November
1923
|
Nov-03-23/1 |
Free State Government announces that it has
agreed to enter into a conference with Craig and the British Government on
the boundary question – See Sep-22-23/1.
This conference eventually took place on February 1st and 2nd
1924. |
Phoenix (1994), pg 294; Matthews (2004), pg
125 |
|
Nov-09-23/1 |
Seven officers in the Free State army in the
Curragh refuse to sign demobilisation papers. They are arrested and
court martialled. They claim, that as members of the Old IRA,
‘they could not lay down their arms until Ireland’ was ‘an independent
Republic’. The disturbance spread and eventually involves
approximately 60 officers. A major compliant is that old Volunteers are
being dismissed while ex-British Army officers are being retained. The
officers involved are removed from the Curragh and refused demobilisation pay
and grants. (Subsequently, all but one officer accepts demobilisation
papers.) |
Hopkinson (1988), pg 165; Valiulis (1985), pg
45 |
|
Nov-10-23/1 |
Cahir Healy writing to Kevin O’Sheil from the Argenta
says that the forthcoming conference could be valuable if it could achieve
‘essential unity’. |
Phoenix (1994), pg 294 |
|
Nov-13-23/1 |
Anti-Treaty prisoner, Owen Boyle from Donegal,
dies in Newbridge Camp, Co. Kildare. |
Durney (2011), pg 164 |
|
Nov-14-23/1 |
|
Dorney (2017), pg 263 |
|
Nov-15-23/1 |
A number of British civil servants involved
with Ireland meet in London to review what could be done about the Boundary
Commission (to be ready after the UK General Election scheduled for December
6th). Those attending probably included Lionel
Curtis, James Masterton-Smith, John Anderson, Mark Sturgis, Tom Jones, G. G.
Whiskard, Norman Loughnane and Stephen Tallents. (With the exception of Andy Cope, this
represented all the senior British civil servants who had been responsible
for Irish affairs over the preceding three years.) The outcome of this meeting was eventually a
27-page memorandum (probably written by Curtis). According to Matthews, this document is
crucial “because it foreshadowed subsequent British policy in the boundary
dispute”. In this memo, according to
Matthews, the wording of the Treaty’s Article 12 was turned on its head
“economic and geographic conditions” were no longer to be read as a
qualification to the wishes of the inhabitants. On the contrary, they were to be granted a
status equal to – perhaps greater than - the desires of the population.” (Matthews notes that he had rebutted this
interpretation earlier in his book.
See, for example, Llyod George’s contribution to the debate on the
Treaty on the December 14th 1921 – see Dec-14-21/1 - see also
September 10th 1924 - Sep-10-24/1.) The memo also pointed out that “It is
difficult to see an award which would not precipitate war between the North
and South” especially as there existed “a large force of Specials equipped
and armed by the British taxpayer” which would almost certainly “resist the
findings of the Boundary Commission”. The memo therefore recommends a continuation
of the policy of indefinite delay with regards the Boundary Commission but
with one twist. It suggested that a
Boundary Commission chairman should be appointed by the British government
immediately as this would remove the possible accusation that the British
side were not upholding the Treaty.
However, once appointed, the chairman would “have time to study the
whole subject until he had fully grasped the issues at stake”. In other words, further delay. |
Matthews (2004), pgs 126-127 |
|
Nov-20-23/1 |
Dennis Barry, from the anti-Treaty Cork No. 1
Brigade, dies after 34 days on hunger strike in Newbridge camp. (Durney says
November 11th.) At first the government refused to release his
body to his family but do so after his family take a high court action. The RC Bishop of Cork, Daniel Cohalan, does
not allow him a funeral in a RC church. |
O'Kelly in The Kerryman (1955), pg 36;
Macardle (1999), pg 867; Durney (2011), pg 163; Ferriter (2021), pg 118 |
|
Nov-22-23/1 |
Andrew Sullivan from Cork dies after hunger
strike of 40 days in Mountjoy. |
|
|
Nov-23-23/1 |
Hunger strike by anti-Treaty prisoners ends
(See Oct-13-23/1) without the prisoners achieving their demands. However, over 5,000 of the some12,000
prisoners were released at this stage. Women prisoners released but rest of
prisoners continue to be released in a ‘dribble’. By the start of December, there were still
5,774 prisoners in custody. Release of
uncharged and interned prisoners is completed by April 1924 but by June 1924
there were still 237 prisoners. (Power says November 13th.) |
O'Farrell P (1997), pg xxiv; Litton (1995) pg
127; Hopkinson (1988), pg 269; Macardle (1999), pg 867; McCarthy (2015), pg
133; Durney (2011), pg 164; Power (2020), pg 139; Ferriter
(2021), pg 117 |
|
Nov-26-23/1 |
See Dec-05-23/1 and Mar-06-24/1. |
Valiulis (1985), pgs 45-47 |
|
Nov-27-23/1 |
The Minister of Local Government directs local
authorities to reduce labourers’ wages in line with pay scales in their
districts. This leads to reductions of
about 25% in wages of local authority wages. |
McCarthy (2015), pg 131 |
|
Nov-28-23/1 |
In an Official Memo to the members of cabinet,
the Garda say that that the suppression of the anti-Treaty ‘revolt’ could not
be said to be complete with so many bands of armed anti-Treaty men roaming
around the country with some of these bands led by men who were returned at
TDs in the August election. |
Kissane (2005), pg 96 |
|
Nov-1923/1 |
Frank Barrett, who had been the leader of the
hunger strike in Mountjoy prison comes off hunger strike, signs the document
promising to keep the peace and is released. See Feb-1924/1. |
Power (2020), pg 141 |
|
Nov-1923/2 |
Kevin O’Shiel ceases to be director of the
North-Eastern Boundary Commission. |
Phoenix (1994), pg 298 |
|
Nov-1923/3 |
As part of on-going demobilisation, the CID is
wound up with eleven of its detectives being taken into the new detective
division of the DMP. The Protective
Corps and the CDF had already been wound up at this stage. |
Dorney (2017), pg 262 |