An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 12 | BY GERARD SHANNON T he IRA General Headquarters Staff was formed in March 1918 at the suggestion of the Irish Volunteer executive, following the rebuilding of the organisa- tion through 1917 in the aftermath of the Easter Rising. The intention behind the formation of a General Headquarters Staff was to provide a central focus for the Irish Volunteers and to co-ordinate the work of various Volunteer units throughout the country. For the position of its central role, the Chief-of-Staff, Richard Mulcahy emerged as the most viable candidate – an important phase in Mulcahy's tenure in public life that would endure in one form or another for another fifty years. Born in 1886, and originally from Waterford, Richard Mulcahy's career as a post office clerk took him to various locales across the country. During this time, Mulcahy had his first brush with advanced nationalism, becoming a keen Gaelic League activist. Mulcahy also became an admirer of the separatist ideals espoused in the writings of the prominent radical journalist Arthur Griffith. On arrival to Dublin in 1907, Mulcahy joined the Keating Branch of the Gaelic League. Here, he met several noted figures, such as Michael Collins, with whom Mulcahy became closely as- sociated with in the revolutionary period. Mulcahy would also join the Irish Volunteers, on their founding in 1913 and likely joined the secret society known as the Irish Republi- can Brotherhood (the IRB) at this time. Rising through their ranks as a second lieutenant in the Dublin Brigade, Mulcahy would assist the Volunteers during the Easter Rising of 1916. Mulcahy served as second-in-command to Commandant Thomas Ashe during the Battle of Ashbourne and emerged with high military reputation that led to his appointment as Chief-of-Staff. Subsequently imprisoned with the defeat of the rebellion, on his release at the end of 1916, Mulcahy would prove to be an important and dedicated worker on the rebuilding of the revolutionary movement through 1917-18. While in retrospect Michael Collins may have seemed a more obvious choice, Mulcahy was better known than Col- lins in Dublin during 1917-18. This had the effect of freeing up Collins in his various roles in the revolutionary move- ment that would mark his leadership during the war, includ- ing Director of Intelligence for IRA GHQ. Mulcahy's working relationship with Collins was his most crucial throughout 1919-22; this would later prove pivotal to the formation of 12 | 'The war of Independence is progressing favourably for the Irish Republican Army' RICHARD MULCAHY AND IRA GHQ, 1919-21 British Troops in Kildare Street 1921. Author: John Mullen. Photo: South Dublin Libraries/wm_scan009b

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