Battle of Dublin - O'Connell Street Fighting

O'Connell Street Fighting

Despite the Free State force's success in taking the Four Courts, fighting continued in Dublin until July 5. On the 29th anti-Treaty IRA units from the Dublin Brigade led by Oscar Traynor had occupied O'Connell Street to try to distract Free State attention from their attack on the Four Courts. Not all of the IRA units in the capital were prepared to fight against the new Irish government however and their numbers were probably about 500 throughout the city.

The republicans occupied the north eastern part of O'Connell street, with their strongpoint at 'the block', a group of buildings which the Anti-Treatyites had connected by tunnelling through the walls. they had also taken over the adjoining Gresham, Crown, Granville, and Hammam Hotels. Their only position on the western side of the street was in the YMCA building. Additionally they had an outpost south of the Liffey at the Swan Pub on Aungier street. Oscar Traynor apparently hoped to receive reinforcements from the rest of the country but only Anti-Treaty units in Belfast and Tipperary replied and both of them arrived too late to take part in the fighting.

The Provisional Government troops, commanded by general Tom Ennis started by clearing the outlying anti-treaty garrisons, which they had done by July 1. They then drew a tighter cordon around O'Connell street. Artillery was used to drive the Anti-Treaty fighters out of positions on Parnell street and Gardiner street, which gave the Free State troops a clear field of fire down O'Connell street.

The republican outpost in the YMCA was eliminated when Free State troops tunnelled underneath it and detonated a bomb. Traynor's men in "the block" held out until artillery was brought up, under the cover of armoured cars, to bombard them at point blank range. Incendiary bombs were also planted in the buildings. Oscar Traynor and most of his men (70 men and 30 women) made their escape when the buildings they were holding caught fire. They mingled into civilian crowds and made their way to Blessington.

Left behind was Republican leader Cathal Brugha and a rearguard of 15 men, who stayed behind in the Hamman hotel after Traynor and most other IRA men had left. At 5 pm on July 5, when the fires made the hotel untenable, Brugha ordered his men to surrender. He however, stayed behind, only to emerge from the building alone, armed with a revolver. He was shot in the thigh when he left the burning building alone to confront the Free State troops and died later from blood loss.

There were some further sporadic incidents of fighting around the city as Free State troops dispersed anti-treaty IRA groups.

Cathal Brugha was the last casualty in the battle for Dublin which had cost both sides sixty-five killed and two hundred and eighty wounded. In addition, the Free State took over 400 Republican prisoners. The civilian casualties are thought to have numbered well over 250. The high civilian casualties were doubtless the result of the use of heavy weapons, especially artillery, in a densely populated urban area.