July Irish Heritage event review
Written by Nicky Getgood on Friday, July 10th, 2009 ( Start discussion )
Tags: Birmingham Irish Club, Irish Heritage Group, michael walsh, peter duffy
‘Birmingham Irish Heritage Group Events uncover a broad sweep of Irish Heritage covering every interest and period.’ They do at that, and the last one seems to have been a gem I’m sorry to have missed. Here’s Chair Michael Walsh’s words on Peter Duffy’s talk about his colourful family history.
Amazing Personal Discovery
A personal journey by Peter Duffy uncovered a rare and amazing discovery. All was revealed by Peter Duffy in his talk at the July Event of the Birmingham Irish Heritage Group. The Heritage Event which commences at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each Month was back at its regular venue The Irish Club, High St, Deritend, Birmingham.
Peter’s journey from Birmingham was down a pathway of family history. A pathway with a difference for this one led to The Bureau of Military History in Ireland housed in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin. Amongst many interesting records held are personal statements collected from people not normally being written about? These were the foot soldiers that fought at “the sharp end” in the 1916 rising and the War of Independence in Ireland. These were the men and women who followed orders and risked all and who for everyone’s mutual protection knew nothing of the bigger picture.
You could have heard a pin drop as Peter described how going through the records he discovered a statement from a relative who had been at the “very sharp end” one Sunday morning. Not just any Sunday but Sunday 21st November 1920 in Dublin, known to history as Bloody Sunday. Regrettably it was followed years later by a second Bloody Sunday, the slaughter in Derry in1972. Strangely the British media never mentioned the first Bloody Sunday when dealing with the actions of the Parachute Regiment in Derry on Bloody Sunday ’72.
Peter’s relative had just followed orders, meeting his comrades at the appointed place after dodging the security forces to raid a house in Dublin. A house unknown to any, other than the commander of the group and perhaps his second I/c. Then after posting guards to prevent surprise by Black and Tans they entered, encounter their target, an English Intelligence Agent and shot him dead. Here it is perhaps useful to remember that many people involved in the horrifying violence of war, be it the first or second world wars or Independence Wars never speak about their experiences. Again and again their relatives will speak about him as being the quiet man, and Peter always saw his relative as the quiet man.
What Peter’s “Quiet Man” did not know on that morning but would have known later was that their target house, was not the only house being raided, there was another and another in all 14 British Intelligence Officers were shot dead. This was a very special operation mounted by IRA Intelligence commanded by Michael Collins. The 14 shot dead in one swoop in different parts of the City were known to IRA Intelligence as “The Cireo Gang”.
This is because they had been secretly brought in from the Middle East, thus being unknown to the IRA. They were not stationed in army or police barracks but secretly dispersed throughout Dublin, their mission being to decapitate the IRA by assassinating their leadership in one simulations swoop. Very possibly this would have dealt a death blow to the struggle for independence, clearly at the highest level the British thought so. Somehow IRA intelligence ferreted out information from the highest level, and struck first.
Later that Sunday the British military visited Croke Park during the normal football match and killed 13 spectators and one of the players on the pitch Michael Hogan captain of Tipperary. In February 2007 the English rugby team were invited to play Ireland at Croke Park for the first time since that visit on Bloody Sunday. The British media did not mention why the Hogan stand was so named, but our speaker Peter did in fairness state that the B B C later apologised for not telling the whole truth.
An amazing discovery shared with the large crowd at the Heritage Event that the speakers relative “The Quiet Man” should have risked all in such a rare vital and well known historical event. Birmingham Irish Heritage Group Events uncover a broad sweep of Irish Heritage covering every interest and period. The public are welcome free of charge at 7pm on the first Wednesday of each month, upstairs at the Irish Club, High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, followed by refreshments.
Michael Walsh, 9th July 2009
