Third convention of anti-Treaty IRA

Introduction from Chronology

The third convention of anti-Treaty army meets in Mansion House to discuss the army re-unification proposals brought forward by the joint army council.  The outcome is a split in the anti-Treaty army.

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In middle of this discussion of Liam Lynch's proposals on army unity (which had already been rejected by the anti-Treaty Army Executive on June 14th), Tom Barry proposes that convention should discuss the resumption of the war against the British forces in Ireland.  (At this point, only some barracks in Dublin and in NI were occupied by British troops.)  This motion that the war should be resumed was put to a vote and defeated by 118 votes to 103.  (Peadar Breslin is one of the tellers for the count.)

The defeated minority withdrew from the Convention and went to the Four Courts where they appoint Joe McKelvey as their chief of staff and repudiated the authority of Liam Lynch.  Liam Lynch and his 1st Southern Division men go to the Clarence Hotel.  The anti-Treaty forces were now split with 12 out of the 16 members of the anti-Treaty Executive with the minority in the Four Courts.

As O’Donnoghue says “the state of the Army was chaotic”.

Kissane says that “The existence of this split [in the anti-Treaty forces] probably played a role in the Provisional Government’s decision to attack the Four Courts”.

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