pensions under the Act. Applications for Military Service Pensions under the Act. Bureau of Military History witness statements. Dependant’s allowance or gratuities in respect of members of the recognised organizations killed in action. Disability pension. IRA nominal rolls. Military Service Registration Board. National Archives of Ireland Department of the Taoiseach general files. Dáil Éireann: proceedings of the first and second Dáil and related documents. National Library of Ireland Thomas Johnson papers. Eoin MacNeill papers. John Redmond papers. Sheehy Skeffington papers.
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University College Dublin, Archives Richard Mulcahy papers. Ernie O’Malley notebooks. London The National Archives Cabinet papers. Colonial Office papers. Home Office papers. Imperial War Museum Oral history collection. Other Private archive collections Gransha Hospital (Derry) archive. Patrick Collins family papers.
B. OFFICIAL RECORDS
Board of Trade (Labour Department). Report on trade unions in –, HC, – [Cd. ]. Census of Ireland, –. Census of Ireland, , Part II. General Report, with illustrative maps and diagrams, tables and appendix, [Cd. ]. Census of Ireland, , Area, houses, and population. Also the ages, civil or conjugal condition, occupations, birthplaces, religion, and education of the people. Province of Ulster, County and City of Londonderry, HC, – [Cd. ]. Cost of living of the working classes. Report of an enquiry by the Board of Trade into working-class rents and retail prices, together with the rates of wages in certain occupations in industrial towns of the United Kingdom in (in continuation of a similar enquiry in ), HC, [Cd. ]. Dáil Éireann. Parliamentary debates. Emigration statistics for the year . Report and tables showing the number, ages, conjugal condition, and destinations of the emigrants from each county and province in Ireland during the year ; also, the occupations of the emigrants, and the number of emigrants who left each port in each month of the year, HC, – [Cd. ]. Hansard House of Commons parliamentary debates. Hansard House of Lords parliamentary debates. Labourers’ cottages (Ireland). Return in respect of labourers’ cottages in Ireland … HC, . Labourers’ cottages (Ireland). Return showing the number of cottages built or in course of construction … HC, . Report of the proceedings of the Irish Convention (Dublin, ). State of employment. Report of the Board of Trade on the state of employment in the United Kingdom in October , HC, – [Cd. ].
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C. NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS
Aberdeen Press and Journal An tÓglach Ballymena Weekly Telegraph Belfast & Province of Ulster Directory Belfast News Letter Belfast Weekly News Berwick Advertiser Daily Herald Daily Mail Derby Daily Telegraph Derry Journal Derry People and Donegal News Derry Standard Donegal Independent Dublin Daily Express Freeman’s Journal Irish Independent
Irish News Leeds Mercury Londonderry Sentinel Mid-Ulster Mail Northern Constitution Northern Whig Nottingham Evening Post Pall Mall Gazette The People The Scotsman Sheffield Daily Telegraph Staffordshire Sentinel Sunday Independent Weekly Freeman’s Journal Weekly Irish Times Witness
D. PRINTED PRIMARY MATERIAL
Gregory, Vere T., The house of Gregory (Dublin, ). Gywnn, Stephen, The famous cities of Ireland (Dublin & London, ). Letter from Joseph O’Doherty to Willie John Doherty, Jan. , published in Donegal Annual, (), –. Lloyd George, David, War memoirs of David Lloyd George ii ( vols, London, ). McGuinness, Charles, Nomad: memoirs of an Irish sailor, soldier, pearl-fisher, pirate, gun-runner, rum-runner, rebel and Antarctic explorer (London, ). McMinn, J.R.B. (ed.), Against the tide: J.B. Armour: Irish Presbyterian minister and home ruler (Belfast, ). Morrison, Hugh Smyth, Modern Ulster: its character, customs, politics and industries (London, ). O’Shiel, Kevin, The rise of the Irish National League (Omagh, ). Report of the nd annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party (Dublin, ). Report of the rd annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party (Dublin, ). Robinson, Henry, Memories: wise and otherwise (London, ). Sinn Féin rebellion handbook (Dublin, ). Walsh, Louis J., ‘On my keeping’ and in theirs: a record of experiences ‘on the run’, in Derry gaol, and in Ballykinlar internment camp (Dublin, ). White, Jack, Misfit: an autobiography (London, ).
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SECONDARY SOURCES E. PUBLISHED WORKS
Allen, Nicolas, ‘Walsh, Louis Joseph’ in James McGuire and James Quinn (eds), Dictionary of Irish biography (Cambridge, ). Arkinson, Patrick H., ‘McHugh, Charles’ in James McGuire and James Quinn (eds), Dictionary of Irish biography (Cambridge, ). Augusteijn, Joost, ‘Radical nationalist activities in County Derry, –’ in Gerard O’Brien (ed.), Derry/Londonderry: history & society (Dublin, ), pp – . ——, From public defiance to guerrilla warfare: experience of ordinary volunteers in the Irish War of Independence (Dublin, ). Bardon, Jonathan, A history of Ulster (Belfast, ). Bell, Jonathan & Mervyn Watson, Irish farming life: history and heritage (Dublin, ). Bew, Paul, Ideology and the Irish question: Ulster unionism and Irish nationalism, – (Oxford, ). Bowman, John, De Valera and the Ulster question, – (Oxford, ). Bowman, Timothy, Carson’s army: the Ulster Volunteer Force, – (Manchester, ). ——, ‘The Ulster Volunteer Force and the formation of the th (Ulster) Division’, IHS, : (Nov. ), –. Brewer, John D., The RIC: an oral history (Belfast, ). Bryson, Anna, ‘“Whatever you say, say nothing”: researching memory and identity in Mid-Ulster, –’, Oral History, : (Autumn, ), –. Buckland, Patrick, Irish unionism, vol : Ulster unionism and the origins of Northern Ireland, – (Dublin, ). Buckley, Anthony D., ‘“On the club”: friendly societies in Ireland’, Irish Economic and Social History, (), –. Bull, Phillip, ‘The formation of the United Irish League, –: the dynamics of Irish agrarian agitation’, IHS, : (Nov. ), –. Clarkson, L.A., ‘Population change and urbanization, –’ in Liam Kennedy & Phillip Ollerenshaw (eds), An economic history of Ulster, – (Manchester, ), pp –. Coleman, Marie, The Irish Revolution, – (Abingdon, ). Curl, James Stephens, ‘Reluctant colonizers: the City of London and the plantation of Coleraine’, History Ireland, : (Nov./Dec. ), –. ——, The Londonderry Plantation, –: the history, architecture, and planning of the estates of the City of London and its Livery Companies in Ulster (Chichester, ). Dooley, Terence, Monaghan: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ). Dougan, Quincey, ‘How City of Derry Volunteers prepared for siege against home rule’, Belfast Newsletter, Dec. . Farrell, Michael, Arming the Protestant: the formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, – (London, ). Farry, Michael, Sligo: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ).
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Finlay, Andrew, ‘Sectarianism in the workplace: the case of the Derry shirt industry, –’, Irish Journal of Sociology, (), –. Finnan, Joseph P., John Redmond and Irish unity, – (Syracuse, ). Flynn, Kevin Haddick, ‘Soloheadbeg: what really happened?’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), –. Fox, Colm, The making of a minority: political developments in Derry and the North, – (Derry, ). Foy, Michael, ‘Ulster unionist propaganda against home rule, –’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), –. ——, ‘Ulster unionism and the development of the Ulster Volunteer Force before the First World War’ in Jurgen Elvert (ed.), Nordirland in geschichte und gegenwart / Northern Ireland: past and present (Stuttgart, ), pp –. Fraser, Murray, John Bull’s other homes: state housing and British policy in Ireland, – (Liverpool, ). Gallagher, A.M., Majority minority review : employment, unemployment and religion in Northern Ireland (Coleraine, ). Gallagher, Ronan, Violence and nationalist politics in Derry city, – (Dublin, ). Gamble, Ronnie (ed.), The Killowen series : militias and rebellions (E-book, Coleraine, ). Gavin, Robert, William P. Kelly & Dolores O’Reilly, Atlantic gateway: the port and city of Londonderry since (Dublin, ). Grant, Adrian, ‘The County Derry man who fought alongside Pearse and Connolly in the GPO’, Derry Journal, Mar. . ——, Irish socialist republicanism, – (Dublin, ). Greaves, C. Desmond, The Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union: the formative years, – (Dublin, ). ——, The life and times of James Connolly (London, ). Grimes, Brendan, Irish Carnegie libraries: a catalogue and architectural history (Dublin, ). Hanberry, Gerard, More lives than one: the remarkable Wilde family through the generations (E-book, Dublin, ). Harris, Mary, The Catholic Church and the foundation of the Northern Irish state (Cork, ). Hart, Peter, The IRA at war, – (Oxford, ). ——, The IRA and its enemies: violence and community in Cork, – (Oxford, ). Hay, Marnie, ‘The foundation and development of Na Fianna Éireann, –’, IHS, : (May ), –. Heaney, Seamus, ‘A Constable Calls’ in North (London, ), pp –. Hegarty, Peter, Peadar O’Donnell (Cork, ). Hennessey, Thomas, Dividing Ireland: World War One and partition (London, ). Herlihy, Jim, The Royal Irish Constabulary: a short history and genealogical guide with a select list of medal awards and casualties (Dublin, ). Hezlet, Arthur, The ‘B’ Specials: a history of the Ulster Special Constabulary (London, ).
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Holmes, Richard, The little field marshal: a life of Sir John French (London, ). Hopkinson, Michael, ‘The Craig-Collins pacts of : two attempted reforms of the Northern Ireland government’, IHS, : (Nov. ), –. Hughes, Sam, City on the Foyle (Derry, ). Jackson, Alvin, ‘Craig, James’ in James McGuire and James Quinn (eds), Dictionary of Irish biography (Cambridge, ). Kelly, Vivien, ‘Irish Suffragettes at the time of the Home Rule crisis’, History Ireland, : (Spring, ), –. Kenna, Padraic, Housing law, rights and policy (Dublin, ). Kenna, Shane, Thomas MacDonagh: Lives (Dublin, ). Keohane, Leo, Captain Jack White: Imperialism, anarchism and the Irish Citizen Army (Dublin, ). Kleinrichert, Denise, Republican internment and the prison ship Argenta, (Dublin, ). Lacey, Brian, ‘Derry and the Easter Rising’, Donegal Annual, (), –. ——, ‘Joseph O’Doherty, –’ in Tower Museum, Remembering : Untold Stories Exhibition programme (Derry, ), pp –. Laffan, Michael, The resurrection of Ireland: the Sinn Féin party, – (Cambridge, ). ——, ‘The unification of Sinn Fein in ’, IHS, : (Mar. ), –. Lawlor, Pearse, The outrages: the IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the border campaign (Cork, ). Lynch, Robert, ‘Donegal and the joint-IRA northern offensive, May–November ’, IHS, : (Nov. ), –. ——, The northern IRA and the early years of partition, – (Dublin, ). Madden, Finbar J. & Thomas Bradley, ‘The diocese of Derry in the twentieth century, c.–’ in Henry A. Jeffries & Ciarán Devlin (eds), History of the diocese of Derry from the earliest times (Dublin, ), pp –. Maume, Patrick, The long gestation: Irish nationalist life, – (Dublin, ). McAnallen, Dónal, ‘Michael Cusack and the revival of Gaelic games in Ulster’, IHS, : (May ), –. McCabe, Anton, ‘“The stormy petrel of the Transport Workers”: Peadar O’Donnell, trade unionist, –’, Saothar (), –. McCarthy, Pat, Waterford: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ). McCartney, John F., Pennyburn: an historic part of Derry city (Derry, ). McCluskey, Fergal, Tyrone: the Irish Revolution, – (Dublin, ). McDonnell, A.D., The life of Sir Denis Henry: Catholic unionist (Belfast, ). McGarry, Feargal, The Rising: Ireland, Easter (Oxford, ). McGee, Owen, The IRB: the Irish Republican Brotherhood, from the Land League to Sinn Féin (Dublin, ). McGuffin, John & Joseph Mulheron, Charles ‘Nomad’ McGuinness: being a true account of the amazing adventures of a Derryman (Derry, ). McGuire, James & James Quinn (eds), Dictionary of Irish biography: from the earliest times to the year ( vols, Cambridge, ). McKenna, Joseph, Guerrilla warfare in the Irish War of Independence, – (Jefferson, ).
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McMahon, Seán, A history of County Derry (Dublin, ). Mercer, Eric, ‘For King and country and a shilling a day: Belfast recruiting patterns in the Great War’, History Ireland, : (Winter, ), –. Miller, David W., Queen’s rebels: Ulster loyalism in historical perspective (Dublin, []). Mitchell, Arthur, Labour in Irish politics, – (Dublin, ). Mitchell, Brian, The making of Derry: an economic history (Derry, ). Morrissey, Conor, ‘“Rotten Protestants”: Protestant home rulers and the Ulster Liberal Association, –’, The Historical Journal (published online ), – . Murphy, Desmond, Derry, Donegal and modern Ulster, – (Derry, ). Nic Dháibhéid, Caoimhe, ‘The Irish National Aid Association and the radicalization of public opinion in Ireland, –’, The Historical Journal, : (Sept. ), –. Noonan, Gerard, The IRA in Britain, –: ‘In the heart of enemy lines’ (Liverpool, ). Ó Catháin, Máirtín, ‘“Blind, but not to the hard facts of life”: the blind workers’ struggle in Derry, –’, Radical History Review, (Winter, ), –. Ó Corráin, Daithí, ‘“Resigned to take the bill with its defects”: the Catholic Church and the third home rule bill’ in Gabriel Doherty (ed.), The home rule crisis, – (Cork, ), pp –. Ó Drisceoil, Donal, Peadar O’Donnell (Cork, ). Ó Duibhir, Liam, Prisoners of war: Ballykinlar internment camp, – (Cork, ). ——, Donegal and the Civil War: the untold story (Cork, ). ——, The Donegal awakening: Donegal and the War of Independence (Cork, ). O’Connor, Emmet, Derry labour in the age of agitation, –: : new unionism and old, – (Dublin, ). ——, Derry labour in the age of agitation, –: : Larkinism and syndicalism, – (Dublin, ). Parkinson, Alan F., Belfast’s unholy war: the troubles of the s (Dublin, ). Phoenix, Eamon, Northern nationalism: nationalist politics, partition, and the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland, – (Belfast, ). Rankin, K.J., The provenance and dissolution of the Irish Boundary Commission (Institute for British-Irish Studies, working paper no. , ). Riordan, Susannah, ‘Politics, economy, society: Northern Ireland, –’ in Thomas Bartlett (ed.), The Cambridge history of Ireland: volume , to the present (Cambridge, ), pp –. Sagarra, Eda, Kevin O’Shiel: Tyrone nationalist and Irish state builder (Dublin, ). Silbey, David, The British working class and enthusiasm for war, – (London, ). Witherow, Thomas, Derry and Enniskillen in the year : The story of some famous battlefields in Ulster (Belfast, ). Tierney, Michael & F.X. Martin (eds), Eoin MacNeill: scholar and man of action, – (Oxford, ). Townshend, Charles, The Republic: the fight for Irish independence (London, ).
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——, Easter : the Irish rebellion (London, ). ——, ‘The Irish Republican Army and the development of guerrilla warfare, – ’, English Historical Review, : (), –. Urquhart, Diane, ‘“The female of the species is more deadlier than the male”: the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council, –’ in Janice Holmes & Diane Urquhart (eds), Coming into the light: the work, politics and religion of women in Ulster, – (Belfast, ), pp –. Walker, Brian M., Parliamentary election results in Ireland, –: Irish elections to parliaments and parliamentary assemblies at Westminster, Dublin and Strasbourg (Dublin, ). ——, ‘The and general elections in Ireland’, History Ireland, : (Nov./Dec. ), –. Walsh, Aisling, ‘Michael Cardinal Logue, –’, Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society, : (/), –. Ward, Alan J., ‘Lloyd George and the Irish conscription crisis’, The Historical Journal, : (), –. Ward, Brian, ‘Border identities in Galway and Derry’, Irish Studies Review, : (), –.
F. THESES AND UNPUBLISHED WORK
Arkinson, Patrick H., ‘The political role of Bishop McHugh of Derry during the partition crisis’ (MA, University of Ulster, ). Cosgrove, Patrick John, ‘The Wyndham Land Act, : the final solution to the Irish land question?’ (PhD, NUI Maynooth, ). Foy, Michael, ‘The Ulster Volunteer Force: its domestic development and political importance in the period to ’ (PhD, Queen’s University Belfast, ). Gallagher, Walter, ‘People, work, space, and social structure in Edwardian Derry, –’ (DPhil, University of Ulster, ). Lynch, Robert, ‘The northern IRA and the early years of partition, –’ (PhD, University of Stirling, ). Murphy, Breen Timothy, ‘The government’s executions policy during the Irish Civil War, –’ (PhD, NUI Maynooth, ). Ó Luain, Kerron, ‘Ribbonmen, Fenians and lower class nationalism in-nineteenth century urban Ulster’ (unpublished conference paper, available at http://bit.ly/ imiTjM).
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Abercorn: see Hamilton Agar-Robartes, Thomas (MP), Aghadowey, agriculture, –, , , , , , – Amalgamated Society of Tailors and Tailoresses (ASTT), , ambushes: see IRA An Claidheamh Soluis, An tÓglách, , , Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), ; Board of Erin (BoE), –, –, – , , –, , , , , –, , , –, , , , , , ; Irish-American Alliance (IAA), , , –, ; Hibernian Rifles, Anderson, Robert N., , , Anglo-Irish Treaty, , , –, –, , –, ; Document No. , Anglo-Irish truce, , –, –, Anti-Partition League, anti-recruitment activity: see First World War Antrim County, , , , –, , , , , , –n Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABOD), , –, , –, , , , Archer, Liam, – Argenta prison ship, , Armagh County, , , , , , , , , , , Armour, Revd J.B., arms raids: see IRA and IVF arms smuggling, –, –, , –, –, , , –, ; Larne gun-running (UVF), , , Armstrong, Francis, , Armstrong, Mary, Articlave,
Asquith, Herbert Henry (MP), , , , , , Bailey, Robert, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, Ballykelly, Ballykinlar (internment camp), Co. Down, , Ballyliffin, Co. Donegal, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, Ballymulderg, Ballyronan, , , – Bann, River, , Barrie, Hugh T. (MP), , , –, , Barry, Tom, Belfast Newsletter, Belfast, , –, , , –, , –, –, , –, –, , , , , –, –, , , , –, –, , –, –, , –, – , –, –, , , , – ; boycott, –, , , ; Harland and Wolff shipyard, , ; sectarian violence, , –, –, , , , ; shipyard expulsions, –, , , , ; Workman Clark shipyard, –, Bellagherty, , –, , Bellaghy, , , , , Bellarena, , Bew, Paul, Bigger, Charles J., Birrell, Augustine (MP; chief secretary for Ireland), Black and Tans: see Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Blythe, Ernest (TD), , , , n Board of Trade, Boer War, , Bonar Law, Andrew (MP),
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Boundary Commission, , –, , , Bowman, Timothy, Boyd, Alexander, Boyle, Con, Bradley, Cathal, , , , Brady, Liam, , –, , , , n Breen, Dan, – Breslin, Charlie, –, , n Britain, , , , –, , , –, –, , , , , , , –, British army, , , –, , , , –, , –, –, –, –, – , –, , –, –, – , , , , , n; th (Irish) Division, ; th (Ulster) Division, , , ; attacks on (in Derry), , , –, ; Competent Military Authority (CMA), , ; Dorset Regiment, –, –, , ; Dublin Fusiliers, ; ex-servicemen, , , –, , , –, , , , n; in Derry, , , –, –, –, –, – , , –, , , , ; in Enniskilllen, ; in Inishowen, , , , ; in Omagh, ; King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) Regiment, , ; Norfolk Regiment, ; Northumberland Regiment, ; recruitment to, , – , –; Royal Army Medical Corps, ; Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, , , ; Royal Irish Fusiliers, ; Royal Scots Fusiliers, ; Staffordshire Regiment, Brosnan, Major-Sergeant Patrick, Broughderg, Co. Tyrone, Brown, James, Browne, William, Bryson, Anna, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, , , , , , , Bureau of Military History (BMH), –
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Index Burke, Luke, Burke, Sergeant Michael, Burnfoot, Co. Donegal, , , Caldwell, George, – Campbell, B., Canada, , , , n Carew, Major H., Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, , , Carney, Frank, –, Carolan, John, Carrigans, Co. Donegal, Carson, Edward (MP), , –, –, , –, , –, –, , , – , Carty, Frank (TD and IRA officer), –, , n Cary, CI Edward George, , –, , –, , –, , , , , Casement, Roger, , Cassidy, Thomas, Castledawson, , –, –, , , , , , Castlerock, Catholic Benefit Society, Catholic Church, , , , –, –, –, , , , , –, ; and the IRA, , ; anti-conscription, –; anti-partition, , –, –, ; control of education, , , –; Derry, RC diocese of, , , : see also McHugh, Charles Cavan County, Cavanagh, Maeve, Cavanagh, Séamus, , –, –, , , n, n Chamberlain, Austen (MP), Chichester, R. Spencer, Childers, Erskine (TD), Church of Ireland, , , – Churchill, Randolph (MP), – Churchill, Winston (MP), , , , , Civil War: see Irish Civil War Clancy, Peadar,
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Index Clark, Ernest, Clark, Harry, , Clark, J. Jackson, Clarke, Tom, Clarke, Trevisa, class: see socio-economic class Claudy, Clements, Charles, th earl of Leitrim, Clones, Co. Monaghan, Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, , , , Coleraine, , –, , , , , , , , –, , , , ; urban district council, , Colhoun, William, Collins, Michael (TD), , , , – , , –, Connolly, James, Connolly, Nora, Connor, (DI), conscription, , , –, –, –, –, –; and seasonal emigration, ; conscription crisis (), , – , –; see also First World War Conservative Party, –, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, , Coppin, William, Cork, , , , –, Coyle O’Donnell, Eithne, Craig-Collins pacts (), , Craig, Charles (MP), Craig, James (MP), , –, , –, –, , Crawford, Major Frederick H., Crockett, Charles Love, Cumann na mBan, , , , , , , –, –, –, Cumann na nGaedheal (s), , Cumann na nGaedheal (SF), – Curragh incident (), , Curran, Fr Michael, Cusack, Seán, Dáil Éireann, , –, , –, –, Daly, Charles, , , , , , , –, –
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de Valera, Éamon (TD), , , –, , , Defence of the Realm Act (), Derry Celtic Football Club, Derry city, , –, –, –, –, –, –, , –, –, –, –, , –, –, n; Bogside, –, , , , , , , ; Brandywell, –, , ; Carlisle Bridge, , , , , ; Celtic Park, , , , ; Derry Jail, , , , , , , , –, , –, , –, –, ; Diamond , , , ; discrimination against nationalists, , , , –; Ebrington Barracks, , , , –, , – ; Fountain, , , , , –, , , , , n; Foyle College, , ; Guildhall, , , , –, , , , ; Harbour Commissioners, , ; John Mitchel hall, , , , ; Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, ; Londonderry Corporation, –, –, , –, , , , , , –, , , –; Magee College, ; P.H. Pearse SF club, ; parliamentary constituency, –, , –, , , , , n; port, – , –, ; Shamrock hall, , , ; shipbuilding, , , , , , ; Siege of (), , , ; St Columb’s College, , , –, ; St Columb’s Hall, –, –, , –, , , , , ; textile industry, –, –, , –, , , , , , , –; Waterside, , , , , , , , –, , , , n Derry County, , –, , , , –, , , , –, , , –, –, , –, –, , –, –, , –, , –, , , –; County Council, , ; north parliamentary constituency, , , , , n; south parliamentary
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constituency, –, , , , , , n Derry Guilds Football Club, , Derry Journal, , , , , –, – , , , , , , Derry People and Donegal News, , , , – Derry Standard, , Derry Tattler, Derry Total Abstinence Society, Derry Trades and Labour Council, , , , , , , , n Derry, RC diocese of: see Catholic Church Derrygarve, Desertmartin, , – Devine, Albert, Devlin, Joseph (MP), , , , , , –, , , –, Diamond, Paddy, , Diamond, William, Dillon, John (MP), , , – Dobbin, James, n Dobbyn, DI Alexander, Doherty, Bernard, Doherty, Dominic (Dom), , Doherty, James, Doherty, Joseph, Donegal County, , , , , , –, , , –, , , , , –, –, , –, , –, , –, –, –, , , , n Donemana, Co. Tyrone, Donnelly, Willie, Dougherty, Sir James Brown (MP), , Down County, , , , , , – n Downhill, Draperstown, , , , , , , – , – Drogheda, Co. Louth, Dromore, Co. Tyrone, Drumahoe, Dublin, –, , , , , –, , – , , , , , –, , –, – , –, –, , –, , ,
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Index –, , –, , –, –, n; Bloody Sunday (), ; Four Courts –, ; Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), ; Mansion House, , , ; Mountjoy Jail, –, –, , ; Phoenix Park, –, Dufferin, Lady, Dunamore, Co. Tyrone, , Dundalk, Co. Louth, Dungannon Clubs, – Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, , Dungiven, , , , , , Dunsany, Lord, Easter Rising (), , , , , , –, –, , –, , n; Dublin Castle, ; GPO, , , ; in Derry, , , –; Jacob’s factory, ; Kimmage Garrison, ; Liberty Hall, ; North King Street massacre, Edinburgh, , Eglington, Éire Óg, elections, –, , –, , , –, –, , –, , , n; by-elections (), ; general election (), ; general election (), ; general election (), , ; general election (), ; general election (), , , , ; local elections (), –, –, ; Londonderry City by-election (), , , –; municipal, –, ; North Londonderry by-election (), ; Northern Ireland general election (), –; South Londonderry by-election (), , ; UK general election (), , n; Ulster pact (), emigration, –, n England, –, , , : see also Britain Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, , , , Enright, Daniel,
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Index Faughan, River, Feeny, , female franchise, , –, , , , Ferguson, John, Fermanagh County, , , , –, , , , –, , , , –, – , , Ferran, Frank (TD), Fianna Éireann, , –, , , Fianna Fáil, – Figgis, Darrell, Fight of the Earls (), First World War, , –, –, –, –, , –, , , , , , ; anti-recruitment activity, , – ; Battle of Messines, ; German army, , , , , ; German Spring Offensive, , ; impact on local economy, –, –, ; rising discontent in Ireland, –, , : see also conscription fishing industry, Flaherty, Constable John, flying columns: see IRA: ASUs Fox, John, , , , – Foy, Michael, , Foyle; River, , , , , –, , –, n; Lough – France, , Free State: see Irish Free State (IFS) Freeman’s Journal, French, Lord, Frongoch, Wales, , , Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), –, , Gaelic League, –, –, , Gaelic Literary Society, Gallagher, James, Gallagher, John, Galway, Garda Síochána, An, Garvagh, , , , Gausson, Captain Horace, Gavan Duffy, Louise, George V, king, ,
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German Plot, Germany, gerrymandering, , , –, , , Ginnell, Laurence (MP/TD), Gladstone, W.G.C., Gladstone, William Ewart (MP), , Glasgow, , , , , , , Glenelly, Co. Tyrone, Glennon, Tom, Glenties, Co. Donegal, Glenveagh, Co. Donegal, Gordon, John (MP), , , , , Gosport, Hampshire, Government of Ireland Act (), , –, , , Great Northern Railway (GNR), , – , Greencastle, Co. Donegal, Gregory, CI Vere R.T., , , , Gretton, Colonel John (MP), Gribbon, Hugh, , , Griffith, Arthur (TD), , , , , gun-running: see arms smuggling Hall, Captain Frank, Hamilton, James, nd duke of Abercorn, , Hamilton, James, rd duke of Abercorn, –, , , Harbison, T.J. (MP), Haughey, Charles (TD), Haughey, Johnny, , , –, – , – Haughey, Seán, Hawkins, Sergeant Fred, Healy, T.M. (MP), – Heaney, Seamus, –; ‘A Constable Calls’: North, Hegarty, Patrick, , , , , , , , , n Henry, Denis (MP), –, , , Heron, Archie, Hibernian Rifles: see AOH Higgins, Sergeant John,
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Hime, Maurice C., , Hinfey, Patsy, Hinphy, Francis, Hobson, Bulmer, –, , n Hogg, David C. (MP), , , –, , , n home rule, , , –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, –, , , n; alternative Ulster Covenant, –; Home Rule Act (), , –, ; first home rule bill (), , –, ; second home rule bill (), –, ; third home rule bill (), , , , , , – , , –; unionist opposition to, –, –, , , , , , , , , , Horgan, DI Michael, hunger strike, , –, , Hurl, John, Hyde, Douglas, Hyndman, Caldwell, Independent Labour Party, Independent Orange Order, industrial action (strikes), , , , , –, , , –, , , , , , –; Belfast dockers’ and carters’ strike (), ; Belfast general strike (), ; general strike against conscription, –, ; general strike in support of hunger strikers, , ; munitions of war strike, , ; national coal strike (), influenza epidemic, Inishowen peninsula, Co. Donegal, , , , , , , , , –, , , –, , Innishrush, , Institute Football Club, –, Irish Anti-Conscription Committee, Irish Citizen Army (ICA), , , , Irish Civil War (–), , , , , , –, – Irish Convention (–), –,
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Index Irish Free State (IFS), , –, , , , – Irish Freedom, Irish Independent, Irish language, , , , n Irish Nation League (INL), , –, , Irish National Aid and Volunteers’ Dependants’ Fund (INAVDF), , – Irish National Aid Association (INAA), Irish National Foresters, , , , Irish Nationalist Veterans Association, Irish Neutrality League, Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), , , , , , –, , –, –, –, –, , –, –, – , , ; and enlistment, –, ; and Irish Volunteers, , –, –, ; and partition, , , –, , , –, , , –, ; and Sinn Féin, , –, –, , –; anti-conscription, , , , –; decline in support, –, –, –, Irish Protestant Home Rule Association, Irish Republican Army (IRA), , , , , , –, –, –, –, –, , –, , n, n, n; st Northern Division, , , , , ; nd Northern Division, , –, –, , –, ; ambushes, –, –; Anglo-Irish truce, , , –; anti-Treaty IRA (executive), , – , –, –, ; arms raids by, –, , , , ; ASUs, , , , , –, , ; Derry City Battalion; , , , –, , , n; Donegal nd Battalion, ; GHQ, , –, –, , , –, –, ; northern command (Ulster council),
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Index ; northern offensives (), , –, –, ; pro-Treaty IRA (GHQ), , –, ; South Derry Battalion, ; suspected informers, , –; Ten Foot Pikers (TFP squad), –, , n Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), , –, , , , –, , –, , , –, , n; military council, ; Supreme Council, , , Irish Trade Union Congress (ITUC), –, Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU), –, , Irish Volunteer Force (IVF), , , – , –, –, –, –, , –, –, , ; arms raids by, , , , –; Derry City Battalion, –, , –; post-split increase in membership, Irish Women’s Franchise League, Irvine, Colonel George Moore, –, Irvine, Margaret, –, James Connolly Labour College, Johnson, Tom (TD), Johnston, Patrick, Joliffe, Sergeant R., Keane Barracks, Co. Kildare, , Kearns, Constable Hugh, Kearns, Linda, Keenan, James, Kelly, Dan, Kelly, Thomas, Kenny, Constable Michael, Kildare County, n Kilderry, Co. Donegal, Killybearn, – Kilmartin, Denis, Kilmichael, Co. Cork, Kilrea, , –, , Labour Party (British), , , Labour Party (Irish), ,
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labour movement, , –, , –, , –, , , , , , , , –, , , , , , , – Laffan, Michael, , – Lafferty, John, , , Lafferty, Paddy, Larkin, James, –, , Larkin, Máire, , Larkin, Seán, , , , – Larkin, Thomas, , , Larne, , , , ; UVF gun-running: see arms smuggling Leeke, George (MP), –, , Lehane, Seán, –, – Leitrim, earl of: see Clements Lenox-Conyngham, Major William Arbuthnot, , Leonard, Patrick, Leslie, Shane, , – Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, , , Liberal Party, –, , –, –, –, – Lifford, Co. Donegal, , Limavady, –, , , , , –, , , , ; urban district council, , Limerick, ; city, Lisburn, Co. Down, , , Liverpool, , Lloyd George, David (MP), , –, –, , , , Lloyd, George, Local Government (Ireland) Act (), Local Government Board (LGB), , , Logue, Michael Cardinal, –, , , Logue, William, London, , , , , , –; county council, ; Hyde Park, ; livery companies, , Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway, , Londonderry: see Derry
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Index
McCarter, Robert, McCluskey, Fergal, McCullough, Denis, , , McDermott, Andrew, McFarland, John, , McGahey, William, McGandy, Dan, – McGee, Paddy, McGeehan, Henry, McGeehan, James, McGeehan, John, McGeehan, Michael, McGilligan, Hugh, Mac Diarmada, Seán, , – McGilligan, Patrick, MacBride, Major John, McGlinchey, Charles, , , MacCurtain, Tomás, MacDermott, Éamonn, , , , , McGlinchey, Joseph, McGlinchey, Revd James, , , , n , MacDonagh, Thomas, McGoldrick, P.J. (TD), MacDonald, Ramsay (MP), McGrath, Gabriel, – MacFeely, Fr W.B., McGuckin, Basil (MP), MacNaughten, Captain E.L., MacNeill, Eoin (MP/TD), , , , , McGuinness, Charles, , , –, –, , , , , , , –, – Maghera, , , , , –, , , – McGuinness, Kathleen, McGurk, Anthony, , , , –, , Magherafelt, , , , , , –, , McHugh, Charles (RC bishop of Derry), –, –, –, –, , –, , –, , , , , , –, , –, , , , ; and –, , , opposition to partition, , –, –, Magilligan, , , , –, , , , Maguire, Patrick, McHugh, DI Patrick, Manchester Martyrs, , – McKay, Howard, –, n Markievicz, Constance, McKee, Dick, Martin, Hugh, McKenna, Barney, Maume, Patrick, McKenna, Dan, , , –, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, McKeown, Frank, Mayo County, , McKeown, Henry, , McAnaney, Catherine, , n McKeown, James, McAnaney, Robert, , , n McKeown, Thomas, McAnaney, William, McLaughlin, Joe, McAuley, James, n McLearn, William, , , McAuley, Patrick, McCallion, Alfie, McMurray, Joseph, McCann, Seámus, – McNally, James, McCarron, James, , –, –, – McNicholl, Letitia, , –, , , , , McNulty, W.J., McCartan, Dr Pat (TD), , –, –, McShane, Fr J., , McShea, Thomas, – Londonderry Sentinel, , –, , , , , , , Londonderry, Lord: see Vane-Tempest-Stewart Loughinsholin, Long, Walter, Lynch, James, Lynch, Patrick, , Lynch, Robert, Lynn Committee, Lynn, Kathleen,
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Index McVeigh, David, McVeigh, William, McWhinney, Charles, Meenan, Patrick, Mellows, Liam (TD), – Mid-Ulster Mail, , Midland Railway, , Military Service Pensions Board, , – Mills, Margret, n Moloney, Helena, Monaghan County, , , , , , – Monaghan, Alfred, Moneymore, , , –, , –, , ; Springhill House, , Moore, Captain Leo, Moore, Colonel Maurice, , , Moore, Eliza, n Moroney, Detective Sergeant Denis, , Morris, Margaret, , Morris, Tom, , , –, , , –, – Morris, William, – Morrison, Hugh, n Mountjoy II, Moville, Co. Donegal, , , Mulcahy, Richard (TD), , , Mulholland, John, Mullinamore, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Munster, , , Murphy, Desmond, , Murrin, J.L. (Seán), , , n National Amalgamated Union of Railwaymen, National army, –, –, –; recruitment in NI, ; see also Irish Civil War National League, National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL), National Volunteer Force (NVF), –, , , , , –,
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Nationalist Party (NI), , –, – , Nationalist Registration Association, Neagh, Lough, , Newbridge, , , Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal, Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone, Norby, Oscar, Norrie, David, Northern Ireland, , , , , – , , –, –, , –, –, –n; government, , , –, –, –, –; parliament, –, –, –, , –, –n Northern Whig, O’Brien, William (MP), O’Connor, Emmet, O’Doherty, Charles, , O’Doherty, Fr Philip, O’Doherty, Hugh C., –, , –, , , , – O’Doherty, John Keys (IVF/IRA member), n O’Doherty, John Keys (RC bishop of Derry), , n O’Doherty, Joseph (TD), , , –, , –, –, , , n, n O’Doherty, Kitty, , , O’Doherty, Mary, O’Doherty, Philip (MP), O’Doherty, Róisín, –, , , , , n O’Doherty, Séamus, –, O’Doherty, Vincent, –, , O’Doherty, William, O’Donaghue, Michael, O’Donnell, Patrick (RC bishop of Raphoe), , O’Donnell, Peadar, , , –, –, n O’Donovan Rossa, Jeremiah, O’Duffy, Edward, O’Duffy, Eoin (TD), , , –, , ,
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O’Flanagan, Fr Michael, O’Higgins, Kevin (TD), O’Malley, Ernie, , O’Neill, Charles, O’Neill, Cormac, O’Neill, Hugh, O’Neill, Tommy, O’Rahilly, Michael Joseph (‘The’), – O’Shiel, Kevin (TD), – O’Sullivan, Timothy, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, , , , , , , , Orange Order, , , –, , , – , , , , , Outdoor Relief Riots (),
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Index Proctor, J.C.B., proportional representation (PR), , – , , , –,
Raphoe, Co. Donegal, , recruitment: see British army Redmond, John (MP), , , , –, –, –, , , –, –, , , , , Redmond, William Archer (MP), Representation of the People Act (), reprisals, , , , , –, –; by police, , , , , , –; by IRA , , , Ribbonism, Pakenham, Colonel Hercules Arthur, , riots, , , , , –, , RMS Leinster, – Robinson, Henry (LGB), Pall Mall Gazette, Roe River, parades, , , , –, –, , , Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), –, , –, , –, –, , , , –, – Paris, , ; Peace Conference (), , –, –, , –, , –, , , , , –, –, , Park, , –, , n; arms seizures, – Parliament Act (), , –; attacks on , –, –, partition, , –, , , , , , – , –, –, –, , –, , –, –, , –, , –, , , , –; Auxiliaries, , –, –, , –, , –; Black and Tans, , , – , ; county option, , , –, ; casualties, , , –, –, , , , –, –, , ; IPP , , , –; Inspector acceptance of, –, , ; nationalist General (IG), , , , , – opposition; , , , –, ; nine county, , , , , , ; perma- Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), , – nent, , , ; republican opposiRussell, T.W. (MP), , –, – tion; , , , –; six-county, –, , , , –, , –, ; Scollan, John Joseph (J.J.), unionist opposition, , ; unionist Scotland, , , support, –, –, , sectarianism, , , , –, , –, Patton, Revd Samuel, , , –, , –, , , Pearse, Patrick, , , , , , , , –; vioPhoenix, Eamon, Pim, Herbert Moore, lence, –, , , , , –, , Poor Law Guardians, –, , , , , , Portrush, Co. Antrim, , Sheehy Skeffington, Hannah, – Presbyterian Church in Ireland, – Sheerin, Michael, –, –, , , Price, Edwin, , n
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Index Shiel, Dominic, – Shields, Arthur W., Shiels, Patrick, –, –, , , , , –, , –, , –, –, n Sinn Féin (SF), , –, , , , , , , –, –, –, –, –, , –, –, –, –, , , , , n; and Anglo-Irish Treaty, , ; arbitration (Dáil) courts, , , ; campaign against conscription, , – ; and elections, , –, , –, ; growing support following Easter Rising, , –, ; and Northern Ireland, , –, –, ; and partition, , , –; relationship with Nationalists, –, –, , – Skeoge, River, Sligo, , –, Smith, Louis, , Smyth, Major Ross, Smythe Edwards, Samuel E., Socialist Party of Ireland, socio-economic class, –, , , , , , –, , , –, , , , , , , , –, , , , –, n Soloheadbeg, Co. Tipperary, – Special Powers Act (), , , Spender, Captain Wilfred, , Sperrin Mountains, , , , , St Johnston, Co. Donegal, , , Stopford Green, Alice, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, , , , – Stranorlar, Co. Donegal, strikes: see industrial action Stronge, C.E., suffragettes, Swatragh, , , – Sweeney, Joe (TD), , , – Swilly, Lough, Taylor, James, Templeton, Lord,
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The Honourable The Irish Society, Tillie, Marshall, , Tobermore, , , , – Toome, Co. Antrim, , – Torrens, Major, Townshend, Charles, , Tromague, Co. Tyrone, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Turnbull, Dr Arthur, – Twaddell, William (MP), Tyrone County, , , –, –, , , , –, –, , , –, –, , –, , , , –, –, , –, , , , , –, – , , , , , , Ulster Herald, Ulster Liberal Association (ULA), , –, , , Ulster Special Constabulary (USC), –, , –, –, –, –, , , , ; attacks on, , –, ; casualties, , , , ; establishment of, – Ulster unionism, , –, –, –, –, –, –, –, , –, , , –, –, , –, –, – , –, –, –, –, , –, , –; City of Derry Unionist Club, –, ; and class, , , , , , , –, , , , , , , ; and conscription, –; and gender , – ; provisional government, , , ; and religion, , ; Ulster Declaration (), , , , , , ; Ulster Solemn League and Covenant (), , , , , , , ; Ulster Unionist Council (UUC), , , , ; Ulster Unionist Labour Association (UULA), , ; Ulster Women’s Unionist Council (UWUC), –, ; Unionist Clubs, –, , ; Unionist Party, –, –, , , , –, , , –, , –, –, –, –, –, , –, .
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Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), –, –, –, –, –, , , –, , –, ; Larne gun-running: see arms smuggling; North Derry Regiment: , ; South Derry Regiment, , ; City of Derry Regiment, , , ; Donegal Regiment: , ; loyalist vigilante groups, –, Ulster, –, , , –, –, , , , –, , –, –, –, –, , –, –, –, –, –, , , –, , , ; plantation of, , , United Irish League (UIL), –, , , , , , –, , United States of America (US), , , , , , n Upperlands, , Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Charles, th marquess of Londonderry, , Volunteer Dependants’ Fund (VDF), Walsh, John, – Walsh, Louis J., , , , ; The Pope in Killybuck,
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Index Walsh, Richard, Walsh, William J. (RC archbishop of Dublin), War of Independence, –, Waterford, , ; city, , Westminster, , , , , –, , , , , , –, , , , , n; House of Commons, –, , –, –, , –, ; House of Lords, –, , , White, Arnold, White, Captain Jack, , , – Wickham, Lieutenant Colonel, , – Wilbond, DI James, Wilson, Dominick, Wilson, Henry (MP), , Wolfe Tone, Theobald, Workers’ Educational Committee, Workman, Major W.E.H., Wyndham Land Act (), Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Young, Barney,
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st Battalion, Derry City Regiment of the Irish Volunteers (IVF) drilling at Celtic Park, Derry, June . Captain Jack White (Commander of the IVF in Derry and Inishowen), Charles McGlinchey (Commander of nd Battalion IVF in Derry and later Commander of Redmondite NVF in Derry), and Col. Maurice Moore (Inspector General of the IVF) at Celtic Park, Derry, June .
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(above, left) An elderly man being helped to the polls in order to cast his vote at the Londonderry City by-election. (above, right) A Crimean War veteran being helped to the polls during the Londonderry City by-election. The man was determined to vote for the Unionist candidate, Col. Hercules Pakenham, as he had served under Pakenham’s father in the British army. Large crowds gathered outside Bishop Street courthouse on the announcement of David Hogg’s victory at the Londonderry City by-election.
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Members of the nd Battalion, North Derry Regiment, UVF at a training camp in Magilligan, July . UVF members arriving at the Magilligan training camp, July .
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Bridge Street, Garvagh, on the day of Edward Carson’s visit to the town in April . Members of the UVF from Derry marching through the city in September . The group of over men boarded special trains to take them for training and eventual deployment to the war front.
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A motorized field ambulance for use on the battlefield, . The funds for the ambulance were raised by the ‘Citizens of Londonderry’. The mayor, Robert N. Anderson, can be seen in robes and chain on the steps of the Guildhall. James McCarron (pictured standing seventh from the left) with colleagues at the annual meeting of the Irish Trade Union Congress in Waterford, .
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The mayor of Derry Robert N. Anderson (centre) visiting the Derry war supply depot in . Anderson later ran unsuccessfully against Eoin MacNeill (SF) at the general election in Derry. He was also a Unionist delegate to the Irish Convention (–). David C. Hogg, pro-home rule Liberal MP for Londonderry City, –. Hogg was involved with Liberal politics from his youth and was a shirt factory owner in the city. Charles McHugh, Roman Catholic bishop of Derry for nineteen years (–). McHugh was a strong supporter of John Redmond and the IPP until the party’s acceptance of partition proposals in .
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Funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, on August . A number of Derry republicans attended the funeral, including John Fox, pictured standing behind and to the right of Patrick Pearse (in uniform). Derry Jail was the scene of a number of jailbreaks and confrontations between prisoners and warders in the – period. The IRA may have had a sleeper member among the staff. It was also used as an internment centre by the Northern Ireland government from .
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Joseph O’Doherty, one of the most prominent republicans in Derry city. He was privy to plans for the Easter Rising and was sent from Dublin to Derry during Holy Week to prepare the local IVF for action. O’Doherty was elected as a SF TD for North Donegal at the general election. The O’Doherty siblings of Creggan Street, Derry: Back row: Vincent (second from left), Joseph (fourth from left), Róisín (fifth from left). Front row: Séamus (in centre). Séamus Cavanagh pictured with his family in or . Cavanagh, a British army veteran, was O/C IVF in Derry in and played a leading role in republican activism in the city throughout –. Patrick Shiels pictured with his wife, Margaret, and two of their children. Shiels was active in republican circles prior to and played a significant role in SF and the IRA, taking on the role of O/C Derry city during the intense violence of June .
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The Apprentice Boys of Derry on the annual ‘Relief of Derry’ parade in August . The image was taken from the Walls of Derry overlooking Guildhall Square with ceremonial Siege of Derry cannon in view.
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Lecky Road RIC Barracks in the Bogside area of Derry city. The barracks was attacked by the IRA on numerous occasions from onwards and was vacated and burned in August before re-opening in . Members of the first nationalist majority Londonderry Corporation elected in January . Margaret Morris (SF), the first female member of the Corporation, is pictured to the left of the mayor, Hugh C. O’Doherty (with ceremonial chain).
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Artillery being prepared for transport into Derry city during the violence of June . The British government was accused of negligence due to its delayed response to the violence and the inability of the military in the city to protect civilians. Sandbags at the Fountain area of Derry city during or soon after the warlike conditions of June .
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Sandbags outside the Hibernian Bank on Shipquay Street. The city was heavily militarized after the violence of June . British army troops on an armoured car at Bishop’s Gate during the violence of June . The Bishop Street area was the epicentre of the violence with both the UVF and IRA operating in the area.
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St Columb’s College, Bishop Street, Derry. The college was home to a number of republican priests and was the IRA HQ during the violence of June . Hugh C. O’Doherty, who served as the first nationalist mayor of Derry, –. O’Doherty was a prominent solicitor who split with the IPP over partition in . A member of the Irish Nation League in –, he served as an independent nationalist in Londonderry Corporation. Charles ‘Nomad’ McGuinness, a sailor and adventurer who returned to his home city of Derry in and joined the IRA. He escaped from Ebrington Barracks in and became a major IRA gunrunner before becoming an Arctic explorer and rum-runner in prohibition-era America.
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Peadar O’Donnell worked as a labour organizer in Derry before taking command of the nd Battalion, Donegal IRA, which also covered Derry city. His forays into the city in and caused major tension with local IRA leaders precipitating an investigation by GHQ. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Doherty was one of many Cumann na mBan members who provided safe houses, communicated messages, and moved guns around for the IRA after . She and her colleagues also trained in first aid to support the ASUs that went out of the city into Donegal.
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Tom Morris, who was appointed O/C nd Northern Division IRA in . Morris fought in the First World War and returned home with parcels of weapons for his local Irish Volunteer companies in south Derry on demobilization. He was one of the most prominent IRA commanders in south Derry during the War of Independence. Members of the nd Northern Division IRA at Keane Barracks, the Curragh, Co. Kildare. These men were part of the neutral group during the Civil War who were held at Keane Barracks in anticipation of a renewed attack on Northern Ireland. Back from left: Frank McMahon, Paddy Morrow, Mick Quinn, Jim Daly, Jim Kielty, Paddy Crawford, Tom Guy, Henry McErlean, William J. Hinphey, Tom Sheeran. Front from left: Patrick ‘Peggy’ McKenna, James McElduff, Paddy O’Brien.
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Mary Ellen Kavanagh, a civilian by-stander who was killed along with -year-old Essie Fletcher during a shoot-out between pro and anti-Treaty forces in Buncrana, Co. Donegal, on May .