The Limerick Stand-Off

Introduction from Chronology

As the Commandant of the IRA’s Mid-Limerick Brigade, Liam Forde, had earlier repudiated the authority of GHQ (see Feb-18-22/1), on this date GHQ orders Michael Brennan, Commandant of the 1st Western Division (and pro-Treaty) into Limerick to take over barracks from the evacuating British.  (Limerick was not in Brennan’s Divisional area.)

This led to a standoff, especially when the Divisional Commandant for the 2nd Southern Division, Ernie O'Malley (see Feb-24-22/1), sent troops into Limerick.  Eventually, Liam Lynch (Commandant 1st Southern Division) and Oscar Traynor (Commandant Dublin Brigade) sorted out a compromise by March 12th. 

More Detail

Macardle says that the pro-Treaty troops moved into Limerick on February 23rd under Commandant Hurley – he was arrested and went on hunger strike. When O’Malley (along with Tom Barry) arrived on March 2nd, he ordered the pro-Treaty forces who had taken over the Castle Barracks to either evacuate or fight. 

They refused and O’Malley’s men took over a number of hotels and set up in the Glanworth Hotel as his HQ.  O’Malley went to Dublin and asked Rory O’Connor for engineers to breach the wall of Castle Barracks but O’Connor disapproved.  On March 3rd, Brennan brought his troops into Limerick and occupied a variety of buildings. 

Stephen (or Alphonsus?) O’Mara, Mayor of Limerick, managed to get both sides talking but his efforts foundered.  On March 10th, Liam Lynch and Oscar Traynor had a meeting with Collins, Mulcahy and Eoin O’Duffy in Beggar’s Bush.  That night Lynch and Traynor travel to Limerick and, after a lot of difficulty, manage to effect a compromise between pro- and anti-Treaty forces in Limerick.  By March 11th, most of the pro-Treaty men had evacuated the city and the city was left in local (mostly anti-Treaty) hands.  Anti-Treaty men held the military barracks while Limerick Corporation held the ex-RIC barracks.     O’Malley thought that “we had won without firing a shot”.   Anti-Treaty men took over the Ordnance Barracks, Castle Barracks, the New Barracks and Strand Barracks.  (No more than Brennan, neither Lynch or Traynor had any direct military control over the 2nd Division men in Limerick.)

Griffith was against any opposition to the Treaty but Mulcahy was not prepared at this point to start a war as he thought that his pro-Treaty troops were ill-prepared.  Pro-Treaty men see the agreement as a climb down by Provisional Government but Mulcahy argues that now is not the time to start a fight.  Some anti-Treaty men were also unhappy as they seen their numerical advantage not used. 

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