The Real Chief - Liam Lynch (20 page)

‘I am Liam Lynch, chief-of-staff of the Irish Republican Army. Get me a priest and doctor. I'm dying.'

‘Where are your guns?' asked Clancy who proceeded to search him.

‘My friends have taken my guns,' he answered, and then gave a painful moan.

Clancy gave a quick search to confirm that he didn't have a gun, and then asked where he had been hit. When Clancy looked for a field bandage, one of his soldiers refused to give ‘a diehard' the one he was wearing. ‘I was compelled to produce my revolver to get the bandage ... which was totally inadequate for Lynch's body, and he was suffering pain.'
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A stretcher was improvised by tying a soldier's greatcoat to two rifles: then began the difficult task of carrying Liam down the steep and rugged mountainside. ‘It was extremely difficult to try to keep a big heavy man on two rifles, three feet eight inches long, and in a semi-sitting position, because he could not bear to be fully stretched with his wound,' said Lieut Clancy. In this half sitting position he was able to endure the intense pain. Frequ­ently he had to be rested as he was getting weaker.

Liam was placed on a jennet and a cart filled with hay when they reached the foot of the mountain. Over the rough by-roads this mode of transport was little better for the severely wounded chief-of-staff. A disarmed soldier, whom Clancy had sent to se­cure a priest and doctor had panicked upon reaching the road; fearing that he would encounter some Republican forces he turned back. Shortly afterwards, however, Fr Patrick Hallinan, New­castle, came along. The priest was unaware of what had hap­pened but gladly administered the last rites to Liam Lynch.

It was now about 11.30 a.m. Liam had received the bullet wound around 9 a.m. In great pain he was carried over the rugged road and reached Nugent's public house in Newcastle around 1.30 p.m. Here Liam was put on a sofa, some blankets were placed over him, and he was given a glass of brandy. Dr Joseph Power attended to his wounds while the local parish priest, Fr John Walsh, came and prayed. Neighbours, who had gathered in the parlour, responded to the rosary, which was recited by Fr Walsh as two blessed candles flickered on the walls and on anxi­ous faces.

Meanwhile Lieut Clancy had phoned his headquarters in Clonmel, reported the capture and asked for a doctor and ambu­lance. As they waited, Liam, in a faint voice, said to Lieut Clancy, ‘When I die tell my people I want to be buried with Fitzgerald in Fermoy ... the greatest friend I have had.'

Clancy told him he had two brothers killed during the War of Independence, and that he himself had been arrested. Liam raised his right hand, and his eyes were filled with tears. ‘With my hand clasped in his, I too sobbed,' said Clancy. With some difficulty Liam spoke: ‘God pray for me. All this is a pity. It should never have happened. I am glad now I am going from it all. Poor Ireland. Poor Ireland!'
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Liam was not a man to bear any malice in life, nor now as he lay dying in enemy hands. He told Clancy what to do with the few possessions he had on him and told him to keep his silver fountain pen ‘for the way you treated me. God bless you and the boys who carried me down the hill. I am sorry for all the trouble I caused you and them.'
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(Lieut Clancy later handed over the pen with the other possessions and instructions on what was to be done with them; he asked General Prout to return the pen to him after the inquest. Clancy alleged this was not done.)

It was 3.15 p.m. when the ambulance arrived. Liam was then taken to St Joseph's Hospital, Clonmel, where he received good medical at­tention. But by this time he had lost too much blood and was bleeding internally.

At 8.45 p.m. that evening he died.

Over the next few days the uncovered oak coffin rested in the mortuary of St Joseph's church giving an opportunity for those who could, to pay their respects.

When his fiancée Bridie Keyes approached the coffin, she stood and looked on him. Then she held his hand and stroked his face. Her friend said that her tears were within. ‘She did not cry. Her eyes just glazed. She froze. She never expected Liam would get shot, he was such a determined person, and so strong. Bridie had a belief that he was invincible.' Bridie moved from the locality sometime after Liam's death. She worked in the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes' office, and it is understood, she never mar­ried.

Soldiers of the Free State army and members of the Cumann na mBan guarded the body by night and day. Free State offi­cers kept a watching brief on those who filed past. Because of this, many of his former comrades in arms were unable to offer a last farewell to their comrade and
Chief
.

Liam Lynch's death, at first glance, poses no question as the bul­let, which hit him was a supposedly long-range shot from the op­posing forces. So why should its source be questioned?

Doubtless his death came during a delicate stage of negotiations and at a time when ostensibly he was unprepared to com­promise, therefore it appears that, mainly with hindsight, specu­lation entered into discussions on the original source of the fatal bullet. Thus the question posed is whether the bullet which took Liam Lynch's life was fired by the enemy or by a member of his accompanying party. Was the execution of the fatal shot master­minded by Republicans since he was by this time a stumbling block in any peace negotiations?

Maurice Twomey, in an interview in
An Phoblacht
stated:

Our line of retreat was thus threatened and sending word to the scouts watching to the west we dashed up a glen towards the moun­tains. On reaching the head of the glen we halted to wait for the two scouts who were armed, one with a Thompson and the other with a rifle ... We were carrying a great number of important papers which we wished to save at all costs.

Just before he was hit Seán Hyde had been helping him ‘as he had been nearly exhausted with the run up the river-bed.'

Twomey said:

Our agony in the parting with our leader and Chief is something we could not easily describe ... The man who beat Strickland to the ropes died as he wished on an Irish mountain, fighting ... Who can explain why he, to save whom every man in the Republican army would have died, was killed, and not one of those who escaped? As we ran on again the ground round us was being spattered with bul­lets as thick almost as a shower of hail stones ...
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Frank Aiken later told Ned Murphy (Free State intelligence officer) that even though they knew Lynch was badly wounded they thought they'd get him away. ‘We had almost reached the top of the difficult climb. Indeed just before he was hit we felt we could put on speed as we had the rugged climb over us.'

Frank Aiken wrote:

It would be impossible to describe our agony of mind in thus part­ing with our comrade and
Chief
. Even in the excitement of the fight we knew how terrible was the blow that had fallen on the nation and army on being deprived of his leadership. His command that we should leave him would have been disobeyed, but that the papers we carried must be saved and brought through at any cost. All would be lost if they were captured.
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The documents concerned peace formulas, surrender terms, to­gether with hide-outs, importation of arms, contacts, flexible head­­quarters, and several other important private documents.

Seán Hyde recalled, ‘The bullet which got him whizzed past me. There were several times when each one of us came close to being hit, earth and bushes splashed around us. There was one occasion when a blast of gunfire rained rocks and soil along an area between us and the boys in front.' He had no doubt but that the fatal shot came from the road below. ‘Unless you have been through the ordeal it is difficult for another person to understand the heart-tug of taking a final look at a friend, a great man, a great leader, our
Chief
whom we knew was dying; we had no option but to leave him which meant he would shortly be in enemy hands.'
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The available records do not mention whether or not De Valera had arrived for the meeting and would therefore be com­pelled to retreat up the mountains with the others.

Newspaper reports state that Lynch, when captured, is under­­stood to have stated that De Valera had made good his escape.
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General Prout in an interview said that a young man was lying face upwards in a thick growth of mountain shrubbery, he was dangerously wounded.
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His clothes were thickly stained with blood and he was bleeding from the lower part of the body.

The
Irish Independent
reported:

The news of the capture, says our correspondent, created great ex­citement in Clonmel, which was intensified when it became known that Mr De Valera had narrowly avoided capture. Accord­ing to the facts available in Clonmel yesterday afternoon troops advancing over the country at the foot of the Knockmealdown mountain in Newcastle-Ballybacon district were fired on. The troops returned the fire and Liam Lynch was captured, severely wounded. Several other leaders, including Mr De Valera and Dan Breen escaped ... When Liam Lynch was wounded his companions tried to carry him away, but owing to the hot pursuit of the troops they parted, and he was captured ... At the spot where he was wounded in the mountain, troops found top boots and hats be­longing evidently to his companions.
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Certainly Dan Breen was not in the party, and all the evidence points to the fact that De Valera was not in the vicinity, though at the March meeting he had indicated his intention of being present at this assembly. Confusion seems to have arisen because of the similarity of the two men – both tall and slim and wearing glasses. On 9 April 1923, the day when members of the Execu­tive were making their way towards the foot of the Knockmeal­downs for the all-important meeting, De Valera wrote to P. J. Ruttledge:

To me our duty seems plain, to end the conflict without delay ... The phase begun in 1916 has run its course ... Those who would continue working for our independence must gird themselves for a long patient effort of reorganisation, and education.
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On 10 April 1923, as the Executive members had assembled at Houlihan's for the meeting and were forced to flee to the Knockmealdowns, De Valera wrote to Austin Stack:

The decision lies between ‘a quit' by a governmental proclamation and army order to ‘cease fire', or a public pronouncement by the Government of the basis on which it is prepared to make peace.
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Dr Stokes, deputy coroner, held an inquest on the remains at Clonmel Union Boardroom, on 11 April. A military witness, Colonel Jerry Ryan identified the body as ‘that of Liam Lynch a native of Anglestabo, Co. Limerick, who was aged about 33 years, single. I knew he took an active part in the operations against the government forces and I believe he was Chief-of-Staff of the Irregulars.'
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(He was in fact 29 years of age.)

Captain T. Taylor stated he was ‘in charge of a column opera­ting in Crohane Mountain and about 10 a.m. yesterday fire was opened on us by a number of Irregulars. The party returned the fire. Firing lasted about half an hour. My party proceeded under fire and the Irregulars retreated. We found a man wounded face upwards. One of my party attended to him and had his wounds dressed ... We took him down from the mountain to Newcastle where he was attended by a priest and Dr Power, Ardinane. Dr Dalton soon arrived with a Red Cross ambulance ... The wounded man had no arms on him when we found him.'
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Dr Redmond Dalton, military MO, stated he went out with an ambulance to Newcastle and found Liam Lynch in a house. ‘There were two bullet wounds in the body, one the entrance wound, being somewhat behind and to the right, between the lower border of the ribs and hip. The exit wound was at the about the same level on the left side. There was a fair amount of exter­nal and a considerable amount of internal haemorrhage, and he was suffering very severely from shock. After consultation with the doctor who was attending the patient, we decided it was best that he should be removed to Clonmel. We brought him back in the ambulance arriving about 6 o'clock in the military ward, St Joseph's Hospital. The patient was very low all the time, and died shortly before 9 o'clock. Death was due to shock and haemorr­hage following the wounds described.'

The jury, after a brief consultation, found that ‘death was due to shock and haemorrhage due to bullet wounds caused by a party of the National Army in the execution of their duty. The coroner joined with the Jury in the expression of sympathy with the relatives.'
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Free State intelligence officer Ned Murphy said one of their soldiers saw movement of men ‘and aimed at one of them, he was aware that he had hit a man; this turned out to be Lynch.' Murphy was confident from their internal army questioning, that in a war situation an enemy had been hit, and the query that the bullet originated from any source ‘other than from a national army rifle should not arise.'

At the inquest there seemed to be no doubt but that the fatal bullet was a long-range shot fired from a national army weapon, and admitted to, by them – and to imply that a bullet came from any other source would be mere speculation.

At the inquest a juror stated that the jury would like to know if the last wish of deceased (that he be buried in Fermoy) would be carried out. The coroner responded that General Prout had ‘given an assurance as to that already.'

On the night of 10 April, news of Liam's death was tele­graphed to Willie Ryan in Mitchelstown who immediately tra­velled with Mrs Hyland to Liam's mother in Barnagurraha.

Sorrow was obviously written on their faces because as soon as they arrived, she said, ‘He is dead, Willie,' then paused momen­tarily. ‘Thank God he did not let down his comrades!' Over the next few days, in the ordeal which followed, she bore her grief silently and, publicly at least, her tears remained unshed.

Liam's brother, Jack who was in Maryboro jail said with sad­ness to John Flanagan that night, ‘I always felt he'd go by the bul­let.'

Some former comrades (now with the opposing forces) sug­gested, according to newspaper reports, that Liam Lynch should be dressed in the full uniform of a volunteer officer; also amongst the thousands of people who visited the hospital and filed in ‘re­spectful silence past the bier were numbers of soldiers of the nati­onal army and members of the civic guard.'
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On Thursday morning Liam's brother, Bro. Martin with Mary MacSwiney, ‘Mrs Kate O'Callaghan, T.D. widow of the former Mayor of Limerick, Count Plunkett, T.D. [and] a Mr Mc­Carthy of Limerick … were passing through Tipperary by train on their way to Clonmel for Liam Lynch's funeral', the
Cork Examiner
reported. ‘Military boarded the train and placed the party under arrest. Mary MacSwiney refused to leave the train, and eventually the military released Liam Lynch's brother and re­moved the others to the local military headquarters … Mr Lynch's brother was not interfered with and proceeded to his destination.'
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The body of the dead leader remained in view in St Joseph's church, Clonmel, until Friday morning when members of the family came to attend mass. ‘Brother [Martin] Lynch betrayed great emotion as he looked down on the pale features of his dead brother ... his mother bore with apparent resignation the death of her son.'
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The remains were removed from St Joseph's church mor­tuary, Clonmel, to Mitchelstown. The lying-in-state continued during the day and up to the last moment hundreds of people visited the church to file past the coffin. The
Irish Independent
re­ports that three bands of gold braid were attached to the sleeves of the uniform in which the body was garbed:
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There was a heart-rending scene just before the removal, when the aged mother, sister, and brothers of the dead leader took their final farewell of their loved one. The only sound to break the stillness of the death-chamber was the loud sobbing of the bereaved ones, and many present were moved to tears.

The coffin was then draped in a huge tricolour with mourning crosses, and on the lid were placed the deceased's belt and cap ... The remains were carried from the hospital by a number of the deceased's comrades. Just outside the building the military guard turned out, and as the coffin bearing the remains passed by, the men presented arms at the word of command from an officer, and remained in that position until all the mourners had passed.
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Though Civil War was still dominating people's views, all the shops and business premises suspended their activities ‘during the passage of the funeral. In practically all the houses blinds were drawn. Large crowds assembled all along the footpaths.'

As the cortege passed by the post office ‘the military guard there also turned out and presented arms. On the outskirts of the town the remains were placed in a motor hearse for conveyance to Mitchelstown.' The
Irish Independent
reports:

Another touching tribute was here paid by the file of civic guards, who lined along the road, and as the hearse passed by they stood to attention and saluted.

The remains were then conveyed to Mitchelstown.

For a considerable time before the remains were removed from the Mitchelstown church, people began to assemble amidst heavy rain in the square and thoroughfares adjoining the church, and by the time that the funeral started on its journey the gathering had assumed huge proportions.

‘The coffin surrounded by the tricolour, and on which had been laid deceased's volunteer cap and belt, was borne on the shoulders of his comrades from Mitchelstown, around the prin­cipal streets of the town before being placed in a hearse and conveyed to the cemetery.'
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Despite the conflict raging in a bitter civil war, friend and foe followed the cortege along the route as the body of Liam Lynch was carried through Glanworth and Fermoy to Kil­crum­per. Crowds lined the countryside and towns for the final fare­well to the man, who like his friend, comrade and fellow Cork man Michael Collins, met his death in a Cork hillside in the war of brothers – the sad irony of Ireland's history.

The church bells at Mitchelstown and Fermoy rang out simultaneously as his dying wish was fulfilled when he was laid beside his friend and comrade, Michael Fitzgerald.

Professor Stockley, TD, who delivered the oration, said, ‘Ire­land should be allowed to live her own life, and it was in that hope Mr Lynch had lived and died...'
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