Emmet Dalton
Encyclopedia
Emmet Dalton was an Irish
soldier and film producer
. He served in the British Army
in the First World War, reaching the rank of Major. However, on his return to Ireland he became one of the senior figures in the Dublin Brigade of the guerrilla Irish Republican Army
which fought against British rule in Ireland. He was a close associate of Michael Collins
. In the Irish Civil War
he held one of the highest commands in the Pro-Treaty National Army
but resigned his command before the war was over.
He later founded a film production company a produced a number of notable pictures in the 1950s and -60s.
in 1898, but the family moved back to Ireland when he was 2, in 1900. He grew up in a middle class Catholic background in Drumcondra
in north Dublin. He was educated by the Christian Brothers
at O'Connell School in North Richmond Street. He joined the nationalist militia, the Irish Volunteers
in 1913 and the following year, though only 15, was involved in the smuggling of arms into Ireland.
joined the British military on the urgings of Nationalist leader John Redmond
. Dalton's father, however, disagreed with his son's decision. Emmet Dalton joined the 7th battalion of the Dublin Fusiliers as a 2nd Lieutenant - part of the 16th (Irish) Division, which contained many Irish nationalist recruits.
During the Battle of the Somme, in September 1916, Dalton was involved in bloody fighting during the Battle of Ginchy
, in which over 4,000 Irishmen were killed or wounded. Among the casualties was Tom Kettle, a former nationalist Member of Parliament and personal friend of Dalton's. Dalton was promoted to major and awarded the Military Cross
for his conduct in the battle.
He was afterwards sent to Palestine
, where he commanded a company and then supervised a sniper school. In 1918 he was re-deployed again to France, where he served as a staff officer.
He became close to Michael Collins - IRA Director of Intelligence - and was involved in the Squad, an assassination unit. On May 14, 1921, he and Paddy Daly
led an operation designed to rescue Sean McEoin from Mountjoy Prison
using a hijacked British armoured car.
in 1922 and was one of the first officers - a Major General - in the new National Army established by the Irish Provisional Government of the Irish Free State
. The Treaty was opposed by much of the IRA and Civil War between pro and anti treaty factions eventually resulted.
Dalton was in command of troops assaulting the Four Courts
in the Battle of Dublin
which marked the start of the war in June 1922. He was behind the Irish Free State offensive
of July–August 1922, that dislodged the Anti-Treaty fighters from the towns of Munster
. Dalton proposed seaborne landings to take the Anti-Treaty positions from the rear and he commanded one such naval landing that took Cork city in early August. He was critical however, of the Free State's failure to follow up its victory, allowing the Anti-Treaty IRA to regroup and resume guerrilla warfare.
On August 22, 1922, he accompanied Michael Collins in convoy touring rural west Cork. The convoy was ambushed and Collins was killed in the firefight. Dalton had advised him to drive on, but Collins insisted on stopping to fight.
Dalton got married shortly afterwards and in December 1922, resigned his command in the Army. He did not agree with the execution of republican prisoners
that marked the latter stages of the Civil War. After briefly working as clerk of the Irish Senate, he left this too to work in the movie industry.
. His company helped produce films such as The Blue Max
, The Spy who Came in from the Cold
and The Lion in Winter
, all of which were filmed in Ireland. Emmet Dalton was also the father of Irish actress Audrey Dalton
.
He died in Dublin in 1978.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
soldier and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the First World War, reaching the rank of Major. However, on his return to Ireland he became one of the senior figures in the Dublin Brigade of the guerrilla Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
which fought against British rule in Ireland. He was a close associate of Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
. In the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
he held one of the highest commands in the Pro-Treaty National Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
but resigned his command before the war was over.
He later founded a film production company a produced a number of notable pictures in the 1950s and -60s.
Early life
Dalton was born to an Irish mother and Irish-American father in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1898, but the family moved back to Ireland when he was 2, in 1900. He grew up in a middle class Catholic background in Drumcondra
Drumcondra, Dublin
Drumcondra is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council.The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area.-History:...
in north Dublin. He was educated by the Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
at O'Connell School in North Richmond Street. He joined the nationalist militia, the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
in 1913 and the following year, though only 15, was involved in the smuggling of arms into Ireland.
First World War
Dalton joined the British Army in 1915 for the duration of the Great War. His decision was not that unusual among Irish Volunteers, as over 20,000 of the National VolunteersNational Volunteers
The National Volunteers was the name taken by the majority of the Irish Volunteers that sided with Irish Parliamentary Party leader John Redmond after the movement split over the question of the Volunteers' role in World War I.-Origins:...
joined the British military on the urgings of Nationalist leader John Redmond
John Redmond
John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
. Dalton's father, however, disagreed with his son's decision. Emmet Dalton joined the 7th battalion of the Dublin Fusiliers as a 2nd Lieutenant - part of the 16th (Irish) Division, which contained many Irish nationalist recruits.
During the Battle of the Somme, in September 1916, Dalton was involved in bloody fighting during the Battle of Ginchy
Battle of Ginchy
The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the United Kingdom 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process...
, in which over 4,000 Irishmen were killed or wounded. Among the casualties was Tom Kettle, a former nationalist Member of Parliament and personal friend of Dalton's. Dalton was promoted to major and awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
for his conduct in the battle.
He was afterwards sent to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, where he commanded a company and then supervised a sniper school. In 1918 he was re-deployed again to France, where he served as a staff officer.
IRA career
On his demobilisation in 1919, he returned to Ireland. There he found that his younger brother Charlie had joined the IRA and Dalton himself followed suit. He later commented on the apparent contradiction of fighting both with and against the British Army by saying that he had fought for Ireland with the British and fought for Ireland against them.He became close to Michael Collins - IRA Director of Intelligence - and was involved in the Squad, an assassination unit. On May 14, 1921, he and Paddy Daly
Paddy Daly
Paddy Daly sometimes referred to as Paddy O'Daly, served in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and subsequently held the rank of Major-General in the Irish National Army in the period 1922 to 1924.-Easter Rising:...
led an operation designed to rescue Sean McEoin from Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
using a hijacked British armoured car.
Free State Officer
Dalton followed Collins in accepting the Anglo-Irish TreatyAnglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
in 1922 and was one of the first officers - a Major General - in the new National Army established by the Irish Provisional Government of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. The Treaty was opposed by much of the IRA and Civil War between pro and anti treaty factions eventually resulted.
Dalton was in command of troops assaulting the Four Courts
Four Courts
The Four Courts in Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's main courts building. The Four Courts are the location of the Supreme Court, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. The building until 2010 also formerly was the location for the Central Criminal Court.-Gandon's Building:Work based on...
in the Battle of Dublin
Battle of Dublin
The Battle of Dublin, a week of street fighting in Dublin from 28 June to 5 July 1922, marked the beginning of the Irish Civil War. The fighting began with an assault by the Provisional Government of the proposed Irish Free State on the Four Courts building which had been occupied by a hard-line...
which marked the start of the war in June 1922. He was behind the Irish Free State offensive
Irish Free State offensive
The Irish Free State offensive of July–September 1922 was the decisive military stroke of the Irish Civil War. It was carried out by the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State against anti-treaty strongholds in the south and southwest of Ireland....
of July–August 1922, that dislodged the Anti-Treaty fighters from the towns of Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
. Dalton proposed seaborne landings to take the Anti-Treaty positions from the rear and he commanded one such naval landing that took Cork city in early August. He was critical however, of the Free State's failure to follow up its victory, allowing the Anti-Treaty IRA to regroup and resume guerrilla warfare.
On August 22, 1922, he accompanied Michael Collins in convoy touring rural west Cork. The convoy was ambushed and Collins was killed in the firefight. Dalton had advised him to drive on, but Collins insisted on stopping to fight.
Dalton got married shortly afterwards and in December 1922, resigned his command in the Army. He did not agree with the execution of republican prisoners
Executions during the Irish Civil War
The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War . This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army insurgents, used executions and terror in what...
that marked the latter stages of the Civil War. After briefly working as clerk of the Irish Senate, he left this too to work in the movie industry.
Movie industry
Over the following forty years, he worked in Ireland and America in film production. In 1958 he founded Irish Ardmore StudiosArdmore Studios
Ardmore Studios is a film studio in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland which was founded by Emmet Dalton and opened by the Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass on May 12, 1958....
. His company helped produce films such as The Blue Max
The Blue Max
The Blue Max is an 1966 British war film about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin, stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress, and features Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall,...
, The Spy who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , by John le Carré, is a British Cold War spy novel that became famous for its portrayal of Western espionage methods as being morally inconsistent with Western democracy and values. The novel received critical acclaim at the time of its publication and became an...
and The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter
-Synopsis:Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173...
, all of which were filmed in Ireland. Emmet Dalton was also the father of Irish actress Audrey Dalton
Audrey Dalton
Audrey Dalton is an Irish television and film actress.-Filmography:*Police Woman as Mrs. Hunter *Family Affair as Mrs. Thompson *Insight...
.
He died in Dublin in 1978.
Sources
- Peter CottrellPeter CottrellMajor Peter James Cottrell . Anglo-Welsh soldier, sailor, writer, educator and revisionist military historian of the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War.-Biography:...
, The Irish Civil War http://books.google.ie/books?id=Zn22MvnyW2QC&pg=PA60&dq=emmett+dalton+1922, Osprey 2008