Anti-Treaty IRA Convention

 

Introduction from Chronology

IRA Convention of (pre-dominantly) anti-Treaty delegates meets in the Mansion House, Dublin with about 220 delegates present.   They claim to represent about 80% of the Army.

More Detail  

In the days before the convention, a letter is sent from Beggars Bush to all Divisional and Brigade commandants that all officers and men who attend the convention would be suspended from the IRA.  

Convention passes a resolution saying that the Army "shall be maintained as the Army of the Irish Republic under an Executive appointed by the Convention".  A temporary Executive of 16 was elected headed by Liam Lynch (and including O’Connor, Mellows, Pilkington and O’Malley).  In a statement issued on March 28th, the Executive say that they no longer recognise the authority of the Minister of Defence and the Dáil saying that although the IRA had agreed to come under the authority of the Dáil, they had never formally agreed to do so.  (Regan says that the Executive recognised the Dáil as the Republic’s parliament but not Griffith’s cabinet (Regan (2013), pgs116-117)).

HQ is Barry’s Hotel in Gardiner’s Row.  They adjourn until April 9th when a new constitution would be discussed.

Arguments emerge afterwards as to the level support in the IRA for the anti-Treaty Executive between O’Duffy and O'Connor but it would seem clear that the majority of the IRA is anti-Treaty.

A photograph of the delegates from the 1st Southern Division of the IRA is given in Horgan (2018), pg 269.

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