An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 46 | and when they realized that this was more than just a com- mon raid, many became hysterical. Daniel McAleese, an employee in the Custom House, who was having lunch in the dining room when the attack began, recalled: '… Several young men passed us carrying tins of petrol. One of the leaders announced that the Custom House was being set on fire and warned us against causing any commotion.' Although communication lines had been cut, word of the attack got to the military, who promptly dispatched a party of troops, including an armoured car, to investigate. Despite an order not to fire first, Volunteers fired on the soldiers as they passed Liberty Hall. The troops returned fire. Unfortunately, inside, preparations for firing the build- ing were not complete. On hearing shots, the men took up positions at doors and windows and opened fire. In the confusion a whistle blast was heard, although not all of the rooms were ready. The men were ordered to finish their task, causing a few minutes delay, after which the building was set alight. In the meantime, more troops began to arrive, covering the building with machine-guns from armoured cars and a Lewis gun from under the Loop Line Bridge. As the fire began to take hold inside, calls flooded into the city's fire stations from worried civilians. All callers were answered calmly and reassured that help was on the way. However, the authorities and the public were unaware that the fire stations were in the hands of the IRA; help would not arrive any time soon. As the fire quickly took hold, members of the Squad and ASU engaged the enemy from their positions in the win- dows, but eventually they were forced to fall back. With every round of ammunition spent, the order was given to evacuate, dump arms, and mingle with the staff in order to get away. The majority did, but others, including Jim Slat- tery and Sean Doyle, decided to try to break out. Both men were shot; Doyle was fatally wounded while Slattery was hit in the hand. Oscar Traynor and Captain Paddy Daly were observing the situation outside when they came under fire from a military lorry. Volunteer Dan Head, threw a bomb at the lorry, sav- ing Traynor and Daly, but was himself shot and killed. Tom Ennis was the last to leave the burning building. Armed with a gun in each hand he was hit twice, in the hip and leg, as he made a dash from a side gate to a laneway. Despite being horrifically wounded, he managed to get to safety. Those who had mixed with the staff were gathered outside. As each staff member was identified and led away, those left were searched by the military and questioned. Some Volunteers, like Ned Breslin, were beaten by the Auxiliaries. Others, like Vinny Byrne, managed to bluff their way out. Most of the captured Volunteers were brought to Arbour Hill, although some were taken to Mountjoy Gaol and Dub- lin Castle; as Christopher Fitzsimons testified: 'We were segregated on the quayside and taken to Dublin Castle. We were interrogated at the Castle for three days and suffered pretty severe handling from the Auxiliaries.' Those at Arbour Hill were held for some weeks and then transferred to Kilmainham Gaol. Although the IRA had suffered heavy losses, five dead and over 100 captured, and many weapons lost, the ad- ministration had been dealt a deadly blow. The Dublin Brigade was not decimated, and that night and in the weeks following proved their ability to carry on the fight by launching sev- eral attacks. Meanwhile, news of the day's events raced around the world, focusing international attention on what was happening in Ireland, as de Valera had intended. Some, seeing the losses suffered by the IRA, said the operation was a failure. However, others, including those who took part, saw beyond, to the crippling blow that had been de- livered to the British administration in Ireland; thousands of records essential for running the country had been lost. The success of destroying these documents was not just down to the IRA, however, but also the Dublin Fire Bri- gade. When they arrived on the scene it was their task to try to save the building. However, once it was possible to enter the building safely and begin to fight the fire, they did the exact opposite. Fireman Michael Rogers recalled that on entering the building to search it and establish the seat of the fire, he and others had the building at their mercy and spread the fire into parts of it that had not pre- viously been on fire. They also found four IRA men hiding in the building and managed to get them away by dress- ing them up as firemen. Sadly, although it was never the intention for anyone to die in the attack, nine people did: Volunteers Dan Head, Sean Doyle, Patrick and Stephen O'Reilly (brothers), and Edward Dorrins; and civilians John Byrne, James Connolly, Francis Davis (caretaker), and Mahon Lawless. Despite many later claims that the operation was a disas- ter and that the IRA was wiped out, that is not the case. The aim of the operation was to bring international attention on Ireland; that happened. It was done to make it extremely difficult for the British civil administration to function in Ire- land; that was achieved. And most importantly, despite hav- ing their ranks depleted and losing weapons, the IRA quickly and easily adapted to their difficulties, and continued the war. Within weeks, negotiations to end hostilities began. About The Author: Liz Gillis, a historian and a researcher on RTÉ Radio One's 'The History Show' and has written a num- ber of books on the Irish Revolution, including May 25th: Burning of the Custom House 1921 (2017), Women of the Irish Revolution: A Photographic History (2016), We Were There: The Seventy-Seven Women Imprisoned in Richmond Barracks 1916 (2016) (co-written with Dr Mary McAuliffe in conjunc- tion with Dublin City Council), and The Hales Brothers and the Irish Revolution (2016), published by Mercier Press. Dramatic shot of two men being challenged by two armed British Army soldiers outside the burning Custom House. A third man lies on the ground face down in the background. Photo courtesy of South Dublin Libraries/wm_ AD005

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