Civil War and Unrest in West Kildare,
June–July 1922

Published in the Liffey Champion, 2nd of July 2022

The first phase of the civil war was fought by conventional warfare methods rather than by guerrilla tactics. Between late June and mid-July a substantial area of west Kildare was engrossed in conventional warfare with the anti-Treaty side initially having the upper hand.

During the War of Independence, the Prosperous IRA Company was one of the most active IRA militants in the region. They were originally established by Tom Harris who had fought in the Easter Rising, 1916. He later served as commandant in charge of the No 2 Kildare Battalion until his arrest in November 1920.

Harris opposed the treaty and in early 1922 following the IRA split, he became the officer commanding the anti-treaty 7th IRA Brigade. The unit which was formed from his old battalion area included much of central Kildare. During the truce the Prosperous IRA company was formed into a separate battalion with Edward Tracy as Commandant in charge and Thomas McHugh Vice-Commandant. When the IRA split this unit choose the anti-treaty side and switched allegiance from the pro-Treaty 7th Brigade command to the anti-Treaty 7th Brigade commanded by Tom Harris.

The drift to Civil War was evident during the early summer of 1922 with militancy increasing. Much of the unrest in west Kildare was as a result of agrarian activity by militants close to the anti-treaty side. Intimidation and lawlessness became widespread with well-known individuals of a pro-treaty and unionist viewpoint targeted. Prominent pro-treaty councillor Joseph Cusack from Blackwood near Timahoe was one of the individuals targeted. On the 10th of May eight armed men called to his house demanding he give up his gun. When he refused, they threatened to break into the house. At this point Cusack’s wife speaking from an upstairs window informed the raiders that ‘when they had something to shoot at besides women and children they were nowhere to be seen’. This prompted one of the raiders to fire a shot over the womans head. Pro-treaty IRA officers from Naas investigated the incident and also cattle driving that occurred on the lands of Charles Bury from Downings, Prosperous. In a rare example of unity, the anti-Treaty side worked side by side with the pro-Treaty authorities in attempting to quell the disturbance. Nevertheless, the unrest continued and the following Monday morning a range of stables and out-offices at the rear of Cusack’s house was torched causing £1,000 damage.

Following the outbreak of the Civil War with the bombardment of the Four Courts on the 28th of June check-points were set up on all the leading roads and at a barricade opposite the Police barracks in Naas, Tom Harris, the senior member of the anti-treaty IRA was arrested.

Coolcarrigan House Commandeered

Coolcarrigan House.

Harris’s second in command Patrick Brennan took over the leadership of the anti-Treaty 7th Brigade. They held two barracks in their area, a vacant farmhouse owned by Simon Dillon close to Timahoe which was the brigade headquarters and the old RIC barracks in Kill. When hostilities commenced, they commandeered Coolcarrigan House, the residence of Leonard Wilson-Wright, also in Timahoe and moved their brigade headquarters to the building.

The house was vacant as the owner had been advised to leave the property the previous year for his own safety. It was ideal as a barrack or military camp as the main building consisted of a mansion house with thirty-two apartments, and a walled garden adjoining. It was in an isolated area approximately half a mile from the nearest road with two entrances allowing easy escape routes. At one stage, it was estimated that between 100 and 150 activists were garrisoned in the house.

Enfield Encounter

Offensive activities by the anti-treaty IRA forces began immediately following the outbreak of war in Dublin and on the 1st of July an Active Service Unit from Coolcarrigan consisting of twenty-five men proceeded to Johnstownbridge and held up several vehicles. The unit later proceeded to Enfield and commandeered provisions. They also detained a number of National army soldiers as prisoners but released them two days later. Continuing offensive activity later in the week the same unit carried out sniping missions on various National army targets such as Naas Military Barrack and Robertstown Barrack.

Anti-Treaty Forces Capture Rathangan

In the second week of the conflict the anti-Treaty side became more ambitious. Patrick Brennan turned his attention on Rathangan barracks some twelve miles south-west of Coolcarrigan House which was held by thirty-five National army troops. The objective was to overpower the garrison and capture a quantity of badly needed rifles.

Brennan summoned his second in command James Dunne with his company from their base in Kill. On arrival Dunne was appointed in overall charge of the brigade Active Service Unit which now consisted of approximately sixty men. On the 5th of July Brennan and Dunne advanced on Rathangan and after three hours of heavy fighting the National army garrison surrendered. There were no fatalities although a number of National army troops were wounded. Due to the superiority of the anti-Treaty forces in west Kildare at this period the National army garrison in Robertstown withdrew to Naas.

Shooting incident at Mountarmstrong

Mountarmstrong House.

A substantial area of west Kildare was now controlled by the anti-treaty IRA who began to take an active role in the law and order in the district. On the evening of the 3rd of July, an attempt by anti-treaty activists to commandeer a motor car at Mountarmstrong House, Donadea, resulted in unusual resistance by the occupants. When the car owner, Peter Moore, realised that the theft was in progress he fired from his legally held shot gun on the intruders from an upstairs window of the house. Fire was returned first of all from one side of the house and afterwards from the front. The assailants also threw a bomb at another side of the house but were unable to obtain the car. The only causality was Moore’s collie dog which was shot by the intruders as they departed.

On the 6th of July, Moore and his wife Mary Ellen were brought by five-armed anti-treaty activists before a republican court-martial held at Coolcarrigan House. Moore was charged with resisting the taking of his car and firing his shotgun at the party sent to commandeer it. He was ordered to deliver up his gun otherwise ‘drastic punishment would be meted out to him’. Two armed men accompanied him to his house and took possession of the shotgun. Moore’s wife Mary Ellen was the proprietor of a grocery shop at Blackwood and a Rural District Councillor who was an outspoken supporter of the treaty.

Evacuation of Coolcarrigan

Late in the second week of July the tide began to turn in favour of the National army who had successfully captured anti-treaty positions in piecemeal action. Patrick Brennan at this point was concerned as his brigade was divided into two columns, one in Coolcarrigan House and the second which was part of the garrison in Baltinglass. Having discussed this with Ernie O’Malley the anti-treaty IRA leader and the need to unite the two columns he was instructed to bring the Coolcarrigan column to Baltinglass. However, on returning to Coolcarrigan, intelligence was received that the National army were converging on their position in significant numbers from Naas, Edenderry and Lucan. They were forming a circular maneuverer similar to the successful strategy which had been used in previous days to capture Blessington. Reports also suggested the strength of the National army was approximately 600 men and that an eighteen-pounder gun was included in their arsenal. The planned assault on Coolcarrigan would be Kildare’s Four Courts episode. Instead of a more orderly evacuation of Coolcarrigan the withdrawal was more like a hurried retreat. It was decided to withdraw the garrison in two groups. Preparations involved blocking off the roads leading to Coolcarrigan to hinder the National army advance.

Friendly-fire Incident at Corduff

The main contingent of some forty men led by Brennan and Dunne while retreating from the house had formed a defensive position at Corduff Cross. It was here on the 11th of July that an unfortunate case of friendly fire occurred when three men dressed in National army uniforms while on their way to join the anti-treaty side were fired on by members of the retreating Coolcarrigan garrison, who suspected them as enemy forces. One of the men Thomas Reilly from Valleymount died at the scene and another Patrick Tierney was seriously wounded. The third man James Halligan was uninjured.

A contingent of the National army commanded by Commandant Michael McCormack from Lucan that were making their way to participate in the assault on Coolcarrigan discovered the dead body of Reilly and Tierney, who was suffering from wounds, at Corduff Co-Op Stores. Tierney was taken into custody and also Peter Kelly the manager of the Stores.

Having avoided the oncoming National Army unit at Corduff, Brennan and his column proceeded to Prosperous where they rested in Killybegs House, before making their way without further incident to Baltinglass.

Shoot-out at Knockanally Cross

Knockanally Gates.

Another party of the retreating Coolcarrigan garrison headed in the opposite direction towards Donadea but were hotly pursued by National army contingents. They were travelling in an open motorcar, a Ford delivery van and a motor bike. They used side roads to avoid the pursuing military but on reaching the foot of Ovidstown Hill the Ford van ran out of petrol and a decision was made for the open motorcar with the passengers in it to continue on its journey in the direction of the Cloncurry. Eight men which included the motor cyclist remained with the Ford van, which was pushed back to a position inside the front entrance to Knockanally House. Within an hour a number of National army troops evidently in hot pursuit arrived at Knockanally Gates. They were a section of a patrol party sent out from Edenderry camp earlier and had been engaged in removing trees that blocked roads near Coolcarrigan which had been felled to facilitate the evacuation.

Thomas McHugh, courtesy Conor McHugh.

Both sides immediately commenced firing with the entrance wall and the front gate-lodge at Knockanally providing cover for the anti-treaty activists. Within minutes another section of the Edenderry National army party arrived from the opposite direction and due to a hole in the wall they were able to subject the anti-treaty side to crossfire. The latter now found themselves exposed with limited cover. Five of the party surrendered while the other three which included Vice Commandant Thomas McHugh managed to escape.

The brief conventional method of warfare was now at an end and the Civil War in the area developed into a guerrilla form of militancy. On the 18th of July Downings House was occupied by anti-treaty IRA as a base and on the same day armed men came to Donadea Castle and took possession of a motor bicycle belonging to Herbert Corbally, the local land steward. He was given a written receipt which read:

Commandeered by IRA for war purpose
   – signed O.C. Kildare Brigade, July 18th 1922

However, as the National army regained control the effectiveness of the anti-treaty Active Service Unit now headed by Tracy and McHugh diminished and faded out following their arrests in the late autumn.

Lawless Period in West Kildare

As the winter approached with the vast majority of anti-treaty activists imprisoned, militancy in the area continued but had little to do with politics and the treaty divide. The unrest included agrarian activity, burning of farm produce and even sectarianism. The situation seemed to have descended into a wild west scenario where no law and order existed. This prompted local curate Fr Michael Kelly in November 1922, at a Mass in Staplestown Church to denounce the lawlessness and describe Ireland as ‘The Island of Robbers and Murderers’. The Church of Ireland rector for the area Rev L.M. Hewson, who resided in Ballinafagh three miles from Timahoe, pointed out that

any decent man or woman be he a member of the Church of Ireland or Roman Catholic: in politics, Loyalist, Republican or Free State got it in the neck unless they kept their gun handy and used it.

While the region experienced extensive militancy during the changeover from British rule to native Irish rule, luckily, loss of life that marred other areas during the same period was kept to a minimum in west Kildare.

Sources

  1. LL, 13 May, 20 May, 1 July 1922
  2. KO, 20 May, 1 July, 29 July 1922
  3. FJ, 11 July 1922
  4. Southern Star, 15 July 1922
  5. Compensation files, claim of Peter Moore, Mountarmstrong (NAI, Fin/Comp/2/9/300)
  6. Irish Grants Committee claim of L.A.W. Wright, 31 January 1927 (TNA, CO 762/117/16)
  7. Irish Grants Committee claim of Cecil Johnston claim (TNA, CO 762/193/21)
  8. Statement by Thomas McHugh, 10 March 1936 (IMA, MSPC, WMSP34REF15403)
  9. James Dunne (MA, BMH WS 1571, pp 11–2)
  10. Interview of Thomas McHugh by Seamus Cullen and Des O’Leary, October 1992
  11. Owen Denneny, ‘The Corduff Ambush’ in The Bridge, 2018 (Timahoe, 2018), pp 11–9
  12. Seamus Cullen, Kildare, The Irish Revolution, 1912–23 (Dublin, 2020), pp 116–8
  13. Seamus Cullen, ‘Loyalists in a Garrison County: Kildare, 1912–1923’ in Brian Hughes and Conor Morrissey, Southern Irish Loyalism, 1912–1949 (Liverpool, 2020), pp 263–5