IRA and the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Irish Republican Army
was a guerrilla army that fought the Irish War of Independence
against Britain
from 1919–1921. It saw itself as the legitimate army of the Irish Republic
declared in 1919. The Anglo-Irish Treaty
, which ended this conflict, was a compromise which abolished the Irish Republic, but created the self-governing Irish Free State
, within the British Empire
. The IRA was deeply split over whether to accept the Treaty. Some accepted, whereas some rejected not only the Treaty but also the civilian authorities who had accepted it. This attitude eventually led to the outbreak of the Irish Civil War
in late June 1922 between pro- and anti-Treaty factions.
(the Irish Parliament) on 7 January 1922. (See Anglo-Irish Treaty Dáil vote
).
Although the Treaty was negotiated by Michael Collins
, the de facto leader of the IRA, and had been approved by the Irish Republican Brotherhood
, the IRA's senior ranking officers were deeply divided over the decision of the Dáil to ratify the Treaty. Of the General Headquarters (GHQ) staff, nine members were in favour of the Treaty while four opposed it.
and the decision of the Dáil to accept the Treaty meant that the IRA no longer owed that body its allegiance. They called for the IRA to withdraw from the authority of the Dáil and to entrust the IRA Executive with control over the army. The following day, this group issued Mulcahy with a letter requesting that an Army Convention be held on 5 February to discuss these proposals. The letter is signed by GHQ staff Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows, Seán Russell, and Seamus O’Donovan, as well as Oscar Traynor
, Liam Lynch
and other IRA commandants.
On 13 January, Mulcahy replied to the anti-Treaty IRA officers to state that he would not call a convention without the authority of Dáil Éireann as the Government of the Republic. On same day, Rory O’Connor wrote to Eoin O’Duffy stating that a convention would be called regardless. O'Connor added that O'Duffy's orders would only be obeyed by the anti-Treaty section provided they were countersigned by himself.
On 16 January, the first IRA division – the 2nd Southern Division – repudiated the authority of the GHQ.
On 18 January, Richard Mulcahy chaired a meeting of the GHQ Staff, divisional commandants and some brigade commandants. It agreed to hold an Army Convention within two months and that, in a meantime, a 'watchdog' committee, known as th Army Re-Unification Committee would be set up with representatives from both sides. This committee did not meet often, however and failed to heal the rift in the IRA.
A month later, on 18 February, Liam Forde
, O/C of the IRA Mid-Limerick Brigade, issued a proclamation stating that: "We no longer recognise the authority of the present head of the army, and renew our allegiance to the existing Irish Republic". This was the first unit of the IRA to break with the pro-Treaty government.
On 24 February, the 'watchdog' committee established a month earlier met. Rory O'Connor requested Mulcahy to secure Dáil approval to hold an army convention on 26 March. Three days later on 27 February, the Dáil Cabinet sanctioned the Minister of Defence's request to hold an Army Convention. This decision was duly announced by IRA chief of staff, Eoin O’Duffy, who requested brigade conventions to assemble to elect delegates.
On 5 March, a stand-off developed between pro- and anti-IRA forces in Limerick
over who would take control of a military barracks vacated by the departing British troops. A compromise was reached around the 12/13 March to prevent fighting breaking out, but tensions remained high in the city.
wrote to Michael Collins
, warning him that: "An adverse decision by the convention of the Irish Republican Army (so called) would, however, be a very grave event at the present juncture. I presume you are quite sure there is no danger of this". The following day, 15 March, the Dáil cabinet decided to prohibit the holding of the Army Convention scheduled to take place on 26 March. Amateur historian Dorothy Macardle
claims that the banning of the convention arose because "Mulcahy realised that 70 to 80 per cent of the IRA was against the Treaty and he feared that the Convention could have been used to establish a military dictatorship". However, issuing a summons under the title Republican Military Council, 50 IRA senior officers including 4 GHQ staff, 5 divisional commanders and a number of brigade commandants, decided to go ahead with Convention.
On 22 March, Rory O'Connor holds what was to become an infamous press conference at the headquarters of the republican party (Cumann na Poblachta
) in Suffolk Street, Dublin. He declares that the army is "in a dilemma, having the choice of supporting its oath to the Republic or still giving allegiance to the Dáil, which, it considers, has abandoned the Republic. The contention of the army", he says, "is that the Dáil did a thing that it had no right to do." When asked if he would obey President Arthur Griffith
, he said he would not as he had violated his oath. When asked if the army would forcibly prevent an election being held, O'Connor stated: "It will have the power to do so." He went on to say that "the holding of the Convention means that we repudiate the Dáil … We will set up an Executive which will issue orders to the IRA all over the country." In reply to the question on whether it can be taken that we are going to have a military dictatorship, O’Connor said: "You can take it that way if you like."
On 23 March, Richard Mulcahy (Minister of Defence), in a letter to General O'Duffy, orders the suspension of any officer or man who takes part in the "sectional" Convention.
On 26 March, a Convention of (predominantly) anti-Treaty delegates met in the Mansion House, Dublin
with between 220 and 223 delegates present. The convention passed a resolution saying that the Army "shall be maintained as the Army of the Irish Republic under an Executive appointed by the Convention". A temporary Executive of 16 members was elected headed by Liam Lynch and including Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows and Ernie O'Malley
. The convention adjourns until 9 April.
On 28 March, the (anti-Treaty) IRA Executive issued statement stating that Minister of Defence (Mulcahy) and the Chief-of-Staff (O’Duffy) no longer exercised any control over the IRA. In addition, it ordered an end to the recruitment to the new military and police forces of the Provisional Government. Furthermore, it instructed all IRA units to reaffirm their allegiance to the Irish Republic on 2 April.
On 9 April, the (anti-Treaty) Army Convention reconvened in Dublin. It adopted a new constitution and elected a new 16-member Executive composed the following members: Liam Lynch (Cork), Frank Barrett (Clare), Liam Deasy
(Cork), Tom Hales (Cork), Tom Maguire
(Mayo), Joseph McKelvey (Tyrone), Liam Mellows (Galway), Rory O'Connor (Dublin?), Peadar O'Donnell
(Donegal), Florrie O'Donoghue (Cork), Sean O'Hegarty
(Cork), Ernie O'Malley
(Dublin), Séamus Robinson (Tipperary), Joe O'Connor
(?), Sean Moylan
(Cork), and P.J. Ruttledge (Mayo). When the Executive met, it elected Liam Lynch as new IRA chief of staff, Ernie O'Malley as assistant chief of staff, and appointed a seven-member Army Council
. Barry's Hotel in Gardiner Row was made (anti-Treaty) IRA headquarters.
building and several other buildings in the city centre. They were hoping to provoke the remaining British troops in Ireland (numbering 5,000 men in Dublin) into attacking them - hoping that this would re-start the war, wreck the Treaty and re-unite the IRA. The Provisional Government wanted to await the result of the 1922 general election
on 16 June, which proved favourable to it, but was continually criticized and ignored by the anti-Treaty side.
The Provisional government was then pressured into dealing with the Four Courts garrison by the British. Michael Collins in particular was very reluctant to do this and it was not until the Four Courts men kidnapped JJ O'Connell in late June that he decided to act. At this time, the executive of the anti-Treaty IRA under Liam Lynch
had disowned the Four Courts men for their provocative behaviour. On 28 June 1922, Collin's Free State troops opened fire on the Four Courts with borrowed British artillery. Fighting broke out in Dublin and the anti-Treaty IRA took the side of the Four Courts men. Michael Collins was killed on 22 August 1922 at the village of Béal na mBláth
. The Civil War lasted until May 1923, when the IRA called a ceasefire and dumped its arms.
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...
was a guerrilla army that fought the 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...
against Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
from 1919–1921. It saw itself as the legitimate army of the Irish Republic
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
declared in 1919. The Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-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...
, which ended this conflict, was a compromise which abolished the Irish Republic, but created the self-governing 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...
, within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. The IRA was deeply split over whether to accept the Treaty. Some accepted, whereas some rejected not only the Treaty but also the civilian authorities who had accepted it. This attitude eventually led to the outbreak of 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....
in late June 1922 between pro- and anti-Treaty factions.
Reactions to the Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on 6 December 1921 and narrowly ratified by Dáil ÉireannDáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
(the Irish Parliament) on 7 January 1922. (See Anglo-Irish Treaty Dáil vote
Anglo-Irish Treaty Dáil vote
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921. Dáil Éireann voted on the treaty on 7 January 1922, following a debate through late December 1921 and into January 1922.-Result:Of the 125 Teachtaí Dála , 121 cast their vote in the Dáil...
).
Although the Treaty was negotiated by 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...
, the de facto leader of the IRA, and had been approved by the Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
, the IRA's senior ranking officers were deeply divided over the decision of the Dáil to ratify the Treaty. Of the General Headquarters (GHQ) staff, nine members were in favour of the Treaty while four opposed it.
- Pro-Treaty were Richard MulcahyRichard MulcahyRichard James Mulcahy was an Irish politician, army general and commander in chief, leader of Fine Gael and Cabinet Minister...
(Chief of Staff); Eoin O'DuffyEoin O'DuffyEoin O'Duffy was in succession a Teachta Dála , the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army , the second Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, leader of the Army Comrades Association and then the first leader of Fine Gael , before leading the Irish Brigade to fight for Francisco Franco during...
(Deputy Chief of Staff); J. J. O'Connell (Assistant Chief of Staff); Gearóid O'SullivanGearóid O'SullivanGearóid O'Sullivan was an Irish teacher, Irish language scholar, army officer, barrister and Sinn Féin and Fine Gael politician.-Early life and education:...
(Adjutant General); Sean McMahon (Quartermaster GeneralIRA Quartermaster GeneralThe IRA Quartermaster General runs a department which is responsible for obtaining, concealing and maintaining the store of weaponry of the Irish Republican Army....
); Michael CollinsMichael 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...
(Director of Intelligence); Diarmuid O'HegartyDiarmuid O'HegartyDiarmuid O'Hegarty was an Irish revolutionary and civil servant.Born in Cork, O'Hegarty was prominent in the re-organisation of the Irish Volunteers after the 1916 Easter Rising...
(Director of Organisation); Emmet DaltonEmmet DaltonEmmet 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...
(Director of Training); Piaras BéaslaíPiaras BéaslaíPiaras Béaslaí was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a member of Dáil Éireann and also an Irish author, playwright, biographer and translator....
(Director of Publicity). - Anti-Treaty were Rory O'ConnorRory O'Connor (Irish republican)Rory O'Connor was an Irish republican activist. He is best remembered for his role in the Irish Civil War 1922-1923, which led to his execution.-Background:...
(Director of Engineering); Liam MellowsLiam MellowsLiam Mellows was an Irish Republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England, Mellows grew up in County Wexford in Ireland. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway, and the War of Independence...
(Director of Purchases); Seán RussellSeán RussellSeán Russell was an Irish republican who held senior positions in the IRA until the end of the Irish War of Independence...
(Director of Munitions) and Seamus O'DonovanSeamus O'DonovanSeamus O'Donovan was a leading volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.A native of County Roscommon, he was an explosives expert and reputedly invented the "Irish Wallflower" and "Irish Cheddar" devices. He subsequently became IRA Director of Chemicals in 1921...
(Director of Chemicals). Austin StackAustin StackAustin Stack was an Irish revolutionary and politician.-Early life:Stack was born in Ballymullen, Tralee, County Kerry. He was educated at the Christian Brothers School in Tralee. At the age of fourteen he left school and became a clerk in a solicitor's office. A gifted Gaelic footballer, he...
, whose position on the GHQ staff was ambiguous after Brugha tried to foist him on GHQ, was also anti-Treaty.
The stand-off begins
On 10 January, at least three anti-Treaty members of the IRA GHQ (one account claims four); six divisional commanders and the officers commanding of the two Dublin brigades meet to formulate their anti-Treaty strategy. They argued that the IRA's allegiance was to the Dáil of the Irish RepublicIrish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
and the decision of the Dáil to accept the Treaty meant that the IRA no longer owed that body its allegiance. They called for the IRA to withdraw from the authority of the Dáil and to entrust the IRA Executive with control over the army. The following day, this group issued Mulcahy with a letter requesting that an Army Convention be held on 5 February to discuss these proposals. The letter is signed by GHQ staff Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows, Seán Russell, and Seamus O’Donovan, as well as Oscar Traynor
Oscar Traynor
Oscar Traynor was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and revolutionary. He served in a number of Cabinet positions, most notably as the country's longest-serving Minister for Defence....
, Liam Lynch
Liam Lynch (general)
Liam Lynch was an officer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the commanding general of the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War.-Early life:...
and other IRA commandants.
On 13 January, Mulcahy replied to the anti-Treaty IRA officers to state that he would not call a convention without the authority of Dáil Éireann as the Government of the Republic. On same day, Rory O’Connor wrote to Eoin O’Duffy stating that a convention would be called regardless. O'Connor added that O'Duffy's orders would only be obeyed by the anti-Treaty section provided they were countersigned by himself.
On 16 January, the first IRA division – the 2nd Southern Division – repudiated the authority of the GHQ.
On 18 January, Richard Mulcahy chaired a meeting of the GHQ Staff, divisional commandants and some brigade commandants. It agreed to hold an Army Convention within two months and that, in a meantime, a 'watchdog' committee, known as th Army Re-Unification Committee would be set up with representatives from both sides. This committee did not meet often, however and failed to heal the rift in the IRA.
A month later, on 18 February, Liam Forde
Liam Forde
Liam Forde was an alias used by Séamas Ó Maoiléoin of Tyrrellspass, County Westmeath, Ireland when working as a spy for Michael Collins....
, O/C of the IRA Mid-Limerick Brigade, issued a proclamation stating that: "We no longer recognise the authority of the present head of the army, and renew our allegiance to the existing Irish Republic". This was the first unit of the IRA to break with the pro-Treaty government.
On 24 February, the 'watchdog' committee established a month earlier met. Rory O'Connor requested Mulcahy to secure Dáil approval to hold an army convention on 26 March. Three days later on 27 February, the Dáil Cabinet sanctioned the Minister of Defence's request to hold an Army Convention. This decision was duly announced by IRA chief of staff, Eoin O’Duffy, who requested brigade conventions to assemble to elect delegates.
On 5 March, a stand-off developed between pro- and anti-IRA forces in Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
over who would take control of a military barracks vacated by the departing British troops. A compromise was reached around the 12/13 March to prevent fighting breaking out, but tensions remained high in the city.
The Army Convention
Clearly concerned at developments in Ireland, and in Limerick in particular, on 14 March Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
wrote to 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...
, warning him that: "An adverse decision by the convention of the Irish Republican Army (so called) would, however, be a very grave event at the present juncture. I presume you are quite sure there is no danger of this". The following day, 15 March, the Dáil cabinet decided to prohibit the holding of the Army Convention scheduled to take place on 26 March. Amateur historian Dorothy Macardle
Dorothy Macardle
Dorothy Macardle was an Irish author and historian. Her book, The Irish Republic, is one of the more frequently cited narrative accounts of the Irish War of Independence and its aftermath...
claims that the banning of the convention arose because "Mulcahy realised that 70 to 80 per cent of the IRA was against the Treaty and he feared that the Convention could have been used to establish a military dictatorship". However, issuing a summons under the title Republican Military Council, 50 IRA senior officers including 4 GHQ staff, 5 divisional commanders and a number of brigade commandants, decided to go ahead with Convention.
On 22 March, Rory O'Connor holds what was to become an infamous press conference at the headquarters of the republican party (Cumann na Poblachta
Cumann na Poblachta
Cumann na Poblachta was an Irish republican political party.The party was founded on 15 March 1922 by Éamon de Valera. It opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and was composed of the anti-Treaty wing of Sinn Féin...
) in Suffolk Street, Dublin. He declares that the army is "in a dilemma, having the choice of supporting its oath to the Republic or still giving allegiance to the Dáil, which, it considers, has abandoned the Republic. The contention of the army", he says, "is that the Dáil did a thing that it had no right to do." When asked if he would obey President Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith
Arthur Griffith was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin. He served as President of Dáil Éireann from January to August 1922, and was head of the Irish delegation at the negotiations in London that produced the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.-Early life:...
, he said he would not as he had violated his oath. When asked if the army would forcibly prevent an election being held, O'Connor stated: "It will have the power to do so." He went on to say that "the holding of the Convention means that we repudiate the Dáil … We will set up an Executive which will issue orders to the IRA all over the country." In reply to the question on whether it can be taken that we are going to have a military dictatorship, O’Connor said: "You can take it that way if you like."
On 23 March, Richard Mulcahy (Minister of Defence), in a letter to General O'Duffy, orders the suspension of any officer or man who takes part in the "sectional" Convention.
On 26 March, a Convention of (predominantly) anti-Treaty delegates met in the Mansion House, Dublin
Mansion House, Dublin
The Mansion House on Dawson Street, Dublin, is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715.-Features:The Mansion House's most famous features include the "Round Room", where the First Dáil assembled on 21 January 1919 to proclaim the Irish Declaration of Independence...
with between 220 and 223 delegates present. The convention passed a resolution saying that the Army "shall be maintained as the Army of the Irish Republic under an Executive appointed by the Convention". A temporary Executive of 16 members was elected headed by Liam Lynch and including Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows and Ernie O'Malley
Ernie O'Malley
Ernie O'Malley was an Irish Republican Army officer during the Irish War of Independence and a commander of the anti-treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War. O'Malley wrote three books, On Another Man's Wound, The Singing Flame, and Raids and Rallies. The first describes his early life and role in...
. The convention adjourns until 9 April.
On 28 March, the (anti-Treaty) IRA Executive issued statement stating that Minister of Defence (Mulcahy) and the Chief-of-Staff (O’Duffy) no longer exercised any control over the IRA. In addition, it ordered an end to the recruitment to the new military and police forces of the Provisional Government. Furthermore, it instructed all IRA units to reaffirm their allegiance to the Irish Republic on 2 April.
On 9 April, the (anti-Treaty) Army Convention reconvened in Dublin. It adopted a new constitution and elected a new 16-member Executive composed the following members: Liam Lynch (Cork), Frank Barrett (Clare), Liam Deasy
Liam Deasy
Liam Deasy was an Irish Republican Army officer in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War of the 1920s.Deasy was born in Bandon in County Cork in 1898....
(Cork), Tom Hales (Cork), Tom Maguire
Tom Maguire
Tom Maguire was an Irish republican who held the rank of commandant-general in the Western Command of the Irish Republican Army and led the South Mayo flying column....
(Mayo), Joseph McKelvey (Tyrone), Liam Mellows (Galway), Rory O'Connor (Dublin?), Peadar O'Donnell
Peadar O'Donnell
Peadar O'Donnell was an Irish republican and socialist activist and writer.-Early life:Peadar O'Donnell was born into an Irish speaking family in Dungloe, County Donegal in northwest Ireland, in 1893. He attended St. Patrick's College, Dublin, where he trained as a teacher...
(Donegal), Florrie O'Donoghue (Cork), Sean O'Hegarty
Seán O'Hegarty
Seán O'Hegarty was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army in Cork during the Irish War of Independence and served as O/C of the Cork No. 1 Brigade of the IRA after the deaths of Tomás Mac Curtain and Terence MacSwiney....
(Cork), Ernie O'Malley
Ernie O'Malley
Ernie O'Malley was an Irish Republican Army officer during the Irish War of Independence and a commander of the anti-treaty IRA during the Irish Civil War. O'Malley wrote three books, On Another Man's Wound, The Singing Flame, and Raids and Rallies. The first describes his early life and role in...
(Dublin), Séamus Robinson (Tipperary), Joe O'Connor
Joe O'Connor
Joe O'Connor is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Ballybrown and was a member of the Limerick senior inter-county team in the 1980s and 1990s.-References:...
(?), Sean Moylan
Seán Moylan
Seán Moylan was a Commandant of the Irish Republican Army and later a Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil politician...
(Cork), and P.J. Ruttledge (Mayo). When the Executive met, it elected Liam Lynch as new IRA chief of staff, Ernie O'Malley as assistant chief of staff, and appointed a seven-member Army Council
IRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
. Barry's Hotel in Gardiner Row was made (anti-Treaty) IRA headquarters.
The Four Courts occupation and the outbreak of civil war
On 14 April, about 200 of the anti-Treaty IRA men in Dublin seized the Four CourtsFour 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...
building and several other buildings in the city centre. They were hoping to provoke the remaining British troops in Ireland (numbering 5,000 men in Dublin) into attacking them - hoping that this would re-start the war, wreck the Treaty and re-unite the IRA. The Provisional Government wanted to await the result of the 1922 general election
Irish general election, 1922
The Irish general election of 1922 took place in Southern Ireland on 16 June 1922, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State...
on 16 June, which proved favourable to it, but was continually criticized and ignored by the anti-Treaty side.
The Provisional government was then pressured into dealing with the Four Courts garrison by the British. Michael Collins in particular was very reluctant to do this and it was not until the Four Courts men kidnapped JJ O'Connell in late June that he decided to act. At this time, the executive of the anti-Treaty IRA under Liam Lynch
Liam Lynch (general)
Liam Lynch was an officer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the commanding general of the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War.-Early life:...
had disowned the Four Courts men for their provocative behaviour. On 28 June 1922, Collin's Free State troops opened fire on the Four Courts with borrowed British artillery. Fighting broke out in Dublin and the anti-Treaty IRA took the side of the Four Courts men. Michael Collins was killed on 22 August 1922 at the village of Béal na mBláth
Béal na mBláth
Béal na mBláth, officially Béal Átha na Bláiche , is a small village in County Cork, Ireland. Both Bláth or Bláiche are variations of the word bláthach, meaning literally "flowery" or "floral", or in this case "buttermilk"....
. The Civil War lasted until May 1923, when the IRA called a ceasefire and dumped its arms.