OPINION (AN COLÚN): What really happened in the Civil War in Offaly and Tipperary?

A couple of months before the Civil War broke out Brigadier General George Adamson was killed in Athlone. Some people believe he was shot and murdered by one of his own men, by Seán MacEoin. MacEoin was, and is, greatly admired by many, but some believe his life was tarnished and he had feet of clay. They say that Adamson and MacEoin admired the same woman and the latter shot his love rival in a fit of jealous pique.
This was one of the stories we were told during a recent fascinating history lecture in Lorrha about the Civil War. The lecturer, John Flannery, also talked about Crinkle Barracks.
Crinkle Barracks, he said, was evacuated by the Leinster Regiment on February 13th, 1922. Some time later it was taken over by the 3rd Southern Division of the IRA to be their headquarters. Their commandant was Michael McCormack. However, some time afterwards the Barracks witnessed the arrival of a section of the anti-treaty IRA, led by Seán Gaynor. Gaynor and his men took charge of the weapons in the armoury. The next day they ordered everyone out on parade. Gaynor spoke to the assembled soldiers of the 3rd Southern Division. He said to them that whoever was in favour of a 32 county Republic, they should step forward now. Only a handful did so. Gaynor asked this handful of men to join his anti-treaty group and ordered everyone else to leave the Barracks for good; which they did. Shortly after the pro-Treaty forces were expelled the Barracks was deliberately set on fire and destroyed, on July the 14th, 1922. Gaynor subsequently said that he and his men had decided to make a “strategic withdrawal”. The barracks was gutted by the fire, and ever since the people of Birr and environs have wondered what would have happened if it hadn't been burned by the anti-treaty IRA but had remained a headquarters for the National Army. Perhaps Birr would have blossomed into a town the size of Athlone or Mullingar? Many locals would have loved to see the town blossom in this way and it stands as one of the great negatives in the town's history.
Another shortsighted act of burning happened in Tullamore as well. On July the 20th the courthouse, jail and military barracks were burned.
The Munster Republic was the base from which the anti-treaty forces hoped to spread out and eventually create an all-Ireland Republic. The Munster Republic was an informal concept and occurred south of an imaginary line from Limerick to Waterford. The Free State launched an offensive against the Munster Republic in July 1922. Limerick and Waterford were easily taken, and Cork became the last county independent of the Free State.
One of the many grim battles which occurred over the months of the Civil War took place in Nenagh at the end of June beginning of July 1922, during which a member of the National Army, Captain Terence Byrne was killed. “Captain Byrne,” said John, “was shot dead at the door of the Hibernian Hotel as he was unloading sandbags.” A gun battle raged throughout the entire morning of June the 30th. The National Army called in an armoured car from Roscrea, which drove through the Nenagh streets firing its machine gun. Eventually the anti-treaty force was pushed out of Nenagh, and they switched after that from conventional warfare to guerrilla tactics. There was also a concerted effort by the anti-treaty forces to take Thurles, which failed.
The guerrilla campaign meant a lot of ambushes. In Tipperary between August and November 1922 fifteen National Army soldiers were killed in six ambushes. One of the ambushers recalled many years later, “It was very sticky. The poor devils were lying in pools of blood along the road. One of the wounded drivers in one of the lorries was saying 'My God, my God'. Another lorry driver was dead at the wheel.”
John pointed out that many veterans of the war suffered post traumatic stress disorder for years afterwards. Some suffered from terrible nightmares for years, others would be in floods of tears thinking about what had happened, others couldn't talk about it. “It was often relatives fighting against each other. I came across several incidents of brothers involved in firefights on opposing sides.”
Both sides carried out executions during the Civil War, with the Free State executing 81 anti-treaty fighters. Three young Tullamore men were executed in Birr Castle on January the 26th, 1923. The anti-treaty forces carried out a number of executions of civilians, including a sweetshop owner in Clonmel and an estate caretaker in the Glen of Aherlow. Some of these civilians were killed because they were suspected of passing on information to the National Army. Free State soldiers were also executed. One of these was Patrick Tiquin who lived at Taylor's Cross between Birr and Banagher. On Monday October 16th 1922, at 10am, Tiquin, as he regularly did, left his home to go to the barracks in Banagher. Five days later his dead body was found at the entrance of Gurteen House, Rathcabbin. He had been shot five times; once in the head and four times in the chest.