Gianluca Boccia
Revisiting the murder that sparked Ireland's civil war
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| Dunne and O'Sullivan assassinate Sir Henry Wilson. Source: The Irish Times |
Author's note, 20/11/2023: The publication of McGreevy's "The Great Hatred" renders this article largely obsolete. The veracity of Ahern's statement, in particular, should be called into question. I recommend reading McGreevy's work as it delves into the matter with new evidence and commendable attention to detail.
The relevance of Wilson's death
The assassination of Sir Henry Wilson may be Ireland's greatest mystery. The former Field Marshal was shot dead in London by two ex-servicemen turned IRA volunteers, Reginald ‘Reggie’ Dunne and Joseph O'Sullivan, who had lost a leg at Ypres. Wilson's murder, a breach of the peace treaty, inevitably played into the hands of the British Government, providing a casus belli to the conservative MPs who had been calling for stern measures against the ‘Irregulars’. A furious Lloyd George wrote to Collins:
‘The ambiguous position of the Irish Republican Army can no longer be ignored by the British Government. [...] His Majesty's Government cannot consent to a continuation of this state of things and they feel entitled to ask you formally to bring it to an end forthwith.’ 1
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, General Nevil Macready was tasked with hatching a scheme for attacking the Four Courts, the Anti-Treaty IRA's HQ.2 This plan was eventually shelved, on the grounds that a full-scale assault in the capital would jeopardize the Treaty. However, the looming threat of a renewed war with Britain pressured the fledging Provisional Government into carrying out the offensive.
Much to his cabinet's frustration,3 Collins had been reluctant to take action against his former comrades: the mere prospect of fighting against fellow Republicans was anathema to him. Left with no choice, he issued an ultimatum demanding the evacuation of the Four Courts, but his appeal for unity fell on deaf ears. At his behest, the National Army shelled the stronghold with British artillery pieces; and the rest is history.
Wilson's death indirectly plunged the country into a bloody civil war. Whoever sanctioned the assassination bears a heavy responsibility for the conflict.
Numerous historians regard Collins as the prime suspect. This version has crept into Irish historiography despite the lack of a ‘smoking gun’. Coogan's otherwise brilliant biography of the Big Fellow barely touches upon the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson, and Collins is hastily convicted on circumstantial evidence. Yet even those who echo this conclusion are inclined to admit that Wilson's assassination is fundamentally at odds with Collins' pragmatic use of violence. Frank O'Connor stated that Collins' behaviour was ‘almost inexplicable’.4 How can this judgement be reconciled with the popular depiction of the Big Fellow as a calculating leader? Several explanations have been put forth. O'Connor described Collins as a ‘half demented’5 man under considerable strain. Could he have taken a gamble, underestimating the British Government's reaction? Perhaps, but this assertion should be supported by evidence.
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| Reginald Dunne and Joseph O'Sullivan. Source: An Phoblacht. |
The evidence
As stated above, the absence of reliable, conclusive evidence complicates this matter. Historians have used a number of testimonies to connect Collins with the Wilson affair. This version of events, however, has been contradicted by other witnesses. What are we to make of these conflicting accounts? In ‘The IRA at war’, the late Peter Hart thoroughly cross-examined the available evidence. His research into the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson is one of the most authoritative essays on the matter.
Before assessing the evidence, let us consider the three most accredited theories: the assassins may have acted on their own initiative; they may have been instructed to murder Wilson by Rory O'Connor, leader of Anti-Treaty faction; or they may have received the order (directly or indirectly) from Collins.
Suspicion immediately fell on the ‘Irregulars’, though Rory O'Connor's denial of involvement has since been accepted. The documents found in Dunne's possession were not as incriminating as initially believed, and an investigation conducted by the Special Branch did not uncover any conspiracy. The Home Secretary reported that ‘we have no evidence at all to connect them, so far as the murder is concerned, with any instructions from any organised body.’6 Unless the authorities deliberately covered up the inquiry's findings, it would appear as though the gunmen acted without an official order to murder Wilson. I do not believe that any evidence was withheld. Indeed, it could be argued that the Tallents report (which did omit relevant information) was just as damning as Collins' hypothetical involvement in the assassination. Even though the report was duly buried, Churchill and Lloyd George were almost certainly informed of Collins' infatuation with the Northern IRA. When it comes to Wilson's assassination, this does not seem to have been the case.
Is there any evidence to suggest that O'Connor was the instigator? Frank Martin, a Pro-Treaty IRA volunteer in the London IRA, claimed that O'Connor had sanctioned the murder so as to provoke a British response and reunite the IRA.
‘[Dunne] said it [the execution] had been decided upon by the Four Courts people, the calculation being that this would force a direct British attack on them, and that Portobello could not look on and see comrades attacked directly by the British, but would have to join with them [...]’7
This assertion is plausible, considering the aforementioned plan to attack the Four Courts. However, as Hart pointed out, Martin may not be a reliable source (it cannot be proved that he was an IRA volunteer), and his statement has not been corroborated by any other witness.8 Therefore, we must treat this as a mere conjecture.
Admittedly, there are more testimonies that implicate Collins in the affair - though they often contradict one another. As I believe that Hart's essay brilliantly exposed the factual flaws in each statement, I shall only elaborate on some of them.
It is often claimed that Collins instructed Dunne to shoot Wilson as he believed that the former Field-Marshal was fueling sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland. Upon hearing the news of the latest anti-Catholic pogrom, Collins shouted: ‘we'll kill a member of that bunch!’9 But Collins had a short temper and was prone to such outbursts of rage. On one occasion, he even contemplated kidnapping Woodrow Wilson, then President of the United States! ‘If necessary, we can buccaneer him,’ he said nonchalantly.10
This begs the question: was Collins guided by revenge? It is possible, yet unlikely, especially in the case of Henry Wilson. The assassination of Percival Lea-Wilson (who had mistreated Clarke and MacDermott) may have been motivated by a thirst for vengeance, even though Paddy O'Daly, one of the Squad's leaders, denied this accusation.11 Regardless of the true motive behind this particular execution, the concept of political utility of violence was uppermost in Collins' mind, and a blind act of retribution would not chime in with his pragmatism. It must also be noted that the two killings are not comparable for a multitude of reasons.
Collins did not rule out the targeting of politicians: in 1918 the Volunteer Executive unanimously approved12 Brugha's plan to assassinate the British cabinet, which was eventually abandoned as conscription was never introduced in Ireland. However, as the war progressed, Collins' support for such drastic actions decreased. The Big Fellow even blocked Brugha's attempt to resurrect this scheme.13 (Collins may have had reservations about the original plan as well, given his unwillingness to assist Brugha with the preparations).14
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| Sir Henry Wilson. Source: Alpha History. |
Sir Henry Wilson had been placed on an IRB hit-list in June 1921, but removed a month later when the Truce went into effect.15 Forester speculated that Collins might have renewed the order shortly before the assassination.16 This would vindicate witnesses such as Frank Thornton, who claimed that the order was official.17 However, little evidence was provided to support this allegation. Collins and Dunne probably discussed Wilson's execution in 1922, though what came of the meeting is unclear. According to Frank O'Connor, it was then that Collins ordered Dunne to liquidate the former Field Marshal.18 Bill Ahern, an Anti-Treaty IRA volunteer, recounted a completely different version of events:
‘I am certain that it was not authorised by Collins, because in Dublin a short time before Wilson was killed, I met Reggie Dunne, who was second-in-command of the London Brigade, coming down the Dublin quays to get the boat to London. He was looking very angry and I asked him what was the matter. He told me he'd come over to get permission from Collins to reactivate a pre-Treaty order to assassinate Wilson which had not been implemented. Collins told him on no account was he to undertake such a mission and had expressly forbidden him to to proceed with it.’19
This version is supported by P. S. O'Hegarty's statement:
‘For a long time Sam [Maguire] was mad to shoot Wilson, because of the Belfast pogroms, and every time he came over he pressed Mick for authority and Mick invariably refused. But Sam persisted. The last time he saw him they had high words about it and Mick lost his temper and flared up and said: ‘God Blast you! Get away to hell out of that and don't bother me, and do whatever you like!’ [...] Sam [...] never went near Mick again.’20
Maguire - who also met with Rory O'Connor - may have misinterpreted Collins' words and authorised the assassination. O'Hegarty's recollection of events resembles a ‘Greek tragedy’.
Joseph Dolan, a member of Collins' Squad, was less circumspect: ‘[It is] my firm belief that Collins did instruct Dunne to carry out the execution of Wilson.’21 According to Dolan, the fact that Collins had ordered him and Charlie Byrne to shoot Ellis and Willetts, the executioners who were due to hang the Derry prisoners, indicates that he would have been just as capable of sanctioning Wilson's murder.22 Dolan's argument is interesting, though it doesn't implicate Collins in the Wilson affair. Indeed, the killing of two Crown executioners (both of whom survived, as they had already departed for Ireland when the gunmen arrived) would not have been as outrageous as the killing of a personality such as Sir Henry Wilson. If anything, it proves that the Big Fellow went to great lengths to save his comrades, and that his attempts to have Dunne and O'Sullivan rescued do not necessarily reveal any conspiracy.
Dolan's testimony also raises another question: if Collins was willing to dispatch members of the Squad to England, why was Wilson's assassination carried out by two Londoners with no cover party? Granted, not every plan was executed by the Squad/ASU: the murder of Oswald Swanzy is a case in point. However, Collins tried to dissuade a young volunteer, Sean Culhane, from taking part, stressing that the job required experienced men.23 Clearly, then, he wanted to make sure that each operation was properly organised. Unless he gave Dunne carte blanche, it is unlikely that he was involved in the preparations.
Compared with the Squad's modus operandi, the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson was an amateurish, botched debacle. Ulick O'Connor argued that Dunne and O'Sullivan had originally set out to heckle Wilson.24 This might explain why no escape routes nor hideouts had been readied.25 Dunne allegedly confessed to his lawyer that the decision to shoot Wilson had been taken on the spot.26 This assertion, however, is contradicted not only by the fact that both men were armed, but also by Dunne's official (and presumably genuine) statement about the murder:
‘Joe went in a straight line while I determined to intercept him [Wilson] from entering the door. Joe deliberately levelled his weapon at four yards and fired twice. [...] I fired three shots rapidly, the last one from the hip, as I took a step forward.’27
We should also consider that, due to his wooden leg, O'Sullivan could only move at a snail's pace. Dunne may have managed to escape, but decided to loyally stand by his friend. Coogan claimed that O'Sullivan's involvement sheds light on the condition of the London IRA following the treaty split.28 Mackay echoed this conclusion.29 But are we really to believe that only two men could be found for the job? Even if this was the case, why didn't the assassins take more precautions?
Collins' reaction to the murder was ambivalent. Joseph Sweeney told Ernie O'Malley that Collins looked ‘very pleased’.30According to Sweeney, Collins also revealed that ‘our fellows’ or ‘our lads’ had committed the murder (this may simply mean that Dunne and O'Sullivan were part of the IRA/IRB).31 However, Emmet Dalton, who was arguably closer to the Big Fellow, claimed that ‘Collins was angry that the London IRA had taken an irresponsible attitude at this time.’32 My own hypothesis is that Collins the man approved of the act (he was no admirer of Wilson), but Collins the statesman understood the gravity of the situation.
Conclusions
Having examined the evidence, I cannot help but support Hart's conclusion. I do not believe that Collins instructed Dunne to assassinate Wilson in 1922. It is far more likely that Dunne and O'Sullivan acted on their own initiative, in the mistaken belief that ‘ridding the human world of a scourge’33 would prove beneficial to the Republican movement as a whole. Far from healing the rift in the IRA, the shocking assassination precipitated the civil war, pitting brother against brother in one of Ireland's bloodiest tragedies.
References
1 Lloyd George to Collins, n.d. [June 1922] (State Papers Office, Dublin, S1570).
2 Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins, (2015 edn.) pp. 374-375.
3 Anne Dolan and William Murphy, Michael Collins: the man and the revolution, p. 125.
4 Frank O'Connor, The Big Fellow: Michael Collins and the Irish revolution, (1979 edn.) p. 203.
5 Ibid.
6 Notes dictated by the Home Secretary, n.d. [Aug. 1922] (Lloyd George Papers, F/45/6/42).
7 Evening Press, 18 July 1958.
8 Peter Hart, The I.R.A. at war, (eBook edn.) p. 202.
9 O'Malley Notebooks, UCD archives, pp. 171 and 31.
10 Margery Forester, Michael Collins: the lost leader, (1989 edn.) p. 101.
12 Fergus O'Farrell, Cathal Brugha, p. 39.
13 Ibid. p. 67.
14 Pádraig Ó Caoimh, Richard Mulcahy: from the politics of war to the politics of peace, p. 47.
15 James Mackay, Michael Collins: a life, p. 261.
16 Forester, Collins, p. 317.
17 O'Malley Papers, P17b/100.
18 Frank O'Connor, The Big Fellow, p. 203.
19 Ulick O'Connor, Michael Collins and the Troubles, (2007 edn.) p. 195.
22 Ibid.
24 Ulick O'Connor, Collins, p.194.
25 Hart, I.R.A., p. 218.
26 Rex Taylor, Assassination: the death of Sir Henry Wilson and the Tragedy of Ireland, (1961) pp. 182-184.
28 Coogan, Collins, p. 373.
29 Mackay, Collins, p. 261.
30 O'Malley Papers, P17b/97.
31 Notes of conversation with Joseph Sweeney, 1962 and 1964 (Mulcahy Papers, P7D/43).
32 Meda Ryan, The Day Michael Collins Was Shot, (1989 edn.) p. 20.
33 Reginald Dunne quoted in Hart, I.R.A., p. 217.
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