An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | BY MICHAEL BARRY F rom the beginning of 1919, as the War of Independence gathered momentum, it was the RIC that initially bore the brunt of the IRA assault. As attacks on barracks increased, the force was withdrawn from small isolated barracks. The larger ones were transformed into bastions, with steel plates over windows and loopholes. The RIC was a paramilitary force and well armed. They were issued with carbines, (a shorter rifle, easier for a constable to carry while on a horse – or bicycle). From 1904, the rifles were Lee Metford bolt-action carbines, with a six-cartridge magazine. These, along with similar Lee Enfield carbines, had been surplus and were converted to take bayonets. The standard revolver was the Webley and Scott (break top) Mk VI .455 calibre revolver. The detectives of 'G' Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) carried Webley MP model .32 automatics, easier to conceal. As the news from Ireland got worse, the British Government tried to maintain that the conflict was a police action against the 'Sinn Féin murder gang'. They recruited thousands of ex-servicemen to reinforce the RIC (these new men soon became known as the 'Black and Tans), and by mid-1920, a counter-insurgency force, the Auxiliary Division of the RIC (ADRIC), was recruited and staffed with ex-officers. ADRIC companies were well equipped. They had Crossley Ten- ders and armoured cars. Each cadet could select from a Webley revolver or automatic pistol, a Lee Enfield SMLE or a Winchester pump-action shotgun. They also had Mills bombs and Lewis light machine guns. The first IRA direct attack on the British Army was at Fermoy in September 1919. After this the military were increasingly brought into the conflict. Stationed around the country, they had the benefit of being well equipped with excel- lent weapons that had been combat-proven in the recent world war. The staple arm was the general-issue British infantry rifle, the Lee Enfield bolt-action SMLE Mk III. A soldier could fire off the ten .303 rounds in the magazine in 15 seconds. The standard officer's sidearm was the Webley Mk VI .455 calibre revolver. They also had access to the formidable Vickers heavy machine gun. Water-cooled, it could fire .303 bullets at 500 rounds per minute. A versatile weapon was the American-designed Lewis machine gun, of .303 calibre. With a pan magazine, it was air-cooled using an aluminium barrel radiator. It was light, but could pump out 550 rounds per minute. Over the course of the War of Independence, the IRA was woe- fully short of arms. IRA units had developed out of the Irish Vol- unteer organisation. Most arms had been sourced locally. GHQ in Dublin evolved from 1919 onwards and, with difficulty, tried to put order on the situation. A certain amount of arms were imported clandestinely, a significant number through Liverpool. One GHQ document, written in December 1921, listed the amount of arms imported over the eleven months up to the Truce on 11 July 1921. It amounted to a mere 96 rifles and 522 pistols. In the context of the requirements to fight a nationwide guerrilla war, the amount of arms imported was minimal. (The pace of imports radically accelerated in the six months after the Truce.) In reality most IRA units had to depend on their own resources. Managing weapons and ammunition stocks posed a nightmare for the local quarter- of the War of Independence IRA grenade production at Rogers Bros foundry at Bailieboro, Co Cavan. Webley MP Model .32 automatic issued to DMP detectives. Auxiliary Cadet with Winchester pump action shotgun. Courtesy of Ernest McCall © Captured Thompsons at Hoboken, New Jersey in 1921.

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