Paper delivered to the 33rd Irish Conference of Historians establishing a proper baseline for the... more Paper delivered to the 33rd Irish Conference of Historians establishing a proper baseline for the Protestant population in Future Free State area and the examining the specific demographic forces underlying in the 20th century. The paper is a direct challenge to attempts to 'shore up' the late Peter Hart's suggestion that the main driver of Protestant decline was IRA violence commencing in 1921 which simply fly in the face of the evidence.
In her book Kilmichael, The Life and after life of an ambush, Dr. Eve Morrison launched a series ... more In her book Kilmichael, The Life and after life of an ambush, Dr. Eve Morrison launched a series of personal attacks on the late Peter Hart's 'detractors' including myself. Hart was the author of 'The IRA and it's enemies', which has generated a significant historiographical debate in Ireland around the acceptable use of source material.
This paper examines her critique of my work and shows that her analysis, is for the most part, factually incorrect. Her claims to be setting herself above the vicious guerrilla war of the debate surrounding the publication of The IRA & its enemies are questioned by reviewers such as Joost Augustejin and John O'Callaghan
, I too question this when juxtaposed with these personal and inaccurate attacks. I would like to thank other scholars, who were invited to critique this document for their comments. This has has resulted in minor clarifications and corrections.
This article reexamines the offer of resignation by British cavalry officers at the main British ... more This article reexamines the offer of resignation by British cavalry officers at the main British Army base in Ireland rather than engage in 'active operations' against anti Home-Rule citizens in Ulster. While no orders had been issued the outcome of the event was to hamstring Liberal Party efforts to impose its authority. Often presented as a minor event perpetrated by mostly Anglo-Irish officers the article shows that this is not, in fact, correct. While the simplest resolution would have been to accept the resignations, analysis of the mutineers' backgrounds shows why this course of action would have been impossible. The article also shows that Easter Rebellion in 1916 was a logical consequence of the mutiny and that Casement's analysis of the crisis at the Curragh impelled him into action. The article also suggests that the crisis also influenced German calculations on the likelihood of Britain being able or willing to take action in the event of an attack on and quick defeat of France in any European war in July 1914. "The officers stationed at the Curragh are of the unanimous opinion that further information is essential before being called upon at short notice to take any decision regarding 'active operations' in Ulster. If, 'duty as ordered' involves active military operations against Ulster, then the following 65 officers here stationed would respectfully, and under protest, prefer to be dismissed."1 Officers stationed at Curragh Camp 21 March 1914 'The cause is not far to seek. A constitution to be maintained intact must be the achievement and pride of the people themselves; must rest on their own free will and on their own determination to sustain it, instead of being something resident in another land whose chief representative is an armed force-armed not to protect the population, but to hold it down. We had seen the working of the Irish constitution in the refusal of the army of occupation at the Curragh to obey the orders of the crown'.
‘The boundaries of Protestant Sex before 1916: Abstracts from the 1901 and 1911 census data'
Iris... more ‘The boundaries of Protestant Sex before 1916: Abstracts from the 1901 and 1911 census data' Irish Protestant population dynamics before and during the early years of the twentieth century remains a lively topic of debate in Irish history since the publication of the late Peter Hart's 'The IRA and it's enemies' in 1998 set off a storm of controversy over whether undeniable persecution of Protestants led to ethnic cleansing between 1920 and 1923. It had long been known that since 1926 Protestants lived longer but had fewer children many of whom married Roman Catholics and were 'lost' leading to almost terminal decline. The debate has often been hamstrung by an apparent lack of pre-revolutionary data but this paper shows that there is a wealth of detail buried in the 1901 and 1911 census that shows there was not one but three 'boundaries when it comes to Protestant sex during this period. The paper demonstrates the value the census a a key analytical tool far outside its traditional role of solving family history problems. The paper suggests that Hart's 'ethnic cleansing' thesis is no longer tenable based on the evidence and is actually part of a much longer termed pattern. It vindicates previous research by the late Professor David Fitzpatrick, Dr. Andy Bielenberg, and the current author. Barry Keane is an historian and geographer who has had a long interest in Protestant population decline before and during the Irish Revolution. A regular contributor to “History Ireland” his books include “Massacre in West Cork”, which examines the 1922 'Dunmanway' killings, and Cork's Revolutionary Dead, which records the reason for all conflict related deaths between 1916 & the end of 1923 in Ireland's most violent county.
This short paper summarises three interlinked topics all of which touch on the 'Peter Hart' war a... more This short paper summarises three interlinked topics all of which touch on the 'Peter Hart' war and the claims of ethnic cleansing of Protestants from the south of Ireland during the period 1920-1924 as part of a discussion with John Regan, Niall Meehan and Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh ETHNIC CLEANSING”, THE IRISH WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (1919-23): ACADEMIC INTERPRETATIONS AND RESPONSES - 3pm Friday 6 August 2021. It warns that 'bad history' in an Irish context can be used as a weapon and questions which professional historians have not taken a more active role in addressing controversies such as that surrounding the work of Peter Hart in The IRA and its enemies
Reacting to the publication of the religion volume of the 1926 census the Church of Ireland Gazet... more Reacting to the publication of the religion volume of the 1926 census the Church of Ireland Gazette observed, Protestant bodies [Churches] have a wholly disproportionate number of old people… in comparison with Roman Catholics. Our people marry later, have fewer children, and a dreadfully large proportion of the young men and women seek careers abroad'. • The Gazette was surprised that' the removal of the British Army, Navy etc. only accounted for about one-quarter of the drop. This might be disputed … from an examination of the figures.' • The other causes it identified. • 'The Great War swept away many, both those who actually lost their lives, and many who, as a result of it, sought careers in other countries'. • 'The forced exodus of large numbers of people at the time of the troubles.' • 'But the most serious factor of all is the sheer economic pressure which forces so large a proportion of our young people to seek careers abroad.'
Claims that there was no Auxiliary false surrender at the Kilmichael Ambush in Cork during the Ir... more Claims that there was no Auxiliary false surrender at the Kilmichael Ambush in Cork during the Irish War of Independence remains controversial. The complete annihilation of the feared Auxiliary patrol was a severe shock to the British government in its attempt to retain control of Ireland.
With the publication of numerous archives in recent years new evidence has become available which needs to be considered. One such document is a letter from the Irish Army Southern Command in 1924 which discusses the specific circumstances of the death of Michael McCarthy who was shot in the head during the fight.
Lisburn, south-west of Belfast had a long tradtion of anti-Catholic rioting and attacks. The assa... more Lisburn, south-west of Belfast had a long tradtion of anti-Catholic rioting and attacks. The assassination of DI Ozwald Swanzy on 22 August 1920 by the Cork IRA led to wholesale arson, looting and evictions of Catholic property in the town. More than 300 claims for damages costing a total of £215,000 and a decrease in the Catholic population of the town by 33% between 1911 and 1926. Further rioting in Belfast, Ireland, led to 30 deaths and similar amounts of destruction. While the loyalist mob suspected local Catholics of involvement this was not the case. This article examines the course of this sectarian outbreak in detail.
This paper re-examines the vexed question of Protestant flight from the South of Ireland during t... more This paper re-examines the vexed question of Protestant flight from the South of Ireland during the Irish revolution between 1920 and 1923. The evidence shows that much of this thesis is based on an incorrect understanding and analysis of the published figures. Equally, new data sources can be mined to establish certainty instead of conjecture for the first time. This paper proves that the decline was substantial before the revolution and shows that the drivers of decline initially had little to do with revolution. Undoubtedly, the revolution accelerated the decline for a short period but it quickly returned to pre-revolutionary levels. If the paper bursts some bubbles then they are worth bursting
Did 20,000 Protestant refugees flee Ireland and cause a minor refugee crisis in 1922? The Irish D... more Did 20,000 Protestant refugees flee Ireland and cause a minor refugee crisis in 1922? The Irish Distress Committee was set up to help those British Loyalists fleeing from Ireland on May 12th so there was a crisis but just how big was it and when did the flood break on the United Kingdom's shores? The records of the Irish Distress Committee are confusing at best on the matter.
However, the British Treasury always minds the pennies and from the start kept a close eye on what was then the Irish Distress committee going so far as having a representative 'sitting in' on meetings. The Irish Distress committee submitted weekly reports and supporting documents to the Treasury who kept the entire documentation in a large unsorted pile optimistically described as TS 18/236 which was wrapped in brown paper. This table has been extracted from a sample of the file to examine the accuracy of claims that there was a Protestant exodus in 1922-23 based on the Records of the Irish Distress/Grants committee.
Author of the controversial 'The IRA and it enemies', the late Canadian historian Peter Hart ofte... more Author of the controversial 'The IRA and it enemies', the late Canadian historian Peter Hart often suggested that his work on the IRA and the Irish War of Independence in county Cork was almost accidental and that he could have easily worked on Chinese history when he started his History PhD in Trinity College Dublin working with Professor David Fitzpatrick. Indeed many of his obituaries mentioned this outsider status as one of the key factors allowing him to write without 'baggage' about that struggle. In fact, he had far more connection with the British Army and Ulster Unionism that anyone realised. Whether, this may have consciously or unconsciously influenced his analysis is a matter of conjecture but it is certainly another undisclosed layer in the interminable 'Peter Hart' war. Perhaps some of those who knew him well might be able to add to this
Protestant flight from Cork 1922: Evidence?
This is the most up to date list of what happened to... more Protestant flight from Cork 1922: Evidence?
This is the most up to date list of what happened to 32 'disappeared' Freemasons from Cork City records recorded in Gerard Murphy's controversial 'Year of Disappearances' during Ireland's revolution. Murphy now accepts the bona fides of the research and its accuracy. 24 of the 32 have now been found and this table provides details of when they were last in Cork, where they lived subsequently and where they died.
The intense debate about Gerard Murphy's claim that the IRA had probably murdered the majority of... more The intense debate about Gerard Murphy's claim that the IRA had probably murdered the majority of 32 unaccounted Cork Freemasons between January 1922 and August of that year is effectively over with his acceptance that we have now established what happened to 27 of them. It is likely that another 5 moved out of Cork for non political reasons or there is insufficient information about them. This article presents the evidence drawing on new sources which were not available to him and proves that scholars were correctly sceptical. The evidence shows that far from people being murdered by the IRA there is an intense normality about the comings and goings of most of these people.
The Irish War of Independence occurred at a time when photography was still in its infancy. Despi... more The Irish War of Independence occurred at a time when photography was still in its infancy. Despite this the war still provides a wealth of film and photograph images of the main events and the leading individuals. However, there are few if any photographs of individual fighters on both sides. In Cork, the most violent county, more than 700 people were killed, including revolutionary leader Michael Collins, yet a deep trawl of the documentary record has so far only managed to find around 120 images. These include British soldiers, IRA members and civilians. In many cases the image comes from a memorial card and often it is a confirmation photograph. Some of these are of poor quality but it is important to provide these in the hope that a better image can be found. Most strikingly is the youth of the dead on all sides.
The launch of Barry Keane's Cork's Revolutionary Dead will take place on Thursday 29 June 2017 in... more The launch of Barry Keane's Cork's Revolutionary Dead will take place on Thursday 29 June 2017 in Waterstones on St. Patrick's Street, Cork at 6.30 p.m. All are welcome. The 448 page book covers the entire revolutionary period and examines significant events in the war like the Kilmichael ambush, the death of Michael Collins, the burning of Cork and the murder of Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain before turning to the details of each of the more than 700 deaths in the county during the revolution.
The book considers not only the details of the events but seeks to explain why each of the victims whether British soldiers, police, IRA members, spies, informants or innocent civilians was killed.
It is the first complete record of these victims at a point where new archives throw light on these events and before family and folk memories fade for ever.
The book will, especially, be welcomed families of the victims many of whom have been searching for answers to what happened to their relatives in the war.
Did the British empire first break on the pebble of the Irish revolution?
Was Irish revolutionary... more Did the British empire first break on the pebble of the Irish revolution? Was Irish revolutionary hero, Michael Collins, really searching for gold the day he died? Which famous Cork man missed one of his three funerals? Who was on the Cork jury which called British Prime Minister David Lloyd George a murderer in March 1920? Did IRA Commander Tom Barry shoot surrendered Auxiliaries at the Kilmichael ambush in November 1920? Just how many British troops attempted to surround the IRA at Crossbarry in March 1921? Who shoved Nicholas de Sales Prendergast's false teeth down his throat and threw him into the river Blackwater at Fermoy, County Cork to drown in December 1920? Did General Arthur Percival (the man who lost Singapore) shoot prisoners in the back of the head while in West Cork during the Irish War of Independence? Why did George Tilson cut his own throat outside Paddington Station in London in February 1921? What act of kindness saved North Cork IRA leader, Seán Moylan's, life in June 1921? What 'crime' had Mary Parnell committed that lead to her death in June 1921?
With more than 700 deaths recorded, described and explained this new book presents an overview of events in Cork city and county during Ireland's revolutionary period, with a comprehensive list of the lives lost on all sides between 1916 and 1923 and the circumstances in which the deaths happened. This comprehensive account includes IRA members, British forces, all sides in the civil war and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Using a wealth of new resources Keane fits the pieces together to explain how the IRA took on the British Empire in Cork between 1919 and 1921 before examining the impact of the tragic civil war on the county. This is the first attempt to tell the whole story of the revolution at such a detailed level. In many cases this is the first time that these deaths are examined to see what happened to the victims
Twelve chapters look at specific events. These chapters serve to cast a light on elements or incidents in the war that deserve special attention. This includes a detailed reconstruction of the controversial Kilmichael ambush, the burning of Cork, the Mallow Railway Station shootings and even the capture of IRA commander Tom Barry's Trench-coat by the Kings Liverpool Regiment in 1921. Published June 2017: Available to Pre-order from Mercier Press, Cork
Historians are slaves to the keepers of documents. At best, we can only present a small part of t... more Historians are slaves to the keepers of documents. At best, we can only present a small part of the past and use our skills to interpolate (guess) the missing pieces of the puzzle. This is why history is both frustrating and such fun. A carefully constructed theory can be exploded by a scrap of paper. In Massacre in West Cork I had to rewrite entire chapters after I found the Dunmanway Diary in the Military Archives and the release of Michael O'Donoghue's Bureau of Military History statement. Though unsuccessful in this case, I was seeking information about the 'Activities of named paid informants against Irish Secret Societies 1892 [sic]-1910.The article both outlines the difficulties of research inside the sensitive parts of a state's anatomy and gives hope that the culture of excessive secrecy can eventually be overcome . The views expressed are my own personal observations on the outcome and I interested parties to comment o this draft.
Paper delivered to the 33rd Irish Conference of Historians establishing a proper baseline for the... more Paper delivered to the 33rd Irish Conference of Historians establishing a proper baseline for the Protestant population in Future Free State area and the examining the specific demographic forces underlying in the 20th century. The paper is a direct challenge to attempts to 'shore up' the late Peter Hart's suggestion that the main driver of Protestant decline was IRA violence commencing in 1921 which simply fly in the face of the evidence.
In her book Kilmichael, The Life and after life of an ambush, Dr. Eve Morrison launched a series ... more In her book Kilmichael, The Life and after life of an ambush, Dr. Eve Morrison launched a series of personal attacks on the late Peter Hart's 'detractors' including myself. Hart was the author of 'The IRA and it's enemies', which has generated a significant historiographical debate in Ireland around the acceptable use of source material.
This paper examines her critique of my work and shows that her analysis, is for the most part, factually incorrect. Her claims to be setting herself above the vicious guerrilla war of the debate surrounding the publication of The IRA & its enemies are questioned by reviewers such as Joost Augustejin and John O'Callaghan
, I too question this when juxtaposed with these personal and inaccurate attacks. I would like to thank other scholars, who were invited to critique this document for their comments. This has has resulted in minor clarifications and corrections.
This article reexamines the offer of resignation by British cavalry officers at the main British ... more This article reexamines the offer of resignation by British cavalry officers at the main British Army base in Ireland rather than engage in 'active operations' against anti Home-Rule citizens in Ulster. While no orders had been issued the outcome of the event was to hamstring Liberal Party efforts to impose its authority. Often presented as a minor event perpetrated by mostly Anglo-Irish officers the article shows that this is not, in fact, correct. While the simplest resolution would have been to accept the resignations, analysis of the mutineers' backgrounds shows why this course of action would have been impossible. The article also shows that Easter Rebellion in 1916 was a logical consequence of the mutiny and that Casement's analysis of the crisis at the Curragh impelled him into action. The article also suggests that the crisis also influenced German calculations on the likelihood of Britain being able or willing to take action in the event of an attack on and quick defeat of France in any European war in July 1914. "The officers stationed at the Curragh are of the unanimous opinion that further information is essential before being called upon at short notice to take any decision regarding 'active operations' in Ulster. If, 'duty as ordered' involves active military operations against Ulster, then the following 65 officers here stationed would respectfully, and under protest, prefer to be dismissed."1 Officers stationed at Curragh Camp 21 March 1914 'The cause is not far to seek. A constitution to be maintained intact must be the achievement and pride of the people themselves; must rest on their own free will and on their own determination to sustain it, instead of being something resident in another land whose chief representative is an armed force-armed not to protect the population, but to hold it down. We had seen the working of the Irish constitution in the refusal of the army of occupation at the Curragh to obey the orders of the crown'.
‘The boundaries of Protestant Sex before 1916: Abstracts from the 1901 and 1911 census data'
Iris... more ‘The boundaries of Protestant Sex before 1916: Abstracts from the 1901 and 1911 census data' Irish Protestant population dynamics before and during the early years of the twentieth century remains a lively topic of debate in Irish history since the publication of the late Peter Hart's 'The IRA and it's enemies' in 1998 set off a storm of controversy over whether undeniable persecution of Protestants led to ethnic cleansing between 1920 and 1923. It had long been known that since 1926 Protestants lived longer but had fewer children many of whom married Roman Catholics and were 'lost' leading to almost terminal decline. The debate has often been hamstrung by an apparent lack of pre-revolutionary data but this paper shows that there is a wealth of detail buried in the 1901 and 1911 census that shows there was not one but three 'boundaries when it comes to Protestant sex during this period. The paper demonstrates the value the census a a key analytical tool far outside its traditional role of solving family history problems. The paper suggests that Hart's 'ethnic cleansing' thesis is no longer tenable based on the evidence and is actually part of a much longer termed pattern. It vindicates previous research by the late Professor David Fitzpatrick, Dr. Andy Bielenberg, and the current author. Barry Keane is an historian and geographer who has had a long interest in Protestant population decline before and during the Irish Revolution. A regular contributor to “History Ireland” his books include “Massacre in West Cork”, which examines the 1922 'Dunmanway' killings, and Cork's Revolutionary Dead, which records the reason for all conflict related deaths between 1916 & the end of 1923 in Ireland's most violent county.
This short paper summarises three interlinked topics all of which touch on the 'Peter Hart' war a... more This short paper summarises three interlinked topics all of which touch on the 'Peter Hart' war and the claims of ethnic cleansing of Protestants from the south of Ireland during the period 1920-1924 as part of a discussion with John Regan, Niall Meehan and Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh ETHNIC CLEANSING”, THE IRISH WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (1919-23): ACADEMIC INTERPRETATIONS AND RESPONSES - 3pm Friday 6 August 2021. It warns that 'bad history' in an Irish context can be used as a weapon and questions which professional historians have not taken a more active role in addressing controversies such as that surrounding the work of Peter Hart in The IRA and its enemies
Reacting to the publication of the religion volume of the 1926 census the Church of Ireland Gazet... more Reacting to the publication of the religion volume of the 1926 census the Church of Ireland Gazette observed, Protestant bodies [Churches] have a wholly disproportionate number of old people… in comparison with Roman Catholics. Our people marry later, have fewer children, and a dreadfully large proportion of the young men and women seek careers abroad'. • The Gazette was surprised that' the removal of the British Army, Navy etc. only accounted for about one-quarter of the drop. This might be disputed … from an examination of the figures.' • The other causes it identified. • 'The Great War swept away many, both those who actually lost their lives, and many who, as a result of it, sought careers in other countries'. • 'The forced exodus of large numbers of people at the time of the troubles.' • 'But the most serious factor of all is the sheer economic pressure which forces so large a proportion of our young people to seek careers abroad.'
Claims that there was no Auxiliary false surrender at the Kilmichael Ambush in Cork during the Ir... more Claims that there was no Auxiliary false surrender at the Kilmichael Ambush in Cork during the Irish War of Independence remains controversial. The complete annihilation of the feared Auxiliary patrol was a severe shock to the British government in its attempt to retain control of Ireland.
With the publication of numerous archives in recent years new evidence has become available which needs to be considered. One such document is a letter from the Irish Army Southern Command in 1924 which discusses the specific circumstances of the death of Michael McCarthy who was shot in the head during the fight.
Lisburn, south-west of Belfast had a long tradtion of anti-Catholic rioting and attacks. The assa... more Lisburn, south-west of Belfast had a long tradtion of anti-Catholic rioting and attacks. The assassination of DI Ozwald Swanzy on 22 August 1920 by the Cork IRA led to wholesale arson, looting and evictions of Catholic property in the town. More than 300 claims for damages costing a total of £215,000 and a decrease in the Catholic population of the town by 33% between 1911 and 1926. Further rioting in Belfast, Ireland, led to 30 deaths and similar amounts of destruction. While the loyalist mob suspected local Catholics of involvement this was not the case. This article examines the course of this sectarian outbreak in detail.
This paper re-examines the vexed question of Protestant flight from the South of Ireland during t... more This paper re-examines the vexed question of Protestant flight from the South of Ireland during the Irish revolution between 1920 and 1923. The evidence shows that much of this thesis is based on an incorrect understanding and analysis of the published figures. Equally, new data sources can be mined to establish certainty instead of conjecture for the first time. This paper proves that the decline was substantial before the revolution and shows that the drivers of decline initially had little to do with revolution. Undoubtedly, the revolution accelerated the decline for a short period but it quickly returned to pre-revolutionary levels. If the paper bursts some bubbles then they are worth bursting
Did 20,000 Protestant refugees flee Ireland and cause a minor refugee crisis in 1922? The Irish D... more Did 20,000 Protestant refugees flee Ireland and cause a minor refugee crisis in 1922? The Irish Distress Committee was set up to help those British Loyalists fleeing from Ireland on May 12th so there was a crisis but just how big was it and when did the flood break on the United Kingdom's shores? The records of the Irish Distress Committee are confusing at best on the matter.
However, the British Treasury always minds the pennies and from the start kept a close eye on what was then the Irish Distress committee going so far as having a representative 'sitting in' on meetings. The Irish Distress committee submitted weekly reports and supporting documents to the Treasury who kept the entire documentation in a large unsorted pile optimistically described as TS 18/236 which was wrapped in brown paper. This table has been extracted from a sample of the file to examine the accuracy of claims that there was a Protestant exodus in 1922-23 based on the Records of the Irish Distress/Grants committee.
Author of the controversial 'The IRA and it enemies', the late Canadian historian Peter Hart ofte... more Author of the controversial 'The IRA and it enemies', the late Canadian historian Peter Hart often suggested that his work on the IRA and the Irish War of Independence in county Cork was almost accidental and that he could have easily worked on Chinese history when he started his History PhD in Trinity College Dublin working with Professor David Fitzpatrick. Indeed many of his obituaries mentioned this outsider status as one of the key factors allowing him to write without 'baggage' about that struggle. In fact, he had far more connection with the British Army and Ulster Unionism that anyone realised. Whether, this may have consciously or unconsciously influenced his analysis is a matter of conjecture but it is certainly another undisclosed layer in the interminable 'Peter Hart' war. Perhaps some of those who knew him well might be able to add to this
Protestant flight from Cork 1922: Evidence?
This is the most up to date list of what happened to... more Protestant flight from Cork 1922: Evidence?
This is the most up to date list of what happened to 32 'disappeared' Freemasons from Cork City records recorded in Gerard Murphy's controversial 'Year of Disappearances' during Ireland's revolution. Murphy now accepts the bona fides of the research and its accuracy. 24 of the 32 have now been found and this table provides details of when they were last in Cork, where they lived subsequently and where they died.
The intense debate about Gerard Murphy's claim that the IRA had probably murdered the majority of... more The intense debate about Gerard Murphy's claim that the IRA had probably murdered the majority of 32 unaccounted Cork Freemasons between January 1922 and August of that year is effectively over with his acceptance that we have now established what happened to 27 of them. It is likely that another 5 moved out of Cork for non political reasons or there is insufficient information about them. This article presents the evidence drawing on new sources which were not available to him and proves that scholars were correctly sceptical. The evidence shows that far from people being murdered by the IRA there is an intense normality about the comings and goings of most of these people.
The Irish War of Independence occurred at a time when photography was still in its infancy. Despi... more The Irish War of Independence occurred at a time when photography was still in its infancy. Despite this the war still provides a wealth of film and photograph images of the main events and the leading individuals. However, there are few if any photographs of individual fighters on both sides. In Cork, the most violent county, more than 700 people were killed, including revolutionary leader Michael Collins, yet a deep trawl of the documentary record has so far only managed to find around 120 images. These include British soldiers, IRA members and civilians. In many cases the image comes from a memorial card and often it is a confirmation photograph. Some of these are of poor quality but it is important to provide these in the hope that a better image can be found. Most strikingly is the youth of the dead on all sides.
The launch of Barry Keane's Cork's Revolutionary Dead will take place on Thursday 29 June 2017 in... more The launch of Barry Keane's Cork's Revolutionary Dead will take place on Thursday 29 June 2017 in Waterstones on St. Patrick's Street, Cork at 6.30 p.m. All are welcome. The 448 page book covers the entire revolutionary period and examines significant events in the war like the Kilmichael ambush, the death of Michael Collins, the burning of Cork and the murder of Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain before turning to the details of each of the more than 700 deaths in the county during the revolution.
The book considers not only the details of the events but seeks to explain why each of the victims whether British soldiers, police, IRA members, spies, informants or innocent civilians was killed.
It is the first complete record of these victims at a point where new archives throw light on these events and before family and folk memories fade for ever.
The book will, especially, be welcomed families of the victims many of whom have been searching for answers to what happened to their relatives in the war.
Did the British empire first break on the pebble of the Irish revolution?
Was Irish revolutionary... more Did the British empire first break on the pebble of the Irish revolution? Was Irish revolutionary hero, Michael Collins, really searching for gold the day he died? Which famous Cork man missed one of his three funerals? Who was on the Cork jury which called British Prime Minister David Lloyd George a murderer in March 1920? Did IRA Commander Tom Barry shoot surrendered Auxiliaries at the Kilmichael ambush in November 1920? Just how many British troops attempted to surround the IRA at Crossbarry in March 1921? Who shoved Nicholas de Sales Prendergast's false teeth down his throat and threw him into the river Blackwater at Fermoy, County Cork to drown in December 1920? Did General Arthur Percival (the man who lost Singapore) shoot prisoners in the back of the head while in West Cork during the Irish War of Independence? Why did George Tilson cut his own throat outside Paddington Station in London in February 1921? What act of kindness saved North Cork IRA leader, Seán Moylan's, life in June 1921? What 'crime' had Mary Parnell committed that lead to her death in June 1921?
With more than 700 deaths recorded, described and explained this new book presents an overview of events in Cork city and county during Ireland's revolutionary period, with a comprehensive list of the lives lost on all sides between 1916 and 1923 and the circumstances in which the deaths happened. This comprehensive account includes IRA members, British forces, all sides in the civil war and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Using a wealth of new resources Keane fits the pieces together to explain how the IRA took on the British Empire in Cork between 1919 and 1921 before examining the impact of the tragic civil war on the county. This is the first attempt to tell the whole story of the revolution at such a detailed level. In many cases this is the first time that these deaths are examined to see what happened to the victims
Twelve chapters look at specific events. These chapters serve to cast a light on elements or incidents in the war that deserve special attention. This includes a detailed reconstruction of the controversial Kilmichael ambush, the burning of Cork, the Mallow Railway Station shootings and even the capture of IRA commander Tom Barry's Trench-coat by the Kings Liverpool Regiment in 1921. Published June 2017: Available to Pre-order from Mercier Press, Cork
Historians are slaves to the keepers of documents. At best, we can only present a small part of t... more Historians are slaves to the keepers of documents. At best, we can only present a small part of the past and use our skills to interpolate (guess) the missing pieces of the puzzle. This is why history is both frustrating and such fun. A carefully constructed theory can be exploded by a scrap of paper. In Massacre in West Cork I had to rewrite entire chapters after I found the Dunmanway Diary in the Military Archives and the release of Michael O'Donoghue's Bureau of Military History statement. Though unsuccessful in this case, I was seeking information about the 'Activities of named paid informants against Irish Secret Societies 1892 [sic]-1910.The article both outlines the difficulties of research inside the sensitive parts of a state's anatomy and gives hope that the culture of excessive secrecy can eventually be overcome . The views expressed are my own personal observations on the outcome and I interested parties to comment o this draft.
This very brief research note examines the authorship of The Record of the Rebellion in Ireland 1... more This very brief research note examines the authorship of The Record of the Rebellion in Ireland 1920-21 which was a British Army attempt to understand why their counter insurgency efforts during the Irish War of Independence failed. Surprisingly many of the lessons that Strickland learned failed to be taken on board by the establishment and the mistakes of Ireland were repeated in Palestine, Kenya, and later Northern Ireland but that is not considered here. The authorship of the document has always remained uncertain but previously overlooked documents in the archive of General Sir Peter Strickland KCB KBE CMG DSO show that he was the author.
Everyone knows the story. A group of plaster saints and dreamers decided to hold a rebellion in D... more Everyone knows the story. A group of plaster saints and dreamers decided to hold a rebellion in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916 as part of a 'blood sacrifice' to shake Ireland loose from the grip of the British Empire. Almost as an aside an arms ship from Germany was captured on Good Friday by the British Navy. Yet the true story is that the Aud was central to the planning of the real uprising planned across the country that weekend. In reality the Easter Rising was only a postscript to the rebellion that wasn't and much of the popular story is inaccurate. This slide presentation attempts to tell the proper story from the start and was presented at the Fort Camden Meagher commemoration weekend in Crosshaven Co.Cork on April 22 2016. As always I acknowledge the copyright of any third party material used,
Aimed at second level students this is a brief PowerPoint introduction to the Easter Rising in Du... more Aimed at second level students this is a brief PowerPoint introduction to the Easter Rising in Dublin 1916 against British rule. It includes links to other teaching resources to tell this story
In 2017 Robin Bury's Buried Lives directly criticised previous scholarship by Professor David Fit... more In 2017 Robin Bury's Buried Lives directly criticised previous scholarship by Professor David Fitzpatrick on Protestant decline in Ireland during the revolutionary period between 1911 and 1926. This paper examines the accuracy of Bury's criticism and presents new evidence which shows that trends identified by Bury were in place long before the revolution. If that is the case then Bury's argument that 40,000 native Irish Protestants left Ireland through 'involuntary' migration between 1920-1923 is likely to be wrong.
The outcome of the first West Cork History Festival
The advertising blurb for the First West ... more The outcome of the first West Cork History Festival
The advertising blurb for the First West Cork History festival this year told us that it,
"… will span a diverse set of places, historical subjects and periods, from the local to the international, ranging from the Knights Templar to the events of the Irish revolutionary period in West Cork. Leading historians will be joined by journalists and senior diplomats, and while much of their focus will be on Irish themes, the perspective will be international. The festival will be informal, participatory and with a menu for the intellectually omnivorous."
This was all very welcome but it is a pity that the Festival did not invite any local historians to address it on the history of West Cork and in particular on the controversial issues that have bedevilled that history since publication of the late Professor Peter Hart’s work. He created the current interest in West Cork’s history some twenty years ago. Everybody knows this. This Festival was indebted to him for this interest.
However, the serious discussion on his work occurred outside the Festival in the pages of the Southern Star and elsewhere. This is a collection of the correspondence from that paper and other items that deal in detail with the ‘legacy issues’ arising from
Professor Hart’s work. The first letter, from Tom Cooper, generated 22 more items of correspondence and a news report, between 27 May and 26 August 2017 on three topics:
1. Three letters, from Cooper and Simon Kingston, on the festival;
2. Four letters, from Cooper and from Gerry Gregg on his and Eoghan Harris’s documentary, An Tost Fada (‘The Long Silence’), plus one newspaper report;
3. Five letters each from Eve Morrison and Niall Meehan, three from Barry Keane, and one each from Donald Woods and John Regan, on Peter Hart, Tom Barry and the 28 November 1922 Kilmichael Ambush.
In addition, due to Barry Roche in the Irish Times reporting RTÉ’s re-editing of An Tost Fada, Tom Cooper had a letter published on his role in that decision. It occasioned three replies, to which the Irish Times denied Cooper a response, which we publish here. We also publish an important 2014 letter from Meda Ryan to History Ireland, in response to a commentary on Ryan by Eve Morison (in a review of Pádraig O Ruairc’s book, Truce).
This is by far the most useful outcome of the Festival despite not being part of it. Another event that played both on and offstage was the Sunday Times (‘Éire’ edition) dismissal of Peter Hart’s original supporter and a festival contributor, Kevin Myers.
In his column on the morning of the last festival day, Myers combined misogyny and anti-Semitism, attacking women generally and Jewish women in particular. He had made his reputation, alongside Hart, criticising IRA commander Tom Barry and other
republicans. Myers spent his festival afternoon beside a female Jewish rabbi, under a portrait of Tom Barry. That part, you couldn’t make up.
We hope that the organisers of next year’s Festival will arrange for a continuation of such forensic discussion of West Cork’s history. They can do so by ensuring that the local and national participants in the Southern Star discussion are invited to the
Festival. It is surely sensible that such contributions are made at the Festival as well as outside it. It would be useful also to ascertain how to apply to join the secretive Festival Committee.
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Videos by Barry Keane
Papers by Barry Keane
This paper examines her critique of my work and shows that her analysis, is for the most part, factually incorrect. Her claims to be setting herself above the vicious guerrilla war of the debate surrounding the publication of The IRA & its enemies are questioned by reviewers such as Joost Augustejin and John O'Callaghan
, I too question this when juxtaposed with these personal and inaccurate attacks. I would like to thank other scholars, who were invited to critique this document for their comments. This has has resulted in minor clarifications and corrections.
Irish Protestant population dynamics before and during the early years of the twentieth century remains a lively topic of debate in Irish history since the publication of the late Peter Hart's 'The IRA and it's enemies' in 1998 set off a storm of controversy over whether undeniable persecution of Protestants led to ethnic cleansing between 1920 and 1923. It had long been known that since 1926 Protestants lived longer but had fewer children many of whom married Roman Catholics and were 'lost' leading to almost terminal decline. The debate has often been hamstrung by an apparent lack of pre-revolutionary data but this paper shows that there is a wealth of detail buried in the 1901 and 1911 census that shows there was not one but three 'boundaries when it comes to Protestant sex during this period. The paper demonstrates the value the census a a key analytical tool far outside its traditional role of solving family history problems. The paper suggests that Hart's 'ethnic cleansing' thesis is no longer tenable based on the evidence and is actually part of a much longer termed pattern. It vindicates previous research by the late Professor David Fitzpatrick, Dr. Andy Bielenberg, and the current author.
Barry Keane is an historian and geographer who has had a long interest in Protestant population decline before and during the Irish Revolution. A regular contributor to “History Ireland” his books include “Massacre in West Cork”, which examines the 1922 'Dunmanway' killings, and Cork's Revolutionary Dead, which records the reason for all conflict related deaths between 1916 & the end of 1923 in Ireland's most violent county.
With the publication of numerous archives in recent years new evidence has become available which needs to be considered. One such document is a letter from the Irish Army Southern Command in 1924 which discusses the specific circumstances of the death of Michael McCarthy who was shot in the head during the fight.
However, the British Treasury always minds the pennies and from the start kept a close eye on what was then the Irish Distress committee going so far as having a representative 'sitting in' on meetings. The Irish Distress committee submitted weekly reports and supporting documents to the Treasury who kept the entire documentation in a large unsorted pile optimistically described as TS 18/236 which was wrapped in brown paper. This table has been extracted from a sample of the file to examine the accuracy of claims that there was a Protestant exodus in 1922-23 based on the Records of the Irish Distress/Grants committee.
This is the most up to date list of what happened to 32 'disappeared' Freemasons from Cork City records recorded in Gerard Murphy's controversial 'Year of Disappearances' during Ireland's revolution. Murphy now accepts the bona fides of the research and its accuracy. 24 of the 32 have now been found and this table provides details of when they were last in Cork, where they lived subsequently and where they died.
The book considers not only the details of the events but seeks to explain why each of the victims whether British soldiers, police, IRA members, spies, informants or innocent civilians was killed.
It is the first complete record of these victims at a point where new archives throw light on these events and before family and folk memories fade for ever.
The book will, especially, be welcomed families of the victims many of whom have been searching for answers to what happened to their relatives in the war.
10% discount for pre-orders
Was Irish revolutionary hero, Michael Collins, really searching for gold the day he died?
Which famous Cork man missed one of his three funerals?
Who was on the Cork jury which called British Prime Minister David Lloyd George a murderer in March 1920?
Did IRA Commander Tom Barry shoot surrendered Auxiliaries at the Kilmichael ambush in November 1920?
Just how many British troops attempted to surround the IRA at Crossbarry in March 1921?
Who shoved Nicholas de Sales Prendergast's false teeth down his throat and threw him into the river Blackwater at Fermoy, County Cork to drown in December 1920?
Did General Arthur Percival (the man who lost Singapore) shoot prisoners in the back of the head while in West Cork during the Irish War of Independence?
Why did George Tilson cut his own throat outside Paddington Station in London in February 1921?
What act of kindness saved North Cork IRA leader, Seán Moylan's, life in June 1921?
What 'crime' had Mary Parnell committed that lead to her death in June 1921?
With more than 700 deaths recorded, described and explained this new book presents an overview of events in Cork city and county during Ireland's revolutionary period, with a comprehensive list of the lives lost on all sides between 1916 and 1923 and the circumstances in which the deaths happened. This comprehensive account includes IRA members, British forces, all sides in the civil war and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Using a wealth of new resources Keane fits the pieces together to explain how the IRA took on the British Empire in Cork between 1919 and 1921 before examining the impact of the tragic civil war on the county. This is the first attempt to tell the whole story of the revolution at such a detailed level. In many cases this is the first time that these deaths are examined to see what happened to the victims
Twelve chapters look at specific events. These chapters serve to cast a light on elements or incidents in the war that deserve special attention. This includes a detailed reconstruction of the controversial Kilmichael ambush, the burning of Cork, the Mallow Railway Station shootings and even the capture of IRA commander Tom Barry's Trench-coat by the Kings Liverpool Regiment in 1921.
Published June 2017: Available to Pre-order from Mercier Press, Cork
This paper examines her critique of my work and shows that her analysis, is for the most part, factually incorrect. Her claims to be setting herself above the vicious guerrilla war of the debate surrounding the publication of The IRA & its enemies are questioned by reviewers such as Joost Augustejin and John O'Callaghan
, I too question this when juxtaposed with these personal and inaccurate attacks. I would like to thank other scholars, who were invited to critique this document for their comments. This has has resulted in minor clarifications and corrections.
Irish Protestant population dynamics before and during the early years of the twentieth century remains a lively topic of debate in Irish history since the publication of the late Peter Hart's 'The IRA and it's enemies' in 1998 set off a storm of controversy over whether undeniable persecution of Protestants led to ethnic cleansing between 1920 and 1923. It had long been known that since 1926 Protestants lived longer but had fewer children many of whom married Roman Catholics and were 'lost' leading to almost terminal decline. The debate has often been hamstrung by an apparent lack of pre-revolutionary data but this paper shows that there is a wealth of detail buried in the 1901 and 1911 census that shows there was not one but three 'boundaries when it comes to Protestant sex during this period. The paper demonstrates the value the census a a key analytical tool far outside its traditional role of solving family history problems. The paper suggests that Hart's 'ethnic cleansing' thesis is no longer tenable based on the evidence and is actually part of a much longer termed pattern. It vindicates previous research by the late Professor David Fitzpatrick, Dr. Andy Bielenberg, and the current author.
Barry Keane is an historian and geographer who has had a long interest in Protestant population decline before and during the Irish Revolution. A regular contributor to “History Ireland” his books include “Massacre in West Cork”, which examines the 1922 'Dunmanway' killings, and Cork's Revolutionary Dead, which records the reason for all conflict related deaths between 1916 & the end of 1923 in Ireland's most violent county.
With the publication of numerous archives in recent years new evidence has become available which needs to be considered. One such document is a letter from the Irish Army Southern Command in 1924 which discusses the specific circumstances of the death of Michael McCarthy who was shot in the head during the fight.
However, the British Treasury always minds the pennies and from the start kept a close eye on what was then the Irish Distress committee going so far as having a representative 'sitting in' on meetings. The Irish Distress committee submitted weekly reports and supporting documents to the Treasury who kept the entire documentation in a large unsorted pile optimistically described as TS 18/236 which was wrapped in brown paper. This table has been extracted from a sample of the file to examine the accuracy of claims that there was a Protestant exodus in 1922-23 based on the Records of the Irish Distress/Grants committee.
This is the most up to date list of what happened to 32 'disappeared' Freemasons from Cork City records recorded in Gerard Murphy's controversial 'Year of Disappearances' during Ireland's revolution. Murphy now accepts the bona fides of the research and its accuracy. 24 of the 32 have now been found and this table provides details of when they were last in Cork, where they lived subsequently and where they died.
The book considers not only the details of the events but seeks to explain why each of the victims whether British soldiers, police, IRA members, spies, informants or innocent civilians was killed.
It is the first complete record of these victims at a point where new archives throw light on these events and before family and folk memories fade for ever.
The book will, especially, be welcomed families of the victims many of whom have been searching for answers to what happened to their relatives in the war.
10% discount for pre-orders
Was Irish revolutionary hero, Michael Collins, really searching for gold the day he died?
Which famous Cork man missed one of his three funerals?
Who was on the Cork jury which called British Prime Minister David Lloyd George a murderer in March 1920?
Did IRA Commander Tom Barry shoot surrendered Auxiliaries at the Kilmichael ambush in November 1920?
Just how many British troops attempted to surround the IRA at Crossbarry in March 1921?
Who shoved Nicholas de Sales Prendergast's false teeth down his throat and threw him into the river Blackwater at Fermoy, County Cork to drown in December 1920?
Did General Arthur Percival (the man who lost Singapore) shoot prisoners in the back of the head while in West Cork during the Irish War of Independence?
Why did George Tilson cut his own throat outside Paddington Station in London in February 1921?
What act of kindness saved North Cork IRA leader, Seán Moylan's, life in June 1921?
What 'crime' had Mary Parnell committed that lead to her death in June 1921?
With more than 700 deaths recorded, described and explained this new book presents an overview of events in Cork city and county during Ireland's revolutionary period, with a comprehensive list of the lives lost on all sides between 1916 and 1923 and the circumstances in which the deaths happened. This comprehensive account includes IRA members, British forces, all sides in the civil war and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Using a wealth of new resources Keane fits the pieces together to explain how the IRA took on the British Empire in Cork between 1919 and 1921 before examining the impact of the tragic civil war on the county. This is the first attempt to tell the whole story of the revolution at such a detailed level. In many cases this is the first time that these deaths are examined to see what happened to the victims
Twelve chapters look at specific events. These chapters serve to cast a light on elements or incidents in the war that deserve special attention. This includes a detailed reconstruction of the controversial Kilmichael ambush, the burning of Cork, the Mallow Railway Station shootings and even the capture of IRA commander Tom Barry's Trench-coat by the Kings Liverpool Regiment in 1921.
Published June 2017: Available to Pre-order from Mercier Press, Cork
The advertising blurb for the First West Cork History festival this year told us that it,
"… will span a diverse set of places, historical subjects and periods, from the local to the international, ranging from the Knights Templar to the events of the Irish revolutionary period in West Cork. Leading historians will be joined by journalists and senior diplomats, and while much of their focus will be on Irish themes, the perspective will be international. The festival will be informal, participatory and with a menu for the intellectually omnivorous."
This was all very welcome but it is a pity that the Festival did not invite any local historians to address it on the history of West Cork and in particular on the controversial issues that have bedevilled that history since publication of the late Professor Peter Hart’s work. He created the current interest in West Cork’s history some twenty years ago. Everybody knows this. This Festival was indebted to him for this interest.
However, the serious discussion on his work occurred outside the Festival in the pages of the Southern Star and elsewhere. This is a collection of the correspondence from that paper and other items that deal in detail with the ‘legacy issues’ arising from
Professor Hart’s work. The first letter, from Tom Cooper, generated 22 more items of correspondence and a news report, between 27 May and 26 August 2017 on three topics:
1. Three letters, from Cooper and Simon Kingston, on the festival;
2. Four letters, from Cooper and from Gerry Gregg on his and Eoghan Harris’s documentary, An Tost Fada (‘The Long Silence’), plus one newspaper report;
3. Five letters each from Eve Morrison and Niall Meehan, three from Barry Keane, and one each from Donald Woods and John Regan, on Peter Hart, Tom Barry and the 28 November 1922 Kilmichael Ambush.
In addition, due to Barry Roche in the Irish Times reporting RTÉ’s re-editing of An Tost Fada, Tom Cooper had a letter published on his role in that decision. It occasioned three replies, to which the Irish Times denied Cooper a response, which we publish here. We also publish an important 2014 letter from Meda Ryan to History Ireland, in response to a commentary on Ryan by Eve Morison (in a review of Pádraig O Ruairc’s book, Truce).
This is by far the most useful outcome of the Festival despite not being part of it. Another event that played both on and offstage was the Sunday Times (‘Éire’ edition) dismissal of Peter Hart’s original supporter and a festival contributor, Kevin Myers.
In his column on the morning of the last festival day, Myers combined misogyny and anti-Semitism, attacking women generally and Jewish women in particular. He had made his reputation, alongside Hart, criticising IRA commander Tom Barry and other
republicans. Myers spent his festival afternoon beside a female Jewish rabbi, under a portrait of Tom Barry. That part, you couldn’t make up.
We hope that the organisers of next year’s Festival will arrange for a continuation of such forensic discussion of West Cork’s history. They can do so by ensuring that the local and national participants in the Southern Star discussion are invited to the
Festival. It is surely sensible that such contributions are made at the Festival as well as outside it. It would be useful also to ascertain how to apply to join the secretive Festival Committee.
Jack Lane, Aubane Historical Society.