The Squad

MERCIER PRESS

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© T. Ryle Dwyer, 2005

ISBN: 9781856357487

Cover photo of revolver courtesy of Cork Public Museum.

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Michael Collins is frequently cited as the originator of modern urban terrorism. The British characterised his Squad as ‘the murder gang’ and had they knowingly captured members of the Squad, they would almost certainly have executed them. Many were stopped and even captured, but they were usually let go as they were not actually recognised as members of the Squad. They were saved by the great secrecy under which they operated, as were the spies, or moles, within the police force who worked for Collins and his intelligence organisation.

The Squad made a vital contribution to the War of Independence but it did not win it. For one thing, it was effectively disbanded before the Truce and, anyway, the struggle was not a conventional war; it was rarely much more than a police action. The British army was only used sparingly. The Squad’s major role was both in helping the Irish side and provoking the forces of the crown. Collins set out with a plan to eliminate the most effective British detectives and thus knock out the eyes and ears of the Dublin Castle regime in order to provoke the British to retaliate blindly. His confident belief was that they would retaliate against innocent Irish people and thereby drive the Irish people as a whole into the arms of the republicans. The genius of Collins was as an organiser and an administrator. The Squad systematically eliminated many of the most effective detectives, with the help of information provided by police spies, or moles, working within the crown’s police forces and intelligence services.

In view of the nature of their operation the Squad members and the moles worked undercover and most remained secretive about their activities. Many only spoke out in the early 1950s when the Bureau of Military History began interviewing veterans of the War of Independence with the assurance that the material would not be released in their lifetimes. As a result they could speak more freely and their statements now provide invaluable insights. Of course, the interviews, which were more than thirty years after the events, sometimes show just how much old men forget. But in the case of the Squad, the operations usually had several participants and the files provide not only first-hand accounts of the triggermen but also of those who were backing up the operation. These were more effective witnesses because, un like innocent bystanders, they would not have been surprised or shocked by the events. They were therefore in a position to ob serve more keenly.

One does not normally read or hear accounts of the participants in an actual assassination, but the witness statements of the Squad contain many first-hand accounts by the men who pulled the triggers to kill those considered the enemy. They provide in valuable historical insights into what was happening behind the scenes. They help to explain not only what happened but also, in many cases, why it happened, though historians must be careful because Michael Collins was an extremely secretive individual. In most instances he did explain his reasons. When he gave orders for somebody to be killed the Squad carried out such orders without question. The accounts by his various moles also provide insights into the reasons but in some instances Collins probably carried the secrets with him to his grave.

Having studied aspects of the War of Independence in depth for a number of other books, being afforded the opportunity to appreciate the ‘new’ details and recognise the first-hand confirmation of other information that was already in the public domain has been invaluable. Since such confirmation is of particular historical significance, I have concentrated in this book on the witness statements and have related the accounts as much as possible in the actual words of the men – or in some instances, the women – involved.

I would like to thank the staff of the National Library for their unfailing courtesy and the staff of Kerry County Library for their assistance.

TRD, Tralee, 2005

In January 1919, at the age of twenty-nine, Michael Collins took over as director of intelligence of the Irish Volunteers. It was in this area that he made his greatest mark. After almost ten years in exile in London he returned to Ireland when conscription was introduced by the British in January 1916. He took part in the Easter Rebellion, fighting in the General Post Office, and was interned subsequently in Frongoch.

While interned Collins showed a flair for smuggling messages in and out of the camp. He was recognised in the camp as a ‘conscriptible’, having only left England after the introduction of conscription earlier in the year. He was released when the camp was shut down just before Christmas 1916. Back in Ireland he played a major role in the reorganisation of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). He also played a leading part in the election of Joseph McGuinness in the Longford by-election of April 1917. McGuinness and other recognised leaders of the movement were still in jail in England as a result of the Easter Rebellion when Collins came up with the idea of putting him up for election on a platform calling for the release of the prisoner: ‘Put him in to get him out,’ became the campaign slogan.

Éamon de Valera and the other leaders objected to the idea but Collins ignored their instructions and put McGuinness forward where he narrowly won the seat. As a result, the prisoners were released in June 1917, little over a year after many of them had been sentenced to death or had their sentences commuted to life in prison. Following the release of the prisoners de Valera won election to Westminster in an East Clare by-election, winning the seat vacated through the death of Willie Redmond, brother of the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

The disparate elements of the independence movement came together under the Sinn Féin banner in October 1917 and Collins was elected to the party executive. He was one of the dynamic young men in the movement but he had a tendency to rub many members the wrong way. His nickname, ‘the Big Fellow’, was a term of derision, born out of his apparent sense of self-importance, although it soon became a term of endearment. Sinn Féin lost the first three Irish by-elections that it contested in early 1918. In April 1918 the British government introduced legislation that would authorise it to introduce conscription in Ireland. The Irish Parliamentary Party walked out of Westminster in protest, which appeared to justify the refusal of Sinn Féin’s four MPs to take their seats. They were pledged to establish a national assembly in Ireland. Through de Valera’s influence the Irish Catholic hierarchy virtually sanctified the anti-conscription campaign.