Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

AP/Press Association Images

How Michael D Higgins's father fought for Irish independence

New documents offer a fascinating insight into the family’s history.

NEW FILES RELATING to the military service carried out by the immediate family of Uachtarán na hEireann Michael D Higgins have been released today.

Under the mammoth Military Service Pensions Collection project being undertaken by Military Archives and the Department of the Defence, more than 2,800 files about 882 men and women were published online this morning.

Included in the 117,000 scanned pages are details of John, Peter, Michael and Kitty Higgins’s activities between 1916 and 1923.

Michael D’s father John took part in the War of Independence and fought on the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War.

He began his service, aged 24, with the Ballycar Coy of 1 Battalion, East Clare Brigade in 1918 and later transferred to – and served as a Lieutenant with – the Charleville Coy, 4 Battallion, Cork 2 Brigade with 87 men.

His employment as a travelling sales rep allowed him to engage in intelligence work and he was also active during the Civil War.

He applied for a military pension under the 1934 Act claiming service with the IRA between 1 April 1920 and 30 September 1923. He failed in this original application.

He also failed in an application for service between 1 April 1918 and 31 March 1919. The most likely reason was the he did not take part in any gun battle with crown forces during the time, a strict criteria in the first round.

However in December 1956 - 22 years after his first application and after some political pressure from people known to Higgins – an appeal under the 1949 Act was successful and he was awarded a service pension of 4 and 3/8 years.

Stealing dog licence money

During his testimony to the advisory committee on 25 September 1936, John said that during the War of Independence he undertook a number of tasks, including blocking roads and raiding garages and post offices.

He also claimed to have burned down houses in Charleville on 9 July 1921, moved arms and munitions, cut telephone wires and carried dispatches. He was part of a group which attacked Ballylander barracks in May 1920 and raided a night mail train at Charleville station on 19 June 1920.

His file carries references to him having acted as a scout during an attack on Colonel Hope at Ballyhea and being involved in the burning of Lord Kenmare’s residence.

In his applications, John details a number of events he was involved in during the Truce period. They included:

  • attending camps, including a battalion camp at Cooline and company camp at Charleville;
  • being appointed as an Intelligence Officer in September 1921;
  • involvement in the taking over of Butteraut barracks in February 1922;
  • raiding Charleville Post Office for dog licence money.

His activity continued during the Civil War during which he was involved in an ambush at the Frollock Cross and “sniped at Boolard Cross”.

He recalled that he was on the run from July 1922 but was arrested on 26 January 1923 after which he was sent to Limerick and interned in the Curragh before being released on 21 December 1923.

He had by this time lost his employment and told the deciding committee that it was difficult to obtain a new job because of his status as an ex-internee.

Uncles on a different side

Included in the fascinating snapshot of the Higgins family history is his four-page sworn statement, a handwritten service pension application form signed and submitted by John himself and handwritten letters of reference from Michael Gary, Michael Sheehy, P O’Brien and Seán Noonan.

Files pertaining to Michael D’s two uncles – Michael and Peter – were also released today. Peter served as a Lieutenant in the Ballycar Coy and was “very active” during the War of Independence. He said his activities were “too numerous” to mention in his application, which he had no problem having accepted.

He had, by then, enlisted in the National Army and served as a sergeant in HQ Company of 4 Infantry Battalion, 1 Western Division. He was awarded a 7-year service pension.

However, the third brother Michael was not successful in his pension application as the activities he carried out – such as dispatch carrying and supplying tools – were not deemed to be active service.

Kitty Higgins, Michael D’s aunt, was a member of Cumann na mBan, serving as a branch treasurer.

Although she never received a service pension, details of her work are outlined in her application. During her time she made tricolour flags, provided food to members of a Flying Column and to those in internment camps and carried dispatches.

Both Michael and Kitty received the Service Medal (1917-1921).

Michael D Higgins has acknowledged his family’s roles in the wars, most notably in a 1993 interview with Joe Jackson in Hot Press magazine.

“I remember taking part in debates with people who say that 1916 was a waste of time and I don’t accept that because this is to impose a set of motivations and rational requirements on people who participated in what they felt to be something very important, which led to the foundation of this state and led to the institutions of which I now am a part,” he said, before acknowledging that his family were afflicted by the common split of the civil war, setting brother against brother.

John and Kitty Higgins could both be labelled anti-Treaty, while Peter and Michael were on the opposite side.

It’s also true that my father was involved in the War of Independence, as were my uncles. And my uncles were on one side in the Civil War and my father was on the Republican side. I’m very aware of all that being part of my family history.

John Higgins died on 14 December 1963, aged 69.

***

Included in today’s tranche of files are a number of documents relating to the arrest, detention and execution of Robert Erskine Childers in November 1922.

With an establishment background, the best-selling author had served with British forces in both the Boer War and World War I. However, he then became a gunrunner for the Irish Volunteers and a propagandist for Dáil Eireann and the IRA. He also acted as secretary to the Irish delegation for the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.

In the Department of Defence files, a letter from then-Commander in Chief of Óglaigh na hEireann Michael Collins to a Director of Intelligence states:

I should like to know if there have been any developments in the Childers’ case. The idea that would be most suitable would be that he should be arrested as a stowaway.

The direction came after a letter was received from Liverpool detailing how Childers – who was seen as a main instigator in the anti-Treaty side – was riling up troops.

At that point in August 1922, Childers was believed to have been trying to escape to America and the Free State government wanted him imprisoned for any reason.

PastedImage-69536

He was eventually arrested on 22 November that year and executed 14 days later, despite there being a previous admission by the Director of Intelligence that there was nothing solid to pin a charge on him for.

The official reason given for his execution was that he was found with a pistol on him. He claimed it was a gift from none other than Collins himself.

He was 54 when he died and one of 77 anti-Treaty prisoners executed by the Free State government during the Civil War.

PastedImage-24005

Separately today, Minister Simon Coveney has announced the extension of the archive project until 2023 to ensure the “story of our revolution” is digitised.

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
31 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jimmy Chickens
    Favourite Jimmy Chickens
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 7:49 AM

    Shocking. Guns shouldn’t be so freely available.

    434
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Nora McElhinney
    Favourite Nora McElhinney
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:25 AM

    @Jimmy Chickens: will they ever learn????? Just gather around the campfire, light a few candles, sing a few verses of kumbya and wait for the next armed lunatic….. so sad RIP

    201
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Leadóg
    Favourite Leadóg
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:04 AM

    Nothing changed after Sandy Hook. I don’t wish harm on anyone but maybe it’s going to take the death of a top NRA person or an NRA supporting politician in a mass shooting for things to change.

    268
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ciaran
    Favourite Ciaran
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 11:37 AM

    @Leadóg: true but they all carry guns with them so it’s unlikely they themselves would be a victim.

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute JPM
    Favourite JPM
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 2:49 PM

    @Leadóg: exactly. When nothing happened after Sandy Hook it’ll never happen

    101
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Colm Coughlan
    Favourite Colm Coughlan
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 7:58 AM

    It’s all okay though, President Biden is praying for the victims and their families.

    155
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Ebbs
    Favourite Jason Ebbs
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:01 AM

    @Colm Coughlan: not just Biden, that’s all any of them did.

    149
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute pkunzip doom2.zip
    Favourite pkunzip doom2.zip
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:29 AM

    @Colm Coughlan: and his wife

    28
    See 6 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michael Byrne
    Favourite Michael Byrne
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:42 AM

    @Colm Coughlan: Just like Trump did for the countless number of mass shootings that happened whilst he was in office. It’s quite clear the problem lies in the easy access to guns and the fear mongering and hate news that’s spread by OAN and Fox News…..

    109
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 10:39 AM

    @Colm Coughlan: you do realise trump was far worse….even though he has recently repeated he is the best thing ever for Christianty. Biden may be sincere, but trump is always ever only playing his twisted little game.

    67
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tricia G ☘️
    Favourite Tricia G ☘️
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 11:38 AM

    @Colm Coughlan: At least when Biden says he’s praying for them you’d actually believe he is…..

    63
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
    Favourite Dave O'Keeffe
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 2:22 PM

    @David Bohane: fun fact: you’re not a criminal until your convicted so the number of criminals who’s bail they paid would actually be a small minority, so that’s two things you’re blowing out of proportion. Also, bail is not a crime.
    The system of policing in the states is diabolical and has over inflated budgets. The idea of defend the police wasn’t that there shouldn’t be police. That’s strike three

    33
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David
    Favourite David
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 2:58 PM

    @David Bohane: if the far left didn’t vote for Biden do you think they would of voted for Trump instead lol

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seamus Mac
    Favourite Seamus Mac
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 3:06 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: strange for the democrats to be bailing people out of jail no? Do the republicans engage in such practices as well?

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute James Lough
    Favourite James Lough
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 7:45 AM

    RIP. Senseless waste of life

    191
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Teresa O'Halloran
    Favourite Teresa O'Halloran
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:39 AM

    What a còward. Put the gun to his own neck but didn’t pull the trigger, yet he had no problem shooting thirteen innocent people. His parents have questions to answer for bringing this piece of ßhit into the world.

    203
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute lelookcoco
    Favourite lelookcoco
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:52 AM

    @Teresa O’Halloran: His parents? Are you actually serious? So this guy is innocent because his parents are to blame? Engage your brain before making a comment.

    217
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Ebbs
    Favourite Jason Ebbs
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:57 AM

    @Teresa O’Halloran: He’s 18, so an adult. This makes him responsible for his own actions and not his parents.

    137
    See 4 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Teresa O'Halloran
    Favourite Teresa O'Halloran
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:09 AM

    @lelookcoco: I didn’t say he was innocent. But he has all the signs of a spoilt brat. We need to find out why these kids are doing this by examining their upbringing and their home life. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Which means his parents are probably white supremacists also.

    101
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Teresa O'Halloran
    Favourite Teresa O'Halloran
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:13 AM

    @Jason Ebbs: what about the case of Ethan Crumbley, do you think his parents didn’t know what he was planning?

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Ebbs
    Favourite Jason Ebbs
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:34 AM

    @Teresa O’Halloran: Difference circumstances. He was 15 at the time of his shooting, so a child.

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Roy Dowling
    Favourite Roy Dowling
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 11:42 AM

    @Teresa O’Halloran: Do you know everything your children are doing?

    36
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave
    Favourite Dave
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 11:24 AM

    Horrific stuff, after seeing the footage.. When you can just roll up with an automatic weapon like that without a second thought, there is something seriously wrong with the American society and the obsession with guns…

    83
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Lynne Colson
    Favourite Lynne Colson
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:28 AM

    Unfortunately the U.S. constitution would need to be so changed from “The right to bear arms” for any of this to stop or lessen even. Because the American “forefathers” wouldn’t have been able to have the foresight this far in to the future. A U.S. president is unable to simply change the constitution and the gun lobby is large and vocal. Republicans would never allow this change to the constitution.

    Contrary to popular belief there are a lot of people in the U.S. have no interest in guns.

    61
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Furey
    Favourite Paul Furey
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 10:43 AM

    @Lynne Colson: true! Even if they could change everything just to exclude automatic and assault rifles and all those other mad guns they have over there.

    26
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seamus Mac
    Favourite Seamus Mac
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 3:08 PM

    @Paul Furey: I think there is an automatic weapons ban but it needs to be strengthened.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Bramley Hawthorne
    Favourite Bramley Hawthorne
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 8:13 AM

    A gun-totting society is a contradiction.

    62
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute E.J. Murray
    Favourite E.J. Murray
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 12:23 PM

    He probably thinks that he’s going to be found innocent like Rittenhouse. The US continues to destroy itself, and all that it’s supposed to stand for.

    44
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jonhayes38
    Favourite Jonhayes38
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:17 AM

    Thoughts & prayers…

    29
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seán Ó Briain
    Favourite Seán Ó Briain
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 2:50 PM

    Another MAGA loon.

    35
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seamus Mac
    Favourite Seamus Mac
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 3:10 PM

    @Seán Ó Briain: no just a loon.

    50
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jimmy Reid
    Favourite Jimmy Reid
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 7:54 AM

    What’s NY policy on the d penalty. You’d want this boyo to go for this. Crazy

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute A$AP Ragnick
    Favourite A$AP Ragnick
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 9:10 AM

    @Jimmy Reid: dont think new york have it. Could be wrong though.

    20
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter Sutton Fitzgibbon
    Favourite Peter Sutton Fitzgibbon
    Report
    May 15th 2022, 11:26 AM

    …and two were white before surrendering… ?

    17
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds