“The lies and hypocrisy of the Free State leaders are astounding, especially to those of us who took part in the Army negotiations for unity and those who know the whole inner history of those negotiations.
We were never requested to evacuate the Four Courts. On the contrary, at one meeting of the Coalition Army Council, at which Mulcahy, O’Duffy, Mellows, Lynch and myself were present, we were only asked to evacuate the Ballast Office, the Kildare St Club, the Masonic Hall and Lever Bros.
At that stage we actually discussed co-ordinated military action against N.E.Ulster, and had agreed on an officer who would command both Republican and Free State troops in that area.We were also to send from the South some hundreds of our rifles for use in that area. The reason given was that it would never do if rifles which had been handed to “the Government” for use against the Republic, and which could be identified, were found in use against Craig. An exchange of rifles was effected.
It should be remembered that at this time “the Government” was publicly declaring that it was the mutineer section of the army that was fighting the Ulster people.
At this meeting I have referred to, someone suggested the evacuation of the Four Courts, and Mulcahy laughingly said that as long as we held the place the war against N.E.Ulster would be held against us. We, of course, had no objection. From this you will see the reason why we were not asked to evacuate the Four Courts.”
Quoted from “The Irish Republic” by Dorothy Macardle.
Rory O’Connor and Liam Mellows were shot without charge or trial on 8th December 1922 with two other republican officers, the first Executive Action of the FREE STATE which came into being a day or two before.
Liam Lynch, who became Chief of Staff of the Republican Army was killed by Free State forces in April 1923. Richard Mulcahy became leader of Fine Gael in the 1940s and was a minister in the Coalition Government which declared that the Republican State established in 1938 with Fianna Fail’s guidance (and against the Fine Gael opposition) was in fact a Republic.
General Eoin O’Duffy made Fine Gael into an openly fascist party, and led a unit of it to Spain to fight for General Franco. But the unit returned virtually unharmed from that conflict with more members
than had gone there.
It would be a great pity if the Decade of Remembrance should expire without these facts being brought into the open.
Comments are closed.