Based in the Óglaigh na hÉireann Military Archives in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin is the repository of the Bureau of Military History (BMH) 1913-1921.
The BMH is a treasure trove of 1,773 witness statements, 334 sets of contemporary documents and 42 sets of photographs relating to the revolutionary period in Ireland between 1913 and 1921.
"Although varying widely in terms of accuracy, detail and interest, its 36,000 pages of evidence form one of the richest oral history archives devoted to any modern revolution."
Established in January 1947 by Oscar Traynor TD, then Minister for Defence and former Captain in the Irish Volunteers, to give individuals who played an active part in the events which brought about Irish Independence, a chance to record their own experiences. Those who took part included members of groups such as the Irish Volunteers and subsequently the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Cumann na mBan, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), Sinn Féin, the Irish Citizen Army, and relatives of deceased not associated with any organisation. The objective was ‘to assemble and co-ordinate material to form the basis for the compilation of the history of the movement for Independence from the formation of the Irish Volunteers on 25 November 1913 to the Truce of 11 July 1921. The Treaty negotiations and the Civil War were excluded from the Bureau’s remit, a pragmatic decision given its ambition to secure cooperation from veterans on both sides of the Civil War divide.
This material was collected by the State between 1947 and 1957 when BMH staff, including army officers, civil servants and interviewing officers (including Diarmuid Lynch), travelled throughout Ireland interviewing survivors of the period. In some cases these were written by the witnesses, but more frequently they were based on their oral testimony and composed into coherent statements by the investigators before being approved and signed by witnesses.
By 1957 when the project was concluded due to financial restraints, 1,773 witness statements totalling 35,000 pages, 334 sets of contemporary documents, 42 photographs, 12 voice recordings, 210 photographs of action sites of Easter Week, and a collection of press cuttings had been collected.
In March 1959, the collected witness statements were archived and placed in 83 steel boxes, together with 66 annexes to witness statements, 54 collections of records of people who did not contribute statements, 178 collections of press cuttings, 12 voice recordings, 246 photographs and 322 bundles of original documents. The archive was then locked in the strongroom in Government Buildings, not to be released to researchers and the general public until after the death of the last recipient of the military-service pension that had testified to the Bureau.
In 2003, the archives were opened to public access and in 2012 the majority of these were made available online.
These records include a photo series consists of 400 photographs, many of which are instantly recognisable images of the period such as the arrest in 1913 of a disguised Jim Larkin and Countess Markievicz in I.C.A. uniform, as well as less familiar images. Letters, memos, rare publications, pamphlets, drill manuals and posters feature among the 2,500 contemporary documents in the collection. By clicking on any one of the 12 embedded voice recordings on the BMH website, you can hear figures from Irish history, including Maud Gonne McBride and Kathleen Clarke, tell their stories in their own words.
The centrepiece of the collection is without doubt the 1,773 witness statements. These engrossing first-person accounts give fascinating insights into the early 20th century revolutionary period in Ireland.
"The statements certainly vary widely in terms of style, content and plausibility. Some are egocentric, self-serving or otherwise unconvincing in tone. Others seek to shift blame, justify actions or settle scores. Some recall events or conversations in implausible detail. A few are literary constructs, fashioned from previously published accounts. Politicians, inevitably, have bequeathed some of the most interesting but slippery accounts: figures such as Ernest Blythe and Bulmer Hobson were not so much recording their recollections of the past as making appeals to posterity. The vast bulk of the Bureau’s statements, however, are measured accounts that convey an air of authenticity. They record the testimony of relatively unknown veterans who believed in the importance of recording the minor role they played in an event that they regarded as the most important of their lives. They make no great claims as to the wider significance of their actions and are characterised by modesty rather than vanity or self-interest. A few record doubts and regrets about past actions."
Fearghal McGarry. Lecturer in History, Queen’s University, Belfast. History Ireland 2012. Full article here
The BMH is a treasure trove of 1,773 witness statements, 334 sets of contemporary documents and 42 sets of photographs relating to the revolutionary period in Ireland between 1913 and 1921.
"Although varying widely in terms of accuracy, detail and interest, its 36,000 pages of evidence form one of the richest oral history archives devoted to any modern revolution."
Established in January 1947 by Oscar Traynor TD, then Minister for Defence and former Captain in the Irish Volunteers, to give individuals who played an active part in the events which brought about Irish Independence, a chance to record their own experiences. Those who took part included members of groups such as the Irish Volunteers and subsequently the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Cumann na mBan, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), Sinn Féin, the Irish Citizen Army, and relatives of deceased not associated with any organisation. The objective was ‘to assemble and co-ordinate material to form the basis for the compilation of the history of the movement for Independence from the formation of the Irish Volunteers on 25 November 1913 to the Truce of 11 July 1921. The Treaty negotiations and the Civil War were excluded from the Bureau’s remit, a pragmatic decision given its ambition to secure cooperation from veterans on both sides of the Civil War divide.
This material was collected by the State between 1947 and 1957 when BMH staff, including army officers, civil servants and interviewing officers (including Diarmuid Lynch), travelled throughout Ireland interviewing survivors of the period. In some cases these were written by the witnesses, but more frequently they were based on their oral testimony and composed into coherent statements by the investigators before being approved and signed by witnesses.
By 1957 when the project was concluded due to financial restraints, 1,773 witness statements totalling 35,000 pages, 334 sets of contemporary documents, 42 photographs, 12 voice recordings, 210 photographs of action sites of Easter Week, and a collection of press cuttings had been collected.
In March 1959, the collected witness statements were archived and placed in 83 steel boxes, together with 66 annexes to witness statements, 54 collections of records of people who did not contribute statements, 178 collections of press cuttings, 12 voice recordings, 246 photographs and 322 bundles of original documents. The archive was then locked in the strongroom in Government Buildings, not to be released to researchers and the general public until after the death of the last recipient of the military-service pension that had testified to the Bureau.
In 2003, the archives were opened to public access and in 2012 the majority of these were made available online.
These records include a photo series consists of 400 photographs, many of which are instantly recognisable images of the period such as the arrest in 1913 of a disguised Jim Larkin and Countess Markievicz in I.C.A. uniform, as well as less familiar images. Letters, memos, rare publications, pamphlets, drill manuals and posters feature among the 2,500 contemporary documents in the collection. By clicking on any one of the 12 embedded voice recordings on the BMH website, you can hear figures from Irish history, including Maud Gonne McBride and Kathleen Clarke, tell their stories in their own words.
The centrepiece of the collection is without doubt the 1,773 witness statements. These engrossing first-person accounts give fascinating insights into the early 20th century revolutionary period in Ireland.
"The statements certainly vary widely in terms of style, content and plausibility. Some are egocentric, self-serving or otherwise unconvincing in tone. Others seek to shift blame, justify actions or settle scores. Some recall events or conversations in implausible detail. A few are literary constructs, fashioned from previously published accounts. Politicians, inevitably, have bequeathed some of the most interesting but slippery accounts: figures such as Ernest Blythe and Bulmer Hobson were not so much recording their recollections of the past as making appeals to posterity. The vast bulk of the Bureau’s statements, however, are measured accounts that convey an air of authenticity. They record the testimony of relatively unknown veterans who believed in the importance of recording the minor role they played in an event that they regarded as the most important of their lives. They make no great claims as to the wider significance of their actions and are characterised by modesty rather than vanity or self-interest. A few record doubts and regrets about past actions."
Fearghal McGarry. Lecturer in History, Queen’s University, Belfast. History Ireland 2012. Full article here
These statements were lodged with the Bureau of Military History: 1947-50.
Click on a document title to download relevant PDF copy
Document WS0004
The IRB - some recollections & comments 1908-1918. Distribution of the Casement Pamphlet 1915. Supplementary Statement on Easter Week 1916 & cover letter from Diarmuid Lynch to Maj. Forrie O'Donoghue. 35 pages of close type foolscap pages dated 25 March, 1947 and lodged 25 April 1947 with the Bureau of Military History.
Document WS0120
The National Flag 1916. 8 pages, typed. Recollections on the national flag, observations on flags hoisted during the Easter Rising in Dublin and over which buildings. 30 December 1948. Includes a letter to Theo Fitzgerald dated 03 February 1948 (no reply received)
Document WS0121
Pearse's talk to "G" Company, 2nd Battalion, Irish Volunteers, Dublin on February 6, 1916. Two page typed letter to Maj Florrie O'Donogue, BMH dated 30 Dec 1947.
Document WS0364
One page letter signed by Diarmuid Lynch, February 13, 1950. Confirming that Piaras Beaslaí and Seamus O'Connor were members of the original Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers, that both had attended the preliminary meeting of the Volunteers in October 1913 and both had signed the Irish Volunteers Manifesto of 24 September 1914.
Document WS0651
The Countermanding Orders of Holy Week, 1916 (printers proof 1947).
This was an article written by Diarmuid Lynch early in 1945 for a planned publication in the April 1945 edition of the Irish Defence Forces magazine, An Cosantoir. Suggested by Major Florrie O'Donoghue, Lynch wrote from his personal observations & experience on MacNeill's countermanding orders made on Easter Sunday, 1916 and submitted a draft to Colonel Bryan, Editor of the magazine. In March 1945, O'Donoghue wrote to Colonel Bryan on Lynch's article:
The IRB - some recollections & comments 1908-1918. Distribution of the Casement Pamphlet 1915. Supplementary Statement on Easter Week 1916 & cover letter from Diarmuid Lynch to Maj. Forrie O'Donoghue. 35 pages of close type foolscap pages dated 25 March, 1947 and lodged 25 April 1947 with the Bureau of Military History.
Document WS0120
The National Flag 1916. 8 pages, typed. Recollections on the national flag, observations on flags hoisted during the Easter Rising in Dublin and over which buildings. 30 December 1948. Includes a letter to Theo Fitzgerald dated 03 February 1948 (no reply received)
Document WS0121
Pearse's talk to "G" Company, 2nd Battalion, Irish Volunteers, Dublin on February 6, 1916. Two page typed letter to Maj Florrie O'Donogue, BMH dated 30 Dec 1947.
Document WS0364
One page letter signed by Diarmuid Lynch, February 13, 1950. Confirming that Piaras Beaslaí and Seamus O'Connor were members of the original Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers, that both had attended the preliminary meeting of the Volunteers in October 1913 and both had signed the Irish Volunteers Manifesto of 24 September 1914.
Document WS0651
The Countermanding Orders of Holy Week, 1916 (printers proof 1947).
This was an article written by Diarmuid Lynch early in 1945 for a planned publication in the April 1945 edition of the Irish Defence Forces magazine, An Cosantoir. Suggested by Major Florrie O'Donoghue, Lynch wrote from his personal observations & experience on MacNeill's countermanding orders made on Easter Sunday, 1916 and submitted a draft to Colonel Bryan, Editor of the magazine. In March 1945, O'Donoghue wrote to Colonel Bryan on Lynch's article:
"The one further point I wish to make to yourself personally is that if it is published you would consider the possibility of sending him a cheque for it. he did not suggest anything of the sort to me and would be offended if he thought that I mentioned it..." |
Lynch's article referenced Bulmer Hobson, a fellow member of the Supreme Council of the IRB prior to the Rising and one of the founding organisers of the Irish Volunteers. With a strict Quaker upbringing, Hobson had made clear his opposition to any armed insurrection and so was not privy to any of the Easter 1916 planning. However, when he subsequently became aware of the Rising, timed for Easter Sunday, he alerted MacNeill and the countermanding order was issued, which kept most of the Irish Volunteers from participating in and delaying the Rising by 24 hours. Within hours, Hobson was taken and held under house arrest to prevent any further leaks until the Rising was underway, later on Easter Monday. After the Rising, Hobson went to MacNeil's home of Woodtown Park to avoid arrest, an action which hurt his future political prospects and led to rumours that he was a traitor to the Volunteers and the IRB.
At the time of the planned article by the Defence Forces magazine, Hobson held a civil service post as Chief of the Revenue Commissioners Stamp Department. Colonel Bryan as Editor of An Cosantoir, submitted a printer's proof of Lynch's article to Hobson for comment, who quickly disputed the account and replied that "statements about myself and about certain other matters just do not happen to be true". In view of the differences of opinion, circumstances and political sensitivities of the time, the Editor decided to postpone publication of the article. In a letter to Diarmuid Lynch, Colonel Bryan explained further:
At the time of the planned article by the Defence Forces magazine, Hobson held a civil service post as Chief of the Revenue Commissioners Stamp Department. Colonel Bryan as Editor of An Cosantoir, submitted a printer's proof of Lynch's article to Hobson for comment, who quickly disputed the account and replied that "statements about myself and about certain other matters just do not happen to be true". In view of the differences of opinion, circumstances and political sensitivities of the time, the Editor decided to postpone publication of the article. In a letter to Diarmuid Lynch, Colonel Bryan explained further:
It was thought undesirable that this article should be published in a semi-official journal at the present time, because it may start a large scale controversy on a matter of historical importance and a certain gentleman referred to is now a civil servant and thereby precluding from replying at present. |
A few weeks later, on 6 April 1945, a clearly annoyed Lynch wrote to O'Donoghue on the editorial decision not to print his article on the MacNeill Coutermanding Orders:
The suggested possibility of a controversy incites me to seek publication in some other medium later on. If ground for controversy there be, better it should come out in the open while some of us who were in touch with developments are alive to meet it. |
Colonel Bryan, no doubt anxious to get the potentially problematic article off his desk, forwarded copies of it together with Mr. Hobson's original letter to the Bureau of Military History for archiving. This effectively hermetically sealed the issue for over fifty years. The article was never published by An Cosantoir. Bulmer Hobson's handwritten letter is here.
Hobson was quite forthright in his comments following retirement from the public service. In 1947, he criticised the Rising and its leader saying the military council had "no plans.....which could seriously be called military" and that the Rising consisted of "locking a body of men up in two or three buildings to stay there until they were shot or burned out."
Hobson was quite forthright in his comments following retirement from the public service. In 1947, he criticised the Rising and its leader saying the military council had "no plans.....which could seriously be called military" and that the Rising consisted of "locking a body of men up in two or three buildings to stay there until they were shot or burned out."
There are over a hundred references to Diarmuid Lynch and his activities during the revolutionary period in other depositions & statements by participants. Of particular interest was his marriage to Kathleen Quinn in April 1918.
The Dundalk Jail Marriage, 24 April 1918
Jailed in Dundalk following actions as the Sinn Fein Food Controller, Lynch as a US citizen was liable to deportation back to the United States. Naturally, he wished to marry his fiancee Kathleen so that she could travel with him to the US as his wife (as she would not be allowed to do so during war-time restrictions from Britain). However when he applied for permission to the governor of the gaol, his request was denied. Undeterred and with a little help from the local Cumann na mBan and the Dundalk IRA grapevine, a secret marriage was organised to take place on the 2nd anniversary of the Easter Rising.
Three visitors were allowed visit Lynch at a few minutes before noon on 24 April 1918, Kathleen Quinn and her sister Carmel and in mufti, Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM. While the supervising warder was distracted in conversation by fellow prisoner Frank Henderson. Fr Travers married Diarmuid & Kathleen while Michael Brennan, another prisoner, and the bride's sister Carmel, acted as witnesses.
There were huge celebrations in the town and a wedding reception was held in one of the town's hotels. The groom celebrated with fellow prisoners in Dundalk Gaol with the help of some Guinness which had arrived in from some mysterious source.
Lynch was removed from Dundalk Gaol the following day and placed on a train to Amiens St station, Dublin on the first part of the deportation to New York via Liverpool. Who should also be on the train but his wife and sister-in-law who 'happened' to be travelling back to Dublin by same train.
The couple were met by a crowd of well-wishers at the train station in Dublin which included Harry Boland, Michael Collins and Éamon De Valera. When Lynch and his escorts were loaded into the Black Maria, Kathleen and Michael Collins were allowed travel to the Bridewell with him. As the Black Maria pulled off, De Valera apparently roared: “Diarmuid you have set a new style in weddings by taking your bride to the Bridewell!”
Bureau of Military History statements on Lynch's marriage to Kathleen Quinn in Dundalk Jail, April 1918:
Document WS0510 - Frank Thornton, 1951
Document WS0939 - Ernest Blyth, 1954
Document WS1068 - Lt. Gen Michael Brennan, 1955
Document WS0821 - Frank Henderson, 1953
Document WS0353 - James McGuill, 1950
For more detail on the Jail Marriage - click here & scroll down to April, 1918.
The Dundalk Jail Marriage, 24 April 1918
Jailed in Dundalk following actions as the Sinn Fein Food Controller, Lynch as a US citizen was liable to deportation back to the United States. Naturally, he wished to marry his fiancee Kathleen so that she could travel with him to the US as his wife (as she would not be allowed to do so during war-time restrictions from Britain). However when he applied for permission to the governor of the gaol, his request was denied. Undeterred and with a little help from the local Cumann na mBan and the Dundalk IRA grapevine, a secret marriage was organised to take place on the 2nd anniversary of the Easter Rising.
Three visitors were allowed visit Lynch at a few minutes before noon on 24 April 1918, Kathleen Quinn and her sister Carmel and in mufti, Fr. Aloysius Travers OFM. While the supervising warder was distracted in conversation by fellow prisoner Frank Henderson. Fr Travers married Diarmuid & Kathleen while Michael Brennan, another prisoner, and the bride's sister Carmel, acted as witnesses.
There were huge celebrations in the town and a wedding reception was held in one of the town's hotels. The groom celebrated with fellow prisoners in Dundalk Gaol with the help of some Guinness which had arrived in from some mysterious source.
Lynch was removed from Dundalk Gaol the following day and placed on a train to Amiens St station, Dublin on the first part of the deportation to New York via Liverpool. Who should also be on the train but his wife and sister-in-law who 'happened' to be travelling back to Dublin by same train.
The couple were met by a crowd of well-wishers at the train station in Dublin which included Harry Boland, Michael Collins and Éamon De Valera. When Lynch and his escorts were loaded into the Black Maria, Kathleen and Michael Collins were allowed travel to the Bridewell with him. As the Black Maria pulled off, De Valera apparently roared: “Diarmuid you have set a new style in weddings by taking your bride to the Bridewell!”
Bureau of Military History statements on Lynch's marriage to Kathleen Quinn in Dundalk Jail, April 1918:
Document WS0510 - Frank Thornton, 1951
Document WS0939 - Ernest Blyth, 1954
Document WS1068 - Lt. Gen Michael Brennan, 1955
Document WS0821 - Frank Henderson, 1953
Document WS0353 - James McGuill, 1950
For more detail on the Jail Marriage - click here & scroll down to April, 1918.
While Diarmuid was the most prominent participant of the Lynch brothers of Granig, Tracton in the revolutionary period, Michael Francis Lynch, the youngest at 25, did take part in activities in Cork between 1913-1920.
As the IRB Centre in Tracton, Co. Cork, he also formed the Tracton Company of the Irish Volunteers and was a member of the Cork Irish Volunteers. Michael contributed one statement to the BMH in October 1947: Document WS0035 Michael was among seven in Tracton (including his brother Timothy) who were arrested in the nationwide British military sweep of Irish Republicans following the Rising in May 1916, and were imprisoned in Frongoch, North Wales without trial. Timothy was imprisoned for a number of weeks until it was established by the military authorities that there was no conclusive evidence to hold him and was released in June 1916. Michael, however was held in Frongoch until the Christmas amnesty in December 1916. Note: There were two Michael Lynch's involved in the Rising and imprisoned in Frongoch. The second Michael Lynch was a Dubliner & OC Fingal Brigade IRA. To avoid confusion from 1913, Michael Francis Lynch tended to use his second name to differentiate the volunteers. Michael was later jailed again for republican activities in 1918. |
Below: In the Military Archives 'Explore Our History, and Yours' cover page, Diarmuid Lynch (circled) and other jailed participants in the 1916 Rising following release from British prisons - 1917.