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The career of IRA member Brian MacNeill and his impact on Sligo.

Nell Kelly

65190W

Sligo Grammar School,

The Mall,

Sligo

Ruth Galbraith

071 9145010

Sligogrm@iol.ie

THE CAREER OF IRA MEMBER BRIAN MACNEILL AND HIS IMPACT ON SLIGO DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

INTRODUCTION: Brian MacNeill was born in 1900. From the moment he was born he had entered a family with great patriotic heritage and beliefs. Throughout Brian’s life he was involved in nationalist movements. His father, Eoin MacNeill, was one of the founding fathers of the Irish Free State. MacNeill had an enormous interest in Irish history and immersed himself in its study. In 1893 he founded the Gaelic League along with Douglas Hyde. Brian MacNeill was the second eldest of eight children and a year younger than the eldest son, Neil. The two boys were known to be inseparable while growing up in the first MacNeill Family home in Malahide. The MacNeill children were living in an Ireland which was asking questions about its identity and its place within the British Empire. Eoin was proud of his families’ Irish Identity and instilled a love for Ireland in his children. Due his profound interest in the Irish language movement, Eoin ensured that his children grew up in an Irish speaking home.

THE RISING:During this time Brian had a first-hand experience as he watched and admired his father’s actions. When word of the preparations for the 1916 Easter Rising reached the MacNeill household in Wood Town Park in Rathfarnham McNeill's immediate reaction was to put a stop to it at once. Over the days during the build up to the Rising Eoin MacNeill held a series of meetings. He sent messengers to all the Volunteer outfits around the country. Amongst those loyal to him were undoubtedly his two eldest sons Brian and Neil. This experience was the first taste of revolutionary action that the boys had taken part in, and for Brian it was the birth of his inner rebellion. MacNeill sent his sons on bicycles to the all of the IRA volunteer outfits around Dublin. Eventually Brian was ordered by his father to take the train to Tipperary to tell Pearse McCann, the Leader of the Tipperary Volunteers to stop the Rising.

Thanks to the tiresome work of the loyal volunteers Eoin MacNeill had prevented the Rising from taking place in almost all parts of Ireland. The only downfall was that Pearse and his supporters, regardless of McNeill’s efforts, remained dominantly in control over Dublin and therefore on Easter Monday, although a day later than planned, the 1916 rising took place. MacNeill was defeated and upset by how his efforts had failed. He knew that rebellion would cause obscene violence and aggravation, Marshall Law would be established and everything that he had stood for and worked towards was instantly lost.

Early Revolutionary activity: At this stage Brian MacNeill was a member of Fianna Eireann, which was Irelands dedicated revolutionary scout movement, and also part of the general nationalist movement. For a boy of sixteen with an exhilarating interest in Irish politics, to be asked to go around Dublin giving countermanding orders to IRA units would have been an overwhelming and unforgettable experience.

In 1918 Brian was accepted into The University College of Dublin to study medicine. He was obviously a very intellectual and knowledgeable scholar having obtained first class honours in his first and second year examinations. Although highly academic like his father, he remained a light hearted and energetic youth. Alongside his two brothers Neil and Turlough, Brian became a dedicated member of the sixth brigade of the IRA in south Dublin. Records of IRA activities during the War of Independence

give coherent evidence that both Brian and Neil were senior members of the sixth brigade.

The pair took part in risky military actions. One such expedition was taking the disguise as schoolboys and being sent to London to undergo an arms exchange. This shows us just how young the MacNeill brothers were and how young a senior member in the IRA could be. Undeniably Brian’s aptitude, allegiance and morality shone as time went on. In 1921 his unit were sent to Bray in County Wicklow with orders to kill a British intelligence officer. On this day two people were killed. There was by this stage a huge contrast in Brian’s scholarly and democratic life. He now had to make an important choice that would decide his future. He could either continue studying medicine or become even more deeply imbedded in the radical Irish political movements than he already was.

SLIGO:In 1921, Brian’s decision was made and he was on route to Sligo. During the Treaty negotiations between Ireland and England, after the War of Independence Brian MacNeill had been sent to the West of Ireland to train local republicans, by a direct order from IRA leaders. Throughout the War of Independence, the leadership of Sligo was deeply embedded in IRA organisations. Although the war of independence was over, the IRA feared that the truce would break and wanted to keep the IRA units all over the country alert. They had not foreseen the Civil War but they needed the IRA units now more than ever. Meanwhile in Dublin, Collins and Griffith returned from Westminster with the Anglo-Irish treaty, the Dail Split due to disagreements over the terms of the treaty and the Irish Civil war began. Eoin was appointed a minister in the First provisional government while Neil and Turlough joined the new Free State army.

In Sligo, Brian found himself isolated in a part of rural Ireland where the majority of the IRA members were anti-treaty. At the age of twenty-one Brian must have shown great authority and political influence to achieve such control within the Sligo IRA unit. Brian’s excellence earned him the position of second in command to Liam Pilkington, who was the honorary and principal commander of the North Sligo IRA unit. Basically, Brian was Liam’s right hand man. Brian trained revolutionaries in Rahelly House in Carney Co. Sligo, which was the North Sligo IRA centre. Pilkington had a unit of one hundred men, ninety rifles, seventy revolvers and four machine guns.

By now Brian was his own master; it was too late for him to change his anti-treaty beliefs. He wrote to his mother stating that he was thinking of getting out of the IRA and resuming his medical career but he was too loyal to Pilkington and his division which had both turned anti-treaty, and he felt a moral obligation as second in command to share this belief.

William Pilkington.

DESTRUCTION ON SLIGO INFRASTRUCURE:There was serious destruction caused by the IRA units in North Sligo and there is clear evidence from the county surveyor that Brian MacNeill had a leading role in the IRA at this time.

During the summer of 1922 the republican forces in Sligo relentlessly set out to disrupt and destroy the social infrastructure and to make Sligo fundamentally ungovernable. Life for the civilians of Sligo changed drastically as they were disrupted by war. Although Sligo was riddled with conflict, many local people did not loudly proclaim which side they supported. Most people were interested in their own survival and therefore drifted with whichever side had the most influence over the community at the time. The actions of general population were described as ‘they would be with you one day and against you the next’. This phrase shows the terror in which the civil war levelled the people of Sligo.

Not only did the anti-treaty troops terrorise the county, they also caused disruptions to everyday life. The attempts to interrupt communications with Sligo by road and rail were persistent and successful. The Sligo IRA divisions wanted to detach themselves from the Free State Counties. Two strategically important bridges, one in Drumcliff and one in Balisodare were blow to shreds. On the 29th of January 1923 Sligo railway station was practically destroyed and the Sligo to Dublin rail was torn up.

On the coastal area north of the Ox Mountains all roads except one held by anti-treaty were described as ‘more or less impassable.’ After provisional government troops had dispersed in September 1922, bridges in the North Sligo area were temporarily repaired. The reconstruction of the bridges angered the IRA troops and by October the bridges were destroyed again. Contractors were either afraid of the IRA or corrupted by their strong influence. Although civilians tried to repair the some of the destruction caused in their area, the IRA violently threatened anyone who tried to do so.

A group of Irish Republican soldiers under fire.

CIVILIANS LIFE DISRUPTED:Brian and his comrades’ actions did not only stint the infrastructure in Sligo but also terrorised the civilians. The Sligo Champion gives evidence that there was a huge drop in the number of social and sporting functions in the county during the war period. People were frightened by the communication disruptions and therefore only essential journeys were made. For example a farmer would still travel to the fair to sell cattle, but would not boldly venture to the parish hall to attend the parish drama.

There was a numerous increase in cancellations of social events at this time too. For the first time in a quarter of a century the annual Sligo Feis Ceoil was cancelled in 1923 due to ‘the impossibility of getting suitable premises under existing circumstances.’ Sports leagues came to a complete standstill during the Civil War and food became scarce as delivery depended on the accessibility of railways and roads. Industrial unrest rose as workers began to strike due to wage reduction.

There was an outbreak of lawlessness as robberies became a common. Jails were ambushed, Post offices were raided and equipment was damaged. The moral and community of Sligo town was rattled by the destruction caused during the civil war. Fifty four people lost their lives throughout this period of history. Twenty of these were members of the government army, twenty three were anti-treaty troops and eleven were harmless civilians.

THE BALLINALEE ARMOURED CAR:The Free State sent one of their dedicated leaders, Sean McKeon, also known as the blacksmith of Balinalee, to put an end to the IRA terror in Sligo. In July 1922 McKeon landed in Sligo with his most prized possession, the Ballinalee armoured car. In reprisal to his arrival Pilkington and MacNeill ordered his division to use Guerrilla tactics. They were to strike and then retreat back into the mountains, using the Dartry Mountain Range to their utmost advantage. Within a week of McKeon’s arrival Brian and his fellow comrades killed three Free State soldiers, captured the Balinalee and used it to attack Sligo Town.

Terrified and shaken by their loss the Free State troops retreated to the Sligo Courthouse for refuge. Instantaneously they were surrounded and a twenty-four hour standoff ensued. The Sligo IRA did everything in their grasp to rebel against the Free State. Due to the fact that the IRA was now gaining the upper hand on McKeon, pressure amounted. Direct and stern orders were being thrown at McKeon to recapture the Ballinalee and to end republican violence in the West.

McKeon's arrival in Sligo town with The Ballinalee Armoured Car.

AN INSIGHT INTO BRIANS FAMILY LIFE AT THE TIME:In August 1922 MacNeill was on the run as he was one of the prime suspects in relation to the Ballinalee. He took refuge in Longford House, home of unionist peer Sir Malby Crofton. At this time he was on route, through the Ox Mountains, to capture Tubbercurry with the Balinalee. It was from Longford house that he wrote his last letter to his dear mother. In this letter he speaks of the Balinalee, he mentions his involvement in the IRA, and sends his best wishes and gratitude to his family.

However, the most interesting aspect of this letter is when he requests his father to write to him, outlining what his thoughts are on the situation Ireland was indulged in. This shows us that although the Civil war made Ireland an untrustworthy and unsure environment for the majority of the population, the MacNeill family remained a close and loving family throughout extremely unfortunate circumstances.

HOPE OF TRUCE SHATTERED:Twelve days after this letter was written an event took place which destroyed any hope of reconciliation and shattered the hope of establishing a truce. On the 22nd of August 1922 Michael Collins, the commander in Chief of the Free State army, was killed in an ambush at mBeal Na Blath in County Cork. This caused horror and outrage amongst the Irish citizens. Eoin MacNeill stated ‘this is no civil war, this is a criminal war and it will have to be dealt with by special methods’.

After the murder of their national hero, the Free State army were granted special powers. They embarked on a relentless campaign against the Republicans. By late September they had much of the country back under their control, with the exception of Sligo and Mayo. McKeon was commanded to put an end to IRA actions in the West once and for all. He created an ambitious plan to end the war in the west. The procedure was to firstly take Westport, then Ballina, continuing through the Ox Mountains with final assault on Rahelly house. This detailed plan involved an army consisting of three thousand troops. The area was described as being ‘black with free state troops’.

THE FINAL PURSUIT:Brian was trapped and surrounded in Rahelly house as the legion cornered the republicans in Rahelly leaving them with only a solitary escape of the mountain. Although Brian was an optimist all his life, he now realised he was in great danger. McKeon landed a ferocious attack on Rahelly House and the inmates fled into the depths of Benbulben. His men cornered the Balinalee in a cul de sac on the foot of Benbulben and the men within the car escaped narrowly with their lives. Tommy Langan and Harry Benson headed towards a well hidden cave in Benbulben, making a pit stop in a humble safe house by the family name of Smith.

Brian who was accompanied by Seamus Devins, Joseph Banks and Paddy Carroll was believed to have spent his last night in the home of Bridget Scanlon. These four men were unaware that the Scanlon house was marked as a safe house on the Free State records and when they left shortly after eight the next morning, Free State troops arrived one hour later in swift pursuit. With the knowledge of Free State troops on their tails, they took the fastest and most exposed route straight up the mountain. As they ascended the tabletop mountain, another group of approximately sixty-eight Free State troops closed in on them from the opposite side. This heavy pursuit resulted in a collision where the four men were challenged and outnumbered. Free State accounts declare vaguely that the men made to surrender however something happened and the men decided to ‘run for it’ and were shot down by order.

This account of what happened is somewhat questionable as the men were quite obviously surrounded and had no hope of escaping, so would they really have been that idiotic? The same party of Free State troops then continued down the mountain where they conflicted with Benson and Langan and left the two republicans dead

The gully on Benbulben where the Noble Six were killed.

ACCOUNTS OF BRIANS DEATH:There were three separate accounts given about the events of this day. It is clear by the Free State accounts that they were attempting to conceal what truly happened on that fateful day. This is seen by the simple mishaps they made in various statements.

They recorded that Brian died due to a gunshot wound to the forehead, but from mortuary reports it is evident that this statement is inaccurate. According to yet another vague Free State report they claimed that nine bodies were found in the mountain, while in fact only six were found. McKeon stated that the shooting happened shortly after he and his army recaptured the Balinalee, disregarding the entire previous day. Why would they state that there was only one shooting when there were two separate shootings? They must have wanted to cover up some aspect of this day due to the lack of precision in their reports.

The Free State public report claims ‘their troops came upon a large party of men who were engaged in the preparation of an ambush. Both parties were armed with rifles and machine guns and an engagement immediately developed.’ Would the republicans engage in a battle even though they were gravely outnumbered? It highly likely that they were unfairly gunned down. The MacNeill family received a private account from a Free State officer. He stated that Brian and party did make to surrender but were gunned down when they tried to run away. This account never made an appearance in any official documents.

Aside from all the propaganda the account I amongst many other historians believe to be the most accurate is that of Liam Pilkington. The truth of this version is vowed for by several Free State soldiers, some of whom were present at the murders. In his personal account he states; ‘A small party of our men were crossing the mountain at 9am when in the fog they ran into an ambush of enemy troops who they thought were some of our men. They were immediately surrounded and disarmed by the enemy, who then murdered them. At 12noon captain Benson and volunteer Langan ran into the very same party of Free State troops and after they had surrendered they were also murdered. We went to great trouble to arrive at this version of events

and find this version to be absolutely true.’ After the shootings the Free State troops walked off the mountain and made no attempt to bring the bodies down. The bodies were later unearthed by local farmers. Brian was noted to be lying some distance from the other three men. Two weeks later the bodies of Benson and Langan were discovered.

THE IMPACT OF BRIAN'S DEATH ON HIS FAMILY :

When the news of Brian’s death reached the MacNeill family, the controversial circumstances of how Brian died made the subject unspoken of. Brian’s two brothers Neil and Turlough, dressed in their Free State uniforms carried their brother’s coffin. This whole catastrophe was due to Brian’s moral character. Although he did not completely agree with the anti-treaty side, he felt obligated to stand by his division in Sligo and unfortunately their beliefs were anti-treaty. Eoin MacNeill sat in cabinet in Dublin and directed the Irish Civil war while his son Brian was in Sligo fighting to destroy the Free State. To comprehend such misfortune is upsetting and overwhelming. Both father and son began fighting for a free Ireland in 1917 and unintentionally ended up in a tragic conflict with one another. MacNeill was politically forced to shut out his son’s death and therefore he couldn’t display his true emotions.

We never completely understood how Eoin MacNeill felt about his son’s death. However we recently learned that the matter was not closed in Eoin’s mind thanks to the newly discovered letter found in the UCD archive. This letter was a draft written in January 1923. At the height of the Civil War Eoin MacNeill wrote this letter to Seamus O’Donovan, an anti-treaty associate of DeValeras and a leading volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. Here MacNeill asks O’Donovan not to claim Brian as one of his own. That Brian only stayed and fought with the IRA because he was loyal to his division, not because their ideology. MacNeill said his son died ‘upright, gentle, kind and fearless, he shook hands with the men who killed him and when asked where the rest of his men were, he laughed and told them to find out’.

This powerful speech written by MacNeill shows his conflicted emotion during a time of great hostility. He points out to O’Donovan that it is deeply and morally wrong to go to war for something he knows he cannot achieve. MacNeill accepted that his son was involved in a movement he strongly disagreed with but he understood the reason behind his son’s decisions.

THE IMPACT OF BRIAN'S DEATH IN SLIGO:Brian MacNeill died a moral man in the heather of Benbulben. He died honouring his division but was killed because of their beliefs. The death of Brian MacNeill and his comrades caused outrage across the county and had a huge impact on Sligo. It would be extremely biased to say that the IRA unit in Sligo did nothing wrong. Although these men met an unjust and controversial end, we have to take into account that many, many good people had fallen at their hands on the other side of the civil war, whose deaths were equally as tragic. They did torment the area as they were continuously in aggravation with the Pro-Treaty troops. Some argue they destroyed infrastructure, caused hardship to the lives of civilians and created unease in the area.

However, before the death of the Noble Six in Benbulben the majority of people in North Sligo regarded these men as their sons. They felt a sense of protection when they were present, although they attracted a great deal of violence and unrest throughout the area. Brian MacNeill was instantly accepted into Sligo from the moment he arrived. Although he and his comrades cause almighty disruption to the county and changed the lives of the general population Brian was loved by many people in Sligo. When he began to train IRA units in Drumcliffe, numbers flourished as people began to enjoy the training. Hundreds of people gathered and joined the funeral cortege as it proceeded through the streets of Sligo, and the coffins, although draped in the tri-colours were saluted by Free State troops.

It was obvious that Brian had touched the hearts of many Sligo people for at his funeral there was a wreath made of heather sent by the people who lived on Benbulben. Two months later, a letter arrived to Agnes MacNeill sent by Sligo woman Annie Gilbride. These words, in my opinion, describe the true impact his death had on Sligo, when we push aside all propaganda and hardship that happened and focus on the sense of loss or grief was given.

It stated; ‘your son was a great favourite with all and endeared himself to everyone by his kindness and gentleness of disposition. I’m sending you a mortuary card and also a little bit of heather that grew on the spot where poor Brian’s body was found.’

THE NOBLE SIX.

BY NELL KELLY-

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

-‘A lost Son’- documentary by Michael McDowell, Grandson of Eoin MacNeill and Nephew of Brian MacNeill. Published Dec 16th 2012 on RTE. [accessed on 1st of Feb 2014] available on < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDVOEh1J0Pk>

- Michael Farry. Published by University College Dublin Press, 2000. 'The aftermath of revolution' Sligo 1921-23.

-Michael Farry- Published by Kiloran Press 1992. 'Sligo 1914-1921 a chronicle of conflict'

- ‘The Sligo Champion Sesquicentenary 1836-1986.’ Article- ‘Ballinalee captured- Noble Six Killed.’ Published 1986.