At the start of the Irish Civil War in June 1922, the Free State controls only Dublin. Anti‑Treaty forces, forming the so‑called Munster Republic, hold Cork, Limerick, and Waterford, along with much of the west. Waterford’s republican garrison has fortified the city, dismantled the drawbridge’s control equipment, and isolated the port by removing wireless and other communications.
On July 16, republican forces learn that Free State troops ae moving toward Waterford. They raise the drawbridge early and move vessels from the Kilkenny side to the Waterford side. On July 18, Prout’s column is spotted from Sallypark Hill, prompting republican machine gun and rifle fire. A Free State volunteer, Costeloe, is wounded and later dies.
From July 19, sniping continues across the River Suir. On July 19, the Free State brings the 18‑pounder artillery into position overlooking the city, bombarding republican positions. The republicans hold key buildings such as the Adelphia Hotel, Country Club, and Reginald’s Tower.
By July 21, Free State forces cross the River Suir downstream at Gyles Quay, enter the city, and drive out republican troops from their positions. The drawbridge on Redmond Bridge is lowered by hand, and republican reinforcements from Cork and Tipperary either withdraw or do not engage. The Free State takes Waterford on July 21, 1922, ending the republican hold on the city.
Two anti‑Treaty volunteers, Maurice McGrath and John “Bonny” Boyle, are killed. Two Free State soldiers, Sergeant James Howlett and Michael Costelloe, are killed. At least six civilians are killed, including Joseph Dwan, William Long, and a 10‑year‑old girl. Many civilians are wounded.
The fall of Waterford marks a key Free State victory in the conventional phase of the Irish Civil War, contributing to the re‑capture of major southern cities and paving the way for the later guerrilla phase.
(Pictured: John T. Prout at his wedding to Limerick native Mary Conba at St. John the Evangelist Church (O’Loughlin Memorial Church), Kilkenny, July 12, 1922)
The Army Mutiny is an Irish Army crisis that begins on March 7, 1924, provoked by a proposed reduction in army numbers in the immediate post-Civil War period. A second grievance concerns the handling of the Northern Boundary problem. As the prelude to a coup d’état, the decisions made by influential politicians and soldiers at the time have continuing significance for the Government of Ireland.
In December 1922, following Collins’s death, Liam Tobin forms the Irish Republican Army Organisation (IRAO), taking in Dublin Guard and other Irish Army officers who share his view that “higher command…was not sufficiently patriotic.” President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free StateW. T. Cosgrave, head of the government, attempts to appease the IRAO. He meets with them several times before the 1923 Irish general election and persuades the opposing IRB faction of generals under Richard Mulcahy to keep quiet.
With the election over, Mulcahy now ignores the IRAO as he starts the process of demobilising 37,000 men. In November, sixty IRA officers mutiny and are dismissed without pay. The IRAO now pressures the Government into establishing a committee to supervise future demobilisation. The committee, consisting of Eoin MacNeill, Ernest Blythe, and IRAO sympathiser Joseph McGrath, effectively undermines the authority of the Army Council.
On March 7, 1924, a representative of the IRAO hands a demand to end demobilisation to W. T. Cosgrave. The ultimatum is signed by senior Army officers, Major-General Liam Tobin and Colonel Charles Dalton. Tobin knows his own position is to be scrapped in the demobilisation. Frank Thornton and Tom Cullen are also involved. That morning 35 men of the 36th Infantry Battalion refuse to parade, and the preceding week officers had absconded with arms from the McCan Barracks in Templemore, Gormanston Camp in County Meath, Baldonnel Aerodrome in Baldonnel, Dublin, and Roscommon. The immediate response is an order for the arrest of the two men on a charge of mutiny. This causes alarm throughout Dublin when announced.
On March 8, General Mulcahy makes an announcement to the Army:
“Two Army officers have attempted to involve the Army in a challenge to the authority of the Government. This is an outrageous departure from the spirit of the Army. It will not be tolerated…officers and men…will stand over their posts and do their duty today in this new threat of danger in the same wonderful, determined spirit that has always been the spirit of the Army.”
Leader of the Opposition, Thomas Johnson, issues a statement of support for the Government. In contrast, Minister for Industry and Commerce, Joseph McGrath, whose home Mulcahy orders to be searched, resigns because of dissatisfaction with the government’s attitude to the IRAO officers and support for their perception that the Irish Army treats former British officers better than former IRA officers. Fearing an incendiary speech by McGrath, Cosgrave first offers the IRAO an inquiry and an amnesty before then taking sick leave thus making Minister for Justice, Kevin O’Higgins, de facto head of the Government.
(Pictured: Major General Liam Tobin, a leading figure in the Army Mutiny)
Lacey is born on May 31, 1889 in the village of Attybrick, near Annacarty, County Tipperary. He joins the Irish Volunteers in 1913 and is sworn into the secretive Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in 1914. He is introduced to the IRB by Seán Treacy. During the War of Independence (1919–1921) he is selected to command an IRA flying column of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade, in September 1920. The flying column mounts two successful ambushes of British forces – killing six British soldiers at Thomastown near Golden, and four Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) men at Lisnagaul in the Glen of Aherlow.
In April 1921, following another ambush of British troops near Clogheen, he captures RIC inspector Gilbert Potter, whom he later executes in reprisal of the British hanging of republican prisoners.
In December 1921, Lacey’s unit splits over the Anglo-Irish Treaty. He opposes the Treaty and most of his men follow suit. He takes over command of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade as Séamus Robinson is appointed to commanded the anti-Treaty IRA’s Second Southern Division. In the ensuing civil war (June 1922-May 1923), he organises guerrilla activity in the Tipperary area against Pro-Treaty Irish Free State forces.
Denis Lacey is killed in an action against Free State troops at Ballydavid, near Bansha in the Glen of Aherlow on February 18, 1923. He is 33 years old at the time of his death. Over 1,000 Free State troops drawn from Cahir, Cashel, Clonmel, and Tipperary, under the command of General John T. Prout, with the intention of breaking up Lacey’s guerrilla unit, converge on the Glen where he and four other men from his column are billeted. Lacey and one of his men are killed and others are captured. Two National Army soldiers are killed in the action.
A memorial in Annacarty commemorates Lacey’s war service and subsequent death in action.
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