As soon as the attack on the Four Courts began in the early hours of 28 June 1922, Oscar Traynor, O/C of the Dublin Brigade of the anti-Treaty IRA, ordered its mobilisation. Traynor established his headquarters in Barry's Hotel, Great Denmark Street. Countess Markievicz soon arrived with a detachment of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), and 3,000 rounds of badly-needed ammunition.
The ICA men were promptly dispatched to reinforce the various IRA outposts in central Dublin. Four women, Marcella Crimmins, Kathleen Macken, Annie Norgrove and Annie Tobin, joined Sean's Prendergast 'C' Company, 1st Battalion after they occupied Hughes Hotel in Lower Gardiner Street.
Moran's Hotel on the opposite side of the street was occupied by Liam O'Doherty and members of the 5th Battalion. Pro-Treaty forces took up positions in the National and Provincial Banks on the corner of O'Connell Street and Parnell Street and in a house facing Parnell Street.
Moran's Hotel, seen here after the bombardment. Photo courtesy of the OPW/Kilmainham Gaol Archive 20PD-1A14-10
Civil War in Dublin, 14 April - 2 July 1922
On 14 April 1922 the anti-Treaty IRA took over the Four Courts. Over the coming weeks the anti-Treaty IRA also occupied Kilmainham Gaol, the Kildare Street Club and other buildings across the city. In an effort to avoid civil war, both sides of the IRA continued to talk. In May, due to an agreement of the joint army committee, the anti-Treaty IRA agreed to evacuate all buildings except the Four Courts and those being used to house refugees from the North.
Another army convention was held in early June, in which a disagreement arose between militants and moderates. The hardline executive left the meeting and returned to the Four Courts; Liam Lynch was deposed as chief of staff. He and his supporters set up their headquarters in the Clarence Hotel. With this split in the anti-Treaty IRA, the National Army (NA) saw an opportunity to isolate the Four Courts executive and keep Lynch and the provinces out of the fight.
By now the Provisional Government was coming under pressure from the British government to act against the Four Courts garrison. That moment came when on 26 June the anti-Treaty IRA kidnapped General Ginger O'Connell and held him in the Four Courts. Believing that they could strike quickly against the garrison, the NA began to encircle the complex. However, they were not aware that the rift between Liam Lynch and the executive had been healed. At 4 a.m. on the morning of 28 June the NA issued an ultimatum for the garrison to surrender or it would be attacked. There was no reply. At 4.10 a.m. General Tom Ennis of the NA ordered the attack on the Four Courts. The Civil War had begun. Click on the map to zoom in.
\Map from the Atlas of the Irish revolution (CUP, 2017)
'The Block'
On Thursday 29 June, Traynor sent detachments to occupy other buildings including the Sackville Street Club, the Minerva Hotel, Rutland High School, the Carlisle Building on D'Olier Street and the Swan Hotel/Public House on Aungier Street. Once secured by thirty men under John Hanratty of the ICA, Traynor led his remaining garrison – including Countess Markievicz, Nurse Linda Kearns, Kathleen Barry and Muriel MacSwiney to their new headquarters in the Hammam Hotel on the east side of O'Connell Street. They numbered approximately 100.
Prominent in the garrison were Cathal Brugha, Éamon de Valera, Seán T. O'Kelly and Austin Stack, all of whom turned out for mobilisation as soon as the attack on the Four Courts began. In all, they occupied fourteen buildings on the east side of O'Connell Street. Brugha was appointed Commandant of what became known as 'the Block'. Tunnelling between the buildings began immediately and was completed by Saturday. One anti-Treaty veteran recalled that the tunnels between 'the house, shops and hotels in the block', meant that they were 'supplied with the necessities – even luxuries – of life in abundance.'
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Map showing the action in the Sackville (O'Connell) Street Area, 29 June -5 July 1922. Click on the map to zoom in. Map from the Atlas of the Irish revolution (CUP, 2017)
The YMCA building on the opposite side of the street was also under anti-Treaty IRA control, as was St Thomas's Church at the rear of the Block. Sean Dowling, 4th Battalion, was in charge of thirty Volunteers in the Tramway Office on the corner of Cathedral Street and Upper O'Connell Street. Armed with a rifle and Thompson sub-machine gun, Todd Andrews lay in position at a top window with 'a complete view of O'Connell Street as far as Westmoreland Street'.
After the Four Courts fell, the National Army concentrated all its efforts on Traynor's positions. Occupying Amiens Street Station, they began their encircling movement, taking the anti-Treaty positions one by one, until they reached O'Connell Street. Those in the Block found themselves in the same position as the Four Courts garrison just days before. They were almost surrounded by the larger and better-equipped National Army.
National Army soldiers rushing up their artillery during the Battle. Photo courtesy of the OPW/KIlmainham Gaol Archive 20PO-1A34-23
Sean Dowling recalled that, 'all except Brugha seemed at a loss as to what they should do, or even where they should be'. Brugha urged Traynor to revert to guerrilla tactics, but Traynor was unwilling to put more civilian lives at risk and took no offensive action. Instead he sent despatches to the brigades outside Dublin asking for relieving forces to encircle the National Army.
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Liz Gillis joins Myles Duncan on The History Show to talk about Annie Farrington, the proprietor of Barry's Hotel in Dublin, and her experience of the outbreak of the Irish Civil War.
Closing in
The pro-Treaty forces were closing in. John A. Pinkman received orders on Sunday to take the heavily-barricaded anti-Treaty IRA outpost at Bridgeman's Tobacconists on the corner of Parnell Street and O'Connell Street. Finding it deserted, he and his men made their way, via the internal tunnels, through the buildings in the block between Parnell Street and Findlater Place. 'It was a dangerous, nerve-wracking task,' recalled Pinkman, 'As we made our way through the buildings we sometimes found ourselves being shot at from behind.'
In the Hammam, Traynor waited for a response to his despatches. At around 2 am on Monday morning, National Army forces prepared for a full-scale assault on the Block. The Irish Times reported, 'One armoured car took up its position just outside the Metropole, ... another at the corner of Talbot Street, and a third on the other side of Nelson's Pillar. From here they poured in a rapid fire on the positions.' Two machine-guns placed in Arnott's Tower and Elvery's were also used.
National Army troops shell the Tramway House in Dublin. Photo © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
By Monday, 3 July, with Pinkman's detachment having secured the block of buildings to Findlater's store, and National Army forces in possession of the National Bank on the western corner of Parnell and O'Connell Streets, the connection between the Block and the anti-Treaty outposts at Barry's Hotel and the YMCA building was broken. A statement issued from National Army Headquarters declared,
'The Dublin Guard's enveloping movement in the O'Connell Street area is near completion ... The Irregulars now only occupy that part of O'Connell street stretching from the Tramways Company's offices to Findlater Place. This block of buildings is now completely surrounded'
A sniper at the foot of Nelson's Pillar, facing the top of Talbot Street. Photo: Getty Images
As the morning progressed, the bombardment of the remaining buildings in the Block intensified. Inside, the garrison did all it could to keep spirits up. When Linda Kearns, Muriel MacSwiney and Kathleen Barry made cocktails, one of the men suggested 'that they take it out to the Free Staters where it could prove lethal'.
Despite their best efforts at levity, the situation was impossible, and Traynor decided to evacuate. The leaders would attempt to make their way to the south side of the city, regroup, and decide what their next course of action should be. Evacuation from the Gresham Hotel began at 8 pm and Cathal Brugha was left in command of a token force to cover their retreat.
A fresh assault
At 2 am on Tuesday morning, 4 July, the pro-Treaty forces launched another assault on the Block, led by three armoured cars in position at Nelson's Pillar. According to the Irish Times:
'The gunners appeared to pick out particular objectives in the hotels, upon which they poured a withering fire, which was occasionally returned by the garrison. Machine guns were brought into operation, while smoke bombs and grenades were frequently hurled by the attackers.'
National Army soldiers on Henry Street firing an 18 pounder gun at The Block.The words "For Goodness Sake Aim Straight' have been chalked on the front of the armoured car. Photo courtesy of the OPW/Kilmainham Gaol Archive 20PO-1A35-13
Inside the Block, Linda Kearns moved the hospital from the Billiard Room in the Hammam to the Granville Hotel, where she continued tending the wounded with the help of Muriel MacSwiney and Kathleen Barry. Sean M. Glynn somehow managed to get into the Gresham with a message from Traynor, ordering Brugha to surrender because reinforcements were not coming. He refused.
Later, after a firefight between a sniper in the Hamman and a soldier at Nelson's pillar, a group of fifteen men emerged from the Hammam with a white flag. Thirty more surrendered from St Thomas's Church near Findlater Place. At 8 pm that evening, heavy fire was concentrated on the Gresham and an eighteen-pounder gun was rolled into position at the corner of Henry Street and O'Connell Street. The anti-Treaty IRA forces held their ground.
The damaged Hamman Hotel, O'Connell Street, during the shelling on 5 July 1922. Photo: Getty Images
On the morning of Wednesday, 5 July, the eighteen-pounder field gun trained its sights on the Block and fired shells at the façade until 8 am, when it suddenly stopped and the smoke settled. The Hammam was devastated, its outer wall breached and, according to an eyewitness reporter for Irish Times, into those breaches were thrown 'about a dozen bombs'.'
Unused rifle cartridges began to explode with the heat, one by one at first, and then in continuous succession as if two or three machine-guns were firing from the building'. The Dublin Fire Brigade worked to control blaze as the battle continued. Ordered to fall back when the fighting became too intense, the firemen watched as the Hammam began to collapse, followed soon afterwards by the neighbouring buildings.
National Army soldiers walking cautiously across O Connell Street during a lull in the fighting Photo: OPW/Kilmainham Gaol Archives 20PO-1A34-18
Shortly after mid-day, eyewitnesses saw a man, shouting and waving a white flag, emerge onto the roof of the Gresham. Assuming that this was a sign of surrender, National Army soldiers worked vigorously at the front door with rifle butts and hammers. A volley of shots burst through the door forcing their retreat.
The garrison had no intention of surrendering and the flag-waver, apparently, had been warning troops about mines. Brugha refused Traynor's second order to surrender. Despite the buildings crashing down around him, Linda Kearns recalled, he remained
'undaunted, comforting the wounded, encouraging the defenders, never allowing his own nerve to slacken for a moment.'
Abandoning the Gresham
The small garrison in the Gresham had little hope. Armoured cars took it in turns to fire streams of bullets into the building. When the gun of one car became too hot to continue firing, it moved off and another took its place. Four men, including Gary Holohan, were arrested when they tried to escape the besieged building. By 2.30pm the Gresham was ablaze and Brugha and his small detachment retreated to the Granville Hotel, which became the new target for the eighteen-pounder gun.
The Gresham Hotel in flames, 5 July 1922 Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
By 5 pm, the Granville was in flames; Brugha finally ordered his small garrison to surrender. At first the men refused but, after some persuasion, they relented. At 7 pm Art O'Connor, waving a white flag, led the small party, which included Muriel MacSwiney, Kathleen Barry and Moira Kennedy O'Byrne, down Thomas Lane at the rear of the hotel. O'Byrne recalled:
'. . . As we were marching out I passed through what had been the Turkish Baths and saw Cathal Brugha kneeling on a mat and confessing to one of the friars. I shall never forget that sight. It was his last confession.'
O'Connor's party was quickly surrounded and taken into custody. The Fire Brigade made its way down Thomas Lane and tried to gain entry into the Granville by way of the rear exit doors. As it broke down the doors there suddenly appeared '. . . a low-sized, smoke-stained man [who] rushed out with revolver drawn.'
Cathal Brugha rushed down Thomas Lane towards a party of National Army troops and ignored their call to halt. A volley of shots rang out and Brugha fell to the ground, mortally wounded. As he was rushed by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, Linda Kearns stayed with him, holding the severed artery between her fingers. He died on 7 July 1922. With that volley of shots in Thomas Lane, Dublin had fallen.
This article is part of the Civil War project coordinated by UCC and based on The Atlas of the Irish Revolution edited by John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil and Mike Murphy and John Borgonovo. Its contents do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ.
