Vincent Byrne (23 November 1900 - 13 December 1992) was a 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 ...

and a senior figure in the assassination group known as The Squad.

Pre IRA

In 1915 he joined the 2nd battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers at age 14. On Easter Monday 1916 he assembled in Saint Stephen's Green and was supposed to march over to Jacobs Factory where he would remain for the rest of the week. He was told to go home and started to cry. On his way home he ran into his section commander who asked him what was wrong. When Byrne explained what had happened he was brought back to the Green. He spent the remainder of the week in Jacobs Factory under the command of Thomas McDonagh. When the rebels surrendered he escaped to his home but was arrested a week later and taken to

Richmond Barracks Richmond Barracks was a British Army barracks in Inchicore, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a cultural centre. History The barracks, which were named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, were completed in 1810 and first occupied by the Briti ...

The Squad

On the morning of the day 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 ...

Byrne assassinated Lieutenant Ames and Lieutenant Bennett in their home. As he and his men were fleeing they got into a shoot out with British agents.

Post war of independence

He fought on the Pro-Treaty side during the civil war. He joined the

Irish National Army The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...

and reached the rank of Commandant-Colonel He died 13 December 1992. He is survived by two daughters and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Vinny Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members 1992 deaths 1900 births