Listowel mutiny
Encyclopedia
The Listowel mutiny occurred during the Irish War of Independence
when Royal Irish Constabulary
officers under the command of County Inspector O'Shea refused to be relocated out of their rural police station in Listowel, County Kerry
and moved to other areas.
The uprising started on 17 June 1920, and has been cited as finishing when the local Divisional Police Commissioner for Munster, Lt.-Col. Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth was killed by Irish Republican Army
volunteers a month later on 17 July. By this time many police officers in the area had moved into service with the IRA or decided not to engage the IRA in combat, for a variety of reasons.
On 19 June, Smyth arrived to inform the police of a new policy regarding rules of engagement
with the IRA and their supporters. In the course of his address, he mentioned that in pursuit of their duty they would be given the power to shoot IRA suspects on sight. Order No. 5, which was issued on 17 June, stated that the police could shoot if a suspect failed to surrender 'when ordered to do so'. One of the apparent reasons why the constables rose up, was because they they were horrified by the thought of killing fellow Irishmen "on sight".
Replacements were immediately sent from County Limerick
under the command of Head Constable Tobias O'Sullivan, who was commissioned to take command of the District.
The mutiny was hailed as a success for Irish republicanism
. Smyth was later assassinated when six IRA men shot him dead in the smoking room of the Cork and County Club.
Smyth was buried in his native Banbridge
, County Down
on 21 July 1920. Southern railway workers had earlier refused to transport his body home and loyalist
"anger boiled over", leading to attacks on Catholic
homes in Banbridge and nearby Dromore
.
On 20 January 1921 Tobias O'Sullivan was shot to death in the street as he walked with his seven year old son.
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...
when 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...
officers under the command of County Inspector O'Shea refused to be relocated out of their rural police station in Listowel, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
and moved to other areas.
The uprising started on 17 June 1920, and has been cited as finishing when the local Divisional Police Commissioner for Munster, Lt.-Col. Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth was killed by 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...
volunteers a month later on 17 July. By this time many police officers in the area had moved into service with the IRA or decided not to engage the IRA in combat, for a variety of reasons.
On 19 June, Smyth arrived to inform the police of a new policy regarding rules of engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
with the IRA and their supporters. In the course of his address, he mentioned that in pursuit of their duty they would be given the power to shoot IRA suspects on sight. Order No. 5, which was issued on 17 June, stated that the police could shoot if a suspect failed to surrender 'when ordered to do so'. One of the apparent reasons why the constables rose up, was because they they were horrified by the thought of killing fellow Irishmen "on sight".
Replacements were immediately sent from County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
under the command of Head Constable Tobias O'Sullivan, who was commissioned to take command of the District.
The mutiny was hailed as a success for Irish republicanism
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. Smyth was later assassinated when six IRA men shot him dead in the smoking room of the Cork and County Club.
Smyth was buried in his native Banbridge
Banbridge
Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
on 21 July 1920. Southern railway workers had earlier refused to transport his body home and loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
"anger boiled over", leading to attacks on Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
homes in Banbridge and nearby Dromore
Dromore
- Places :* Dromore, Ontario, Canada* Dromore , a crater in the Lunae Palus quadrangle of Mars- Other :* Bishop of Dromore, named for the town in County Down; the pre-Reformation antecedent of:** Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore...
.
On 20 January 1921 Tobias O'Sullivan was shot to death in the street as he walked with his seven year old son.
Sources
- Cottrell, Peter The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 Osprey Publishing, 2006
- Contemporary account by constable Michael Kelly. The American Commission on Conditions in Ireland - Interim Report, 1920.
- Sequence of events according to historian J. Anthony Gaughan Listowel Police Mutiny (1974) at PoliceHistory.com