PAGE THIRTEENTRIBUNE, 26th December, 2007 NEWSThis article is based on research related to Offaly and the Civil War executions published in the recently launched Offaly Historical andArchaeological Society (OHAS) annual journal Offaly Heritage. The journal will be available at the OHAS Research Centre at Bury Quay for €20(€15 to OHAS members) early in the New Year.

This week, in Part 1, local historian PHILIP McCONWAY looks at the execution of three Tullamore youths in Birr Castle. In Part 2, which willbe published next week, the execution of two Offaly IRA Volunteers and a Leix IRA Volunteer will be covered.

Offaly And The Civil War ExecutionsPART 1IntroductionThe Civil War is undoubtedlyone of the most harrowing andtragic periods in modern Irishhistory. The lasting bitternesswas heightened by the fact thatover triple the number of offi-cial executions was carried outby the Free State than theCrown forces during the War ofIndependence. Six official exe-cutions were connected toOffaly during the Civil War.Over 12,000 Republicans wereimprisoned, often in poor,overcrowded conditions whereill-treatment was common.General Nevil Macready,Commander-in-Chief of theBritish Army in Ireland,remarked how the Free Stateoverwhelmed the IRA, ‘bymeans far more drastic thanany which the BritishGovernment dared to imposeduring the worst period of theRebellion.’ In terms of fatali-ties the War of Independenceremained a more violent periodwith at least 24 people killed.There was a minimum of 22fatalities for the Civil War inOffaly: 8 Free State Army (1accidental), 6 IRA (1 acciden-tal), and 8 civilians (2 acciden-tal).There was major infra-structural damage and econom-ic loss. Such was the gravity ofOffaly County Councilfinances that it was dissolvedby the government in 1924. The TreatyUnder the terms of the Anglo-

Irish Treaty the Irish Free Statebecame a dominion within theBritish Empire. On 7 January1922 the Treaty was passed inthe Dáil by a narrow margin,64 to 57 votes, but won deci-sive public backing in the Juneelection. The majority of peo-ple, the press, and the CatholicChurch supported the Treaty inOffaly. All four T.D.’s repre-senting Leix-Offaly supportedthe Treaty. Harry Boland, aleading anti-Treatyite, claimedthe unanimous support of theLeix-Offaly T.D.’s for theTreaty was a ‘rather unique dis-tinction in Ireland’ and heaccused them of betraying thepublic mandate for a Republic.At an Anti-Treaty meeting inTullamore Boland emphasizedhow the Treaty was signedunder duress by men ‘with apistol at their heads in London’and that the Crown forces leftthe country because they‘found it impossible to governit.’

Ultimately the ProvisionalGovernment had a greaterdesire to cower to British gov-ernment pressure to implementthe Treaty than to accommo-date their former comrades onthe anti-Treaty side. This wasevident in the reneging of apromise to maintain the IRA asthe army of the Republic, theperceived duplicity of Michael

Collins over the new constitu-tion, and the renunciation ofthe Collins-de Valera pact. Opportunistic Criminality

The general lawlessness dur-ing the Civil War greatly facili-tated intimidation and robbery.There was no shortage ofunscrupulous individuals totake advantage of the troubledtimes for their own ends.Robbers frequently masquer-aded under the name of theIRA. Free State leaders becamemore hard-line in their attitudetowards brigands. MichaelCollins, Commander-in-Chief,was disgusted at the growinglevels of criminality: ‘There isa lot of plain looting, robbery,and violence going on. It iscommon criminality and mustbe punished…There are toomany guns in the country–uncontrolled guns, I mean –and they have got to be got in.’

As robbery, looting and anar-chy became rife the unprotect-ed boats on the Grand Canalbecame a lucrative free-for-allfor anyone wishing to engagein theft. Cargoes of drapery,drink, bacon, confectionary,and other goods were favouritetargets for theft. Such was thescale of theft the MidlandTribune reported that the ‘peo-ple to whom the goods are con-signed get very little. Boatsarrive at their destinationsmore or less empty, and busi-ness people are wondering if anair service would frustrate theplans of the raiders.’ The localpress often blamed the rapa-cious public, many of whomwere people of standing in theircommunity. Numerous housesand residences in many areaswere looted. Furniture innumerous mansions wasrobbed and installed in houseselsewhere.The opportunistic withholding

of rates by the general publicproved to be a serious problemand was denounced by SeánO’Kelly, the chairman ofOffaly Co. Council: ‘This isone of the fruits of this row ofwhich everybody is takingadvantage. It is a great harvestfor rogues: they want to makehay while the sun shines, anddon’t care a devil about FreeState or Republic. The onlything they have in mind isloot.’ O’Kelly would laterrevile ‘highwaymen, burglars,thieves, and ruffians’ exploit-ing the collapse in security andstability: ‘Those armed ruffi-ans, going about holding upinoffensive people and depriv-ing them of money and proper-ty. In that way we are outrival-ing the Black and Tans.’

The execution of ColumKelly, Patrick Cunningham,and William Conroy. In Offaly extreme measureswere enforced in an attempt tocurb the growing anarchystalking the county. Tullamore

natives Colum Kelly, PatrickCunningham and WilliamConroy were tried by a militarycourt in Roscrea and executedat Birr Castle on 26 January1923 for armed raids on housesat Ballycowan. They werefound guilty and sentenced todeath for possession withoutproper authority firearms, bur-glary of houses, stealing a sil-ver watch, several sums ofmoney, with other goods andchattels. The young gang’sdownfall occurred when theyheld up a few farmers on theirway from Tullamore. The boysdemanded money and thefarmers handed over abouteighteen shillings. The farmerslater gave evidence at thecourt-martial in Roscrea. Onecrucial witness who sealed theboys’ fate was an ex-memberof the RIC.Conroy was briefly in the Free

State Army but deserted to jointhe IRA. He was deemed to betoo young for the IRA and wasrefused admission to theirranks. A Republican relatedhow the IRA objected toConroy’s youth: ‘…some ofhis friends raised objections asto his age, saying he was tooyoung. In fact, I myself wasone. With the result that hewent home.’ Rejected by theIRA, Conroy sought alternativeadventure in crime. Fr Pat Gaynor, C.C. Birr: AWitness Account of theExecution

Fr Pat Gaynor, C.C. Birr, wasone of two priests who servedas chaplains to the three boys.Gaynor came from an ardentRepublican background. Hewas imprisoned in LimerickJail for his Republican activi-ties in Clare during the War ofIndependence. A supporter ofthe Treaty he was also a step-brother of Seán Gaynor, O/CNorth Tipperary Brigade IRAwho, in the later stages of theCivil War, was elevated to O/C3rd Southern Division IRA,which covered NorthTipperary, Offaly and Leix. FrGaynor was impressed by thethree boys’ calm and composeddemeanour before the execu-tion. In contrast, Fr Gaynorfeared he would be overcomewith the intense emotion andhorror of the imminent execu-tion.

Two hours before the execu-tion the priest heard their con-fessions, said Mass and gavethe youths Holy Communion.Accompanied by Fr Dinan hehad breakfast with them andaccepted their last messages forrelatives in Tullamore, includ-ing a message for a girlfriendof one of the boys. Fifteen min-utes before the execution aFree State Army officerenquired if they had any lastrequest. Two of the boys askedfor lemonade while the thirdasked for a bottle of stout. Fr

Gaynor gave a vivid account ofthe execution he witnessed:After this final treat, they were

led away to one of the littletwin towers at the archwaybeside the Castle and weretaken upstairs to be blindfoldedand to have pieces of whitecloth pinned over their hearts.The firing squad then took upposition just inside the archway(between it and the Castle)some rifles loaded with livecartridges, others with blanks,so that the soldiers would notknow who among them hadfired the fatal bullets.

Fr Dinan and I stood near athand, oilstocks opened. Threechairs were placed, backs to theEast, opposite the firing squad,and at eight o’clock the blind-folded youths were helpeddown the stairs from the east-ern tower and were placed inthe chairs and were tied tothem. The tallest boy – withoutany air of bravado –asked to beleft face the firing-squad stand-ing: there was not even atremor in his voice and hiscomrades were equally calmand brave. On being told thathe must sit in the chair, heobeyed without a word.

Next moment a silent signalwas given by the officer-in-charge and the shots rang out:two of the boys seemed to beunconscious, if not dead, butthe third boy fell sideways andthe chair toppled over and helay, moaning and twitching, onthe ground. Fr Dinan and Irushed forward to give ExtremeUnction, but were told to wait;then three young officersadvanced and placed revolversagainst the boys’ temples andfired one shot each to end theiragony.I anointed two, with all haste

and Fr Dinan anointed the otherboy. All my attention was fixedon my own part in the tragedy.But while I live I will remem-ber how serenely they faceddeath: how resigned they were– poor victims of mischance! –making atonement for a boyishprank without a word of com-plaint.Buried in Unmarked Graves inClonminch Cemetery

The three boys were recordedon the list of 77 Republicansofficially executed. They werenot members of the IRA. Seán

McGuinness, O/C 1st Battalion(Tullamore), Offaly No. 1Brigade recalled how the IRA‘told them to go home out ofcompassion...they were allyoung.’ As with many peopleat the time they exploited thebreak down in law and order asa convenient opportunity toengage in robbery. To max-imise the propaganda capitalout of the executions the IRAclaimed them as ‘RepublicanSoldiers.’ The IRA may alsohave wanted to save theirRepublican families from theshame and stigma that thecriminal label implied. Theboys were soon relegated to thehistorical doldrums becominglargely forgotten figures inlocal history. After the execu-tion their bodies were boughtfor burial to Athlone. In 1924 atBlueball, Tullamore, largecrowds assembled to meet thebodies of the executed boys forinternment. The bodies of exe-cuted Offaly IRA VolunteersPatrick Geraghty and JosephByrne also arrived fromPortlaoise. The MidlandTribune reported there was ahuge funeral procession whichstarted for Tullamore. Thecoffins were draped with thetricolour and the long proces-sion of cars was noted as aremarkable feature. The boys’bodies were laid side by side inplots in Clonminch cemeteryand to this day lie in unmarkedgraves. In 2003 a plaque wasunveiled in Birr Castle on the80th anniversary of their exe-cution.

The Free State did not flinchon any emotional grounds overthe youth of the boys. Kellywas aged 22 whileCunningham was 20. Conroywas believed to be aged 16although this has yet to be con-firmed. Another boy fromShragh who carried a gunbelonging to his father on theraids escaped execution. Theboy, aged 16, was pardonedbecause of his youth, thealleged intervention of theCatholic Church, and also thepossible status of his familywho were substantial farmers.It was one of the first occasionswhere criminals were executed.Two bank robbers were execut-ed in Mullingar on 14 March1923 for armed raids on theHibernian and Northern banksat Oldcastle, Meath. Unlike the

three Tullamore youths, thesetwo criminals did not have thesame family connections toRepublicans which ensured theywere not included on the 77 list. Futility of the BirrExecutions

The executions in Birr wereoverly harsh. The boys’ youth-ful exuberance and naivetylured them into the easy pick-ings of crime. They neverharmed anyone. The FreeState’s insatiable desire for a

pound of flesh in a desperatemeasure to stamp out criminal-ity was futile. The followingmonth armed criminals killedJohn Finlay, 26, a drayman,while carrying provisions andsome stimulants at Leabeg.Finlay, a young man with apowerful physique, resisted theraiders. He was then shotthrough the heart by a raiderarmed with a rifle. A renownedGAA footballer who played forthe Offaly team, he was also a

former member of the 1stBattalion (Tullamore), OffalyNo. 1 Brigade IRA but wasneutral in the Civil War. It wasnot until a year after the CivilWar ended that conditionsreturned to relative normality.Offaly was one of a number ofcounties which included Cork,Leitrim, south Clare, southGalway, Tipperary andRoscommon where the Gardaístruggled to restore law andorder.

The unmarked graves of the three executed boys in Clonminch cemetery. Photo Philip McConway

The scene of the execution at Birr Castle where the three Tullamore youths were blindfolded, tied to chairs and shot by a firing squad who took up positions inside thearchway.

Part of Colum Kelly’s original last letter to his mother. Kelly, aged 22, was executed in Birr Castleon 26 January 1922. Courtesy: Rosaleen Monaghan

A recent plaque erected in Birr Castle to mark the 80th anniversary of the execution of the threeTullamore youths. The ages listed on the plaque are incorrect. Kelly was aged 22 and Cunninghamwas aged 20. Conroy was believed to be aged 16 although this has yet to be confirmed. Photo:Philip McConway

Fr Pat Gaynor, C.C. Birr,chaplain to the threeTullamore youths executed inBirr on 26 January 1923.

Seán O’Kelly, Offaly Co.Council Chairman, was avocal critic of the widespreadcriminality in Offaly.