Liam Pilkington (2 June 1894 – 26 March 1977), also known as William Pilkington and Billy Pilkington, was a member of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

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 ...

. Pilkington was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 3rd Western Division, IRA, from 1921 to 1923. After the conclusion of the Irish War of Independence Pilkington joined the

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 ...

during 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 ...

. He attempted to become a politician for a short while, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Disillusioned due to the Irish Civil War, Pilkington became a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

for the remainder of his life. He served as a priest in South Africa and Wales before retiring to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, where he died.

Early life

Pilkington was born in

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

on 2 June 1894. He received his education at the local

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

' convent school and the Day Trades Preparatory School. Later he was a student at the Department of Agriculture Forestry College in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

. When the Irish War of Independence began, the college was closed and Pilkington was forced to return to Sligo. He then gained employment with Wehrly Brothers Ltd. (a jewellery and watchmaking store) in Sligo.

Military career

Several notable incidents occurred in Pilkington's military career. On 25 October 1920 at Moneygold, eight miles from Sligo (between

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and

Cliffony Cliffoney, officially Cliffony (), is a village in north County Sligo, Ireland. It lies on the N15 national route at its junction with the R279. It is only three kilometres away from Mullaghmore which is popular with surfers. Cliffoney has his ...

), IRA men led by him ambushed a nine-man

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 ...

patrol, killing four (Sergeant Patrick Perry, Constable Patrick Keown, Constable Patrick Laffey, Constable Patrick Lynch) and wounding two others (Constables Clarke and O'Rourke). In January 1922 Pilkington made clear his opposition to the IRAs General Headquarters (GHQ) support for the

Anglo-Irish Treaty 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 ...

"We intend to cut away from this headquarters, all of you (pointing to the staff and officers of the GHQ) want to build up a Free State Army so you can march in step into the British Empire. Do it openly. We stand by the Republic." On 6 April 1922, a meeting addressed by

Arthur Griffith Arthur Joseph Griffith ( ga, Art Seosamh Ó Gríobhtha; 31 March 1871 – 12 August 1922) was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that prod ...

in Sligo, had been proclaimed illegal by Pilkington, who was the local Anti-Treaty IRA divisional commander. Pilkington's troops took over a number of buildings in the town.

Sean MacEoin Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...

brought

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

troops from

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

and on the day of the meeting, he was joined by further troops led by JJ "Ginger" O'Connell. A tense situation ensued but, at the last minute, Pilkington backed down and the meeting went ahead. On 4 September 1922, an Anti-Treaty IRA unit under Pilkington took the Dromhaire barracks in County Sligo after the Free State garrison surrendered.

Political career

On 27 August 1923, Pilkington ran unsuccessfully in the general election for the

4th Dáil Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate, polling 2089 first preference votes.

Anti-Treaty IRA

Pilkington was a prominent member of the

for many years, but his most important role as part of the Anti-Treaty IRA came on 20 April 1923. The Executive of Anti-Treaty IRA met in Poulacappal (four miles southwest of

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

and three miles from

Mullinahone Mullinahone () is a village located in the barony of Slievardagh, County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. , the village population was 499. Location and access Mullinahone is situa ...

). Present were

Frank Aiken Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the Irish Civil War. Aiken later served as Tánaiste from 1965 to 1969 and Minister fo ...

, Liam Pilkington (replacing Liam Lynch), Sean Hyde, Sean Dowling, Bill Quirke, Tom Barry, Tom Ruane (replacing

Michael Kilroy Michael Kilroy (14 September 1884 – 23 December 1962) was an Irish politician and guerrilla leader. He was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) officer in his native County Mayo during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War. Subsequen ...

), Tom Sullivan (replacing Sean Lehane), Sean McSwiney, Tom Crofts,

P. J. Ruttledge Patrick Joseph Ruttledge (1 January 1892 – 8 May 1952) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Health (Ireland), Minister for Local Government and Public Health from 1939 to 1941, Minister for Justice (Ireland), Ministe ...

and Sean O'Meara (substitute for Seamus Robinson). Frank Aiken was elected Chief-of-Staff and an Army Council of Aiken, Pilkington and Barry was appointed, although Macardle says that Sean Hyde was also included. Aiken proposed that peace should be made with the Pro-Treaty Government on the basis that "The sovereignty of the Irish Nation and the integrity of its territory is inalienable". This was passed by nine votes to two.

Catholic priest

Pilkington became a

after his foray into politics and due to the disillusionment of the

. He joined the

Redemptorist Order The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

and became known as Father William Pilkington CSsR. Pilkington served as a priest in the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa, priest of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales, and retired to the Redemptorist house at Bishop Eton, Liverpool, where he died in 1977.

Later life, death and legacy

In 1954 he was guest of honour at a dinner sponsored by

Clan na Gael Clan na Gael ( ga, label=modern Irish orthography, Clann na nGael, ; "family of the Gaels") was an Irish republican organization in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister org ...

and the IRA Veterans of America in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where he said he was returning to the mission fields of Africa, but he remained faithful to the All Ireland Republic.The United Irishman November/December 1954 He died on 26 March 1977 and was buried in Liverpool.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkington, Liam 1894 births People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) 1977 deaths Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish War of Independence Redemptorists