Among the most serious public order issues facing the Irish government in the 1930s were the disturbances that annually occurred on and around Armistice Day in November. The IRA and other republican groups often seized the opportunity presented by the presence of British flags and symbols to put a significant presence on the streets, obstructing … Read more
Jellicoe’s visit on 12 October went ahead on its new schedule, with a heavy Garda presence and no real problems. The next day, however, the story took a strange turn. Responding to a complaint from the public, two Gardaí discovered a post office mailbag at Little Denmark Street, which led them to a yard in … Read more
The Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913 to protect the Home Rule bill then going through parliament from the threat posed by the unionist leader Edward Carson and his newly formed Ulster Volunteer Force. Alternatively, the Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913 by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, using respected constitutionalists as an unwitting front, with … Read more
Michael Judge, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, was bitterly opposed to the admission of Redmond’s nominees to the provisional committee, saying later that ‘had they been men, they could have snapped their fingers at John Redmond and all his influence’. Judge was the only one of the ‘Home Rule’ members to remain … Read more
One enthusiastic supporter of the new Volunteer movement was Maurice Moore, a retired colonel of the Connaught Rangers. Moore was more concerned with the military than with the political aspect of the Volunteers, and was soon appointed chief inspector. Two others were Tom Kettle and his brother Larry, both members of the radical Young Ireland … Read more