Turning the tables on ‘patriotic’ freedom fighters

PATRIOTISM was far removed from the minds of some members of the Old IRA, suggests the author of a controversial new book.

Teacher Sinead Joy has cast a cold eye on a long-held romantic image surrounding the so-called freedom fighters.

Her book has been researched extensively, and includes interviews with several IRA veterans.

The 29-year-old Kerry woman said: “I started out with a very idealistic view, but then I began to come across allegations against members of the volunteers.

“I found that while many of them fulfilled the idealistic image, there were also fellows who were out for themselves,” she said.

Her book, The IRA in Kerry 1916-1921, turns the tables on the widespread perception that all the fighting men were motivated only by patriotic ideals, and were prepared to lay down their lives for Irish freedom.

Adopting a more objective approach about the armed struggle in the lead up to independence, the book contrasts sharply with views portrayed in print by some of those that took part.

Generations removed from that era, Ms Joy’s initial research focused on what drove the independence campaign.

“We’ve generally been led to believe that it was all very clear-cut, the good guys being the IRA and the bad guys being the British but it’s not as simple as that.

“Nor was the attainment of an Irish republic their sole reason for joining. Reasons were multi-faceted, including a sense of adventure, the avoidance of conscription and even ‘land grabbing’,” she suggested.

Ms Joy, from Cromane, also found that many IRA units were poorly organised, some were badly led and indisciplined and took part in ‘irregularities’ that included robbery.

An example, she said, was an auctioneering business in Castleisland signed over at gunpoint, while a man in Knocknagoshel had his pay taken from him to fund the IRA.

The UCC history graduate also highlights the bravery of volunteers.

She concludes that only for some small groups, at times acting independently of central command, very little would have been achieved.

These included people such as Tommy McEllistrim (later a long-serving Fianna Fáil deputy) and Johnny Connors, in the Tralee area.

“In short, the rebels of Kerry were an uncertain outfit. Those who made the most progress were often the risk-takers, fighting when they liked and for who they liked,” she wrote.

IRA veteran Dan Mulvihill claimed some volunteers were “nearly stone mad, half crazy and always playing tricks”.

* The IRA in Kerry 1916-1921, by Sinead Joy, is published by The Collins Press. €15.