It is often forgotten today that the birth pangs of the new Irish State, then called the Irish Free State, were tortuous and painful. The anti-Treaty IRA had been militarily defeated but many dissident republicans did not recognise the legitimacy of that state. They considered the new government to be traitors to the cause, who had been duped by the wiles of the British, despite the election of June 16th, 1922 returning a huge majority of pro-Treaty TDs. The anti-Treaty IRA considered themselves the lawful government of Ireland and were determined to fight on until the ‘fourth green field’ was liberated.
To face down this threat, into the ‘Bearna Baoil’ stepped a tough squad of young detectives. Former pro-Treaty men, many of whom had served in Michael Collins’ ‘Squad’ and in the Dublin Brigade of the IRA during the War of Independence, they quickly gained a fearsome reputation from the republicans who hated them with a passion. Originally known as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), they were established by Michael Collins in August 1922 and were originally based in Oriel House at the corner of Westland Row and Fenian Street in Dublin. The tactics of Oriel House were often both crude and illegal but they were nevertheless ruthlessly effective when the government struggled to control a fledgling country.
Officially known as the Special Detective Unit, they came to be known informally as the Special Branch. Their robust approach led to several investigations of the branch throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, including into the shootings of British soldiers on shore leave in Cobh in 1924, concerted attacks on Garda stations throughout the country in 1926 resulting in the murders of two unarmed uniformed gardaí, and the assassination of justice minister Kevin O’Higgins in July 1927. However, in several cases where the courts made adverse findings against detectives the government stood by their men and even paid the awards made against them along with their legal expenses.
The arrival of Fianna Fáil under Eamon de Valera in 1932 was a grim time for the Special Branch, as many Fianna Fáil TDs were former anti-Treaty IRA men who had fallen foul of the Special Branch. De Valera’s attempts to appease republicans and guide them away from the path of violence resulted in the repeal of emergency legislation, all IRA prisoners being released from jail and a major purge of Special Branch. First to go was their chief superintendent David Neligan who was banished to an office job in the civil service.
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While the government had originally planned to abolish the Special Branch completely, the failure of de Valera’s conciliatory approach and the increasing militancy of a resurgent IRA soon led to a change of heart. This led to the swift injection of over 300 former pro-Treaty IRA men into Special Branch, who were quickly christened “The Broy Harriers” (after a pack of hounds known as “The Bray Harriers”).
However, it was the outbreak of the second World War in September 1939 that would present the government and the Special Branch with their biggest challenge to date. The IRA were elated that Britain was once again engulfed in war and expected that German help would again be forthcoming (as had happened in 1916), but de Valera’s government had decided on a strict policy of neutrality and were determined that the IRA would not give either the British or the Germans an excuse to invade the country.
In December 1938, the IRA Army Council proclaimed themselves the legitimate government of Ireland with the right to wage war in the name of the Republic and presented the British with an ultimatum to withdraw their forces from Ireland. When this was ignored, the ill-fated bombing campaign in UK cities began. Back at home, the government introduced draconian legislation which provided the legal framework for ruthlessly suppressing the IRA. With additional numbers, new leadership and Gerard Boland appointed as a no-nonsense minister for justice, the Special Branch was primed for the situation. Their very first raid on a house in Rathmines Park in Dublin resulted in the discovery of most of the IRA Army Council who were promptly jailed, along with roughly 50 others around the country.
But that setback didn’t stop the IRA from carrying out an audacious raid on the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park in Dublin in December 1939, making off with over one million rounds of the Army’s stock of ammunition in 13 lorries. Yet within weeks, detectives and troops recovered more ammunition than had been stolen in the first place, with 10 of the raiders and scores of others were arrested around the country and interned without trial.
By the end of the war years the Special Branch could look back at their successes with some satisfaction, though six of them had paid with their lives. The IRA threat had been completely vanquished – six of them were executed between 1939 and 1946, three others were shot dead by the Special Branch while hundreds of others had been jailed or interned without trial. Gerald Boland paid them this tribute: “I want to say that that particular branch of the Garda Síochána was responsible for preventing subversive elements in this country from dragging us into the late war. Had it not been for the service given by that branch this country would have found itself in a very precarious position indeed.”
Gerard Lovett is a retired member of the Garda Special Branch and author of the book, Ireland’s Special Branch: The inside story of their battle with the IRA, 1922-1947
