British Army Prepares for Mass Arrests
Introduction from Chronology
The GHQ of the British Army in Ireland issues instructions to its
Divisional Commanders to prepare lists of the commanders, officers and
prominent members of the IRA.
More Detail
Warrants for the arrest of these men were to be obtained from the Chief
Secretary and the arrests carried out by the Competent Military Authority (who
were the O/Cs of the BA Divisions and designated brigade commanders). All the
people arrested were to be interned and deported to England (under Defence of
the Realm Act, Regulation 14b) unless evidence of an offence was discovered (in
which case they were to handed over to the civil power). These arrests were to
be synchronised across divisions and the night of the 23rd/24th
January was when they were to be carried out.
However, see Jan-21-20/2
The BA’s Competent Military
authorities were also given the power to search individuals and buildings for
arms, explosives and seditious literature at any time of the day or night. These instructions said that the greatest
care and consideration, during these raids, should be given to law-abiding
citizens, women and children. (Kautt speculates “One wonders how considerate armed men can
be when holding people at gunpoint in the middle of the night, having turned
them out of their homes in order to search [them]”.)