Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: History moves on, and republican objectives are now closer

A hundred years ago last week, the Irish Civil War began when Michael Collins ordered an artillery bombardment of the Four Courts in Dublin, which had been occupied by anti-Treaty forces.
A hundred years ago last week, the Irish Civil War began when Michael Collins ordered an artillery bombardment of the Four Courts in Dublin, which had been occupied by anti-Treaty forces. A hundred years ago last week, the Irish Civil War began when Michael Collins ordered an artillery bombardment of the Four Courts in Dublin, which had been occupied by anti-Treaty forces.

MAKING my way home from downtown Dublin of an evening, I frequently stop on the Upper Rathmines Road to get a few groceries as well as a newspaper or magazine (nothing like holding the print edition in your hand.)

Across the road from the shops there is a monument set into a wall, not unlike a gravestone, with a Celtic Cross at the top and a message in Irish which reads (in translation): "In faithful memory of Captain Tomás Ó Laoghaire, Fourth Battalion, Dublin Brigade of the Army of the Republic, who was murdered on 23 March 1923."

I was aware for some time that this republican activist - better-known by his name in English, Thomas O'Leary - was shot dead by the Irish Free State Army during the Civil War over the Anglo-Irish Treaty, an agreement the young man had opposed. What I didn't know until recently was that the monument is located at the spot where his body was found. Nor had I heard that he was shot 22 times, which coincidentally happened also to be his age.

Coming from a modest background in nearby Harold's Cross, he grew up close to the location where 25-year-old Robert Emmet was arrested after his unsuccessful 1803 rebellion against British rule, for which he was subsequently executed. Tommy, as his friends called him, had given up his job as a tram conductor at the start of 1923, to go on "active service". On that fateful night in March, three lorryloads of Free State soldiers arrived at a house on the Upper Rathmines Road where he was hiding. O'Leary apparently made a run for it but was subjected to a hail of bullets, including three to the head, one in the ear, three in the thigh, etc. His body, bathed in blood, was found lying on the footpath next morning by shocked local residents.

Not for the first time, one has feelings of sorrow at the brutal and untimely death of someone who might well have made a significant long-term contribution to society had he lived. A hundred years ago last week, the Irish Civil War began when Michael Collins ordered an artillery bombardment of the Four Courts in Dublin, which had been occupied by anti-Treaty forces.

Collins biographer Leon Ó Broin tells us that the Big Fellow was "deeply moved" when Cathal Brugha, one of the anti-Treaty leaders, was killed in nearby O'Connell Street and that he burst into tears when his closest friend, Harry Boland, who took the other side in the conflict, was shot and fatally wounded by Free State soldiers. Three weeks later, on August 22, Collins himself was killed in an ambush: a huge loss in terms of talent, ability, intelligence and charisma.

For veterans of the 1916 Rising and the subsequent War of Independence, it must indeed have been hard to accept a settlement that had a lingering connection to King George V and fell short of the Republic for which they had struggled. But the oath of fidelity to the British monarch was abolished by the Dáil in 1933 and, in 1949, Ireland was declared a republic.

In more recent times and for similar reasons, modern-day republicans found recognition of the Dáil and the subsequent Belfast/Good Friday Agreement hard to swallow. But the way things have turned out suggest that the Sinn Féin decision to drop abstentionism from Leinster House and play a positive role in the Good Friday negotiations have brought republican objectives a good deal closer.

Sinn Féin became the largest party in the north after last May's assembly election. Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, a Sinn Féin-led government after the next general election looks a strong possibility. The latest opinion poll at time of writing, carried out by Ireland Thinks for the Sunday Independent, shows Mary Lou McDonald's party at 36 per cent, just one less than the combined total of Fine Gael's 22 points and Fianna Fáil's 15 per cent. The fact that the Greens are on four per cent means that the current three-party coalition is ahead of Sinn Féin with 41 points but SF could well surpass that figure by drawing support from smaller parties and/or independents.

A government led by Sinn Féin would certainly be highlighting the issue of a united Ireland but hardline unionists don't need to panic just yet. There are a lot of issues to be resolved, e.g., Irish unity will need to include an island-wide National Health Service. To name but one.

Email: Ddebre1@aol.com; Twitter: @DdeBreadun