Custom House Burning - Part 1 / John Wilson

[Gary Deering]

Gary, your absolutely right. The sense i get from these threads is that we should celebrate our history no matter what side you come from. I have to admit I've no idea what side I would've taken in the run up to the civil war and I've no doubt the volunteers on both sides thought long and hard about their decision.

I've always had a love for Irish History and it's only recently that I was given my great grandfathers medal for active duty during the war of independence that i hope to pass it on to my son. He went on to become a Free Stater but from what I gather from his military files, the Crisis in 1924 left a bad taste in the mouth and maybe left him with a sense of regret that he might have chosen the wrong side.

As history tells us most people where shafted that took part in that War on both side.Thearmy won the War for the goverment & found themselfs on the dole in 1924.  I have noticed that irregulars seemed to get on better in the Emergency (liam Deasy & Tom Barry spring to mind) I think after 1924 a lot of the Free State officers would never rejoin again, Saying that Paddy Daly did & was made a Captain in the labour Corps !

[seanod]

I have been looking on Wiki and different places for the career of Paddy Daly. It seems that there was a very ugly incident in Kenmare involving sexual assault so it looks like they may have had their own reasons for shunning him.

[Ms. Smokestoomuch]

God !

I went looking and found this
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/08/22/story515953669.asp

It obviously comes from a set view point, but it names others involved.

[Gary Deering]

Thanks for that Mrs.Smokestoomuch, its very pro Dev, but it does shine some light on the Assault Daly was involed in (something I always wondered about). The Civil War was a nasty time but I still think that most of the Officers of the Freestate  where treated very badly. My Great Uncle J Wilson after he left the Army had a hard time finding work, not great reward for years spent risking his life, while Ex British Officers kept there commissions. As for Dev & Collins brothers civil service job the only thing I can think of was guilt on Devs part.

Seanod just seen your post yeah Dalys name was not a good one in the army after ballysheddy & the assault I am surprised he was taken back at all.

[waiteohman]

Hello Seanod

The other, Jeremiah Gaffney (I think his official name might have been George) was hanged in 1924 for a murder committed somewhere in Munster but I don't know if he was a Republican infiltrator in the Free State Army, or a Free Stater who exceeded his mandate or if the murder was non-political. I don't know whether there was any connection between John and George/Jeremiah either. Any Gaffneys out there?

Would this be the Jeremiah Gaffney you seek information for:
Philip Monahan: a man apart: the life and times of Ireland's first local authority manager - see page 52
http://www.rootschat.com/links/07ld/

Linda

[waiteohman]

Hello Corsisande et al.

I am not sure if you are aware of Google Books. Many books have previews and some full text.

This one has a preview with snipit view and may be of particular interest to you as your grandfather worked there:
Around and about the Customs House by Jane Meredith (1997)
Includes illustrations. Some subjects are Custom House (Dublin Ireland); Architecture
http://www.rootschat.com/links/07lg/

Seanod this may interest you:
Where's where in Dublin: a directory of historic locations, 1913-1923 : ...
http://www.rootschat.com/links/07lf/
page 6: 55 Amiens Street ...
page 55: ...  On 21st May 1921 a meeting was held here to finalize the plans to burn the Custom House. In attendance were Michael Collins, Sean Dowling, Richard Mulcahy, Ginger O'Connell and Oscar Traynor.

Linda

[seanod]

Thanks Ms Smoketoomuch. I think the E Flood is one of the Flood brothers, four of whom were in the Custom House but I've never heard of Clarke. I found a brief debate about the incident from the Dáil debates which contains no reference to a sexual assault but then given the sensitivities of the times it probably wouldn't have been mentioned. I'll try and find the link and post it.

[seanod]

Hi Linda, Yes that's the Gaffney. Thanks for the link. Unfortunately it doesn't give much more information about the context and the reasons for the murder but I have since found a couple of newspaper articles. It seems to have arisen from an incident where the man who was murdered by Gaffney came into the barracks and somehow (perhaps during a robbery or a dispute) a gun went off and one of Gaffney's friends was killed. He was informed by a nurse about the identity of the killer and went to get him. You get the overwhelming impression that these people were like Joe Pesci in Goodfellows -completely unpredictable and liable to snap at any moment. They were probably brutalised by their war experiences, but then probably any armed forces will attract a large number of people who are brutal by nature anyway. Gaffney was captured in Dublin, tried in Kerry and then sent back to Dublin for execution.

[seanod]

Anyone know how you delete a message? Somehow I've ended up with a number of versions of this email. I was trying to put the quote in a box. I really hate computers!