1920 Ireland and the House of Commons - Research Resource.pdf

1 © 2020 Patrick Hugh Lynch
Ireland and the House of Commons 1920
Researched by Patrick Hugh Lynch
Michael Collins Dublin Removal Operations................................................................................................2
Case A. Captain Baggalley 119, Lower Baggot-street............................................................................3
Case B. 28, Captain Fitzgerald Earlsfort-terrace.....................................................................................3
Case C. 22 Mr. Mahon and Cadets Morris and Garniss Lower Mount-street. ......................................3
Case D One officer and Two civilians. 117, Morehampton-road,.......................................................3
Case E. 92, Lower Baggot-street, One murder..........................................................................................4
Case F. 28, Upper Pembroke-street. Two officers murdered and four wounded. .....................................4
Case G. 38, Upper Mount-street. Two murders.........................................................................................5
Case H. Gresham Hotel, Sackville Street. .................................................................................................5
Balbriggan..................................................................................................................................................5
Balbriggan..................................................................................................................................................5
Ballymacelligott, County Kerry.................................................................................................................5
Ballymacelligott.........................................................................................................................................8
Galway.......................................................................................................................................................8
Athlone.......................................................................................................................................................9
Administration Weakness..........................................................................................................................9
American Influences ..................................................................................................................................9
Belfast Catholics......................................................................................................................................10
Boycotts ...................................................................................................................................................10
Casualties.................................................................................................................................................10
Criminality Origin....................................................................................................................................11
Crises response.........................................................................................................................................11
Crises Management..................................................................................................................................14
Daily Living.............................................................................................................................................14
Democratic Mandate................................................................................................................................14
Famine Legacy.........................................................................................................................................14
Foreign Influences ...................................................................................................................................15
Fresh Start ................................................................................................................................................15
Geographicaly Proximity.........................................................................................................................15
Intelligence Gathering..............................................................................................................................15
Media Management .................................................................................................................................16
Media Management .................................................................................................................................16
Media Reporting ......................................................................................................................................17
Military Tactics........................................................................................................................................17
Political Process.......................................................................................................................................17
Reprisal Response....................................................................................................................................19
Rural Republicanism................................................................................................................................19
Republican Supporters.............................................................................................................................20
Republican Supporters.............................................................................................................................21
State Servants – Native Aliens.................................................................................................................21
Security Analysis .....................................................................................................................................22
Soldier Profile..........................................................................................................................................23

Michael Collins Dublin Removal Operations
The assassinations which took place “were callous and cold-blooded murders
committed against gallant officers who were at the time incapable of self-defence” In
more than one case, the officers were murdered in the “presence of their wives”. In
military conflicts both sides loose “humanity and honour” and in the “strictest and
fullest sense of the word martyrs to public duty”, there are victims on both sides. It
was a trivial justification that the “very gravity” of these actions counterbalances the
thirteen, men, women and children, who lost their lives in the afternoon at Croke
Park, which in the authorities eyes made it “more necessary than ever that the
Executive should be able to encounter them with a clear front and clean hands”. The
right to defend against an aggressor was a “large and generous allowance”, when
considered in an environment where “excesses committed in hot blood by men, who,
it may be, have been ambushed and have seen their comrades killed before their
eyes”. The officers of the Crown were entitled to hit back and that allowance, if not
defended, was “at any rate apologised for”. The “competition of outrage and terrorism
lasts”, the more difficult it is for the “nature of peace to become a spectacle”.1
The newspaper propaganda that a boy of 10 was bayonetted in Dublin was “untrue in
a monstrous allegation made yesterday”. The peace in the country of Kent was
replicated in “nearly three-fourths of Ireland”. All of the wounded officers were
“progressing favourably” since their murder was attempted on Sunday. There was a
“minority of extremists that murder, that assassinate, that burn, that steal uniforms
and commit outrages” which contrasted with the “majority on the best of terms with
the soldiers and police”. 2
There was a “great conspiracy based on Ireland to smash
the British Empire, by the “massacre in Ireland of unarmed and largely non-
combatant British officers on Sunday last” and the only solution to the “daily murder
of our brave men in Ireland” was to “arrest and punish the assassins”. The Chief
Secretary for Ireland (Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood) did not accept the
consequential effects for children and wives who proverbially “ got in the way” when
they were “caught in the line of fire that follow from a state of civil war such as exists
in Ireland are not outrages for which this Government or any Government has
responsibility”. The "tainted sources" were those “ who by a method of murder, are
attempting to set up an independent Ireland”. 3
The power of republican propaganda and its “pulling power” amongst the London
Liberal Federation was seen as a “loathsome alliance” whose hands were “red with
the blood of our gallant soldiers and policemen”. The "Irish Republican Bulletin" was
delivered to its potential English based “observers” with the comment “"Display this
prominently wherever you can". The republicans realised the power of propaganda
and American correspondents enjoyed the “hospitality of the murder gang itself in
Ireland” and by “traversing and sending newspaper matter to America” were
weakening the “Anglo-American friendship that happily exists”. The last American
election, was a !decisive response to those who tried to make the Irish question
predominant in American politics rather than the question of Anglo-American
friendship”. There was a systematic “vendetta waged against the Government on the
1
Mr. Asquith House of Commons 24 November 1920 C489-493
2
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920 C495
3

ground of reprisals”, which did not consider that there were nearly 100 policemen
murdered and 146 wounded, there were something like 20 military killed and 64
wounded”. 4
Case A. Captain Baggalley 119, Lower Baggot-street.
No witness was available when the police arrived, as every occupant of the house had
left. Captain Baggalley was a court martial officer, who had had lost a leg in the war,
and was a barrister by profession. One murder was shot dead.5
Case B. 28, Captain Fitzgerald Earlsfort-terrace.
Captain Fitzgerald was in bed in a pool of blood, with four shots that were fired into
his body in rapid succession. His assassins rang a bell and asked the maid for Colonel
Fitzpatrick, who disclosed the whereabouts of the bedroom. The gang’s leader then
called in about twenty men who were placed in positions in the hall. On entering
Captain Fitzgerald's room the maid heard his shouts, and the assassin's voice say
"Come on". The forehead of Captain Fitzgerald was shattered with bullets that were
fired point blank another had gone through the heart and one wrist, which he had held
up to ward off the shot. All shots were fired at point blank range. 6
Case C. 22 Mr. Mahon and Cadets Morris and Garniss Lower
Mount-street.
Mr. Mahon and Mr. Peel were resident in Lower Mount Street and Mr. Mahon was
targeted by twenty men rushed in, after the maid opened the door. Mr. Mahon was
killed with five shots that were fired immediately at a few inches range. The door
was locked to Mr. Peel's room, but this did not prevent seventeen shots being fired
through the panels. Another servant was alerted by the shots, saw Auxiliary Division
officers from Beggars Bush Barracks who were on their way to catch an early train
southward for duty. The officers at once attacked the house, and instructed temporary
cadets Garniss and Morris to get reinforcements from their depot. Four “assassins”
were captured after a chase through the house, one was wounded and three were
armed. The bodies of cadets Morris and Garniss were found by a Red Cross nurse
lying in a neighbouring garden. There interception of the “murderers' pickets”
resulted in placement against the wall and summary murder for these officers who
“had seen considerable service in the recent war in France”. Mr. Peel escaped
uninjured. 7
Case D One officer and Two civilians. 117, Morehampton-
road,
Little did the 10 years old son of Mr. Smith realise when he opened the door that
twelve and twenty armed men knocked at the door and rushed into the house, drag
and remove Mr. Smith and Captain McLean from intimate moments with their wives
4
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 496-498
5
The Lord Crancellor House of Commons 22 November 1920 C 424
6
7

and place then in a front spare bedroom. Mrs. McLean’s bother Caldow completed a
“trio of doom” who would be shot in cold blood. Captain McLean and Mr. Thomas
Henry Smith were dead before an ambulance could arrive. The landlord, was about
forty-five years of age and left behind a wife and three children. Captain McLean, left
a wife and child and had served with the Rifle Brigade during the war. Mr. John
Caldow, his brother-in-law, a native of Prestwich, Scotland, had come to Ireland with
a view of securing employment in the police. The assassin were implored them not to
murder Mr. Caldow under his wife's eyes. 8
Case E. 92, Lower Baggot-street, One murder.
Mrs. Slack, a tenant in the house, let in, unknowingly a party of about a dozen raiders
to attack Captain Newbury who lived there with his wife. Captain Newbury's wife
realised the threats to her husband a Court-Martial officer and seeing a crowd of men
armed with revolvers slammed the door in their faces and locked it. The Newburys
escaped to an inner room after the men burst the door open. Captain Newbury, got out
the window despite losing blood and was half-way out when the murderers burst into
the room. Mrs. Newbury was pushed aside, trying to protect her husband's body, that
would shortly have seven shots fired into it. Mrs. Newbury, though covered her
husbands body with a blanket, which was in a prostrate condition. The police raiders
were strongly affected by the “resolution and subsequent grief” of Mrs. Newbury.
The raiders had hoped to find and abstract documents or evidence on which the
military law officers were supposed to be working at the time. 9
Case F. 28, Upper Pembroke-street. Two officers murdered and
four wounded.
Mrs. Gray’s residence was raided at 9 o'clock by about twenty men, The house
consists of several flats. The armed and undisguised raiders, some of whom came on
bicycles, detained Mrs. Gray, the proprietress and held up a maid on the stairs. The
house was broken up into parties, and evident knowledge to various parts of the house
and firing about ten to twelve shots, the “assassins decamped”. Major Dowling, of the
Grenadier Guards, had been shot dead at his bedroom door. Captain Price, of the
Royal Engineers, was found dead in the next room door. The wife of Captain
Kenlyside, of the Lancashire Fusiliers, gallantly “struggled with the murderers and
thereby frustrated their purpose”. Colonel Woodcock was taken unaware that the
raiders were in the hall and warned Colonel Montgomery who was coming out of his
room and was wounded in the body. Turning towards his room to secure a weapon
Colonel Woodcock was also wounded. Colonel Woodcock and Colonel Montgomery
both belong to the Lancashire Fusiliers. A sixth officer, Mr. Murray, of the Royal
Scots, was also wounded as he descended the stairs. A lady resident in the house went
from room to room seeking help and in every room found only dead, dying, or
wounded men. 10
8
9
The Lord Crancellor House of Commons 22 November 1920 C C418
10
The Lord Crancellor House of Commons 22 November 1920 C 418-419

Case G. 38, Upper Mount-street. Two murders
Lieutenant Aimes, of the Grenadier Guards, and Lieutenant Bennett, of the R.A.S.C.,
Motor Transport, occupied a house that was entered at 9.10 a.m. by twenty armed,
unmasked men who were let in by a servant, Catherine Farrell. The maid warned an
officer who was sleeping on the upper floor, and another male lodger, that murder
was being done downstairs, as she rushed upstairs. Outside of Aimes's bedroom were
found the two bodies lying side by side in a pool of blood. Captain Bennett had
evidently been dragged from the bedroom in his bedclothes into his brother officer's
room where both were shot together, their bodies. 11
Case H. Gresham Hotel, Sackville Street.
In what had become a standard military attack unit, about fifteen to twenty men
entered the open door of the hotel, held up the boots and the head-porter (Hugh
Callaghan) with revolvers, requesting the rooms occupied by Ex-Captain Patrick
McCormack, formerly a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps, and Lieutenant L. E.
Wilde. The Raiding party was assisted by one of their party who carried a huge
hammer. Mr. Wilde occupied Room 14 and when opening the door, received three
shots were fired into his chest simultaneously. Room 24,was entered and Mr.
McCormack found sitting in bed reading the paper. The bed was saturated with blood
after five shots were fired into his body and head which was horribly disfigured, as he
sat there. 12
Balbriggan
At Balbriggan, in north County Dublin, two men were murdered, 19 houses and a
shirt factory were destroyed. The two men were murdered, following the brutal
murder of a district inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary.13
Balbriggan
At Balbriggan, in north County Dublin, two men were murdered, 19 houses and a
shirt factory were destroyed. The two men were murdered, following the brutal
murder of a district inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary.14
The first they knew of the ambush was when the first lorry suddenly came under the
fire of 100 rifles. There were eight men on the lorry and two on the box. One man on
the box was shot dead and five out of the eight were hit by the very first volley. It is
an impossible situation. They may be saved if a second lorry or armoured car is
following, and we ought to spare no expense to see that our troops are properly
protected in that manner.
Ballymacelligott, County Kerry
The creamery at Ballymacelligott, County Kerry, was attacked by officers of the
Auxiliary Division in the company of two journalists and two photographers. The
11
12
The Lord Crancellor House of Commons 22 November 1920 C 419-420
13
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 497
14

commonly held perspective of rural creamery pacification was dismissed by Sir H.
Greenwood when he described “these creamery cases as not always innocent
institutions, allied with gaily caparisoned dairy maids, spreading beneficient light and
humour in the neighbourhood. They are sometimes the headquarters of the assassins”.
15
At Ballymacelligott, in Kerry, a number of policemen were fired at on the morning of
the 12th November XXX from the creamery. They attacked the creamery, wounded
one or two men, and killed one or two men. On the afternoon of the same day along
comes this party of journalists and photographers, escorted by Auxiliary Division
men, to the total number of 16. As they came near the creamery, which was within 20
yards of the road dozens of rifle shots rang out. There was an ambush. The trench part
of the ambuscade is still there. The republican men got out of their cars, attacked the
attackers, killed several, wounded several, and captured several others. The Auxiliary
Division were fired at from the creamery and from the manager's house of the
creamery. The ambushers got reinforcements and came back, and around five o'clock
in the evening the police retreated to Castle Island for reinforcements. Returning to
the creamery the next morning, they found a number of spent cartridges in it, which
they interpreted as an “an act of war” which they justified as their reason in burning a
portion of it down. This prime location was within 20 yards of a road along which
policemen had to patrol frequently every day. The “record of the manager of this
creamery designated him as a rebel in 1916”, for which he was sent to gaol for nearly
a year. No premises in Ireland that are the centre of this murder gang, or from which
our forces are fired at, are safe in Ireland to-day. All “champions of creameries” were
instructed to go through their lists of managers and assistant managers, and “if there
is one creamery in Ireland which is the rendezvous of the Irish Republican Army, or
one manager who is a member of that Army, that manager and that creamery are in
peril”. 16
The manager of the creamery in Ballymacelligott, in Kerry, was arrested with “scores
of others in the same neighbourhood”. In the mangers house was found a wounded
Sinn Feiner but the “British soldiers, they did not touch the house, but left it over the
head of the wounded Sinn Feiner”. Those who attacked by the Auxiliary division
were "wilful murderers" at the National Liberal Club, to which Sir H. Greenwood
accredited as being “entitled to do what they did. There was no indiscriminate firing
or burning. It was done deliberately to prevent a future ambush at the same spot”. Sir
H. Greenwood described Dublin as the “great capital city of the sister Kingdom”
where there was “thousands of troops, over 1,000 of the Dublin Metropolitan Police,
500 or 600 Royal Irish Constabulary, 500 of what are commonly called "Black and
Tans . The four or five hundred Auxiliary Division men, were the cream of the ex-
service men, every one an ex-officer, and most of them having decorations for
valour”. Despite the Auxiliary Division finding one its members with his arms
trussed up behind him, tied together, who had been brutally murdered, and drowned
in the river Liffey. There was no reprisal”. 17
15
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
16
501
17
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920
C502

Amongst this armed conflict “you find a heroism and a sacrifice which was not
always appreciated that I do not think the House always appreciates.
Lieutenant Hambleton, of the Northampton Regiment made an official statement
describing a republican attack on the crown forces: 18
The men all crowded round and some of them shouted, 'Thank God, he
is still alive.' Mr. Hambleton was unconscious and was lying on his
back, with his feet towards Templemore, lying parallel to the road. I
could see that his right arm was nearly blown off, but it was too dark
to see any wounds. I noticed that the grass was trampled down round
the body as if he had been rolling about. He was covered in blood. The
district inspector and sergeants cut the clothing away from his arm,
and started to bind him up. The wound was just above the elbow and
the forearm was hanging by sinews only. We had a lamp to see by.
Five or six of the men collapsed and fell down crying. Some of them
said, 'This is the best officer we have ever had and we are not going to
have him killed for nothing.' Others were muttering among themselves.
I collected the 16 men who had come in the three-ton lorry. After
explaining how they started back the officer continued, 'As I got near
the police barracks in Nenagh, four policemen shouted out something
which I did not hear and a few seconds later several men started firing
from the back of the lorry and everyone was shouting "Rapid fire." I
climbed round into the back of the lorry as it was going and shouted
"Cease fire." The men were absolutely mad and took no notice of me,
except to shout "Rapid fire." None of them molested me. I then stopped
the lorry and as they were still firing I fired two shots over their heads
with my revolver, at the same time shouting to them to "cease fire" or I
would shoot them. The firing then stopped. On arrival at the barracks I
got another party of four men to carry the body over to the hospital,
which is in barracks. The doctor followed them. All the men in
barracks rushed up to know if he was dead. They were all crying and
were so upset they had difficulty in carrying him. By this time his
jacket had been cut open by the doctor and the wounds were visible.
They were all blackened. He had been murdered at very close range.
Then the men became mad.' Realise what had happened. That officer
was one of the most popular officers in the battalion. His men loved
him. They would have shot and killed and have burned the town of
Nenagh to the ground, and there are many men who would say they
would have been justified. I do not. That officer held them with his
revolver, and brought them into the barracks, and nothing was done
beyond the breaking of a few windows.
The British officers had a “successful struggle in keeping discipline under inhuman
circumstances”. There was “not one single authenticated case of anything called a
reprisal taking place under an officer”. The attack on the Granard creamery was “not
done under officers” but apparently attributed to Sinn Feiners stealing uniforms,,
18
503

promoting a “supposedly popular cry” against the Government for "Reprisals," when
it paid Sinn Feiners to burn a house or a creamery. 19
Ballymacelligott
I hold in my hand a letter from Father Trant, the parish priest of Ballymacelligott,
written from the Presbytery, Ballymacelligott, and dated 15th November. I ask hon.
Members to listen to this letter and compare it with the statement made by the Chief
Secretary, compiled from his officers' reports: 20
Thanks very much for your kind letter of sympathy. I was away all day
and have only a moment before post leaves to send you a hurried line.
On Friday about 11 o'clock seven or eight lorries drew up at the
creamery. The manager, Mr. Byrne, and staff were at work as usual.
Two or three farmers were there on business. All ran away through
fear of arrest or worse. The police opened fire killing one of the staff
and a farmer, and wounding severely the engine-driver, who is not
expected to recover. Another boy had his arm shattered. Mr. Byrne
escaped the volleys, but when captured would apparently have been
shot had the lieutenant in charge of the military not intervened. I am
informed that Father Trant is a clergyman of the greatest integrity,
and no one would think of doubting his bona fides. In his letter he goes
on to say: About 4 p.m., five cars with armed police, accompanied by a
journalist and photographers, arrived from C. Island. The police
opened fire on young men who were on the road some distance away,
and on others who ran from the manager's house, where they were
visiting those wounded previously. It appears that some of these young
men were armed, and returned fire to cover their retreat. On neither
occasion was there an ambush or anything of the kind. The doctor in
attendance on the wounded and five of those standing by were taken
prisoners. Next morning, Saturday, about half the creamery was
burned, but most of the machinery escaped injury. This account by
Father Trant entirely differs from the account which has been given to
us by the Chief Secretary for Ireland.
Galway
The Typographical Association had two of its members arrested and detained in
custody in Galway by the authorities, for “some days” and released without any
charge being made against them. 21
19
504
20
Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 579
21
Mr. F. Roberts ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C

Athlone
The failed attempt to burn down printing works in Athlone on 17th October, resulted
in another attempt on 3rd November, which was the responsibility of the forces of the
Crown.22
The Government’s failure to protect these particular works has resulted in
hundreds of innocent people being “nnecessarily and unduly punished”. This
statement was substantiated by a trade union official in Athlone.23
The restoration of “democratic principles and liberty” after the “present state of
anarchy and disorder will make people more readily recognise their
responsibilities”.24
Administration Weakness
British government in Ireland and its administration had “hopelessly broken down
that we must adopt some change or continue in a policy of despair”. Such was the
desperation that the “evacuation of the interior of Ireland and the holding of the ports
on the coast” was suggested. This would provide the “Imperial authorities” with
“strategical safety and would save the lives of our troops and police who are exposed
to this terror, this murder that walks by night”. 25
The admission by Mr. Mosley that
“a great nation cannot successfully compete in terrorism with assassins who work by
night” confirms that contribution of Ireland as a source that the British Army learned
to deal with urban gurilla warfare. The negative experiences in the “Irish War” and
the losses incurred provided a “new basis, to rebuild the efficiency of our civil
administration, and restore our discipline”. 26
American Influences
There are two points I should like to make in this Debate. The Chief Secretary laid
emphasis on the important effect of events in Ireland on American public opinion.27
Prior to the last American presidential election Governor Coolidge, of Massachusetts,
was relatively unknown. He was propelled into the spotlight by an opportunity of
endorsing the line of strong government during an “unfortunate strike occurred in the
Boston, Massachusetts, police force”. He took strong action to deal with disorder,
looting, and rioting. The effect of this was that the American people admired strong
action of dismissing all the strikers, and none of them were taken back. Two people
were shot amidst all this conflict. President Harding's election was greatly assisted by
Vice-President Coolidge’s success in carrying some states, which had never been
carried by the Republican Party since the Civil War. 28
22
Mr. F. Roberts ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
23
Mr. F. Roberts ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 567
24
25
Mr. Mosley House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 523
26
27
Lieut.-Colonel Willey ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 570
28
Lieut.-Colonel Willey House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 571

The Roman Catholic Church in the States has made public opinion on this question
into a very difficult situation. It’s tremendous influence is felt throughout the United
States. 29
Belfast Catholics
7,000 Catholics in the City of Belfast, who had “done no man any wrong, engaged in
the difficult and hard pursuits of the shipyards”, travelled miles to their work from
early morning till evening, only to be driven from their employment because they
belong to another religion”.30
537
Boycotts
In Ballaghadereen, in Dungarvan, Arklow and many other places, the boycott of the
police has had to be withdrawn, and the position in those places, especially in
Arklow, is much worse than before anything occurred. The same truth applies to great
areas in the counties of Limerick, Cork, Clare and the West of Ireland. If you are
determined on introducing similar conditions here, then go ahead, but for my part it
shall not be said that I had any part in such work, playing as it will into the hands of
our enemies. That is the Members of this House, remember— You cannot beat the
reinforcements that will follow. The end will be no ammunition, no organisation, a
reign of terror from the enemy side, ill-feeling on the part of the people who are
bound to be victimised, and, with the multiplication of these things, chaos and defeat
for the entire country. This shows that we are succeeding in Ireland. I will read
another quotation from another of the assassins: 31
As far as I can learn there seems to be a certain mix-up about the
order sent from Headquarters. In some places the order is that the
Black-and-Tans are to be attacked. In your case it is stated that there
is to be attacks on military patrols. I can tell you that in many battalion
areas in this county and outside it these orders cannot and will not be
obeyed.
Casualties
The uncontrollable nature of military conflicts clearly indicated that “there will be
more bloodshed, and tragic murders of servants of this House, and no one knows on
whom the blow may fall next”. Most of the Royal Irish Constabulary was Roman
Catholics and Irishmen “themselves were fighting a battle against assassins and not
against the Irish people”. These policemen, soldiers, Civil Servants, judges, resident
magistrates, and court-martial officers who obey the behests and orders of this House
of Commons” would be assisted if the “great Roman Catholic Church in Ireland will
help us more than it has done”. The spiritual and ecclesiastical control power of the
Roman Catholic hierarchy was noted when more than twelve Royal Irish Constables
have been murdered either going into or leaving church. The “house of God in Ireland
was no longer sanctuary”, the “coming out and condemn this murder business” would
29
Lieut.-Colonel Willey House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 571
30
Mr. Devlin ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 537
31

aid the processing of devil government. The attacks on constables, was not limited to
those leaving catholic churches as the murder leaving a Protestant church in Lisburn
had shown. 32
Criminality Origin
On the 20th October, in this House, the Chief Secretary stated, with regard to
creameries, that there was not a tittle of evidence of the participation of the forces of
the Crown in their destruction. We know to-day, from what he has told the House,
that it is practically a case of war on the creameries.33
Crises response
In what Jo Devlin saw as a “New Jerusalem”, the Black and Tans had plans to draw a
cordon round Ireland and shoot every man, woman and child who showed the
slightest opposition. 539 The letting loose of these forces in Ireland “destroyed life,
ruin property, burn down dwellings, and oppress and terrorise the population in the
silent places of agricultural Ireland. 34
The crown forces activities was condemned by 16 Protestants bishops in this country:
35
540.
We, the undersigned, while condemning murder and outrage by
whomsoever committed, deplore the disastrous state of affairs in
Ireland at this time. We believe that force breeds force and reprisals
suggest reprisals, but that the fires of brotherly love and goodwill, by
God's spirit, lead to amity and peace. We ask, therefore, that military
terrorism may cease and a truce be arranged on both sides, so that, in
an atmosphere of peace, negotiations for a settlement may be carried
on.
A merchant from the fertile recruiting ground of Nenagh in Tipperary suffered
£18,000 worth of damage to property, which caused him to remark: "Is this the
reward I am getting for sending four of my sons to the front?" 36
The "Black and Tans" shot a young lieutenant in the Munster Fusiliers who was at
home convalescent in his own home and whose letter you have, or perhaps it is in the
archives of Dublin Castle. 37
541
The classic columns of the "Morning Post" described Tralee, County Kerry in the
following terms:
Tralee is like a town with the plague. Not a shop is open, and people
remain behind closed doors and shuttered windows from morning to
32
33
Sir D. MAClean ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 588
34
Mr. Devlin ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 539 - 540
35
Mr. Devlin ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
36
37

nightfall. An hour before darkness sets in women and children leave
their homos and go anywhere they can for the night. About 280 women
and children sleep in the workhouse every night. The men who remain
in the town are in constant dread during the long hours of the night.
When morning dawns efforts are made to secure food some way or
other, but the slightest sound on the streets, even in broad daylight, has
the effect of making people run indoors again. It is quite incorrect to
say that the shops were open for a couple of hours.
The attack by Auxiliary Forces on Templemore was described: 543
Templemore was a town that illustrated in a startling way the
collapse of discipline that is inevitably following upon the rein which
has been given to the British army serving in Ireland. When I arrived
this morning I found that about a third of the population had fled"—
One-third of the population. This is not in Armenia, under the Turks,
this is in Ireland, under the British Government. From end to end the
little place was shattered as though by a series of explosions. Two
shops were mere heaps of smoking ruins. For a quarter of a mile the
glass in every window not heavily shuttered was broken. Altogether
more than a hundred buildings had been treated in this way. Piles of
plate-glass fragments littered the roadway outside the town's big
drapery establishment. And in the centre of the square, the skeleton
of the burnt-out City Hall told how this was the second time within
four months that Templemore has had to endure the fury of the
Crown Forces in Tipperary.
The Bishop of Longford described the attacks on Longford “as horrible a story of
wanton wickedness against innocent people as I ever heard of”. Such was the damage
that compensation claims for the following were lodged: 38
544
Mrs. Pettit, £80,000; Kiernan's Hotel, £65,000;
Peter Heslin, £50,000; Misses O'Flanagan, £20,000;
Patrick O'Hara, £15,000; Michael Kelly, £12,000.
Court house and Market House, £12,000
In the city of Dublin the Dublin Metropolitan Police have been disarmed for twelve
months, and there has not been a single policeman shot since. 39
546
When I was a child I was frightened, and the thing that was shouted at me in
common with all Irish children, in order to frighten us was the word "Cromwell." It
was a name which in Ireland was associated always with the terrible massacres of
38
39

Drogheda. For 30 years we fought our cause until these bitter memories had
disappeared, we fought it in the hope that in your comradeship from an enfranchised
democracy there would be evolved a more human spirit and a greater chance for
liberty. 40
548
Mr. Hogge
The legacy of Lord Rosebery, in developing “communication links” with the
adversaries was engagement with some of the Boer generals at a wayside inn
somewhere in either of the two little republics. The solution of the “Irish Problem”
necessitated finding a “wayside inn” It was probable that “probable that they would
find a settlement that statesmen could not arrive”. 555 The declaration of a truce by
the “immediate leaders of the Republican Army and of our own Army” would permit
them to put down in some form or other exactly what would satisfy them, or exactly
what they would require”. Out of those preliminary talks with the people who actually
matter, it would not beyond the ability of statesmanship in this country, to reach
some kind of settlement.41
The people in Ireland, however much they are opposed to
each other now, must live together, and the longer they are separated by the tragedy
of murders, assassinations, and reprisals, the longer this nation is going to be kept
from addressing itself to other great subjects of dominant interest. 42
556
Mr. Pennefather
A great part of Ireland is peaceable. 43
557
I believe that the great mass of people in this country do realise—at all events I
realise—that those soldiers and police in Ireland are very largely recruited from the
ex-service men to whom we owe so much for the winning of the War. 44
Charges are continually being made, not in words, but by suggestion, that our soldiers
and policemen in Ireland are deliberately guilty of the most inhuman crimes. 45
There had been 139 attacks on the military and the police, since 30th June. As a result
of the “state of nervous tension” they perceived “a woman with a child at her breast, a
helpless and innocent party” as a potential threat and a “prelude to an attack upon
their lives, and that in self-defence and as a precautionary measure they should shoot
hurriedly at something that appears to them at first sight dangerous”.46
561
40
41
Mr. Hogge ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
42
Mr. Hogge ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
43
Mr. Pennefather ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C
44
Mr. Pennefather House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 561
45
46

Crises Management
I have been very struck by the speech of the hon. and gallant Member to which we
have just listened, and, so far as I can gather, he is advocating the same methods
which are being used in Ireland in this country in case of need. He told us that the
Vice-President-Elect, Mr. Coolidge, in Massachusetts carried the election very largely
because he shot strikers, dismissed them and altogether used the iron heel in the State
where there was trouble.47
Daily Living
There were numerous cases of the Royal Irish Constabulary, Roman Catholics, attend
Mass, only to be shot coming out of the church, in the porch. 48
The obtaining of
provisions from the grocers or bakers made them liable to be shot on entering or
leaving the shops, and, as we have heard to-day, there are even. 49
Democratic Mandate
Sir H. Greenwood questioned the “democratic mandate” when that “those who are
called the intellectual leaders of Sinn Fein are leaders in name only”. Not one of the
Sinn Fein leaders had condemned a single murder of a policeman or soldier—not one.
50
The process of destroying the “fabric of respect for the law” began in 1913 and
proceeded until 1914. 51
The refusal of the British Government to “deal generously with the demand of the
overwhelming number of the Irish people for the right to determine their own affairs
in their own particular way”. There was “ no moral justification for resorting to such
distressing outrages as those which we have unfortunately witnessed during the past
few days.52
563 - 564
Famine Legacy
Three hundred years ago this policy of trying to break down the people by starvation
was tried and failed. Lord-Deputy Chichester then said: 53
I have often said and written, it is famine that must consume the Irish,
as our swords and other endeavours work not that speedy effect which
is expected. Hunger would be better because a speedier weapon to
employ against them than the sword. That policy was tried by Lord
Deputy Chichester in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the Irish
problem is still with us, and it will remain with us even if we wipe out
every man, woman, and child in Ireland. Hon. Members opposite think
47
48
Lieut.-Colonel Croft House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 526
49
50
Mr. Clynes House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 512
51
52
53

that if they can terrorise and exterminate the activist party in Ireland
they can solve the problem, but that will not settle it.
Foreign Influences
Perhaps with modern methods of chemical warfare they could destroy everyone in the
South of Ireland. Even then the problem would remain, because there are more
Irishmen in foreign countries than there are in Ireland. 54
Fresh Start
The vast majority of the Irish people “are in a state of terror”, and had “the
responsibility of putting an end to crime, and making a new page in Irish history. 55
Geographicaly Proximity
Unhappily for Ireland she is geographically too near this country and for that she is
made to suffer. Her national rights are denied, a recurring system of coercion,
absolutely futile and achieving nothing, is adopted, leaving the country in a still more
angry and embittered frame of mind than ever. Force, and fine phrases to justify that
force, are not Government. They will not raise the credit of the kingdom in any part
of the world. 56
Intelligence Gathering
The death of “many of these gallant men” was atrributable to the “gross inefficiency
of that administration” as seen in the fact that “those officers were sleeping all over
Dublin, in hotels and in lodgings, and not one of them appears to have been in
possession of a revolver with which to defend himself”. There was contributory
negligence “ to place men in such a position, to allow them to sleep in the heart of a
hostile city alone and unprotected”. 57
The government had failed to take “elementary precaution of protecting lorries with
armoured shields that would resist bullets” in the ninety successful attacks made upon
police and troops travelling in Ireland in open lorries. 58
The villages that were partially burned, houses and creameries attacked by the forces
of the Crown, were of no concern to the “murder gang” who had “no fixed
habitation” and used the news of the reprisals wired off to America as “subscription
sources for fresh funds and encouragement is derived from foreign sources. 59
54
55
56
57
58
59

There was a certain “pretty competition, with the murder gang of Sinn Fein to render
the population of Ireland more terrified of us than they are of the murderers in their
midst”. 60
Media Management
Correspondents from various parts of the world came to Ireland because “crimes have
taken place, that civilians have been killed, that property has been destroyed and
burned”, because “these men have told the truth”. 61
Media Management
The newspaper propaganda that a boy of 10 was bayonetted in Dublin was “untrue in
a monstrous allegation made yesterday”. The peace in the country of Kent was
replicated in “nearly three-fourths of Ireland”. All of the wounded officers were
“progressing favourably” since their murder was attempted on Sunday. There was a
“minority of extremists that murder, that assassinate, that burn, that steal uniforms
and commit outrages” which contrasted with the “majority on the best of terms with
the soldiers and police”. 62
There was a “great conspiracy based on Ireland to smash
the British Empire, by the “massacre in Ireland of unarmed and largely non-
combatant British officers on Sunday last” and the only solution to the “daily murder
of our brave men in Ireland” was to “arrest and punish the assassins”. The Chief
Secretary for Ireland (Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood) did not accept the
consequential effects for children and wives who proverbially “ got in the way” when
they were “caught in the line of fire that fol-low from a state of civil war such as
exists in Ireland are not outrages for which this Government or any Government has
responsibility”. The "tainted sources" were those “who by a method of murder, are
attempting to set up an independent Ireland”. 63
The power of republican propaganda and its “pulling power” amongst the London
Liberal Federation was seen as a “loathsome alliance” whose hands were “red with
the blood of our gallant soldiers and policemen”. The "Irish Republican Bulletin" was
delivered to its potential English based “observers” with the comment “"Display this
prominently wherever you can". The republicans realised the power of propaganda
and American correspondents enjoyed the “hospitality of the murder gang itself in
Ireland” and by “traversing and sending newspaper matter to America” were
weakening the “Anglo-American friendship that happily exists”. The last American
election, was a !decisive response to those who tried to make the Irish question
predominant in American politics rather than the question of Anglo-American
friendship”. There was a systematic “vendetta waged against the Government on the
ground of reprisals”, which did not consider that there were nearly 100 policemen
murdered and 146 wounded, there were something like 20 military killed and 64
wounded”. 64
60
61
62
63
64
Colonel Sir Hamar Greenwood House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 496-498

Media Reporting
James O'Donoghue, a sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary, was “foully
murdered” on 17th November in the street by three men who, came up in the usual
way in civilian clothes, and shot him. The report by the Special Correspondent of the
"Times" newspaper stated that the sergeant and two other men were “murdered in the
presence of their wives and children by uniformed men, who the relatives stated
positively, were servants of the Crown, and who described themselves, in at least one
case, as being military when they knocked at the doors for the purpose of breaking
into these men's dwelling-houses. 65
Military Tactics
The “harrowing details” of the massacre of the Armenians discussion in the House of
Commons, contrasted with the absence of “one word of the assassination of the
Turkish police in Armenia”. 66
The Prime Minister in December, 1900, at the time of the Boer War, made a
comparative analysis with present military tactics in Ireland:
The British army had been engaged in denuding the country of cattle
and sheep and the houses of food supplies, and in burning farms. He
had seen letters from British officers, who said they were disgusted
with the work imposed upon them. 67
After all, we were at war in
South Africa; we are not at war in Ireland. We destroyed property
there, and we interned men and women. In Ireland, to-day, we are not
deliberately killing women, but our criminal carelessness is having
children killed. Three children were killed at the football ground. We
have tried that for 800 years, and failed Cannot we try the other policy,
and see if we can succeed? 68
Political Process
There was anxiety amongst the majority in Ireland for a settlement. The position of
the British government in Ireland was one being crushed to death against the Empire
like the clutch of a bear.69
If the British Government “worked with the approval of the Irish people” to introduce
a measure which could be passed, the hostility to the police and to the armed forces
of the Crown would immediately disappear and, the assassinations would
immediately cease. 70
65
66
67
68
Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 581 - 582
69
Mr. E. Kelly House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 594
70

Martial law and use of the courts would “maintain the clutch on Ireland for 18
months, or two years, or three years under a panoply of oppression and repression
which is to-day in existence, but what is it all going to end in? 71
A band of assassins, who are being tolerated and excused by a number of people for
political reasons, had Ireland in their hands. The government’s withdrawal of troops
form Ireland “would leave a large number of people in that country even in a worse
position.72
The strike by men belonging to the Irish Transport Workers' Union lasted ten weeks.
The Sinn Fein “element” used this as an opportunity to “circulate the rumour, that
because of the defeat of the stable boys they would call a strike of those engaged in
hunting, and prevent hunting in Ireland.” It a retaliatory action, the Transport
Workers' leaders were called together and told that if “Sinn Fein element stopped
hunting in Ireland, the horses and all the establishments would be taken from that
country and brought over here”. The Transport Workers' Federation “contained” the
threats of Sinn Fein. In a somewhat desperate appeal to “Ministers of the Gospel” that
it was “their duty to say to those who are assassins, "Your work is not only devilish,
but destructive to the aspirations of the race to which you belong".73
Many of the soldiers in Ireland, were “standing for the authority of this country,
constantly in a form of danger, not only deadly”. Michael Collins assassinated crown
agents who were “fulfilling their duty in Ireland in circumstances of unexampled
difficulty”. Lord E. Talbot (Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) condemned
the “outrages committed against the Forces of the Crown and civilians in Ireland, and
expresses its deep abhorrence of the brutal assassination of His Majesty's officers and
other British subjects in Dublin on Sunday last”. The “military and police forces and
other servants of the Crown” were “thanked for the courage and devotion to steps
which are being taken by His Majesty's Government to restore peace in Ireland”. 74
71
72
Mr. Seddon House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 597
73
74

Reprisal Response
Brief extract from a letter issued by the Archbishop of York last week to his own clergy in his
own diocese. This is what he says: 75
The accounts of these organised reprisals, however exaggerated, must fill every
thoughtful citizen with very real and disquieting anxiety. No words can be too severe to
condemn the dastardly murders of policemen and soldiers; but not even great provocation
could justify those who represent the cause of law and order in indulging in the sacking
of villages and the indiscriminate destruction of life and property. It seems to me to be a
matter in which the essential principles of right and wrong are involved, and I ought not
to keep silent. He concludes by saying: It is a matter which concerns the honour of the
British nation. 589 He does not stand by any means alone. Men of all shades of religious
thought are of that opinion too. The people of this country know that experience has
taught that reprisals which involve the punishment or the suffering of the innocent for the
guilty never yet brought about peace between conflicting nations, and never yet healed a
wrong. You cannot get wrong right by doing wrong; it is impossible. They know also
what has been taught by history and experience with regard to our Dominions beyond the
seas. 590
Rural Republicanism
The total number of creameries alleged to be damaged or destroyed was 41, and out of this the
total allegedly destroyed was 10. 8 were slightly damaged and 7 were able to resume work at
once. 16 were damaged and unable to work without repairs and renewals. 76
The beneficial nature of creameries as a social exchange was highlighted by Sir H. Greenwood,
when he described them as a “rendezvous from eight till eleven every morning every day in the
week except Sundays during the summer time and three days in the week in winter time, very
often of from 200 to 300 farmers and their sons in the locality”. This social medium was also a
“rendezvous of the Republican Army by providing a “medium” from which orders to the local
brigade are issued. The police suspected many creameries of “having been the very centre of the
plots now waged against them”. In a somewhat “convivial meeting” at the National Liberal Club
on Friday XXX Sir H. Greenwood had not “a tittle of evidence of any creamery having been
destroyed by the uniformed forces of the Crown, In October XXX, but in the intervening period
some creameries had been destroyed by the forces of the Crown. The distraction was “justified
In some cases” and no “there will be no compensation paid by the House of Commons if I have
my way”. There would be “most sympathetic consideration on the question of compensation if
there were cases “where the destruction was not justified”. 77
75
Sir D. MAClean ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 589 - 590
76
77

Republican Supporters
The organisation of the Irish conspiracy was subsidised by foreign money, whose objective was
“smashing of the British Empire”. The recent capture of a man who called himself the
Commander-in-Chief, and another who calls himself the Chief of the Staff of the Irish
Republican Army, revealed that over £7,500 had been spent in wages in organising the
headquarters staff of the Irish Republican Army between 10th July and 30th September last. That
is the centre of the murder gang; that is where the money comes from to pay for assassination. 78
Police reports noted that money was “used to pay"£100 a skull" for policemen or soldiers”. The
and Irish Republican Army had its “own areas, commandants”. The “exporting of anarchy” was
confirmed by “transfer forms” which transferred volunteers from Ireland to Scotland, from
Ireland to Wales, from Ireland to England, and track is kept of them. The purchase of arms in
Scotland, principally in Glasgow, and the wages for the men amounted to £3,500. There were
geographically diverse potential powerhouses in Manchester and for the destruction of docks in
Liverpool. Specific were issued to brigades for the “manufacture of certain high explosives to be
used in bombs and for destructive work”. A memorandum entitled “Stuart Street Power House,
Manchester" clearly indicated: 79
This place is worked by three shifts. …. The best day for an operation would be
Sunday. … as there is a minimum number of men working in the station. This
place is undoubtedly of great importance, not only in connection with the
tramways, but also with the coal mines in the vicinity. I attach herewith a sketch
plan showing the lay-out of the place. The principal points to be attacked are 10
turbines in the engine room, 10 balancers, the switchboard and the large marine-
type engine. Then follow the most meticulous details of how they are to go to
work. Later on the plan of operations is given as follows: An officer would be
appointed to take charge of 30 men who would be used as a guard to prevent
anyone leaving or signalling from the building. Engine Room.—Two men with
sledges, paraffin oil and waste, will make their way to each turbine. Ten men will
make their way to the balancers in front of the switchboard. Each man will have a
sledge. Some men will have to bring in oil and waste. This will be prepared
beforehand in petrol tins, so that it will not be difficult for the men to carry. Pour
men will make for the switchboard with 47-lb. hammers. … Other men will do
something else, and so on. It is a very carefully prepared plan for the smashing of
that power house. I am going to issue the whole of these documents to the Press
this evening, and the House will, therefore, excuse me from reading them in
further detail. I should like, however, to read a paragraph or two of the Liverpool
plan: …. It will of course be impossible to make a clean sweep of the whole line of
docks. If men and material are available a large amount of work can be done, but
the amount to be done must be regulated by these conditions. I submit a scheme
for dealing with 21 points. This scheme involves the use of 800 lbs. of 'g'"—that is
to say, gelignite—"23 engineers, 75 rank and file and about 20 others, 98
revolvers.
78
79

Mr. Devlin questioned the authenticity of this document, which he attributed as originating from
Dublin Castle. Sir H. Greenwood claimed that it was well within the military capability of the
Irish Republican Army of attacking Manchester and Liverpool docks or powerhouses. 80
Republican Supporters
There are some 700 creameries, and only a miserable dozen or so have been razed to the ground.
If we took the side imputed to us by the Chief Secretary, the side of sympathising in any sense
with those who are committing these abhorrent crimes in Ireland, these murders, we would say,
"There are 12,000 policemen in Ireland, and only some dozen or so, or at most some hundred
have been assassinated". The Chief Secretary described the creameries as a “resort of the rebels,
the combatant forces of the illegal army”. The pretence of “those who were about to violate the
law” was used as justification for attacking the creameries. 81
The crimes of shootings, burning
down creameries, murdering innocent people could be “put down by throwing responsibility for
Irish government upon the vast majority of the Irish people who, it is admitted, have no
sympathy with the criminals” and “put an end to this painful Irish situation”. 82
State Servants – Native Aliens
The consequence of the rebellion of 1916 was the shrinkage of the Royal Irish Constabulary and
the disappearance of their Secret Service, which was armed with an old-fashioned carbine dated
1895. Not even one in four of the constabulary had a revolver. No “modern appliances that make
police work effective in a country like the Western part of Ireland” were available. The force
was disheartened, underpaid and poorly pensioned. Sir H. Greenwood’s “first duty was to revive
the morale of that force, to re-arm it, to re-house it when he went to Ireland. 83
The condition of
Ireland was certainly “anything to laugh”. The Royal Irish Constabulary were reinforced in
numbers, re-armed, given motor transport, supplied with revolvers, supplied with Mills bombs,
wireless apparatus”. The “appliances of modern police work, were making them more effective”
as a force who “helped to save this country during the rebellion of 1916”. The authority of the
Crown was asserted by the "Weekly Summary" which was a method adopted for heartening this
force in remote parts of Ireland they never could see a newspaper, except the paper that
condemned them, made light of them, humiliated them”. The production costs for the "Weekly
Summary." were £15 or £20 a week The protection of the lives of the 41,000 soldiers and
12,000 policemen who represented the forces of the Crown was the “primary generator” and not
the creameries, or haystacks, or the "Weekly Summary".84
80
81
82
83
84

Security Analysis
The isolationism of military service in Ireland was confirmed by a holder of a D.S.O. and Bar,
the Military Cross, the Croix de Guerre, and the Legion of Honour in the Great War. This “most
gallant boy was in command of an area of 30 square miles in Ireland”. His conversation with his
M.P Lieut-Colonel Croft on a few days' leave revealed that three of the five officers in his
detachment had been “foully murdered in the week preceding his leave”. Many officers were
“crowded into barracks, absolutely alone, no one to talk to, except their soldier servants, who
may be with them, or the guards in their house”.
Lieut.-Colonel Croft comparatively analysed the new type of warfare in Ireland when he said:
“Imagine the position of these soldiers and police in these terror-stricken areas. It is not war. In
war you know where you are and you have a clearly defined frontier, and you are in your
trenches”. Croft is wrong to state that it was not war, it was a new style of warfare in which
Ireland played a pivotal training grounds for future British Army Operations. The new style was
urban gurella warfare where “soldiers cannot walk down the street without fearing, if they hear a
footstep behind them, that they are going to be assassinated. 85
The placement of British armed forces in Ireland has resulted in “bruising the hearts of over
100,000 women whose splendid sons and brothers are serving in Ireland. Rations are delivered
to little garrisons in different parts of Ireland where the lonely fight has been going on for over
two years. While open lorries were not acceptable “it takes a long time to turn out thousands of
armoured lorries”. In the mean time the men would suffer all kinds of intimidation and
boycotting, terrorism and assassinations. 86
Mr. Birrell so far as 1906, stated that Ireland had never been more peaceful, never more free
from crime, never so happy, and never so prosperous. 87
The logistical support needed for Auxiliary operations necessitated “no sparing of expense in
arming far more lorries, and sending them to Ireland”. The necessity of drawing their rations
from great distances if one out of two lorries breaks down and their only remaining lorry has to
travel this long tract and if one lorry breaks down, on the road alone. The men in that lorry
would not be in a position to “successfully resist 100 rifles”.88
The assassinations which took place “were callous and cold-blooded murders committed against
gallant officers who were at the time incapable of self-defence” In more than one case, the
officers were murdered in the “presence of their wives”. In military conflicts both sides loose
“humanity and honour” and in the “strictest and fullest sense of the word martyrs to public
duty”, there are victims on both sides. It was a trivial justification that the “very gravity” of these
actions counterbalances the thirteen, men, women and children, who lost their lives in the
afternoon at Croke Park, which in the authorities eyes made it “more necessary than ever that the
Executive should be able to encounter them with a clear front and clean hands”. The right to
85
86
Lieut.-Colonel Croft House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 529 - 530
87
88

defend against an aggressor was a “large and generous allowance”, when considered in an
environment where “excesses committed in hot blood by men, who, it may be, have been
ambushed and have seen their comrades killed before their eyes”. The officers of the Crown
were entitled to hit back and that allowance, if not defended, was “at any rate apologised for”.
The “competition of outrage and terrorism lasts”, the more difficult it is for the “nature of peace
to become a spectacle”.89
Soldier Profile
The ordinary British Tommy under many peculiar conditions was not capable of perform the
atrocities that has been alleged against him. It was a deliberate libel to allege that he has driven
his bayonet into a pregnant woman, or has deliberately driven his bayonet two or three times into
the body of a boy of ten years of age.90
The fills a very important place in human society. It is wrong to use the Army or force now to
maintain the authority of the Constitution. If they do, it is a moral certainty that they will create
hostility nearly as vindictive as one sees in Ireland to-day. Is not the Army to be used to maintain
their authority and the laws passed by their Administration? Most certainly. 91
89
Mr. Asquith House of Commons 24 November 1920 C489-493
90
Lieut.-Colonel Ward ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 585
91
Lieut.-Colonel Ward ` House of Commons 24 November 1920 C 586

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