Wicklow and the War of Independance

Page 144

WICKLOW COUNTY

WICKLOW COUNT Y

– John Finlay

Wicklow through the War of Independence An insight into Wicklow town and environs as seen through the eyes of the local newspapers of the time, namely the Wicklow People and the Wicklow NewsLetter, with additional information from the records of Wicklow Urban Council and Wicklow Harbour Board.

1919 The aftermath of Sinn Féin’s election victory There were three candidates for the East Wicklow constituency in the General Election of 1918: D. J. Cogan (Home Rule Party), Alexander Parker Keane (Unionist) and Seán T. Etchingham (Sinn Féin). Polling day was 14 December, and on that day the Wicklow People carried a large front-page advertisement for Etchingham with the slogan, ‘VOTE FOR ETCHINGHAM AND FREEDOM.’ When the election results were announced, after Christmas, Sinn Féin had won sweeping victories throughout the country. In the Wicklow constituencies, Seán Etchingham had been returned for Wicklow East while Robert Barton had won the seat in Wicklow West. As 1919 dawned, the results of the General Election were on everyone’s lips with the drastic changes that must ensue. The editorial in the Wicklow News-Letter of 4 January began: ‘There are few amongst us who will be disposed to shed copious tears over the passing of the old year’, and it continued with a long discourse on the Great War but made no mention whatsoever of Ireland’s problems. On the other hand, the Wicklow People published the same day read thus: The result of the General Election is basically that the coalition with Mr. Lloyd George at its head, has been returned in England. In Ireland, as was expected, Sinn Féin has been victorious. The Irish Party (Home Rule) has practically disappeared, 73 Sinn Féin … and only 6 members of the Irish Party have been returned. This means

143


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

INDEX

17min
pages 246-254

Researching Wicklow County Archives: The Barton Collection — Catherine Wright

3min
pages 242-245

‘Under the stairs’: Extracts from the diary of Sheelah O’Grady — Stan O’Reilly

12min
pages 234-241

Restricting motoring in Ireland 1918–21 — James Scannell

2min
pages 224-225

William O’Grady: Wicklow revolutionary republican — Stan O’Reilly

11min
pages 226-233

Robert Barton: Wicklow revolutionary and statesman — Chris Lawlor

12min
pages 204-211

The War of Independence in Wicklow: Two killings revisited — Brendan Flynn

7min
pages 188-191

Rosemary Raughter

22min
pages 212-223

Wicklow through the War of Independence — John Finlay

1hr
pages 144-177

The War of Independence in Wicklow: The war against the police — Brendan Flynn

14min
pages 178-187

Rosemary Raughter

9min
pages 136-143

Witness Statements — Rosemary Raughter

12min
pages 128-135

Enniskerry 1916–22 — Brian White

5min
pages 124-127

Chris Lawlor

13min
pages 116-123

Chris Lawlor

13min
pages 108-115

Chris Lawlor

13min
pages 98-107

Independence — Kevin Lee

10min
pages 90-97

Two weeks in Bray, Easter 1919 — James Scannell

18min
pages 70-83

The assassination of Coollattin land agent, Frank Brooke, 30 July 1920 — Kevin Lee

9min
pages 84-89

Truce to Civil War in Bray — Henry Cairns

10min
pages 62-69

Sheila Clarke

8min
pages 44-49

Bray at war 1920–21 — Henry Cairns

17min
pages 50-61

Conflict continues: 1921 — Jim Rees

17min
pages 34-43

‘Whole time engaged’: July to December 1920 — Jim Rees

14min
pages 26-33

AUTHORS

4min
pages 6-9

FOREWORD

1min
pages 10-11

Preparing for war: 1918–19 — Jim Rees

9min
pages 12-17

The war escalates: January to June 1920 — Jim Rees

13min
pages 18-25
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.