The Real Chief - Liam Lynch Read Free

driver in the wrecked car regained consciousness, they decided that he should go to the nearby village of Rathcormac and get a doctor.
    Meanwhile Lynch took Lucas and changed to the Ford car, they turned west near Rathcormac and on to Mourne Abbey. In the home of John O’Connell they left their captive and Lynch. O’Connell found the two men were of such reserved personali­ties that he ‘did not even know captive from captor until the prisoner was put to bed.’ Lynch instructed George Power to go to Dublin and inform Cathal Brugha and Michael Collins of cur­rent happenings.
    That afternoon one of the members of the O’Connell family came home on holidays. He informed Lynch of reports circu­la­ting in the town that the British intended to carry out reprisals for the capture of General Lucas. Consequently Lynch dis­patched a note via Michael McCarthy, stating that Lucas was being held as a prisoner of war and was being treated as such. This, however, did not save the town; for the second time the British carried out wide­­spread destruction; shop windows were broken and there was large scale looting and much intimidation. Meanwhile, searches using aircraft and large forces of infantry and lorries continued over a wide area. Mrs O’Neill, the care­taker at the fish­ing lodge, was closely questioned but divulged nothing. In the hope that she would break down, her son, Patrick, was taken into custody; but neither, however, betrayed the volunteers.
    The following night General Lucas was transferred to Lom­bardstown and afterwards to the West Limerick brigade area and from there to Michael Brennan O/C of the East Clare brigade. Lucas was accommodated in various houses in the Clare brigade area but because of widespread activity in the region, it was again neces­­sary to transfer him into the Limerick district. He had been in cus­tody over a month when, on 30 July 1920 as he was being trans­­ferred from East Clare to the mid Limerick bri­gade, he es­caped from his escort near Oola and from there he got back to his own forces.
    Following General Lucas’ escape, he reported his impres­sions of the IRA to his forces in a document, which was later cap­­tured. He stated that he was impressed by their standard of discipline, determination and efficiency. It was his opinion that the British forces in Ireland were confronted with a much braver military situation than was generally realised; he also stated that he foresaw a bitter struggle and that it would be necessary to em­ploy a much larger force at British army garrisons, if the IRA was to be defeated.
    On the night of 12 August 1920 Lynch attended an IRB meeting in Cork. On the way to Cork he had told Patrick Mc­Carthy who accompanied him, that he did not know the city very well but wanted to see Terence MacSwiney. At Dublin Hill outside the city, Lynch instructed McCarthy to go into the city and make an appointment with the Lord Mayor, Terence Mac­Swiney. 4 After some difficulty McCarthy saw MacSwiney and arranged a meeting between the two men at City Hall at 7 o’clock.
    The British had raided some mail on 9 August and dis­covered that some officers were to meet in the City Hall three days later. A Dáil Éireann court for the city was in session in the council chambers when the British military swooped on them. Judges, lawyers, witnesses, prisoners and members of the general public were among the mixed group. The military raiding party surrounded the block of buildings including the City Hall, the Corporation Stores and Cornmarket to the rear of it. With a number of IRA officers Terence MacSwiney had succeeded in getting into the sheds at the back of the City Hall, but was dis­covered and placed under arrest. All were released with the ex­ception of twelve, which included Liam Lynch and Terence Mac­­Swiney.
    As far as the British forces were concerned it was the most