George Oliver Plunkett
Encyclopedia
George Oliver Plunkett (1894–1944) was a veteran of the Easter Rising
, Irish War of Independence
and Irish Civil War
and was IRA Chief of Staff in World War II
. He was the son of the Sinn Féin
politician George Noble Plunkett
, a papal count and curator of the National Museum
, and the younger brother of Joseph Mary Plunkett
, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising and a signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
, and his collateral ancestor Oliver Plunkett
, the Archbishop of Armagh
who was martyr
ed in 1681. He was one of seven children; his siblings were Philomena (1886), Joseph
(1887), Moya (Maria, 1889), Geraldine (1891), Fiona (1896) and John (Jack, 1897). Like Joseph he was sent to be educated at the exclusive Stonyhurst College
, and is recorded there in the 1911 England Census
. As a result he spoke with an upper-class English accent.
Although overshadowed by his elder brother Joseph Plunkett, George was an important IRA
man in his own right and like his brother became the IRA Chief of Staff.. He joined the Irish Volunteers
in 1914 and in the Easter Rising
of 1916 was a Captain and in command of the "Kimmage Garrison". These men on the run (including Michael Collins
) were staying at his father's Larkfield estate in Kimmage, south of Dublin making bombs
for the Rising. Famously on Easter Monday
he waved down a tram with his revolver at Harold's Cross, boarded it with his men (armed with shotguns, pikes
and homemade bombs
), took out his wallet and said, "Fifty-two tuppenny
tickets to the city centre please". Arriving at Liberty Hall
in style they were organised into four companies under George's command and were almost as large as some of the IRA
battalions. With a hundred other Volunteers they marched with James Connolly
and Patrick Pearse
to seize the General Post Office
(GPO). When Connolly gave the order to attack George shouted "Take the GPO" and charged in. The GPO was the headquarters of the IRA
during the week-long Rising and George remained there throughout. At one point he risked being shot when he went to comfort a wounded British soldier, the enemy holding fire once they saw he was on a mission of mercy.
He surrendered with his brother and the rest of the headquarters on Saturday 29 April 1916. He was court-martial
led with his brother Jack Plunkett on 4 May 1916 and both were sentenced to death by shooting, which was commuted to ten years penal servitude by Lt-Gen Sir John Maxwell
, who had ordered their brother Joseph's execution. His father and mother were also arrested and imprisoned. His sister Geraldine wrote;
in the IRA
. On 20 October 1917, he addressed a huge Sinn Féin
meeting in Dungarvan Square with his father and a Volunteer
cavalry section as a guard of honour
. As a member of IRA GHQ George travelled the county putting IRA
volunteer companies on a proper war footing. The Irish War of Independence - the "Black and Tan
War" - broke out when Éamon de Valera
re-declared Irish Independence in 1919. On the night of 18–19 March 1921 George commanded the IRA
volunteers of the West Waterford Déise Brigade (Pax Whelan, Officer Commanding and George Lennon O/C Flying Column) and caught a British military convoy in the Burgery ambush
two miles northeast of Dungarvan
. The convoy included Black and Tans
and Royal Irish Constabulary
and after a firefight they were forced to retreat. An old flute-player arrived on the scene, refused to leave and followed the IRA
to Kilgobinet, George said "Well, one thing he can say is that he saw the English running from the Irish". After the ambush George led a group of IRA volunteers to search for any armaments left behind by the Crown forces and were engaged by the British. Pat Keating of Comeragh was fatally wounded and George went out under fire to help him, as he had done in the Easter Rising, and the IRA retreated to safety in the Comeragh Mountains
.
against the Irish Free State
in the Irish Civil War
and both he and Jack Plunkett fought at the Four Courts
when the war began. They were captured and imprisoned again in Kilmainham Gaol
where they went on hunger strike until George looked "like a death's head". He was transferred to Mountjoy Prison
and later in 1922 Judge Crowley ordered his release as his arrest was illegal under habeas corpus
. In 1929 the rift between the IRA
and Sinn Féin
was bridged for a period with the formation of Comhairle na Poblachta (Council for the Republic). In one body "were included Maud Gonne MacBride; solid IRA
men like George Plunkett and Seán MacBride
; Mary MacSwiney
, JJ O'Kelly and the de jure Republicans; the Republican Left like Frank Ryan
and Mick Fitzpatrick
; firm Sinn Féin
people like Joe Clarke
...", but this was only papering over the cracks and they soon split again. Tom Barry
advocated using Nazi Germany
as a source of arms and funds in the late 1930s, but this was rejected by Plunkett and the Army Council as they insisted that the IRA only attack military targets. On 12 January 1939 he was one of the seven signatories of the IRA's declaration of war on the United Kingdom to liberate Northern Ireland
. This led to the S-Plan
bombing campaign of England in 1939-40 and his being interned in the Curragh
. George Plunkett was briefly IRA Chief of Staff during World War II
, but died after an accident with a horse and cart in 1944.
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and 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....
and was IRA Chief of Staff in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was the son of the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
politician George Noble Plunkett
George Noble Plunkett
George Noble Plunkett or Count Plunkett was a biographer and Irish nationalist, and father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916....
, a papal count and curator of the National Museum
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
, and the younger brother of Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:...
, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising and a signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Early life
George was born in 1894, probably in Dublin where his parents lived at the time. He was named after his father, George Noble PlunkettGeorge Noble Plunkett
George Noble Plunkett or Count Plunkett was a biographer and Irish nationalist, and father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916....
, and his collateral ancestor Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett
Saint Oliver Plunkett was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland....
, the Archbishop of Armagh
Archbishop of Armagh
The Archbishop of Armagh is the title of the presiding ecclesiastical figure of each of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland in the region around Armagh in Northern Ireland...
who was martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
ed in 1681. He was one of seven children; his siblings were Philomena (1886), Joseph
Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:...
(1887), Moya (Maria, 1889), Geraldine (1891), Fiona (1896) and John (Jack, 1897). Like Joseph he was sent to be educated at the exclusive Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
, and is recorded there in the 1911 England Census
Census in the United Kingdom
Coincident full censuses have taken place in the different jurisdictions of the United Kingdom every ten years since 1801, with the exceptions of 1941 and in both Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1921; simultaneous censuses were taken in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with...
. As a result he spoke with an upper-class English accent.
Easter Rising
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...
man in his own right and like his brother became the IRA Chief of Staff.. He joined 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 1914 and in the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916 was a Captain and in command of the "Kimmage Garrison". These men on the run (including 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...
) were staying at his father's Larkfield estate in Kimmage, south of Dublin making bombs
Blast bomb
Blast bomb is a term used in Northern Ireland for a type of improvised explosive device. More specifically, these devices are usually a form of homemade grenade, which is thrown at a target. These devices have been used in a number of public order situations, and in attacks on the Royal Ulster...
for the Rising. Famously on Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
he waved down a tram with his revolver at Harold's Cross, boarded it with his men (armed with shotguns, pikes
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
and homemade bombs
Blast bomb
Blast bomb is a term used in Northern Ireland for a type of improvised explosive device. More specifically, these devices are usually a form of homemade grenade, which is thrown at a target. These devices have been used in a number of public order situations, and in attacks on the Royal Ulster...
), took out his wallet and said, "Fifty-two tuppenny
Tuppence
Tuppence may refer to:* Two pence in pre-decimal British coinage. Or, the specific coins:** Two pence ** Two pence...
tickets to the city centre please". Arriving at Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall , in Dublin, Ireland is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union...
in style they were organised into four companies under George's command and were almost as large as some of the IRA
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...
battalions. With a hundred other Volunteers they marched with James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
and Patrick Pearse
Patrick Pearse
Patrick Henry Pearse was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist and political activist who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916...
to seize the General Post Office
General Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
(GPO). When Connolly gave the order to attack George shouted "Take the GPO" and charged in. The GPO was the headquarters of the IRA
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...
during the week-long Rising and George remained there throughout. At one point he risked being shot when he went to comfort a wounded British soldier, the enemy holding fire once they saw he was on a mission of mercy.
He surrendered with his brother and the rest of the headquarters on Saturday 29 April 1916. He was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led with his brother Jack Plunkett on 4 May 1916 and both were sentenced to death by shooting, which was commuted to ten years penal servitude by Lt-Gen Sir John Maxwell
John Maxwell (British Army officer)
General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell GCB, KCMG, CVO, DSO, PC was a British Army officer and colonial governor. He served in the Mahdist War in the Sudan, the Boer War, and in the First World War, but he is best known for his role in the suppression of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland and subsequent...
, who had ordered their brother Joseph's execution. His father and mother were also arrested and imprisoned. His sister Geraldine wrote;
"When the newspapers came out on Saturday the 6th (May 1916) we saw that George and Jack had also been sentenced to death and the sentence commuted to ten years. Jack told me afterwards that he had been told first of the death sentence and that the officer had then paused for a whole minute before telling him it had been commuted. Jack and George were brought to Mountjoy Jail for a few days, and then brought in a cattle boat to Holyhead. They spent six months in Portland Prison before being moved to Parkhurst, on the Isle of Wight. I got some South African medal ribbon because it was green, white and orange and made it into a bow which I wore everywhere. A big policeman in Dame Street stopped me and said the tricolour would get me into trouble. I said, 'I have one brother shot and two brothers sentenced to death and my father and mother in jail. He said 'You're Plunkett, you can wear it'."
Black and Tan War
George was released due in the 1917 amnesty and returned to Ireland and became a commandantCommandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
in the IRA
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...
. On 20 October 1917, he addressed a huge Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
meeting in Dungarvan Square with his father and a Volunteer
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"...
cavalry section as a guard of honour
Guard of honour
A guard of honour is a ceremonial event practice in military and sports as a mark of respect.-Military:In the military a guard of honour is a ceremonial practice to honour visiting foreign dignitaries, or the fallen in war, or a ceremony for public figures who have died.The commander is three paces...
. As a member of IRA GHQ George travelled the county putting IRA
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...
volunteer companies on a proper war footing. The Irish War of Independence - the "Black and Tan
Black and Tan
Black and Tan is a drink made from a blend of pale ale, usually Bass Pale Ale, and a dark beer such as a stout or porter, most often Guinness. Sometimes a pale lager is used instead of ale; this is usually called a half and half. Contrary to popular belief, however, Black and Tan as a mixture of...
War" - broke out when Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
re-declared Irish Independence in 1919. On the night of 18–19 March 1921 George commanded the IRA
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...
volunteers of the West Waterford Déise Brigade (Pax Whelan, Officer Commanding and George Lennon O/C Flying Column) and caught a British military convoy in the Burgery ambush
Burgery ambush
The Burgery Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 18–19 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place near the town of Dungarvan, County Waterford.-Ambush:...
two miles northeast of Dungarvan
Dungarvan
Dungarvan is a town and harbour on the south coast of Ireland in the province of Munster. Dungarvan is the county town and administrative centre of County Waterford. The town's Irish name means "Garbhan's fort", referring to Saint Garbhan who founded a church there in the seventh century...
. The convoy included Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
and Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
and after a firefight they were forced to retreat. An old flute-player arrived on the scene, refused to leave and followed the IRA
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...
to Kilgobinet, George said "Well, one thing he can say is that he saw the English running from the Irish". After the ambush George led a group of IRA volunteers to search for any armaments left behind by the Crown forces and were engaged by the British. Pat Keating of Comeragh was fatally wounded and George went out under fire to help him, as he had done in the Easter Rising, and the IRA retreated to safety in the Comeragh Mountains
Comeragh Mountains
The Comeragh Mountains are a glaciated mountain range situated in the south east of Ireland in County Waterford. They are located between the town of Clonmel on the County Tipperary border and the villages of Kilrossanty and Kilmacthomas in County Waterford.The twelve mountains which form the...
.
Irish Civil War and After
George sided with the anti-treaty or "Irregular" IRAIrish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
against 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...
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....
and both he and Jack Plunkett fought at 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...
when the war began. They were captured and imprisoned again in Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison, located in Kilmainham in Dublin, which is now a museum. It has been run since the mid-1980s by the Office of Public Works , an Irish Government agency...
where they went on hunger strike until George looked "like a death's head". He was transferred to 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...
and later in 1922 Judge Crowley ordered his release as his arrest was illegal under habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
. In 1929 the rift between the IRA
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...
and Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
was bridged for a period with the formation of Comhairle na Poblachta (Council for the Republic). In one body "were included Maud Gonne MacBride; solid IRA
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
men like George Plunkett and Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride
Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
; Mary MacSwiney
Mary MacSwiney
Mary MacSwiney was an Irish politician and educationalist.-Early life:Born in London, to an Irish father and English mother, she returned to Ireland with her family at the age of six and was educated in Cork...
, JJ O'Kelly and the de jure Republicans; the Republican Left like Frank Ryan
Frank Ryan (Irish republican)
Frank Ryan was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army, editor of An Phoblacht, leftist activist and leader of Irish volunteers on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War....
and Mick Fitzpatrick
Mick Fitzpatrick
Michael Fitzpatrick was an Irish republican and chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army .Born in Wexford in 1893 he was one of the 'driving forces' behind the anti-Treaty IRA in Dublin during the Irish Civil War. He was briefly the Officer Commanding of the IRA's Dublin Brigade and was...
; firm Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
people like Joe Clarke
Joe Clarke (Irish republican)
Joe Clarke was an Irish republican activist.Born in Rush, Dublin, Clarke worked for the Sinn Féin Bank, and was active in the Easter Rising. When captured, he was shot in the head, but survived, and was instead imprisoned in Liverpool Prison, Wakefield Prison and then Frongoch Internment Camp.On...
...", but this was only papering over the cracks and they soon split again. Tom Barry
Tom Barry
Thomas Barry was one of the most prominent guerrilla leaders in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence.-Early life:...
advocated using Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as a source of arms and funds in the late 1930s, but this was rejected by Plunkett and the Army Council as they insisted that the IRA only attack military targets. On 12 January 1939 he was one of the seven signatories of the IRA's declaration of war on the United Kingdom to liberate Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. This led to the S-Plan
S-Plan
The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army . It was conceived by Seamus O'Donovan in 1938 at the...
bombing campaign of England in 1939-40 and his being interned in the Curragh
Curragh
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...
. George Plunkett was briefly IRA Chief of Staff during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but died after an accident with a horse and cart in 1944.