An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir March / April 2024 www.military.ie/magazine 22 | THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS AT WAR, 1916 – 1923 BY TOM O'NEILL, COMDT RDF (RETD) PHOTOS PROVIDED BY TOM O'NEILL, COMDT RDF (RETD) PART 2: THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE The Irish Volunteers changed their strategies and tactics as a result of the lessons learned during the 1916 Rising. The Volunteer Executive decided that at the next attempt to gain independence, they would use guerrilla warfare, hit and run tactics. There would be no more taking over buildings and fighting a conventional war. Priority would be given to neutralising the Royal Irish Constabulary, seen by many as the eyes and ears of the British government across the country. The Volunteers would also focus on the intelligence and counterintelligence war, finding out as much as possible about the enemy and passing on that information as quickly as possible to those that needed it, and at the same preventing the enemy from doing the same to the Volunteers. They would also wage a propaganda war against the Crown Forces and the British authorities. It was the intelligence and propaganda campaigns that would be the Irish Volunteer's, Sinn Féin & the IRA's greatest successes. Following the 1916 Rising, the most important change was that Home Rule was no longer acceptable. Now their focus was on winning complete independence from English rule and creating a republic. The General Election of December 1918 was a political turning point for Sinn Féin and the Republican movement. Of the one hundred and five candidates elected to Westminster, seventy-three were Sinn Féin. The elected Republicans refused to take their seats in the British parliament, instead forming the First Dáil which met in the Mansion House in Dublin on the 21st of January 1919. The Dáil declared, 'that a state of war existed which could never end until Ireland is definitely evacuated by the armed forces of England.' The Deputies standing, affirmed, 'we adopt this Declaration of Independence, and we pledge ourselves to put it into effect by every means in our power.' The Dáil now had a mandate from most of the Irish people for its military campaign against the British Forces. In the eyes of those involved there was now an Irish political establishment with a military force ready for the impending war. From then on, the Irish Volunteers were referred to as the 'Irish Republican Army,' the IRA. During the War of Independence, the IRA set up an Army Headquarters in Dublin for command-and-control purposes and divided the country into brigade areas. The brigades were broken down into battalions and battalions into companies. Later in the war, divisions were introduced between Army HQ and the brigades. Initially, small, part-time IRA squads conducted the attacks on the RIC. The RIC, however, were gathering intelligence as to the identities of these IRA men and began raiding their homes. This forced the IRA to go 'on the run.' This in turn, led to the formation of the IRA flying columns from around September 1920. These flying columns were usually selected from the most active members of the IRA battalions, or from IRA Brigades where large tracts of remote terrain were available for manoeuvring. In keeping with the new strategies and tactics of the IRA, the opening shots of the War of Independence were fired at members of the Royal Irish Constabulary at Soloheadbeg in Co. Tipperary on 29th January 1919, which resulted in the deaths of two constables. The neutralising of the RIC by the IRA was achieved initially by attacking armed policemen and their isolated barracks, which were soft targets. This suited the IRA's capability at this stage in the war. The authorities were forced to close hundreds of isolated RIC barracks and to withdraw the RIC into the large towns. The IRA also intimidated members of the RIC to resign and potential recruits from enlisting. As a result, the strength and efficiency of the force diminished greatly. This compelled the British government to look for RIC recruits from the UK mainland. The first of these recruits were former enlisted ranks of the British forces and they became temporary constables, better known as 'The Black and Tans.' The second group were former commissioned officers and they became temporary cadets of the Auxiliary Division of the RIC. The experience gained by the IRA during the early phase of the war and the capturing of service weapons, primarily from the RIC, enhanced their fighting confidence and the forming of the flying columns gave the IRA the capability to take the fight to the British Army. The British Army became more involved in the fight against the IRA, due to the reduction of RIC capabilities. The superior firepower of the British Army was dented, by their lack of local knowledge. In particular, the military lacked local intelligence as to the identities of their IRA adversaries and they certainly did not have the support of the civilian population. The new guerrilla warfare strategy of the IRA using the flying columns, led to many successful operations against the Crown Forces, particularly in remote locations. The flying columns focussed on their advantages of local knowledge and local support. It was critical for the IRA flying column operations, that a hit and run action did not develop into a conventional engagement. The IRA operations were compromised on several occasions because the majority of the officers were lacking in formal military training. The most regular failing was in the detailing and managing of sentries. Often the need for sentries was overlooked or Members of the flying column 4 Bn Cork 1921 A sign of success, British troops march out of Richmond Barracks, Dublin as the National Army marches into the newly renamed Keogh Barracks. National Library of Ireland

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