Dan Breen and the IRA (5 page)

If Dan Breen and Seán Treacy had waited for a course in Sandhurst in 1919, there would have been no revolution in Ireland.

Peadar O'Donnell

God help poor Ireland if she follows this deed of blood!

Monsignor Ryan, St Michael's church, Tipperary

It was a very small affair compared to later developments.

Séamus Robinson

On Tuesday, 21 January 1919, between 12.30 p.m. and 1 p.m., two RIC constables were ambushed by eight Volunteers under the command of Seán Treacy, near Soloheadbeg Quarry, close to the homes of Treacy and Dan Breen.

On the same day the Sinn Féin MPs elected in the 1918 British general election – which saw Sinn Féin eclipse the Parliamentary Party amongst Irish nationalists – met in Dublin's Mansion House. They styled themselves Dáil Éireann, issued a Declaration of Independence, adopted a provisional constitution and issued a rather progressive Democratic Programme. Professor Michael Hayes subsequently pointed out that this much-celebrated first dáil took place, ‘within the jurisdiction of an empire that then had millions of men under arms and had firmly entrenched and long established organs of government in Ireland'. But, as Charles Townsend says in
The British Campaign in Ireland
, in 1919 the Republic served by the Volunteers was, ‘still a different thing from that represented by Dáil Éireann'.

Constables James McDonnell and Patrick O'Connell – the victims at Soloheadbeg – were, with loaded rifles, escorting a horse drawn cart containing a consignment of gelignite from Tipperary military barracks to Soloheadbeg Quarry, where gelignite was needed for blasting purposes. Constable McDonnell, aged fifty-six, came from Belmullet, Co. Mayo. He was a widower with seven children. Constable O'Connell, from Coachford, Co. Cork, aged about thirty, was single. They were accompanied by two civilians, south Tipperary county council employees Patrick Quinn and Edward Godfrey.

The Volunteers who ensnared the small convoy were: Paddy O'Dwyer, Seán Treacy, Séamus Robinson, Dan Breen, Seán Hogan, Michael Ryan, Paddy McCormack and Tadgh Crowe. According to Paddy O'Dwyer, seven of the eight men were armed with revolvers while Treacy carried a small automatic rifle.

Séamus Robinson later claimed that Treacy and his girlfriend, Mai Quigley, had visited him at Kilshenane shortly after Christmas 1918. The purpose of their visit – he said – was to tell him about the imminent delivery of gelignite and to get his permission for the attack. According to Breen, Robinson was not in Co. Tipperary at this time, having been released from Belfast Jail roughly around the end of the year. ‘It was the middle of January before we saw him in Tipperary,' said Breen.

Robinson maintained that, ‘After tea the two of us [Treacy and Robinson] went out to the haggard where he told me of the gelignite that was due to arrive at Soloheadbeg Quarry in three weeks time … he added that there would be from two to six guarding the cart, that they would be armed and that there was the possibility of shooting. “Good,” said I, “go ahead but under the condition that you let me know in time to be there myself with a couple of men from the local battalion … men with whom I would go tiger hunting”.'

Robinson claimed that Treacy asked him if they should get permission for the action from Volunteer GHQ in Dublin and that he (Robinson) replied, somewhat jesuitically, ‘It will be unnecessary so long as we do not ask for their permission. If we ask we must await their reply.'

Breen saw things differently, showing a degree of contempt for Robinson in his recollection: ‘Robinson was not consulted about this ambush or about the plan for it, or about a number of other things like that which were arranged. He was never told about it as something that was being done. Treacy and I had decided that we were going to shoot whatever number of police came along as an escort with this gelignite, but we did not tell Robinson anything about this. It was not a matter of distrusting him or anything like that, but we felt that it did not concern him and that he did not have to know about what our intentions were … We had the full intention of not alone taking the gelignite they were escorting, but also of shooting down the escort, as an assertion of the national right to deny the passage of any armed enemy.'

Tadgh Crowe took up the story: ‘On Tuesday, 14 January 1919, I attended the fair in Tipperary town and called on Maurice Crowe … and collected from him some ammunition for a revolver which I had at the time. In accordance with instructions, I reported that night to Mrs Breen's (Dan's mother) cottage at Donohill. I met Breen and Treacy there and the three of us went to the Tin Hut at Greenane … We were joined at the hut during the night by Séamus Robinson and Seán Hogan.

‘Maurice Crowe, Paddy McCormack (then an Irish teacher in Dundrum), Paddy O'Dwyer from Hollyford, Michael Ryan, Arthur Barlow and Con Power reported next day. During the days that followed there were changes in personnel. On account of their business in life, some were unable to remain for more than a day or two and there were days when Brian Shanahan, Ned O'Reilly, Dinny Lacey and Seán O'Meara were with us.'

Maurice Crowe told Desmond Ryan that on 15 January the conspirators risked bad luck when they interfered with a nearby moat (a large mound of earth) which, according to legend, was home to malevolent fairies: ‘Seán Treacy and Arty Barlow went out to cut some bushes to make a fire from a moat near at hand. Someone remarked that it was not right to cut any wood off a moat, to which Seán replied, “Ah, sure the fairies won't say anything to us for trying to keep ourselves warm.” The following morning Seán got a breakfast ready at seven o'clock. Some of us were dozing around the fire while others slept on the remains of two beds in the room – this was a disused house. He called several times that the breakfast was ready but the lads were slow in coming. When they did come they had no milk as Seán had consumed the tin of condensed milk. Of course there was general disapproval to which Seán replied, “This will show you that Volunteers must be punctual, even at breakfast!”'

‘During our conversations around the fire there were divergent views as to what the strength of the escort would be and various suggestions were made about the best method of holding them prisoner after they were disarmed and until the gelignite was got safely away,' said Tadgh Crowe. ‘We assumed all along that the police would surrender and put up their hands and I am certain that none of us contemplated that the venture would end in bloodshed and loss of life.'

‘It was laid down as an order,' said Robinson, ‘That if only two RIC should accompany the cart they were to be challenged but if there were six of them they were to be met with a volley as the cart reached the gate.'

Paddy O'Dwyer was the lookout whose job it was to warn the group when the gelignite and its guardians were leaving Tipperary: ‘For five or six days I cycled to Tipperary each morning and returned each evening with nothing to report. At night-time we went to the vacant house on Hogan's farm to sleep … A week-end intervened and on the Saturday morning I cycled home to Hollyford for a change of clothing and cycled back to Solohead on the Sunday night.'

‘After a week's wait the whole affair ended suddenly and in a tense atmosphere,' said Tadgh Crowe. ‘My recollection is that the two RIC men armed with carbines were walking behind the horse and cart when it came into the ambush position. There were several shouts of “Hands up!” I myself shouted that command at least two or three times. I saw one of the policemen move up to the cart and crouch down beside it. From the position he took up and the manner in which he was handling his carbine, I was satisfied that he was going to offer resistance.'

‘The hot-headed tension of Breen made it even more vitally important that Treacy should be collected and cool in order to be able to deal with any emergency,' said Robinson. ‘One could depend on cool riflemen. Small arms in the hands of men in their first fight, no matter how cool these men may be, are almost useless at a range of more than two yards.'

Paddy O'Dwyer said he was with Robinson ‘on the extreme left-hand side of the position, about twenty-three or thirty yards away from what I will call the main party of six and the arrangements were that Robinson and I were to get out on to the road when we heard the others call on the men with the cart and the escort to stop and put up their hands, the idea being that if they did not halt, Robinson and I would be in a position to stop the horse and cart.'

‘Seán Treacy and Dan Breen at the last exciting moment started to insist that they should be allowed to rush out,' said Robinson. ‘Breen seemed to have lost control of himself, declaring with grinding teeth and a very high-pitched excited voice that he'd go out and face them.' Robinson later claimed that, right there and then, he made a mental note that Breen ‘should never be put in charge of a fight'.

Séamus Robinson felt that, ‘The RIC seemed to be at first amused at the sight of Dan Breen's burly figure with nose and mouth covered with a handkerchief; but with a sweeping glance they saw his revolver and O'Dwyer and me … they could see only three of us.'

‘Hearing Dan Breen and Seán Treacy shouting, “Halt, put up your hands!” Robinson and I immediately started to get out on to the road,' said O'Dwyer, ‘and almost simultaneously either one or two shots rang out. I distinctly remember seeing one of the RIC men bringing his carbine to the aiming position and working the bolt and the impression I got was that he was aiming at either Robinson or myself. Then a volley rang out and that constable fell dead on the roadside. I am not certain whether it was that volley or the previous shot, or shots, which killed his companion.'

‘I fired three shots at him,' admitted Tadgh Crowe. ‘One was ineffective and the other two got him in the arm and back. About the same time, either one or two shots were fired from the gate where Seán Treacy was positioned and the other constable fell, shot through the temple.'

‘The driver of the cart and the county council ganger were, naturally, very frightened,' said Paddy O'Dwyer. ‘Dan Breen spoke to them and told them that nothing was going to happen to them. One of these men, Godfrey, knew both Breen and Treacy well and I imagine that Flynn must have known them too. On Breen's instructions, Tadgh Crowe and I collected the two carbines belonging to the dead constables. Breen, Treacy and Hogan then drove away the horse and cart with the gelignite.'

‘I took the belts with the pouches of ammunition and handcuffs off the dead policemen,' said Tadgh Crowe. ‘Treacy, Breen and Hogan drove away on the horse and cart with the gelignite and Paddy O'Dwyer and I took the RIC men's carbines and hid them together with the belts, pouches of ammunition and handcuffs in a ditch about half a mile from the scene of the ambush. O'Dwyer and I then parted, he to go back home to Hollyford and I went to Doherty's of Seskin.'

‘Seán Treacy had made all the arrangements for disposing of the gelignite,' remembered Robinson. ‘Dan Breen and Seán Hogan mounted the cart, Breen, standing up with the reins, whipped the horse and away they went clattering on the rough road. I had thought that Dan Breen, who had worked on the railway, would have known the danger of jolting gelignite that was frozen … the weather was very cold. Hogan told me afterwards that he tried to caution Dan but either he couldn't hear him or he put no “seem” to it.'

According to Breen: ‘Séamus Robinson did not know of the police being shot that day until he was nearly at home in Ballagh. He was at a point about 300 yards from where the shooting took place and, though he heard the shots I suppose, he did not see the effect of them. It was Robinson himself who told me afterwards that himself and McCormack, one of the other men who were engaged with us, had nearly arrived at Ballagh on their way home when McCormack told him that the two police were dead and that this was the first he heard of anyone being killed.'

In his ‘Statement to the Bureau of Military History', a sealed account of events left behind for future generations, Breen went out of his way to repeatedly claim that he and Treacy set out to kill RIC men at Soloheadbeg: ‘I would like to make this point clear and state here without any equivocation that we took this action deliberately having thought the matter over and talked it over between us. Treacy had stated to me that the only way of starting a war was to kill someone and we wanted to start a war, so we intended to kill some of the police whom we looked upon as the foremost and most important branch of the enemy forces which were holding our country in subjection. The moral aspect of such a decision has been talked about since and we have been branded as murderers, both by the enemy and even by some of our own people, but I want it to be understood that the pros and cons were thoroughly weighed up in discussions between Treacy and myself and, to put it in a nutshell, we felt that we were merely continuing the active war for the establishment of the Irish Republic that had begun on Easter Monday, 1916. We felt there was grave danger that the Volunteer organisation would disintegrate and was disintegrating into a purely political body … and we wished to get it back to its original purpose … We also decided that we would not leave the country as had been the usual practice, but that, having carried out this act of war, we would continue to live in the country in defiance of the British authorities … The only regret we had, following the ambush, was that there were only two policemen in it instead of the six we expected, because we felt that six dead policemen would have impressed the country more than a mere two.'

In
My Fight for Irish Freedom
, which appeared while many of those involved in the ambush were still alive and while Breen was an active politician, he chose his words more prudently: ‘We would have preferred to avoid bloodshed but they were inflexible.'