The Battle of Kilmallock took place between 25 July and 5 August 1922 in
County Limerick
"Remember Limerick"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Munster
, subdivision ...
, Ireland. It was one of the largest engagements of the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...
.
It consisted of ten days of fighting in the countryside round
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...
in County Limerick, in which
Irish Free State Army forces, advancing south from
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
city, found their path blocked by
anti-Treaty IRA
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...
troops, dug into a number of villages at
Bruff,
Bruree
Bruree () is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was ''Dún Eochair M ...
and
Patrickswell
Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick (), is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. It is primarily a commuter village for people working in Limerick, particularly the nearby industrial suburb of Raheen. The population was 847 at ...
. The fighting ended with the retreat of the anti-Treaty fighters and the occupation of Kilmallock by Free State forces.
Preparations
The prelude to the battle was the fall of Limerick city to Free State forces. The
Republican forces in the city under
Liam Deasy
Liam Deasy (6 May 1896 – 20 August 1974) was an Irish Republican Army officer who fought in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In the latter conflict, he was second-in-command of the Anti-Treaty forces for a period in ...
withdrew from their positions after a week's fighting and concentrated in Kilmallock and the nearby towns of
Bruff and
Bruree
Bruree () is a village in south-eastern County Limerick, Ireland, on the River Maigue. It takes its name from the nearby ancient royal fortress, the alternative name of which from the earliest times into the High Middle Ages was ''Dún Eochair M ...
. The Free State forces, advancing south from the city, found their path blocked by the Republicans dug in at the three hilltop towns.
The National Army's attempt to break through this position produced the only 'line battle' of the war with the two sides facing each other along clear front-lines. The Kilmallock-Bruff-Bruree triangle would see some of the war's most intense fighting.
Whereas in the fighting in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Limerick and Waterford, Free State troops equipped with artillery overcame Anti-Treaty resistance relatively easily, at Kilmallock they had a much harder time. The main reason for this was that the
Free State troops, most of whom were new recruits, were facing some of the best of the IRA forces without an advantage in numbers or firepower. General
Eoin O'Duffy
Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure in ...
complained of shortage of arms and ammunition. He estimated that while his forces had about 1,300 rifles, the Republicans could muster over 2,000. He was also scathingly critical of the quality of the troops at his disposal, whom he described as, "a disgruntled, undisciplined and cowardly crowd".
The Republicans knew this and were confident of success. Nevertheless, the Republican commanders had their own problems. Logistical support and co-operation between forces from different counties was poor and unreliable. Deasy's command included Volunteers from Limerick itself, Cork and Kerry, all of whom had their own commanders. They had three improvised armoured cars, some mortars and heavy machine guns but no artillery.
O'Duffy drew up plans for the advance on Kilmallock with the assistance of his second-in-command Major General
W.R.E. Murphy who had been a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. His experience in the trenches had a major effect on his approach – pre-disposing him to cautious advances and use of trenches for cover.
Battle
The
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
had the better of the first clashes. On Sunday 23 July,
Free State forces took Bruff and began their advance on Kilmallock, but were twice beaten back by determined Republican resistance. The following day, the Republicans managed to retake Bruff in a counter-attack, taking 76 prisoners. As a result of this setback, O'Duffy called off the advance for the time being and waited for reinforcements.
Free State forces quickly retook Bruff after reinforcements arrived. However, things got worse for the National Army as the week went on. They made slow progress in taking the Republican strongpoints, and their casualties also mounted. On Tuesday, 25 July, a unit of the
Dublin Guard
The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army in the ensuing Civil War.
Foundation
In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army's Dublin Brigad ...
under Tom Flood was ambushed on a narrow road. They fought their way clear, but only after losing four men killed. Three more Free State soldiers were killed two days later. On 30 July, Major General Murphy launched an attack to take Bruree. The Dublin Guards attacked the town from the southeast, supported by armoured cars and an 18-pound field gun. The Republicans held out for five hours until Free State artillery was brought into action. At least 13 Free State soldiers and nine Anti-Treaty fighters were killed in the action and more were wounded before the Free State troops secured Bruree.
The Republican commander Deasy knew how important Bruree was to the defence of Kilmallock and drew up plans to recapture the town using three
armoured cars, trench mortars and
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s. On 2 August, Republicans captured
Patrickswell
Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick (), is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland. It is primarily a commuter village for people working in Limerick, particularly the nearby industrial suburb of Raheen. The population was 847 at ...
south of
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
. The armoured cars then attacked Bruree, taking Free State forces by complete surprise. One car attacked Commandant Flood's headquarters at the Railway Hotel. The Commandant and his men managed to escape out the back of the building under the cover of Lewis gun fire. The second armoured car rammed the front door of another post in the school house, which persuaded the twenty-five troops inside to surrender.
However, when Free State reinforcements, along with armoured cars arrived, the republican counter-attack stalled. The Free State reinforcements were led by Comdt. Gen.
Seamus Hogan
Seamus may refer to:
* Séamus, a male first name of Gaelic origin
Film and television
* Seamus (''Family Guy''), a character on the television series ''Family Guy''
* Seamus, a pigeon in '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore''
* Seamus Mc ...
, who personally led his forces, riding in the armoured car nicknamed 'The Customs House.' Having failed to secure the surrender of the town, Republican forces retreated.
The Tide turns against the Republicans
Having held Bruree against a Republican counterattack, Free State forces prepared to capture Kilmallock itself, but anticipated there would be heavy fighting. Republican Adjutant General
Con Moloney commented on 2 August, "Up to yesterday we have had the best of the operations there
he Kilmallock area There will, I fear, be a big change there now as the enemy have been reinforced very considerably." In 3rd Western Division area they had all but disbanded: unwilling to fight Free Staters, destroy roads, and now discouraged by the Catholic church.
On Thursday, 3 August, 2,000 men strong Free State forces backed up by armoured cars and artillery advanced on Kilmallock from Bruree,
Dromin and
Bulgaden. Seven hundred troops arrived the next day with an armoured car and a field gun. By Saturday the town was surrounded by Free State forces. The Dublin Guard were also on hand to prevent Republican forces from escaping. Three miles away Free State artillery was deployed and shelled Republican forces on Kilmallock Hill and Quarry Hill. The two hills were soon controlled by Free State forces.
The National Army had, therefore, assembled overwhelming force to smother resistance at Kilmallock. They were still, however, expecting hard fighting before they took the town. To their surprise, when the Free State troops entered town, they encountered only light resistance from a Republican rearguard (volunteers from
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
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* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
). Most of the Republican troops had already abandoned their positions and retreated to
Charleville Charleville can refer to:
Australia
* Charleville, Queensland, a town in Australia
**Charleville railway station, Queensland
France
* Charleville, Marne, a commune in Marne, France
*Charleville-Mézières, a commune in Ardennes, France
** ...
.
They had departed not because the Free State troops were much stronger, but because they had been outflanked by Free State seaborne landings on the coasts of
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
and
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
on 2 and 8 August respectively. The landings in Cork and Kerry forced Comdt. Gen. Deasy to release units from this area to return home to their own areas. Although the landings in Cork occurred after the retreat from Kilmallock, the subsequent loss of brigades from Cork added to Commandant General Deasy's problems. The final phase of the fighting in County Limerick came when the Free State advance south was held up at
Newcastlewest
Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicized Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city, It is also the county town, and sits on the ...
. Another day of heavy fighting ensued in which the Government troops had to bring up armoured cars and artillery to dislodge the Republicans, who were reported to have lost up to 12 men before they retreated in the direction of Cork.
Military Analysis
The Republicans battle plan had not failed due to a lack of armaments, nor in the first instance an unwillingness to fight. However, there was in the high command a real inability to accept that the war against the Provisional Government was different from that with the British. Lynch was unprepared to draw up detailed instructions, in spite of urgent requests from O'Malley for orders. Moloney, for example, thought people would see that the National Army was not representing a legitimate Free State. They refused to recognise that the Catholic church were now, having been in favour of resistance against the British, standing for the State and a cessation of war. Men in Limerick and the Western Divisional areas lost the towns, only hanging onto mountainous hills looking west to the sea. Their soldiers refused to fight, went homewards, and would not dig up the roads nor disrupt communication lines. Lynch was frustrated: in his books, O'Malley blamed his lack of control as contrasting with Mulcahy's efficient logistics. In the end the Republicans were outnumbered, and by late 1922 were running low on ammunition, rifles, and explosives, artillery and armoured cars. By contrast the Free State even acquired tanks.
[C Townshend, "The Republic", pp.412-421.]
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Large article about Irish Civil WarMain source for article.
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1922/08/01/archives/free-state-troops-capture-tipperary-fortyfour-rebels-are-taken.html NY Times article, 1 August 1922: Free State Troops Capture Tipperary; Close In On Kilmallock, But Defenders Still Occupy dominating Heights]
NY Times article, 5 August 1922: 'Irish battle rages around Kilmallock'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Kilmallock
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...
1922 in Ireland
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...
National Army (Ireland)
July 1922 events
August 1922 events
Kilmallock
Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...