Sir, – Your interesting supplement on Ireland in 1920 (June 4th) highlighted well the violence of that year. Perhaps, however, more attention could have been paid to those who bravely challenged such violence from their own side.
The Rev John Redmond was a 36th Ulster Division chaplain who ministered to the mortally wounded Capt Willie Redmond MP in his last hours at Messines in 1917. By 1920 he was vicar of St Patrick’s parish, Ballymacarrett, East Belfast.
When sectarian riots broke out in East Belfast on July 21st, 1920, Redmond went onto the Newtownards Road to stop Protestant rioters. He protected premises of local Catholics and organised bands of unarmed volunteers to prevent rioting and looting. At St Patrick’s Church on Sunday, July 25th, he denounced the previous days of “passion and lawlessness” and warned of the dangers of retaliation which led to counter-retaliation and “so the fires of evil keep spreading”.
Elizabeth and Irene Swanzy were the mother and sister of District Insp Oswald Swanzy, based in Lisburn in August 1920. He had been blamed, rightly or wrongly, for involvement in the murder by police of Cork lord mayor Tomás Mac Curtain in March 1920. On August 24th, after a church service, Swanzy was murdered by some Cork IRA members. In reaction local Protestants, assuming it to be the work of local men, attacked and burned the homes and premises of local Catholics, most of whom were forced to flee,
Elizabeth and Irene Swanzy were appalled by what had happened. They issued a statement which said that they grieved “beyond measure at the destruction and loss which has befallen Lisburn”. They wished, through the press, to say “how truly sorry they are that any person should have suffered any sorrow or loss on behalf of him”.
Bishop Daniel Cohalan was Catholic bishop of Cork. He strongly criticised state forces over the murder of Mac Curtain and the burning of Cork city. He was also a strong critic of the actions of the IRA.
In late December 1920, he issued a pastoral letter which referred to events in the diocese in the nine months after the murder of Mac Curtain, which he was certain had been in reprisal for the murder of RIC Constable Murtagh the same day by the IRA. He declared that “since then it has become like a devil’s competition in feats of murder and arson between members of the Volunteer organisation and the agents of the Crown”.
The bishop stated that “the killing of police was morally murder”. He warned that ambushes were criminal acts which exposed “a whole countryside, and perhaps a town or city, to the danger of reprisals” (a reference, no doubt, to the Kilmichael ambush and the consequent burning of Cork). He reiterated his decree of excommunication of December 12th of those in the Cork diocese guilty of the crimes of ambush, kidnapping and murder.
When we recall events of 1920, we should not forget the voices and actions of the brave individuals who regretted and challenged the violence coming from their own communities. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN M WALKER,
(Professor of Irish Studies,
Emeritus, Queen’s
University Belfast),
Ballylesson,
Co Down.