Biographical Notes

In this Chronology, an attempt is made to identify the position held by the people mentioned at the time of each entry. However, this can become repetitious especially in a series of linked entries. Therefore, these Biographical Notes are meant to allow readers to quickly find information on any person referred simply by surname (or by firstname and surname) in the Chronology.

For the sake of brevity, the Biographical Notes focus primarily on the positions held by the people during the timeframe of the Chronology (1919-1923).

Addison, Christopher (1869-1951) – British politician. Liberal MP 1910-1921. Minister of Health in British Coalition Government 1919-1921; Minister without Portfolio 1921.

Anderson, John (1882-1958) - British civil servant (and later politician). Entered the civil service in 1905, held a number of positions before being appointed Joint Under Secretary in Dublin Castle in 1920 which he held until 1922. Permanent Under Secretary in the Home Office 1922-1930. Held a number of British cabinet positions during the World War II.

Asquith, Herbert Henry (1852-1928) – British politician. Liberal MP 1886-1918 and 1920-1924; Prime Minister 1908-1916; Leader of the (non-Coalition) Liberals.

Baldwin, Stanley (1867-1947) – British politician. Conservative-Unionist MP 1908-1937; Financial Secretary to the Treasury 1917-1921; President to the Board of Trade 1921-1922; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1922-1923; Prime Minister 1923-1924 & 1924-1929

Balfour, Arthur (1848-1930) – British politician. Conservative MP 1874-1922; Chief Secretary for Ireland 1887-1891 (‘Bloody Balfour’); Prime Minister 1902-1905; Foreign Secretary 1916-1919 (‘Balfour Declaration’); Lord President of the Council 1919-1922; Led British Mission to Washington Conference 1921-1922.

Barton, Robert Childers (1881-1975) - Irish republican politician. Sinn Féin TD 1918-1923; Minister of Agriculture 1919-1921; Secretary for Economic Affairs 1921-1922; Member of the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Even though he signed the Treaty and voted for the Treaty in the Dáil vote in January 1922, he subsequently took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War; arrested and imprisoned.

Bates Richard Dawson (1876-1949) – NI unionist politician. Unionist member of NI Parliament 1921-1943; Minister of Home Affairs in NI government 1921-1943.

Birkenhead – See F.E. Smith

Blythe, Ernest (1889-1975) – Irish republican politician. Sinn Féin and Cumman na nGaedheal TD; Minister for Trade and Commerce 1921-1922; Minister for Local Government 1922-1923; Minister for Finance 1923-1932

Bonar Law, Andrew (1858-1923) – British politician. Conservative-Unionist MP 1900-1923; Conservative Party leader 1911-1923; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1916-1919; Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons 1919-1921; Prime Minister 1922-1923

Brooke, Basil (1888-1973) NI unionist politician

Byrne, Joseph (1874-1942) – British soldier and Irish policeman. Brigadier General in British Army 1916. Inspector General RIC 1918-1922 (but superseded in this role from late 1919 – see Nov-10-19/2 – See also Nov-18-21/2). Subsequently Governor General in the Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

Brugha, Cathal (1874-1922) – Irish soldier and politician. Second in command at the South Dublin Union in the 1916 Rising. Sinn Féin TD 1919-1922. Minister of Defence 1919-1922. Voted against the Anglo-Irish Treaty in cabinet and Dáil 1921-1922. Took anti-Treaty side in Civil War and died from wounds received in the Battle for Dublin 1922.

Carson, Edward (1854-1935) - Irish unionist politician. Born in Dublin. Conservative-Unionist MP for Dublin University 1892-1918 and MP for Belfast Duncairn 1918-1921; Served as Attorney and First Lord of the Admiralty during World War 1; Unionist leader 1910-1921

Cavendish, William (1868-1938) – British politician (aka Duke of Devonshire). Governor-General of Canada 1916-1921; Colonial Secretary 1922-1924.

Cecil, Robert (1864-1958) - British politician. Conservative MP 1906-1910 and Independent Conservative 1911-1923

Cecil, Hugh (1864-1958) - British politician. Conservative MP 1895-1906 and 1910-1937

Chamberlain, Austen (1863-1937) - British politician. Liberal and later Conservative-Unionist MP 1992-1937; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1919-1921; took over as leader of the Conservative Party in March 1921 when Bonar Law resigned due to ill-health – he also took over Bonar Law’s position of Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons; Member of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Replaced by Bonar Law as Leader of the Conservative Party in October 1922; Foreign Secretary 1924-1929

Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940) – British politician. Conservative-Unionist MP 1918-1940; Postmaster General 1922-1923; Paymaster General 1923 … Prime Minister 1937-1940

Chartres, John (1862-1927) – British and Irish civil servant. Civil servant with a number of British ministries during WWI. Converted to the Irish cause after meeting Arthur Griffiths and Michael Collins; became an arms purchaser in Germany for the IRA; Joint chief secretary (along with Erskine Childers) to the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Publicity agent for Irish government 1921-1922; civil servant in Department of Industry and Commerce 1922-1927.

Childers, Erskine (1870-1922) – Irish political activist and publicist. Deputy editor of Irish Bulletin 1919. Took over as editor when its editor, Desmond Fitzgerald is arrested in February 1921. One of four secretaries to the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. Took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. Executed by the pro-Treaty government in November1922.

Churchill, Winston (1874-1965) – British politician. Conservative MP 1900-1904; Liberal MP 1904-1918; Coalition Liberal MP 1918-1922; Conservative MP 1924-1964. Secretary of State for War and Air 1919-1921; Colonial Secretary 1921-1922 (in which capacity, he had primary responsibility within the British cabinet for Irish Affairs); Member of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Prime Minister 1940-1945 and 1951-1955

Collins, Michael (1890-1922) – Irish republican politician and soldier. Born in Cork. Took part in the 1916 Rising and subsequently interned. On his release, appointed Secretary of the Irish National Aid and Irish Volunteer Dependents’ Fund and Adjutant General of the Irish Volunteers – subsequently (1919-1921) appointed Director of Organisation and Director of Intelligence. President of the Supreme Council of the IRB (1919-1922). Sinn Féin TD 1918-1922. Minister of Home Affairs (1919) and Minister of Finance (1919-1921). Member of the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. Chairman of the Irish Government 1922. Took over as Commander-in Chief of the pro-Treaty Army in July 1922. KIA August 1922.

Cope, Andy (1877-1954) – British civil servant. Assistant Under Secretary and Clerk of the Irish Privy Council, 1920-1922. Key job was to maintain contacts with Sinn Féin leaders for Llyod George.

Cosgrave, William (1880-1965) – Irish republican politician. Born in Cork. Took part in the 1916 Rising and subsequently interned. TD for Sinn Féin then Cumman na nGaedheal then Fine Gael, 1918-1944. Minister for Local Government 1919-1922. Took over as Chairman of the Irish Government after the death of Collins in 1922 and with a name change President of the Executive Council (cabinet) of the Irish Government 1922-1932.

Craig, James (1871-1940) – UK and NI unionist politician. Born in Belfast. Served in the Royal Irish Rifles in the Boer War. Conservative-Unionist MP in Westminster 1906-1921; QM of the 26^th Ulster Division between 1914-1916; Minister in British Government 1916-1918; Unionist MP in NI Parliament 1921-1940. Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Prime Minster of NI 1921-1940.

Crawford, Frederick (1861-1952) – NI loyalist soldier – Served with the British Army in the Boer War rising to Lieutenant Colonel; Senior officer in UVF and responsible for gun running in 1914; Involved in reorganisation of the UVF in 1920 before joining the USC and becoming a District Commander in the B Specials.

Curtis, Lionel (1872-1955) – British civil servant. Secretary to the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Adviser on Irish Affairs in the British Colonial Office 1921-1924

Curzon, George (1859-1925) - British politician. Conservative MP 1886-1898; Leader of the House of Lords 1916-1924. Foreign Secretary 1919-1924 (made Foreign Sec in October 1919 having acted for Balfour since beginning of year – Roskill (1972), pg 142); Lord President of the Council 1924-1925.

De Valera, Eamon (1882-1975) – Irish republican politician. Commanded the 3^rd Battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers at Boland’s Mill in the 1916 Rising. President of Sinn Féin 1917-1926 and President of Irish Volunteers 1917-1922. Sinn Féin and later Fianna Fáil TD 1918-1959. President of Dáil Éireann 1919-1922. Led opposition to the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921-1922. Resigned as President and joined the anti-Treaty army. Split with Sinn Féin and founded Fianna Fáil in 1926. President of the Irish Free State, and later Taoiseach, 1932-1948, 1951-1954 and 1957-1959. President of the Republic of Ireland 1959-1973.

Devlin, Joseph (1871-1934 or 1940) – Irish nationalist politician. Nationalist MP in Westminster 1902-1922 and 1929-1934. Nationalist MP in NI Parliament 1921-1934.

Devonshire – See William Cavendish

Dillion, John (1851-1927) – Irish nationalist politician. Nationalist MP at Westminster 1880-1883 and 1885-1918. Close to John Redmond. Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party 1918; Defeated at the 1918 general election.

Duffy, George Gavan (1882-1951) - Irish republican politician and barrister. Sinn Féin TD 1918-1923. Member of the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. Voted for the Treaty (reluctantly). Minister for Foreign Affairs 1922. Resigned as a TD in 1923. High Court judge 1936; President of the High Court 1946.

Duggan, Eamon (1874/9-1936) – Irish republican politician and solicitor. Participated in the 1916 Rising. Sinn Féin TD 1918-1923? IRA Director of Intelligence until interned in 1920. Member of the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. Voted for the Treaty.

Feetham, Richard (1874-1965) – South African judge. Member of South Africa’s Legislative Assembly 1915-1923; Justice of the South African Supreme Court 1923-1930; Chairman of the Irish Boundary Commission 1924-1925. Later opposed apartheid.

Fisher, H. A. L. (Herbert Albert Laurens) (1865-1940) – British politician. Liberal and National Liberal MP 1916-1926. President of the Board of Education 1916-1922

Fisher, Warren (1879-1948) – British civil servant. Chair of the Board of Inland Revenue 1918-1919; Permanent Secretary to the Treasury and Head of the British Service 1919 – 1939.

Fitzgerald, Desmond (1889-1947) – Irish politician. Took part in the 1916 Rising. Sinn Féin and later Cumman na nGaedheal TD 1918-1932; Director of Publicity for Dáil Éireann and editor of the Irish Bulletin. Minister for Foreign Affairs, later called External Affairs, 1922- 1927.

French, John (1852-1925) - British soldier. Commanded the British Expeditionary Force 1914-1915; Commander in Chief, Home Forces 1915-1918; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1918-1921.

Gore Booth, Constance – See Markievicz, Constance

Greenwood, Hamar (1870-1948) – British politician. Liberal MP 1906-1922; Conservative MP 1924-1929. Secretary for Overseas Trade 1919-1920; Chief Secretary for Ireland 2^nd April 1920 – 19^th November 1922; ; Member of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921.

Griffith, Arthur (1871-1922) – Irish politician. Founded Sinn Féin in 1905. He did not take part in the 1916 Rising but was interned in its aftermath. Yielded leadership of Sinn Féin to de Valera in 1917. Elected a MP/TD in 1918. . Minister of Home Affairs and Acting President of Dáil Éireann 1919-1920. Chair of the Irish Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. President of Dáil Éireann 1922.

Grigg, Edward (1879-1955) – British politician and adviser. Private secretary to Llyod George 1921-1922; National Liberal MP 1922-1924; National Conservative MP (1933-1945).

Guest, Frederick (1875-1937) – British politician. Liberal MP 1910-1922 & 1923-1929. Government Chief Whip 1917-1921 and Secretary of State for Air 1921-192.

Hankey, Maurice (1877-1963) – British civil servant. Secretary to the Committee for Imperial Defence 1912-1938. Appointed Secretary to the British Imperial War cabinet in 1916 and secretary to the full cabinet when it was restored in 1919, holding the post until 1938.

Harrison, Richard (1883-1982) – Policeman. Born in Kilkenny. Joined the RIC in 1906. Held a number of positions including RIC County Inspector in Belfast and subsequently RUC Belfast City Commissioner. Widely believed to be involved in a series of sectarian killings of Catholics in Belfast in early 1920s.

Healy, Cahir (1877-1970) – Irish politician. Sinn Féin TD 1922-1924; Nationalist MP in NI Parliament 1925-1965; Nationalist MP at Westminster 1950-1955.

Henderson, Arthur (1863-1935) – British politician and trade union leader. Labour MP 1903-1918, 1919-1922, 1923, 1924-1931 and 1933-1935. Minister without Portfolio and member of the War cabinet 1916-1917; Home Secretary 1924.

Hewart, Gordon (1870-1943) – British politician. Conservative MP 1913-1922. Solicitor General 1916-1919; Attorney General 1919-1922. Took part as a member of the of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921. Lord Chief Justice of England 1922-1940.

Horne, Robert (1871-1940) – British politician. Conservative-Unionist MP 1918-1937. Minister of Labour 1919-1920; Secretary of the Board of Trade 1920-1921; Chancellor of the Exchequer 1921-1922.

Jones, Thomas (Tom) (1872-1955) – British civil servant. Professor of Economics in Glasgow University and Queen’s University Belfast. Deputy Secretary to the British cabinet 1916-1930.

Johnson, Thomas (1872-1963) – Irish trade unionist and politician. Founder member of the Irish Labour Party 1912; Vice-Chair of Party’s Executive 1912-1923. Co-authored the Democratic Programme 1919. Labour TD 1922-1928 where he was Leader of the Opposition.

Kennedy, Hugh (1979-1936) – Irish legal expert. Member of the committee which drafted the Irish Free State Constitution. Attorney General 1922-1924.

Llyod George, David (1863-1945) – British politician. Liberal and Independent Liberal MP 1890-1945. British Prime Minister December 1916 – October 1922. Chair of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921.

Long, Walter (1854-1924)- British politician. Conservative MP 1880-1921. Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies 1916-1919; First Lord of the Admiralty 1919-1921. Chaired Irish Situation Committee 1918; Chaired British Cabinet committee which came up with Government of Ireland Act, 1919-1920.

Lynch, Liam (1890-1923) – Irish republican soldier. O/C Cork No. 2 (North) Brigade 1919-1921; O/C 1^st Southern Division 1921-1922. Chief of Staff of the anti-Treaty army 1922-1923. Died from wounds received in action 1923.

Macdonald, Ramsey (1866-1937) – British politician. Labour and later National Labour MP 1906-1918 and 1922-1937. Labour Party Leader 1911-1914. Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition 1922-1924. British Prime Minister 1924.

MacNeill, Eoin (1847-19450 – Irish republican politician. Appointed Professor of Early and Medieval Irish History, UCD 1908; Founder member and Chief of Staff of Irish Volunteers 1913-1916; Opposed Easter Rising 1916. TD for Sinn Féin and later Cumman na nGaedheal 1918-1927. Minister of Finance 1919; Minister for Industries 1919-1921; Minister without Portfolio 1922; Minster of Education 1922-1925. Irish representative on the Boundary Commission 1923-1925

MacRory, Joseph (1861-1945) – RC Clergyman. Born in Tyrone. Entered to study for the priesthood in 1885. Appointed Bishop of Down and Conor in 1915. Heavily involved in NI politics as ‘protector’ of Belfast’s beleaguered Catholic community in the early 1920’s. Made Archbishop of Armagh in 1928 and elevated to cardinal the following year.

Macready, Nevil (1862-1946). British soldier. Commanded British Army in Ireland 14^th April 1920-1922. Acted as adviser to the British delegation during the negotiations which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921.

Markievicz, Constance (1868-1927) – Irish republican soldier and politician. Founder of Fianna Eireann. Took part in the 1916 Rising as a member of ICA. Sinn Féin TD 1818-1923. Minister of Labour 1919-1921. Took anti-Treaty side in Civil War.

McGilligan, Patrick (1889-1979) – Irish republican politician. Secretary to Kevin O’Higgins 1919-1923. Sinn Féin (and later Cumman na nGaedheal and later Fine Gael) TD 1923-1951. Minister for Industry and Commerce 1924-1932. Member of the Irish delegation which led to the tripartite agreement 1925.

MacMahon, James (1865-1954) – Irishman who served in British Civil Service. Under-Secretary of State for Ireland 1918-1922 (joint under-secretary from 1920).

Macpherson, Ian (1880-1954) – British politician. Junior Minister at War Office 1916-1919; Chief Secretary for Ireland 10^th January 1919 – 2^nd April1920; Minister for Pensions 1920-1922.

Milner, Alfred (1854-1925) – British politician. Secretary of State for War April 1918-January 1919; Secretary of State for the Colonies January 1919-February 1921

Montagu, Edwin (1879-1924) British politician. Liberal and Coalition Liberal MP 1906-1922. Secretary of State for India 1917-19222

Mulcahy, Richard (1886-1971) - Irish republican soldier and politician. Participated in Easter 1916 Rising. Became Chief-of-Staff of the Irish Volunteers in Spring 1918.

O’Brien, Art (1872-1949) – Head of the Gaelic League in Britain 1914- ; President of the Sinn Féin Council of Great Britain 1918-; Irish Self-Determination League of Great Britain

O’Brien, William (1852-1928) – Irish nationalist politician. Nationalist MP 1883, 1887, 1892-1909 and 1910-1918.

O’Connor, Rory (1883-1922) – Irish republican soldier. Took part in the 1916 Rising. Member of the GHQ Staff of the IV/IRA as Director of Engineering. Took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. Executed by the pro-Treaty government in December 1922.

O’Donoghue, Florence (Florrie) (1895- ) – Irish republican soldier. Adj to Cork Brigade (and subsequently Cork No. 1) 1917-1921; I/O of Cork No. 1 Brigade 1919-1921; Adj to 1^st Southern Division IRA 1921-1922; Member of the Executive and Adj-Gen Anti-Treaty Army 1922; Took neutral stance in Civil War.

O’Duffy, Eoin (1892-1944) – Irish republican soldier. Joined the IRA in 1917. Became O/C of the Monaghan Brigade in 1920. IRA’s Truce Liaison Officer in Belfast 1921-1922. Took the pro-Treaty side in the Civil War.

O’Hegarty, Diarmuid (1893-1958) – Irish civil servant. Secretary to the Dáil. Secretary to the Ministry.

O’Higgins, Kevin (1892- 1927) – Irish politician. Sinn Féin and later Cumman ns nGeadheal TD 1918-1927. Assistant Minister for Local Government 1919-1922; Minister for Economic Affairs 1922; Minister for Home Affairs 1922-1927; Minister for Justice 1924-1927. Member of the Irish delegation which led to the tripartite agreement 1925. Assassinated 1927.

O’Sheil, Kevin (1891-1970) – Irish politician. Sinn Féin leader. Republican Court Judge 1919-1922. Secretary, North-East Boundary Bureau 1922-1923; Land Commissioner 1923-1963.

Pollock, Hugh (1852-1937) – NI politician. Unionist MP in NI parliament 1921-1937. Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister 1921-1937.

Price, Ivan (1866-1931) – British soldier and Irish policeman. RIC officer 1886-1922. Seconded as director of military intelligence of Irish Command of BA 1914-118. RIC County Inspector 1919-1920; RIC Assistant Inspector General 1920-1922.

Redmond, John (1856-1937) – Irish politician. Nationalist MP at Westminster 1881-1918. Reunited the Irish Parliamentary Party under his leadership. Encouraged Irishmen to join British Army on outbreak of WWI.

Saunderson, Edward (1869-1929) – Irishman who served in British civil service. Private secretary to Lord Lieutenant French 1918-1920.

Shaw, Frederick (1861-1942) – British soldier. Chief of Staff, Home Forces of British Army 1916-1918. Commanded British Army in Ireland 1920-1922.

Shortt, Edward (1862-1935) – British politician. Liberal MP 1910-1922. Chief Secretary for Ireland 1918-1919. Home Secretary 1919-1922.

Smith, F. E. (Frederick Edwin) (1872-1930) – British politician (aka Lord Birkenhead). Conservative MP 1906-1919. Assistant to Edward Carson during the 1912-1924 Home Rule Crisis (through which he gained the name ‘Galloper Smith’); Attorney General 1915-1919; Successfully prosecuted Roger Casement in 1916 for the attempted importation of arms even though he had supported the importation of arms by the Ulster Volunteer Force in 1914; Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1919-22; Member of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921.

Spender, Wilfrid (1876-1960) – British soldier, NI civil servant and loyalist paramilitary. Founder member of the UVF 1913. Served in the 36^th Ulster Division in WWI. Re-established and commanded the UVF 1919. Had a leading role in the creation of the USC in 1920. Secretary to the NI cabinet 1921-1925.

Stack, Austin (1880-1929) – Irish politician. Founding member of the Irish Volunteers 1913. Sinn Féin TD 1918-1923. Deputy Minister for Home Affairs 1919-1921; Minister for Home Affairs 1921-1922. Voted against the Anglo-Irish Treaty at cabinet and in the Dáil. Took the anti-Treaty side in the Civil War. Stayed in Sinn Féin after de Valera split from it to form Fianna Fáil.

Stevenson, Frances (1888-1972) – British cabinet secretary. Private secretary to Llyod George 1912-1943. Married Llyod George 1943.

Sturgis, Mark (1884-1949) – British civil servant. Joint Assistant Under-Secretary for Ireland 1920-1922; Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Irish Affairs 1922-1924.

Tallents, Stephen (1884-1958) – British civil servant. Private Secretary to Viscount Fitz-Alan, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1921-1922; Imperial Secretary, NI 1922-1926.

Taylor, John J. (1859-1945) – British civil servant. Assistant under-secretary for Ireland 1918-1920.

Thomas, J. H. (James Henry) (1874-1949) – British trade unionist and politician. General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen 1918-1924. Labour and later National Labour MP 1910-1936; Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party 1921. Colonial Secretary 1924 and 1931.

Watt, Samuel (1876-1927) – British civil servant. Private Secretary to a number of Chief Secretaries for Ireland 1918-1920. Went to NI civil service in 1921.

Wilson, Henry (1864-122) – British soldier. Lieutenant General 1914; secretly backed the Curragh Mutiny, 1914; Deputy Chief of Staff 1914; Chief of the Imperial Staff 1918-1922; Field Marshal 1919. Unionist MP for North Down 1922. Security Adviser to the NI government 1922. Assassinated June 1922 in London.

Woods, Seamus (1898-1976) – Irish republican soldier. O/C Belfast Brigade IRA in 1920. Took pro-Treaty side in Civil War. Appointed O/C 3^rd Northern Division IRA in April 1922. Detained in Belfast prison and on the Argenta until 1924.

Worthington-Evans, Laming (1868-1931) – British politician. Conservative MP 1910-1931. Minister of Blockade 1918; Minister of Pensions 1919-1920; Minister without Portfolio 1920-1921; Secretary of State for War 1921-1922 and 1924-1929; Member of the British Delegation which led to the Anglo Irish Treaty 1921; Postmaster General 1923-1934.

Sources: As given in the Chronology and Matthews (2004), pgs 258-279; Macardle (1999), pgs 901-906; O’Halpin (1987), pgs 248- 250; Kenny (2021), pgs 44-52

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