Tom Barry (36 page)
Authors: Meda Ryan
Tags: #General, #Europe, #Ireland, #History, #Biography & Autobiography, #Guerrillas, #Military, #Historical, #Nationalists
Risteárd à Glaisne was writing for publication, material in relation to Protestants: âIt gives me opportunities of telling them all sorts of home truths quite frankly and blankly which might be considered disloyal if I were speaking to a wider audience,' he wrote. He asked Tom's advice on a publisher: âI am not only stimulating Irish Protestants to be Irish but also to be Protestant'.
[74]
In 1963, when Desmond Fennell wrote an article,
The Failure of the Irish Revolution and its Success
he stated that âthe revolution' was âan attempt on the part of the Irish Catholic people to gain material and spiritual conditions of life more favourable to their fulfilment as human beings.' Barry took issue with these sentiments after Fr Henry asked him to write a âcomment' on the essay for the
Capuchin Annual
. Barry wrote the article, but decided âafter consideration' that he would prefer not to have it published âbecause of the danger of misinterpretation by Catholic readers, especially the young.'
Desmond Fennell's âcontention that the fight for Freedom was a Catholic one is something I could not agree with, and I could not deal with honestly', Barry wrote in a letter to the editor, Fr Henry, âunless I dealt with' other points among them â âLeadership down through the ages since the Penal Days, i.e., 1798, 1867, even land fights [which] were essentially by Protestants.' Furthermore, âin all fairness to the British empire, in 1916 there were no disabilities for Catholics in Ireland, instead they were perfectly free to practice their faith.' He mentioned Bishop Coholan's excommunication order (1920) against the IRA â âwe had to look at Volunteers dying without the benefit of Confession,' which they held dear. In his âComment' he wrote, âI wish I could write truthfully ⦠that the IRA were fighting for spiritual conditions and for “a pure land” ⦠There could be men within the movement imbued with those high motives but I never met one of them.' The main motive was âto drive the British occupation forces from the land; to establish a Republic and to undo the conquest ⦠the armed struggle was only one phase of the revolution.' He told Fr Henry, âI would never feel happy about dealing in public with such a delicate issue' as any religious aspect to âthe revolution'.
[75]
Tom Barry enunciated âa vast difference between British Loyalism and Protestantism' where the first is âpolitically motivated' and in the second the â1916 Proclamation guarantees religious and civil liberties to all citizens'. Religious âbigotry was not confined to the Protestants for the ignorant and petty-minded Catholics had their fair share of this ancient curse'.
[76]
Monica Sullivan âan Irish Republican Protestant' set forth for Barry âthe reason why the Irish are Catholics is the black record of the Protestant settlers. If they had not given a bad reputation to the religion they professed it is probable that the Irish would have been interested in the Reformation and accepted it, as did the Gaels of Scotland, descendants of the Ancient Irish.'
[77]
The strongest evidence that the war was not sectarian comes from Lionel Curtis, political adviser to Lloyd George and influential Imperial activist and writer with an interest in Irish Affairs. He wrote in early 1921 that when âa brave prelate,' spoke out in Cork his âflock have turned their back on him' and evoked the rejoinder: âWe take our religion, not our politics, from Rome'. Therefore, âto conceive the struggle as religious in character is in any case misleading', he wrote. âProtestants in the south do not complain of persecution on sectarian grounds. If Protestant farmers are murdered, it is not by reason of their religion, but rather because they are under suspicion as Loyalist. The distinction is fine, but a real one.'
[78]
Barry related that the âmajority of West Cork Protestants lived at peace throughout the whole struggle and were not interfered with by the IRA'. All the IRA wanted was that they âwould not stand with our enemy' and not succumb to British propaganda. The âmajority' he said, âaccepted this position, and let it be said that we found them men of honour whose word was their bond.'
[79]
After hostilities ceased, Republicans in West Cork took a decision not to expose the names of known spies or of Loyalist informers within the community. This decision was taken to protect relatives and also to preserve neighbourly stability. Family members were generally unaware of the underground activities their relatives were engaged in and for harmony in the area Republicans aided this protectionist policy of nondisclosure.
In enunciating his conviction on the war and its accompanying horror, Barry did not believe âthat war is a glorious thing. I think it is bestial, and the First World War taught me that. There's nothing romantic about war. The only war that I can justify to myself is a war of liberation.' Those engaged in the fight dislike it because âthey know the hardships and they know the suffering, not alone of the soldiers but of their kith and kin. It often struck my mind when we killed Britishers that there were women and children maybe left without a husband, without a father. I want to make that very, very clear.'
[80]
Notes
[
1
]Flor Crowley âRaymond' â Black and Tan Diary,
Southern Star
, 23 October, 30 October, 6 November, 13 November, 20 November, 1971
.
[
2
]Flor Crowley,
Southern Star
, 23 October 1971.
[
3
]
6th Divisional Report
, Strickland Papers, Typescript, IWM.
[
4
]Ormonde Winter,
Report on
Intelligence Branch of the Chief of Police, Dublin Castle
, WO 35/214, Public Records Office, London.
[
5
]
Record of the Rebellion In Ireland
, Jeudwine Papers, IWM.
[
6
]
The Irish Times
, 22 January 1921. It should be noted that the journalist in a query to Strickland used the term âmurder gang' when referring to the IRA;
The Evening Standard
, 25 January 1921.
[
7
]Keyes McDonnell, p. 196; The
Cork Examiner
, 15 February, 1921; RIC Div. commissioner confirmed to Mark Sturges the existence of the âAnti-Sinn Féin League', Mark Sturges Diary, 14 December 1920, 30/59, PRO; Jim Kearney, author interview 15/2/1976; Sonny Sullivan, author interview 14/8/1974.
[
8
]Hannah O'Mahony, author interview 28/4/1978; Nelius Flynn, author interview, 24/6/1973; see Percival Papers, IWM.
[
9
]
The Cork Constitution
, 6 May 1922.
[
10
]Dan Canty, author interview 5/4/1973;
Southern Star
, 29/4/1922.
[
11
]Mary Leyland,
Cork Examiner
, 25/7/2000.
[
12
] CO 762/133, Statement by Matilda Woods to the Irish Grants committee for £5,000 compensation, 31/1/1927. As there is no record that the bodies of Capt. Woods, Thomas and Samuel Hornibrook were located, Matilda Woods' statement on the manner of death has to read with caution. Public Record Office, Surrey; Danny Canty, author interview 5/4/1973.
[
13
]
Southern Star
, 29 April 1922. Charlie O'Donoghue and Stephen O'Neill, both of whom were with Michael O'Neill on the night of the fatal killing, attended the inquest.
[
14
]
The Morning Post
, 1 June 1922. âThe shooting on both sides was maintained until 8 o'clock, when the three persons surrendered owing to lack of ammunition â¦; in Matilda Woods' statement, she says that Herbert Woods was âhung drawn and quartered in the presence of my father and brother', then her father and brother âhad to make their own graves.' But as she was not present nor in Ireland, her statement has to be disregarded. CO 762/ 133, Public Record Office.
[
15
]
The Cork Constitution
, 29 April 1922;
Cork County Eagle
, 6 May 1922;
Irish Times
, 2 May 1922.
The
Cork Constitution
2 May 1922;
Irish Times
2 May 1922, James Bradfield's name incorrectly given as Shorten.
[
16
]Hart, pp. 286â292.
[
17
]
Ibid
., p. 314.
[
18
]Dan Cahalane, author interview 25/2/1981. He had the diary and documents and studied them carefully. Flor Crowley studied and worked on this âfind'. Though many of the names are in the Tom Barry private papers, in letters, arising out of his investigation, there is not an exact copy of lists.
[
19
]Eileen Lynch O'Neill, author interview 28/11/2002;
The Cork Constitution
, 28 April 1922;
Irish Times
, 28 April 1922; see Sorcha Crowley, âSaving Sam Maguire's homestead' in
Irish Times
5/2/2003; also Margaret Walsh,
Sam Maguire.
[
20
]Brendan O'Neill, author interview 24/11/2002.
[
21
]
Irish Times
, 2/5/1922.
[
22
]Criostóir de Baróid in âArchon'
Southern Star
1/12/2001; Cork County Council Report,
Irish Times
, 5/5/1922.
[
23
]
Cork County Eagle
, 6 May, 1922.
[
24
]Brian Murphy,
The Month
, p. 383, SeptemberâOctober 1998;
The Cork Constitution
, 29 April, 1922;
Irish Times
28 April, 1922.
[
25
]
The Cork Constitution
, 10 May 1922. The newspapers at this period also reflect the pogroms experienced by Catholics in the north of Ireland, and the condemnation by the Protestant community in the 26 counties.
[
26
]Criostóir de Baróid in âArchon'
Southern Star
, 1/12/2001, the convention was held in the Mansion House, Dublin on 12 May 1922, Protestant Bishop of Killaloe presided, and 31 representative dignitaries of the Protestant churches including the high-sheriff of Dublin and the president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce signed a resolution.
[
27
]Hart, p. 284.
[
28
]Jim Kearney, letter to author 20/1/1994 â also unpublished letter to
Irish Times
; Denis Lordan, author interview 7/7/1974; Charlie O'Keeffe, author interview 7/12/1975.
[
29
] Jim Kearney, author interview 24/2/1974.
[
30
]Billy Good, author interview 24/4/1974;
Southern Star
, âArchon' 1/12/2001, Criostóir de Baróid to author, 9/3/2002.
[
31
]Flor Begley to Florence O'Donoghue, 15/3/60, MS 31,301, FO'D Papers, NLI; Tom Barry, TB private papers.
[
32
]
Cork Constitution
, 5 May 1922.
[
33
]Report on Bandon District council meeting,
Cork Constitution
, 9 May 1922. Seán Buckley listed among âthe greatest patriots, Wolfe Tone, Lord Edward, Mitchel, Martin and hundred of others were all Protestant.' It was Seán Buckley who first introduced Tom Barry to the officers of the Third Cork Brigade.
[
34
]
County Eagle
and Munster Advertiser
, 6 May 1922.
[
35
]
Irish Times
, 5/5/1922.
[
36
]Denis Lordan, author interview 7/7/1974.
[
37
]
Southern Star
, âArchon' 1/12/2001.
[
38
]Captured Document, Florrie O'D Papers, FO'D intelligence officer 26/9/1920, MS 31,202, NLI.
[
39
]Florrie O'Donoghue IO, to Ernie O'Malley, O'MN. P176/96, UCDA.
[
40
]Ryan,
Michael Collins and the Women
, pp. 47, 48; Criostóir de Baróid, author interview 12/1/ 1981.
[
41
]FO'D Papers, captured document HQ 1 6th Infantry Brigade, 17/6/1921, MS 31,223 (3) NLI.
[
42
]Peter Hart, âThe Protestant Experience of Revolution in Southern Ireland', in
Unionism in Modern Ireland
, ed. Richard English, pp. 89â90.
[
43
]
Ibid
., pp. 90, 92, 93, 94.
[
44
]Tom Barry's notes, no. 75; Mick Costello to Tom Barry, 6/4/1948, TB private papers; Mary Kotsonouris, âThe Courts of Dáil Ãireann', in
The Creation of The Dáil
, ed. Brian Farrell, pp. 93â95. See also Mary Kotsonouris,
Retreat from Revolution: The Dáil Courts, 1920â24
; Deasy, p. 201; Some West Cork judges: Tadhg à Séaghdha, Jack Hurley and Freddy Murray, Tadhg à Séaghdha, statement, Yvonne Purcell Papers.
[
45
]Tom Barry to Nollaig à Gadhra, 1969, RTà Sound Archives; Tom Barry in discussion with Dave O'Sullivan, home video, early 1970s, courtesy of Dave O'Sullivan; see also Duggan, pp. 55, 56.
[
46
]Tom Barry to Nollaig à Gadhra, 1969, RTà Sound Archives; Tom Barry in discussion with Dave O'Sullivan, home video, early 1970s, courtesy of Dave O'Sullivan.
[
47
]Tom Barry in home video, early 1970s, courtesy of Dave O'Sullivan.
[
48
]Hart, in English, pp. 89â94.
[
49
]Tom Barry to Donncha à Dulaing, n.d. c. early 1970s, RTà Sound Archives.
