Roger McCorley was an Irish republican activist. Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic
McCorley was born in Belfast. Belfast ( is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of government in Northern Ireland. His family had a very strong republican tradition and he was the grandson of United Irishmen leader Roddy McCorley, who was executed for his part in the 1798 rebellion. The Society of United Irishmen was founded as a Liberal political organisation in eighteenth century Ireland that sought Parliamentary reform Roddy McCorley ( Irish: Rodaí Mac Corlaí)(d March 22 1799) was a United Irishman and a participant in the Irish Rebellion of The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (Éirí Amach 1798 Turn Oot 1798 or 1798 rebellion as it is known locally was an uprising in 1798 lasting several months against the
Contents |
Joins the IRA
McCorley was a member of the Belfast Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence, 1919-1922. The Belfast Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA was formed in March 1921 during the Irish War of Independence, when the IRA was re-organised by its leadership The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) (Óglaigh na hÉireann was a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who The Irish War of Independence (or Tan War, or Anglo-Irish War, Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse) from January 1919 to July 1921 was a guerrilla He was commandant of the Brigade's first battalion. In July 1920, he was involved in an attack on a Royal Irish Constabulary Police barracks at Crossgar, county Down. The Royal Irish Constabulary ( RIC) ( Irish: Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann) was one of Ireland's two police forces in the early twentieth century Crossgar (in Irish: An Chrois Ghearr, ie the short cross is a small Town in County Down, Northern Ireland, approximately 15 County Down, ( Ulster Scots: Coontie Doun. is one of the nine counties that form the province of Ulster and one of six counties that form The following month, he was one of four IRA men who assassinated an RIC Inspector Oswald Swanzy, as he left Church in Lisburn. Lisburn (Lios na gCearrbhach meaning fort of the gamblers) is a predominantly Unionist city in Northern Ireland, south-west of and adjoining Belfast
McCorley was noted for his militancy, as he was in favour of armed attacks on British forces in Belfast. The Brigade's leaders, by contrast, in particular, Joe McKelvey, were wary of sanctioning attacks for fear of loyalist reprisals on republicans and the Catholic population in general. Joe McKelvey (died December 8 1922) was an Irish Republican Army officer who was executed during the Irish Civil War in 1922 In general a loyalist is one who maintains loyalty to an established government political party or sovereign especially during war or revolutionary change In addition, McCorley was in favour of conducting an armed defence of Catholic areas, whereas McKelvey did not want the IRA to get involved in what he considered to be sectarian violence. Sectarianism is Bigotry, Discrimination, Prejudice or Hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions McCorley wrote later that in the end, 'the issue settled itself within a very short space of time, when the Orange mob was given uniforms, paid for by the British, and called the Ulster Special Constabulary'. The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC (commonly called the "B-Specials" was a reserve police force in Ireland. The role of the USC, a temporary police force raised for counter-insurgency purposes, in the conflict is still debated, but republicans maintain that the organisation was responsible for the indiscriminate killings of Catholics and nationalists.
The Active Service Unit
On January 26, 1921, McCorley, was involved in the fatal shooting of three Auxiliary Division officers in their beds in the Railway View hotel in central Belfast. The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (ADRIC generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a Paramilitary organization Shortly afterwards, McCorley and another IRA man, Seamus Woods, organised an Active Service Unit within the first battalion of the Belfast Brigade, with the intention of carrying out attacks, with or without the approval of the Brigade leadership. The unit consisted of 32 men. McCorley later wrote, 'I issued a general order that, where reprisal gangs [State forces] were cornered, no prisoners were to be taken'. In March 1921, McCorley personally led the ASU in the killing of three Black and Tans in Victoria street in central Belfast. The term Black and Tans (Dúchrónaigh refers to the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force ( Fórsa Chúltaca Chonstáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann) which was one of He was responsible for the deaths of two more Auxiliaries in Donegall Place in April. In reprisal for these shootings, members of the Royal Irish Constabulary assassinated two republican activists, the Duffin brothers in Clonard Gardens in west Belfast. The Royal Irish Constabulary ( RIC) ( Irish: Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann) was one of Ireland's two police forces in the early twentieth century
Thereafter, there was what historian Robert Lynch has described as a, 'savage underground war' between McCorley's ASU and RIC personnel based in Springfield Road barracks and led by an Inspector Ferris. Ferris himself was among the casualties, being shot in the chest and neck, but surviving. In addition, McCorley's men bombed and burned a number of businesses including several cinemas and a Reform Club. In May 1921, however, 13 of McCorley's best men were arrested when surrounded by British troops during an operation in county Cavan. County Cavan ( Contae an Chabháin in Irish) is a County in Ireland. They were held in Crumlin Road jail and sentenced to death.
On June 3, McCorley organised an attack on Crumlin Road jail in an attempt to rescue the IRA men held there before they were executed. THe operation was not a success, however the condemned men were reprieved after a truce was agreed between the IRA and British forces in July 1921.
Belfast Brigade leader
In April 1922, McCorley became leader of the IRA Belfast Brigade after Joe McKelvey went south to Dublin to join other IRA members who were against the Anglo Irish Treaty. The Anglo-Irish Treaty (An Conradh Angla-Éireannach officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a Treaty McCorley for his part, supported the Treaty, despite the fact that it provided for the partition of Ireland and the continued British rule in Northern Ireland. The reason for this was that Michael Collins and Eoin O'Duffy had assured him that this was only a tactical move and indeed, Collins sent men, money and weapons to the IRA in the North throughout 1922. Michael John ("Mick" Collins (Mícheál Seán Ó Coileáin 16 October 1890 &ndash 22 August 1922 was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Eoin O'Duffy (Eoin Ó Dubhthaigh 20 October 1892 – 30 November 1944 was in succession a Teachta Dála (TD the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army
However, McCorley's command saw the collapse of the Belfast IRA. In May 1922, the IRA launched an offensive in the North, with attacks all across Northern Ireland. In Belfast, McCorley carried out an assault on Musgrave street RIC barracks. He also conducted an arson campaign on businesses in Belfast. His men also carried out a number of assassiantions, including that of unionist MP William Twaddell, which caused the internment of over 200 Belfast IRA men. William John Twaddell (1884 &ndash 22 May 1922) was a Unionist politician from Belfast. Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial
Civil War
To escape from the subsequent repression, MCorley and over 900 Northern IRA men fled south, to the Irish Free State, where they were housed in the Curragh. The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by The Curragh ( Irish An Currach is a flat open Plain of almost 5000 acres (20 km² of common land in County Kildare McCorley was put in command of these men. In June 1922, the Irish Civil War broke out between Pro and Anti-Treaty elements of the IRA. The Irish Civil War ( June 28 1922 &ndash May 24 1923) pitted supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty against its opponents McCorley took the side of the Free State and Michael Collins. After Michael Collins was killed in August 1922, McCorley's men were stood down. About 300 of them joined the Free State Army and were sent to county Kerry to put down anti-Treaty guerrillas there. The Irish Army ( Arm na hÉireann) is the main branch of the Irish Defence Forces ( Óglaigh na hÉireann) County Kerry ( Contae Chiarraí in Irish) is a southwestern county of Ireland. In the Spring of 1923, McCorley, bitterly disillusioned by the brutal counter-insurgency against fellow republicans, resigned his command. He recalled he was, 'fed up', with the civil war.
He later asserted that he 'hated the Treaty' and only supported it because it allowed Ireland to have its own armed forces.
Coras na Poblachta
In the 1940s, McCorley was a founding member of Córas na Poblachta, a political party which aspired to a United Ireland and economic independence from Britain. Córas na Poblachta n̪ˠə pʷɔbʷłəxt̪ˠə ( Republican Plan in English) was a minor Irish republican political party founded in 1940 A United Ireland is the term used to refer to a sovereign state encompassing the whole of the island of Ireland. CnaP also took a pro-fascist line during the Second World War. Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
Sources
- Robert Lynch, The Northern IRA and the Early Years of Partition, Irish Academic Press, Dublin 2006.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic