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Dramatic reconstruction of the abduction of a suspected spy by IRA members. TV3

Uncovering the 'Disappeared' of Irish War of Independence and Civil War

Historian and archaeologists attempt to uncover secret history of over 180 civilians by the ‘old’ IRA between 1919 and 1923 in TV3 two-part doc.

AROUND 200 PEOPLE were ‘disappeared’ by the old IRA throughout the War of Independence and Civil War, according to a documentary to be screened on Monday evening.

TCD Professor Eunan O’Halpin hosts the two-part programme, which is based on research he has carried out over a decade into the victims of the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.

He points out that details of the cases of many of the ‘disappeared’ may be contained in the National Archives but that, as of 90 years later, thousands of Department of Justice and Defence files remain closed. He says:

Ninety years on, it’s surely time that we knew what these contained. The families of the dead, and the public generally, have a right to know how and why these people died.

O’Halpin has a personal interest in the period. Both of his grandfathers were senior IRA officers, his maternal grandmother a leading anti-Treaty activist and two of his great-uncles were killed. One of these was Paddy Moloney, who was shot dead outside Tipperary town in May 1921. The other was Kevin Barry, who was immortalised in song after his execution by hanging in Dublin by the British authorities in November 1920.

However, says O’Halpin, the IRA of the time was also responsible for its share of disappearances and murders in this period. (During the Civil War, Free State forces were also responsible for a share of murderous violence, he adds, and RIC policemen were frequently involved in swift reprisals for murders by the IRA, as well as the Black and Tans.)

In 1920 and 1921 at least 200 people were abducted, executed and their bodies hidden by the then IRA, says O’Halpin. Over 180 of these were civilians as well as policemen and soldiers. The identities of these people are difficult to establish. He says:

Many families who suffered the disappearance of a loved one never had a body to bury or a chance to grieve properly or a chance to commemorate their loss.

Were they spies? Were they informers? Some were; some were not.

Some murders, O’Halpin establishes, were motivated by incompetency, misinformation or even, sometimes, to settle an old score. Some were shot and buried in a wood, field or bog; some unfortunates had their hands and feet bound and dumped, alive, in rivers or lakes to drown.

O’Halpin’s research leads him to commission archaeologists to carry out investigations into local stories about the bodies of two executed men from Tipperary being buried on a farm in Co Laois. Research at the National Archives in Dublin reveals that two men did disappear from north Tipperary in the period pinpointed by the then-farm owner.

The results of his enquiries into this case and others, and the overall context of the disappearances can be seen on Monday, 18 March, on In The Name of the Republic, TV3, 9pm.

Archaeologists excavate a suspected burial site in Co Laois. Image via TV3.

Read: How holy ‘apparitions’ pressed pause on War of Independence>

Explainer: The Third Home Rule Bill is 100 years old. But what did it do?>

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    Mute Meatball Martin
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:11 PM

    That’s great lol

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    Mute Marvin Dollery
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:07 PM

    That thing is a monster. Fair play!

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    Mute FlipBip
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:31 PM

    Good job lads!

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    Mute Gaelactico
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:21 PM

    What’s with the “23ft”? Are we going all Brexit? I remember getting thumped at school about 50 years ago for using inches instead of centimetres.

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    Mute brendan hackett
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:29 PM

    @Gaelactico: That’s bull.

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    Mute James Whelan
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:06 PM

    @Gaelactico: I still use feet and inches. And miles. The only metric units I use are Celsius and millimeters for camera lenses.

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 6:08 AM

    Get these lads to build all future bike sheds, bus stops, security barriers etc. Don’t waste this budding talent.

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    Mute Joe Willis
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:47 PM

    @Billy Joe: lad wait til they get the smell of money and they will be putting in a 400 grand price to do the bike shed… and they would get awarded the contract too.

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    Mute Vinny Shaughnessy
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:51 PM

    Elton John was there for the taking

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    Mute Aurelio
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    Jan 7th 2025, 8:08 PM

    @Vinny Shaughnessy: Melting John perhaps ?

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    Mute William McSweeney
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:56 PM

    Servatius, you’re correcting all of my homework assignments for the next week.

    Regards,
    ‘Bill’

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    Mute Servatius Antonius
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    Jan 7th 2025, 7:12 PM

    @William McSweeney: But I built you the biggest snowman in Ireland

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    Mute Pork Hunt
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    Jan 7th 2025, 11:58 PM

    @Servatius Antonius: family of 12 of these ffs

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    Mute William McSweeney
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    Jan 8th 2025, 4:00 PM

    @Pork Hunt: awww poor you.

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 6:13 AM

    They put the carrot in the wrong place

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    Mute Billy Joe
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    Jan 8th 2025, 5:58 AM

    Ya can’t beat a university education.

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    Mute Dave Grant
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    Jan 7th 2025, 5:53 PM

    Can someone fact check if it was indeed classed as a “Snow Storm”

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    Mute Ajax Penumbra
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    Jan 7th 2025, 6:01 PM

    @Dave Grant: Do it yourself.

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    Mute Mary Breezer
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    Jan 8th 2025, 12:28 PM

    Well done lads Remember some years ago the smallest snow man was in Mayo

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    Mute Anthony Griffin
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    Jan 10th 2025, 4:20 PM

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