An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2019 www.dfmagazine.ie 34 | Two Revolutions and Two Civil Wars? BY LIAM CAHILL 'Forgotten Revolution: The Limerick Soviet 1919' A t the beginning of 1919, 'Republicans' and 'Sinn Féiners' were not a homogenous group with a common political objective. It is more sensible to view them as two distinct types of 'Separatists' - Pacifist Separatists led by Éamon de Valera and Militant Separatists (Irish Republican Brotherhood) led by Michael Collins. Following the Dáil's first public meeting, the pacifist non-IRB Separatists focussed on using the assembly's moral and politi- cal mandate to gain international recognition for Ireland's cause, mainly by leveraging Irish-American pressure on President Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference. In June 1919, de Valera undertook an eighteen months long visit to the United States to rally sup- port and raise funds. At the same time, the militant IRB element of Separatism, led by Michael Collins, was intensifying the gathering of intelligence as well as the capture or purchase of munitions and weapons with the intention of an early resumption of the armed struggle, begun in 1916. Events in early 1919 set the pattern for how the War would evolve during the ensuing year and a half, up to the Truce in July 1921. On 21st January 1919, three events occurred that were to have a major influence on the course of the War. Two are commemo- rated and taught in schools and colleges– the first public session of Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House in Dublin and the ambush and killing of two policemen at Soloheadbeg, county Tipperary, by members of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade, Irish Volunteers. The third event – despite its leading to almost four years of mili- tant struggle by workers and their trade unions for their version of freedom – has been largely overlooked and forgotten for most of the last century. This event was the commencement in Limerick of the Court Martial of Captain Robert Byrne, Adjutant, 2nd Battalion, Mid-Limerick Brigade, Irish Volunteers, on a charge of possession of a revolver and ammunition. He was sentenced to serve twelve months imprisonment with hard labour in Limerick Prison. Immediately, Byrne led Republican prisoners in a demand to be accorded political status. After a punishment diet of bread and water for several weeks, followed by some weeks on hunger strike, he was transferred to a local hospital. There, on 6th April, the Volunteers mounted a botched rescue attempt. A policeman was killed, another seriously wounded and Robert Byrne was fatally wounded – probably by a member of the rescue party. He was the first member of the Irish Volunteers to be killed in the War of Independence. More than 10,000 women and men, many in Cumann na mBan and Volunteer uniform, marched to his graveside where a volley of shots was fired. Already alarmed by the opening of the First Dáil and the killings at Soloheadbeg, the British authorities responded by declaring Limerick a Special Military Area. The city was surrounded by barbed wire and the bridges across the Shannon were blocked by barri- cades and tanks, cutting off the populous working-class district of Thomondgate from the rest of the city. Workers were required to produce a military pass and be checked four times a day, going to and from their work. In protest at these restrictions, Limerick Trades Council declared a 'General Strike Against British Militarism' and 14,000 workers responded. For two weeks, the workers' Council – sarcastically dubbed a 'soviet' by the 'Irish Times' - controlled the baking and supply of bread and sympathetic farmers from surrounding areas British troops at King John's Castle, Thomond Bridge 1919. Newspaper clipping from British Sunday Pictorial showing images of Limerick during the general strike. Photo courtesy of Military Archives BMH Photo Series Album Events of National Interest 1919-1920. Capt Robert Byrne, Adjt 2nd Bn, Mid-Limerick Brigade, Irish Volunteers, an active trade unionist who suffered fatal wounds in a rescue from a local hospital and was the first member of the Irish Volunteers killed in the War of Independence. Liam Cahill is the author of a recently published book 'Forgotten Revolution [The Centenary Edition] The Limerick Soviet 1919'. He is a former public servant and journalist who has worked as an adviser in government, politics, the private sector and with campaign groups.

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