#OnThisDay 1923 William Downes, a soldier in the Free State Army was hanged in Mountjoy Prison for killing a Captain Fitzgerald who pursued Downes after he stole £40 from an office. Downes was the first person to be hanged by the Free State.
#OnThisDay 1919 Detective Sergeant John Barton (second left)was shot dead in Dublin by Seán Treacy. Barton identified & arrested 296 rebels after the Easter Rising, including Seán Mac Diarmada & many women. His dying words were “What did I do to deserve this”?
#OnThisDay 1920 Tom Barry’s Third West Cork Flying Column killed 17 Auxiliaries in the Kilmichael ambush, the IRA’s deadliest ambush. It is alleged that some Auxies falsely surrendered & then killed two IRA. Afterwards some Auxies were killed having surrendered.
#OnThisDay 1905 Arthur Griffith created the political party Sinn Fein in Dublin. Griffith opted for a Dual Monarchy system for Britain & Ireland based off the Austro-Hungarian Empire model. It wasn’t until after the 1916 Rising that Sinn Fein became popular.
#OnThisDay 1941 Nazi spy Hermann Göertz was arrested in Clontarf, Dublin. He parachuted into Ireland 18 months previous & liaised with the IRA. He hoped to foment rebellion in Ulster to divert war efforts &ensure Britain did not gain control of Irish ports.
The Irish at War 