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Richard "Dick" McKee (
Irish name A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ...
Risteárd Mac Aoidh; 4 April 1893 – 21 November 1920) was a prominent member of the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
(IRA). He was also friend to some senior members in the republican movement, including
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...
, Austin Stack and
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...
. Along with
Peadar Clancy Peadar Clancy ( ga, Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha; 9 November 1888 – 21 November 1920) was an Irish republican who served with the Irish Volunteers in the Four Courts garrison during the 1916 Easter Rising and was second-in-command of the Dublin ...
and
Conor Clune Conor Clune ( Irish name Conchobhair Mac Clúin; 26 July 1893 – 21 November 1920) was one of three men along with Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy killed in controversial circumstances in Dublin Castle on Bloody Sunday, 1920, a day that also ...
, he was killed by his captors in
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...
on Sunday, 21 November 1920, a day known as
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
that also saw the killing of a network of British spies by the "
Squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army d ...
" unit of the Irish Republican Army and the killing of 14 people in
Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...
by the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
(RIC).Sean O'Mahony, ''Death in the Castle: Three murders in Dublin Castle 1920''. 1916/1921 Club


Early life

McKee was born at Phibsborough Road in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
on 4 April 1893. He became an apprentice in the publishing business at Gill & Son, Upper
O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Hen ...
, and then a compositor.


Paramilitary career

McKee joined the
Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers ( ga, Óglaigh na hÉireann), sometimes called the Irish Volunteer Force or Irish Volunteer Army, was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists and republicans. It was ostensibly formed in respon ...
in 1913, serving in G Company, Second Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. He served in the
1916 Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...
in Jacob's Factory, under the command of
Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh ( ga, Tomás Anéislis Mac Donnchadha; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising ...
. McKee was later incarcerated by the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
in
Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town in the borough of Cheshire East, in Cheshire, England. Knutsford is south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and 12.5 miles (20 km) south-east of Warrington. The population at the 2011 Census was ...
Gaol and at the
Frongoch internment camp Frongoch internment camp at Frongoch in Merionethshire, Wales was a makeshift place of imprisonment during the First World War and the 1916 Easter Rising. History 1916 the camp housed German prisoners of war in a yellow distillery and crude h ...
in Wales. McKee was promoted within the IRA shortly after his release. He became Company Captain and then Commandant of the Second Battalion, eventually being placed as Brigadier of the Army's Dublin Brigade. He was also active as an ex-officio member of IRA General Headquarters Staff - which included Collins,
Richard Mulcahy Richard James Mulcahy (10 May 1886 – 16 December 1971) was an Irish Fine Gael politician and army general who served as Minister for Education from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957, Minister for the Gaeltacht from June 1956 to October 1956, ...
and Russell. He was a prime innovator in the formation of the
flying column A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ''ad hoc'' unit, formed during the course of operations. The term is usually, though not necessarily, appli ...
s along with Mulcahy and Collins. He was Director of Training for this duration, though he was jailed again as a political prisoner in
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
Jail, in 1918. McKee had many escapes and close shaves during the
Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mi ...
- arms raid on Collinstown Aerodrome (now Dublin Airport) in which his unit captured 75 rifles and approximately 15,000 rounds of ammunition and the Kings Inns raid in which his unit captured 25 rifles, two Lewis guns and several thousand rounds of ammunition. In the final chapter of his revolutionary activism, he was on full-time active service, moving covertly through a network of safe houses. He was engaged to
May Gibney May Bridget Gibney (2 October 1893 – 1984) was an Irish nationalist and republican, active during the Easter Rising of 1916 and both the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Early life Mary Bridget Gibney was born in 1893 to Thomas G ...
, a volunteer during the Easter Rising and an active member of Cumann na mBan.


The Squad

In July 1919 Collins asked McKee to select a small group of men to form the ''Squad''. McKee was intimately involved in the planning of
Bloody Sunday 1920 Bloody Sunday ( ga, Domhnach na Fola) was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. More than 30 people were killed or fatally wounded. The day began with an Irish Republican Army (IRA) operation, ...
which was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
. More than 30 people were killed or fatally wounded which included twenty British intelligence agents at eight different locations in Dublin.


Arrest and death

McKee was betrayed to Crown forces by an ex-British Army soldier, James "Shankers" Ryan, and captured at Sean Fitzpatrick's before
Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
by the
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
. (In retaliation, on 5 February 1921, an IRA squad led by Bill Stapleton walked into Hynes' pub in Gloucester Place and shot Ryan dead.) Brought to
Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the s ...
he was tortured under interrogation with
Peadar Clancy Peadar Clancy ( ga, Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha; 9 November 1888 – 21 November 1920) was an Irish republican who served with the Irish Volunteers in the Four Courts garrison during the 1916 Easter Rising and was second-in-command of the Dublin ...
and
Conor Clune Conor Clune ( Irish name Conchobhair Mac Clúin; 26 July 1893 – 21 November 1920) was one of three men along with Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy killed in controversial circumstances in Dublin Castle on Bloody Sunday, 1920, a day that also ...
from
County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...
.DublinCastle.ie - History of Dublin Castle - Chapter 16
The three would later be shot on 21 November 1920. The official account was that he and the other men with him were shot while trying to escape. This account was widely disputed at the time, although some historians believe it was actually true. Michael Lynch, a IRA Brigade Commander stated that McKee suffered severe beatings prior to being shot to death - "I saw Dick McKee's body afterwards, and it was almost unrecognizable. He had evidently been tortured before being shot...They must have beaten Dick to a pulp. When they threatened him with death, according to reports, Dick's last words were, "Go on, and do your worst!" Medical examinations of the three bodies revealed broken bones and abrasions consistent with prolonged assaults and bullet wounds to the head and bodies. O'Halpin, Eunan & Ó Corráin, Daithí (2020), ''The Dead of the Irish Revolution''. Yale University Press, pg 233. A book titled ''Death in the Castle: Three murders in Dublin Castle 1920'', written by Sean O'Mahony, and published by
1916–1921 Club The 1916–1921 Club was founded in the 1940s. The motivation for the Club was to heal the divisions created by the Irish Civil War. Protagonists from both sides were invited to join. The Association of the Old Dublin Brigade, Óglaigh na hÉireann ...
records both the life and deaths of the three Republicans.


Burial

McKee and Clancy's tricolour-adorned coffins lay side by side at St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral on Marlborough Street, Dublin. Aged 27 and 32 years, respectively, they were laid to rest at the Republican Plot in
Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...
.
McKee Barracks McKee Barracks () is a military installation situated on Blackhorse Avenue near Phoenix Park in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland. History Known first as Grangegorman Barracks, taking its name from the historical civil parish in which it was situated, this ...
in Dublin is named after Dick McKee.


Gallery

Image:McKee Barracks, Dublin 7.jpg, McKee Barracks, Cabra, Dublin 7 Image:Grave of Clancy and McKee.JPG, The Grave of Clancy and McKee in the Republican Plot, Glasnevin Cemetery Dublin Image:Dublin Castle 1920 IRA Memorial.jpg, Commemorative plaque in memory of the Volunteers killed in Dublin Castle 1920 File:Dick McKee commemoration November 1958.jpg, Dick McKee commemoration, November 1958


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKee, Dick 1920 deaths Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People from County Dublin Irish Republicans killed during the Irish War of Independence 1893 births