Dublin Guard - Civil War

Civil War

On the outbreak of the Irish Civil War in June 1922, the Dublin Guard were heavily involved in securing Dublin for the Free State (see Battle of Dublin).

These troops were among the most experienced and motivated men possessed by the Irish Free State in the civil war. For this reason, they were to the forefront in the Free State offensive of July-August 1922 which took the Munster Republic and secured most of the territory of the new state for its government. Among the officers were Brigadier Paddy Daly, as well as David Neligan & James McNamara, both of whom had been spies for Collins in the G Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. They landed in Fenit in County Kerry in August 1922 and rapidly took Tralee on the same day, which culminated with the capture of Ballymullen barracks which was burnt by the retreating anti-Treaty forces. Over the following days it linked up with troops that landed in Tarbert, other forces moving towards Kerry from Limerick and captured other major towns in the county such as Killarney and Castleisland.

In the later stages of the war, the Dublin Guard had become a mix of IRA veterans loyal to Collins and ex-Royal Dublin Fusiliers who earned a fearsome reputation for brutality in Co. Kerry where they were stationed. The Guard was charged with putting down the guerrilla activities of the local anti-treaty IRA. They were perhaps embittered by the killing of their erstwhile commander in chief, Michael Collins, and of their comrades in several ambushes. As a result, they acted with great severity in Kerry. Over 40 republicans died in custody during the war or were summarily shot when captured. On at least three occasions in March 1923 Dublin Guard troops massacred republican prisoners after five of their men had been killed by booby trap bomb at Knocknagoshel. Particularly notorious was the Ballyseedy Massacre, where nine republican prisoners were tied to a landmine which was then detonated. One of the prisoners survived to recount the incident. However, reprisals by the Dublin Guard against local civilians were rare. One recorded instance came in February 1923, when three individuals later identified as National Army officers shot dead two railway drivers whom they suspected of republican sympathies. Another feature of the Dublin Guard was the high number of combat injuries sustained by its senior officers.