Reprisals. After an IRA Attack Outside a Barracks, This Reached Its Grim Zenith in the Burning of Cork, Writes Catherine Holmes
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Saturday, December 12, 2020 Irish Independent 2 20|20 CENTENARY A city left devastated as Under martial law, British forces had permission for ‘official’ reprisals. After an IRA attack outside a barracks, this reached its grim zenith in the Burning of Cork, writes Catherine Holmes he atmosphere of Cork city in the winter of Journalist Alan J Ellis was intending to travel 1920 was tense. In March, Lord Mayor Tomás home just before 9.30pm when he witnessed a MacCurtain had been assassinated by the Royal tram on fire on Patrick’s Bridge. Groups of Aux- Irish Constabulary (RIC). Terence MacSwiney, iliary policemen had stopped the last trams and his successor, was arrested in August on forced the passengers off to interrogate them charges of sedition and died on hunger strike under the pretence of looking for weapons, in a London prison in October. About 30 miles before setting the trams on fire. On St Patrick west of the city on November 28, the IRA killed Street, witnesses reported seeing Auxiliaries 17 members of the Royal Irish Constabulary’s smashing shop windows, firing their guns Auxiliary Division at Kilmichael. indiscriminately, looting from stores and throw- Unsanctioned reprisals against Irish civilians ing bombs into buildings to set them on fire. and their property were privately supported by Firefighters at Grattan Street Station under T British prime minister David Lloyd George. senior fireman Timothy Ring were alerted to the At a speech in Carnarvon in October 1920, he house fires at Dillon’s Cross. While travelling to made his support of this approach public when the scene they passed St Patrick’s Street, where he excused the conduct of the British forces in Alexander Grant and Co, a large department Ireland. General Macready, the British com- store, was on fire. Ring went to the Central Fire mander-in-chief in Ireland, declared martial Station to alert Captain Hutson, commander of law in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tip- Cork Fire and Ambulance Brigade. asdfgg perary on December 10, 1920. Under martial Hutson rang Victoria Barracks, asking for help law, a curfew of 10pm was imposed each night. fighting the fires, but there was no response. The military was allowed to carry out ‘official’ He then made sure that the Auxiliaries had not reprisals against civilians as punishment for interfered with the city’s water pumping sta- failure to give warning of an ambush against tion, which could have led to the city running the police, and to execute republicans found out of water within 24 hours. carrying arms. The IRA had observed that Auxiliary patrols Harassment and intimidation usually left the main garrison, Victoria Bar- The fire brigade made its way to St Patrick’s racks in the north of Cork city, about 8pm each Street, where multiple stores including Cash evening. On December 8, 1920, an attempted and Co and the Munster Arcade were ablaze. ambush failed when the Auxiliaries did not By 11pm, most of the south side of St Patrick’s appear. On the night of Saturday, December 11, street was engulfed in flames and the fire was a IRA second operation was launched following moving southward, claiming more buildings Saturday, December 12, 2020 information that indicated Captain Campbell along side streets as it went. Many of the stores 20|20 Joseph O’Connor Kelly, an intelligence officer had apartments above them. The scale of the CENTENARY and a high-value target, would be travelling fires was unlike anything the firefighters had THE BURNING OF CORK with the Auxiliaries. ever seen. They were undermanned and lacked YOUR At short notice, six volunteers commanded modern fire-fighting equipment, relying on EIGHT-PAGE CENTENARY PULLOUT SPECIAL by Seán O’Donoghue took up position behind horse-drawn hose reels tapped into the city’s a wall between Victoria Barracks and Dillon’s water mains. They faced harassment and intim- Cross. One volunteer, Michael Kenny, stood idation as they tried to stop the fire spreading. At the emiah (24), both members of the IRA, were on the road acting as a distressed civilian to They were shot at by the Auxiliaries, with four home of dragged from their beds, asked their names distract the patrol. As it slowed down to check firefighters being taken to hospital with bullet and shot. Jeremiah died instantly and Cornelius on him, the other volunteers sprang from their wounds. Their hoses were slashed open and Daniel died from his wounds on December 18. William hiding place, throwing grenades and firing driven over by lorries until they burst. Delaney, Dunlea, a relative of theirs, was wounded but pistols at the Auxiliaries before disappearing Across the River Lee, between 3am and 5am a British survived. The two young men had been accused IN ASSOCIATION Act of partition WITH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN How a 1920 law and not the Treaty laid into the night. Despite being outnumbered, the City Hall on Anglesea Street was broken into of taking part in the Dillon’s Cross ambush, but the foundations of Northern Ireland services Pages 4&5 they escaped safely. The attack had lasted only and set alight by a group of Auxiliaries. The fire they had not been involved. ON THE COVER seconds but injured 12 Auxiliary policemen, and quickly extended to the Carnegie Free Library search By the afternoon of Sunday, December 12, the The aftermath of the temporary cadet Spencer Chapman later died next door. Witnesses claimed that Auxiliaries operation Cork firefighters were exhausted. Lord Mayor Burning of Cork. from his wounds. and policemen lined the quay opposite City Hall took place. Daniel O’Callaghan requested reinforcements, Photograph courtesy: Auxiliary police from nearby barracks quickly around the fire hydrant and turned off the water which arrived from Limerick and Dublin Fire National Library of Ireland arrived as back-up. Residents were forced out several times. The two buildings and 14,000 of His two Brigades. They remained in Cork until Wednes- of their houses and questioned. Seven houses the library’s books were reduced to ashes. sons were day. The firefighters worked under constant were set on fire by the Auxiliaries in retaliation Around the same time in the north of Cork danger of falling buildings and gas pipes being Editor: Jon Smith dragged for the ambush. This was legal under martial city, at the home of Daniel Delaney in Dublin compromised. At least 2,000 people became Production: Joe Coyle law. Another group of Auxiliaries was sent to St Hill, a British services search operation took from their unemployed and many were left homeless as Newspaper archives: Patrick Street in the city’s commercial centre. place. His two sons, Cornelius (30), and Jer- beds, more than 40 business premises and 300 resi- Clodagh Finn asked their dential properties were destroyed by the fire. FOR UCD names and Damage costing millions of pounds was done Eilis O’Brien, Director of and an area of five acres had been affected. Cork Communications shot City librarian James Wilkinson issued a public Dr Conor Mulvagh, Assistant appeal for books and readers from Ireland, Brit- Professor in Irish History ain and America donated some 10,500 volumes. Kate Manning, Principal Archivist No deaths were directly related to the fires. Razed: An One woman is reported as having died from PICTURES area of five a heart attack after her home was raided, the National Library of Ireland, Irish Independent archives acres was two Delaney brothers were killed and one Aux- and Getty Images affected iliary was killed by the IRA. Several people were during the wounded by Auxiliaries. Burning of On Monday, December 13, the events that Cork had unfolded in Cork over the weekend were IN ASSOCIATION WITH PHOTO discussed in the House of Commons. When COURTESY: questioned, Sir Hamar Greenwood, the chief NATIONAL LIBRARY OF secretary for Ireland, blamed the citizens of IRELAND Cork for starting the fires. Lord Mayor Daniel Irish Independent Saturday, December 12, 2020 3 arson followed ambush Chief secretary’s indignant protest in parliament Extract from the Irish Independent, December 14, 1920 Sir Hamar Greenwood [chief secretary for Ireland], in the Commons, protested most vigorously against the suggestion, without any evidence, that the fires in Cork were started by the forces of the Crown. “It is obvious to anyone,” he added, “that a fire of this kind is the only possible argument that is now used against the government’s policy in Ireland.” When pressed to say how the outbreaks originated, he said there was evidence that they were started by incendiary bombs. There are no incendiary bombs in the possession of the Crown forces in Ireland, but there are in the possession of Sinn Féiners. Devastation: Flight of refugees witnesses The pitiable sight of hundreds of reported seeing people in flight from their homes, Auxiliaries says another correspondent, was smashing shop witnessed in Cork on Sunday, the windows, firing refugees carrying with them such their guns articles as it was possible for them indiscriminately, to remove, while there were regular looting from processions of furniture vans, horse stores and cars and other vehicles conveying throwing bombs furniture, shop or household articles into buildings to to places considered more or less set them on fire safe, the people being terrified lest there should be a renewal of the PHOTO COURTESY: NATIONAL LIBRARY frightful outbreak. OF IRELAND O’Callaghan immediately renounced this state- ment on behalf of the city and demanded an Cork City in flames – night of horror impartial civilian inquiry. The British Govern- ment announced that a military court of inquiry Extract from the Irish Independent, December 13, 1920 chaired by General Strickland would investigate the fires.