Micheal Collins and 'The Squad'.

[corisande]

seanod

(who seems to have fallen by the wayside on the forum) wrote in an earlier post on this thread

I am doing some research on the Custom House burning and I am interested in Joe Leonard and another man called Nicholas Leonard. I'm not sure where they came from or if there was any connection between them. Where was Joe Leonard born?

Nicholas was in D Coy 2nd Battalion Dublin Brigade, and was at Gresham Hotel shootings

[capel street man]

mCorisande- W.S. 499 by Patrick Kennedy D Co.2nd Batt. Dublin Brigade- QUOTE-Bloody Sunday
On the Saturday before Bloody Sunday I was instructed to report to 100 Seville Place that night where, I was told, I would receive specific instructions regarding an operation to be carried out the following morning.When I arrived at Seville Place that night, I discovered that a number of specially selected men from my Company were present and that Paddy Moran, my Company O.C.was in charge of them .
Sean Russell took charge for that night, and he gave us his instructions for the following morning.He explained that a big swoop was to be made simultaneously on all British agents residing in private houses throughout the city and that the operation was to be carried out at 9 0,clock sharp.He detailed Paddy Moran to take his party to the Gresham Hotel and eliminate three British Intelligence Officers who were stopping there.Lieutenant- Colonel Wilde and Captain McCormack were two of the British agents, I cannot remember the name of the third..
I arranged with Paddy Moran to meet him in North Earl Street.I met him as arranged and we proceeded to the Gresham Hotel.As we entered the hotel the other members of of our party, who were in the vicinity, came in after us. Our first job was to disconnect the telephone.As we knew the rooms in which the Intelligence agents were located, our party split up, as pre-arranged, and proceeded to the rooms allotted to them by Paddy Moran.There were people in the dining room and we took up position at the door and held them there.Two British agents were eliminated that morning, the third man escaped. He was a Catholic, I believe, and had gone out to early mass.The whole operation lasted less than ten minutes.-UN-QUOTE.
I have other information on Moran made by James Cahill, A.S.U. W.S.no.503
C.S.M.
Did you manage to find out the information on Major Carew that I asked you in regards to moving to Upper Mount Street?
.

[corisande]

capel street man

Thank you for that quote. I would appreciate the quote my Cahill on Moran too please.

I have been over Carew information but cannot find when he moved to his Mount Street flat.

It would appear that Ames and Bennett moved to 38 Upper Mount Street the day before.

Carew's statement at Moran's trial reads

On 20th November 1920 my servant Private [Lawrence] was very late returning home. I looked out of my sitting room window which is on the top floor and looks on Upper Mount Street and saw him talking to two civilians near the front door [the Moran book confirms that Moran was in fact one of these two men]. Directly I looked out they left him and he came upstairs and made a report to me.

Next morning between 9 and 9.30 am I was in bed when my servant ran in and and told me something. As a result of which I got out of bed and took my automatic with me which I had under my pillow and went to the sitting room and opened the window

At the house opposite I saw a civilian holding up a soldier. In his hand he had a Webley pistol. I cannot swear to him positively. Shortly after the soldier and the civilian disappeared into the house. I heard several shots. 15 or 20 ran out of the house. I fired at him and he fired at my window. I think I hit two as I saw them squirm but they ran on.

A Witness Statement by one of the IRA men Michael Lawless says "I went to the door to see across the road another British soldier shooting down the street at the backs of retreating Squad with what appeared to be a .22 automatic. We both fired and he jumped in through the doorway of his house. Afterwards we learned, much to our disappointment, that Major Carew, a much wanted Intelligence Officer, was living in the house opposite, and the soldier firing was obviously his batman."

The Moran Book has got a lot in it on Moran's trial, which obviously covers Upper Mount Street events in some detail, including the statements made by
Carew
Lawrence
Snelling
Upper Mount Street
I have added their statements to the pages above

Certainly the IRA did not know that Carew was in the house opposite (otherwise he would have been on the list). In terns of seniority in British Intelligence  Carew was much more important than either Ames or Bennett
If you look at this page on British Intelligence you can see the relative seniority of the various people. Ames and Bennett were lower down the command structure

A Class GG agent was above a class HH, who in turn was above a class II

[emer]

I have some incredible news. After a lot of researching I found Piaras Beaslai's collection in the National Library in Ireland. After contacting the historian who worked on his collection and diaries...it was discovered he is my Grandfather and Lily Mernin my Grandmother! All a lot to take in...especially for my 88 year old father...who knew them as Aunt Lily and Uncle piaras

[corisande]

emer

You have lost me here. I thought that Piaras Beaslai was a cousin of Lily  Mernin.

Are you saying that they were married, or putting it differently that your father is the child of the two of them?

[emer]

well apparently they were distant cousins...not married...hence the secrecy I guess. They were both his parents

[capel street man]

Very interesting update Corisande, ref-Upper Mount Street. In this new book on P.Moran, are they saying that  he was definitely at Upper Mount Street on the Saturday evening and was seen by Carews batman ? and they automatically presumed he was at the U.M.Street operation on Bloody Sunday, even though all records and statements say he was involved in the operation at the Gresham Hotel and could not possibly have been at Upper Mount Street ?
Great research on the British Intelligence set up, regarding the seniority of Ame's and Bennett and them being lower down the command structure, it did not make them any less dangerous.
I will post the W.S. by James Cahill ref- Bloody Sunday.
C.S.M.

[corisande]

are they saying that  he was definitely at Upper Mount Street on the Saturday evening and was seen by Carews batman ? 

Yes, page 91

"Private Lawrence had met Paddy Moran and another identified man in Mount Street on the eve of Bloody Sunday when Paddy and his friend tried to help a lady who was in some kind of distress. Lawrence questioned the two met because it was past curfew and they should not have been out. Paddy spoke with a cockney accent and managed to convince Lawrence that they were bona fide. The fact that Lawrence had seen Paddy in Mount Street was critical in the building up of the case against Paddy"

Certainly Meg Moran is conceding that Patrick Moran was in Mount Street at just before midnight of 20 Nov. The thing about the cockney accent is new to me - in other words I have seen nothing of that in official records. It is a bit odd in as much as he had nothing to do with the Mount Street operation, it was a last minute operation, so one of the actual group allocated to Mount Street would have had to check it out and it would be them who should have been there casing the place at that time - remember this is just before midnight, and the shootings were at 9am the  next morning

[capel street man]

Corisande, James Cahill, A.S.U.-W.S.503 Ref-Bloody Sunday.
QUOTE- D.Company was given the task of dealing with three Intelligence Officers who were residing in the Gresham Hotel, O,Connell Street. Three groups, consisting of three men each, were detailed to carry out the shooting. The remainder of our party were given the tasks of controlling members of the hotel staff and residents, covering the exits and preventing communication with the outside during the operation.
Paddy McGRATH, Company O.C. and I were the last to leave the meeting place.At the door, Paddy made a last appeal to Dick McKee to permit him to go on the operation.Dick refused to give permission, as one of Paddy's sons was detailed for the Gresham, and he considered that sufficient for one family
Next morning I met the Company Commander, PADDY MORAN, opposite the Gresham Hotel.We crossed the street together and entered the hotel at exactly nine o,clock. As we passed in, a newsboy called me by my name, asking if I required a paper. A second newsboy, seeing our men converge on the hotel, called to the first, ( Theres a job on. Best clear out of this.) We let them go, as we confident that they would not give the alarm. It was unpleasant for me to realise that an outsider knew of my connection with the operation, particularly as I was residing but a short distance from the hotel.
The three groups having assembled in the vestibule, each was dispatched by the Company O.C. to its respective destination, the group of which Iwas a member , moving off first.As we not conversant with the layout of the hotel, I ordered the head porter to guide us to McCormacks room.Whilst proceeding along the corridor, I observed a man of foreign appearance come to a bedroom door. I had a hunch that he might be one of the other two Intelligence Officers and would, if we continued on our way, take alarm, barricade himself in his room, and endeavour to call for assistance.I covered him with my gun, and asked him for his name.He promptly replied, Alan Wilde, British Intelligence Officer, just back from Spain. At that moment, Mick kilkelly, whose group had been detailed to deal with Wilde, came on the scene and fired, killing him instantly. The fact that Wilde was a new arrival and probably mistook us for a British raiding party would explain his readiness to give us information regarding himself.
As I moved away, I saw through a window a lorry of British Soldiers patrolling slowly along O,Connell Street.We found McCormacks bedroom door closed but unlocked. Nick Leonard and I entered the room and moved towards McCormack, who was partially sitting up in bed. He fired, the bullet passing between Nick and myself burying itself in a door jamb. We fired almost in the same instant, killing him outright.Nick took possession of McCormacks pistol, a .38 automatic. The possession of a gun in that period and his readiness to use it, completely refutes statements which have been made from time to time that he was not a British Agent, and that our Intelligence erred in including him amongst those to be executed.
The third Intelligence Officer had not slept in the Gresham the previous night, and so escaped the purge.
As we emerged fro the hotel there was no enemy in view, and the usual Sunday morning calm prevailed in O,Connell Street.- UN-QUOTE
C.S.M.