Mulcahy Memo of 18th March
Mucalhy was against such lenient treatment of the Old IRA
officers. There was ambiguity which was interpreted differently by
Executive Council; GHQ; McGrath and the Old IRA. Mulcahy
and GHQ understood the Executive Council orders applied only to mutinous
officers who handed themselves over and did not cancel previous orders to
arrest Tobin and Dalton. McGrath said that he told the mutineers that
“they would have to surrender their arms and go through whatever machinery was
necessary to maintain discipline in the Army and to get back to their positions
and to do what they could in restoring the status quo”. Cabinet wanted the mutineers to turn themselves in as
quickly as possible so as to avoid precipitous actions while the Old IRA
probably thought that at a minimum they would get status quo ante with
an investigation into their grievances. These ambiguities were to cause
difficulties. The situation was even more ambiguous because the cabinet
has decided to appoint O’Duffy
General Officer Commanding Defence Forces but his exact powers were not
clarified. On 14th March, cabinet also appointed O’Duffy as Inspector General of the Defence Forces (as well
as or instead of Officer Commanding?). They charged him with inquiring
into the organisation and administration of the Forces and that the exact
powers should be prepared by the Attorney General in consultation with the
Minister of Defence. However, O’Duffy
questioned whether he was to have full authority and control over the
Army. On the 18th, the cabinet decided that the powers of the
Inspector General were agreed and were to be gazetted immediately and that the
Attorney General and the Minister of Defence should prepare a formal statement
of the powers of the powers and functions of the General Officer Commanding of
the Defense Forces and it should be submitted to the
Executive Council (cabinet) the following day.