EFFORTS TO AVERT CIVIL WAR.
When I arrived in Dublin I found that the situation was even more
critical that I had expected. The old Republican Army had definitely
split into two sections—one the new Free State Army, and the other the
I.R.A. The British troops had evacuated Beggar’s Bush Barracks and
Wellington Barracks, and handed them over to the Free State troops.
The Republicans had seized and fortified the Four Courts as their
Headquarters. Similar divisions existed all over the country, though the
south was overwhelmingly Republican so far as the Army was concerned. It
was clear that at any moment a civil war might ensue. War was in the air.
At night there was constant firing, and armoured cars rushed through the
streets.
I felt almost broken-hearted. Had we stood so loyally together in the
past only to turn our arms against each other now? I decided that I at
least would not be to blame if fighting broke out.
I visited the strongholds of each party in turn to explore the
possibilities. I called meetings of the old fighting crowd on each side,
but there seemed no chance of any agreement.
I then met Sean O’Hegarty (Commandant of the 1st Cork Brigade), Florrie
O’Donoghue (Adjutant of the 1st Southern Division), Humphrey Murphy,
of Kerry; Tom Hales, of Cork; and Sean Moylan, T.D., all of whom were
opposed to the Treaty. After some discussion we decided to meet some
officers on the other side in a last effort to find a way out. We met
Mick Collins, Dick Mulcahy, Owen O’Duffy, Gearoid O’Sullivan, and Sean
Boylan.
After a long exchange of views we agreed upon a certain basis of
settlement. This we put in writing, and each of us signed it except Sean
Moylan. This document was published in the Press on 1st May. I give it
here in full:—
“We, the undersigned officers of the I.R.A., realising the gravity of the
position in Ireland, and appreciating the fact that if the present drift
is maintained a conflict of comrades is inevitable, declare that this
would be the greatest calamity in Irish history and would leave Ireland
broken for generations.
“To avert this catastrophe we believe that a closing of the ranks all
round is necessary.
“We suggest to all leaders, Army and Political, and all citizens and
soldiers of Ireland, the advisability of a union of forces on the basis
of the acceptance and utilisation of our present national position in the
best interests of Ireland, and we require that nothing shall be done that
would prejudice our position or dissipate our forces.
“We feel that on this basis alone can the situation best be faced, viz.:—
“(1) The acceptance of the Pact—admitted by all sides—that the
majority of the people of Ireland are willing to accept the
Treaty.
“(2) An agreed election with a view to
“(3) Forming a Government which will have the confidence of the
whole country.
“(4) Army unification on above basis.”
That was signed by Tom Hales, Humphrey Murphy, Sean O’Hegarty, Florrie
O’Donoghue, Sean Boylan, Dick Mulcahy, Owen O’Duffy, Gearoid O’Sullivan,
Mick Collins and myself. That is, five of us who opposed the Treaty
and five who favoured it. In the Civil War which followed both Florrie
O’Donoghue and Sean O’Hegarty remained neutral.
These proposals came in for severe criticism. The Republican Headquarters
in the Four Courts at once issued a statement repudiating the terms, and
suggesting the whole thing was an attempt to split their ranks. I myself
received my full share of adverse criticism. One Republican Journal,
_The Plain People_, described me as a “Judas—with perhaps the difference
that I had not got the thirty pieces of silver.” I do not to this day
know who the editor of this paper was. Perhaps he believed what he wrote.
I paid no heed to these observations. My duty I believed was to strain
every nerve to avoid civil war.
On May 3rd, those who had signed this suggested basis of peace were
received by the Dail, and Sean O’Hegarty addressed the House. The result
was the appointment of a Committee representing both sides in the Dail to
discuss the proposals.
The next step was to see what could be done to bring about a reunion in
the Army. A conference was arranged between the chiefs on both sides, and
several meetings were held. But neither the Army chiefs nor the political
chiefs could come to any lasting agreement. The one result of all the
negotiations was the Pact between Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins
agreeing to contest the coming elections as a United Sinn Fein Party,
both Free Staters and Republicans standing on the same ticket and not
opposing each other. In that way all the outgoing members of the Dail
were again nominated, and the agreement was that after the election there
was to be a Coalition Ministry.
When the election came there was some difficulty about a vacancy which
had been created in East Tipperary by the resignation of Alderman Frank
Drohan, of Clonmel. He had resigned before the division on the Treaty,
and a dispute arose as to whether the Republicans or the Free Staters
were to nominate his successor. Finally, I was selected as being more or
less neutral. I was not consulted on the matter and I knew nothing about
the arrangement until I saw the announcement in the Press. I protested
against the proposal, but for the sake of harmony I agreed to allow my
name to go forward. I had no ambition to enter politics. I was a soldier
above all things, and I made it quite plain that I would take no part
in the election campaign. However, both sides nominated me and I was
defeated at the polls.
I had hoped that as a result of the Pact between Collins and de Valera
we would have an uncontested election, which would result in preserving
a united front against England. However, both the Labour Party and the
Farmers prepared to send forward candidates of their own to oppose
Republicans and Free Staters. Before the polling, Mick Collins delivered
a speech in Cork urging Labour and other parties to carry on their
campaign. This was, of course, a flagrant violation of the agreement
which he had entered.
In North, Mid. and South Tipperary I succeeded in inducing the Farmers’
candidates to withdraw from the contest. If all parties were as patriotic
as the farmers of Tipperary civil war might have been avoided. They had
suffered more than any other section of the community from the Black and
Tan terror. They had had martial law preventing the holding of the fairs
and markets for three years. Their farmhouses and creameries had been
wrecked in scores, and they had stood loyally by us all through the war.
Their self-sacrifice in retiring from the 1922 election deserves to be
remembered.
The Labour candidate in Tipperary would listen to no argument. He cared
nothing about presenting a united front to the enemy. He was ambitious
for power and he insisted upon going forward. He afterwards, I believe,
boasted that he was not afraid of Dan Breen even when a gun was put up to
his breast. Even in election campaigns such slanders are hardly playing
the game. However, I hope my countrymen know me well enough not to
believe that I would ever put a gun up to an unarmed opponent.
All this time I still felt anxious for the future. Mick Collins’
violation of the Pact made me suspicious. I felt too that England would
never permit a Coalition Ministry of Free Staters and Republicans, but my
hope all the time was that if a crisis came the Free Staters would throw
the Treaty back in her teeth rather than cause brother to fight against
brother.