A Derry collector has uncovered a number of letters which give a new insight into the formal liaison between the IRA and RIC during the Irish War of Independence Truce in 1921.
The letters, which were found by Frankie McMenamin, highlight the tensions between the RIC, the Special Constabulary and the IRA during the Truce. The correspondence focuses on counties Derry and Tyrone following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921.
Mr McMenamin discovered the correspondence in a cluster of historical documents which were recently passed on to him by a colleague in the Irish collector community.
“A liaison system was set up to ensure the War of Independence ceasefire wouldn’t be inadvertently or deliberately broken and the letters appear to relate to this,” he said.
One of the letters to the “chief liaison officer” based at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin details a major raid by the RIC and Special Constabulary at Glenelly in Co Tyrone. The unsigned letter – sent in the name of the “commandant general” – describes a police raid in December 1921 at Cranagh Hall in Glenelly.
The hall was being used by the IRA to hold 15 “prisoner-ringleaders of a robber gang”. The writer said the volunteer guard and the prisoners were fired on as they fled the hall.
“The men of the guard who possessed arms replied. After being pursued for a considerable distance, 13 of the prisoners surrendered and eventually two of the guard were captured with one Colt revolver and one Lee Enfield rifle.
“A little later the Brigade Q/M, James Curran and a volunteer and young chap not a volunteer were arrested. They were in possession of a shot gun, a Peter Painter (Mauser pistol) and a Colt Revolver.”
The correspondent said all of the IRA’s cooking utensils and food were destroyed while £46 worth of army blankets was also taken by the RIC. The writer said the “enemy version” was that police raided an IRA training camp.
“For a considerable time past, a gang of 35 men has been engaged in an [sic] campaign of robbery and terrorism in Feeney district Co Derry. The enemy police never made an attempt to have any of them arrested. More than that, the local people believe that the police connived with them,” the writer said.
The alleged thieves were arrested by the “O/C No. 4 Brigade” and held at Cranagh Hall.
In his response to the liaison officer, the County Inspector said the IRA did not have a legal right to arrest the men one of whom had “the honour of holding a commission in his majesty’s army.”
The County Inspector also raised another Truce incident in which a special constable discharged a weapon in “Mr Dougan’s public house in Draperstown.” He pledged that disciplinary action would be taken.
Mr McMenamin said the letters provided a “fascinating” insight to daily life at the time.
“These letters are invaluable in revealing the reality of life in Derry and Tyrone more than 100 years ago,” he said.
