Charlie Hurley (Irish republican)
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Charles Hurley ( ga, Cathal Ó Muirthile; 20 March 1893 – 19 March 1921) was Officer Commanding of the 3rd Cork Brigade (West Cork) 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 ...
during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921)


Early life

He was born in Baurleigh, County Cork, near the village of
Kilbrittain Kilbrittain or Killbrittain () is the name of a village, townland and parish in County Cork, Ireland. The village lies about southwest of Bandon, and near Courtmacsherry and Timoleague. The coastal route around the edge of the parish is the R6 ...
on 20 March 1893 and was educated in national school and subsequently passed the civil service examinations at aged fifteen. According to his brother James, Charlie was one of seven siblings, 'born and reared in a farm of 35 acres'. In his adolescence, he became a clerk working for the government. In 1915, he was offered a promotion and a transfer to Haulbowline Island, but declined on the grounds that this entailed enlisting in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, albeit in a purely administrative role. Returning to Cork, he became friends with
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 ...
who introduced him to the Irish republican movement. In 1917, he took a job at Castletownbere and it is there that he 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 1917. He was also a member of
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
and the
Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
.


IRA commander

In 1918, he was sentenced to five years penal servitude for possession of arms and plans of the British military fortifications at Bere Island. However, he was released in 1919 after a hunger strike. In the same year, his brother Willie, also an IRA Volunteer, died of typhoid. He first became vice-commandant of the Volunteers or IRA Bandon Battalion and then in August 1920, after the arrest and imprisonment of Tom Hales, he became commander of the Third Cork Brigade of the IRA. One of his most important decisions was to establish a full-time guerrilla unit or flying column, under Tom Barry. The Third Cork Brigade went on to be one of the most active IRA units during the guerrilla war against the British in 1919–1921. According to Barry, Hurley led an ambush of 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 ...
at Ahawadda, in April 1920 killing three policemen, wounding one and taking their arms and ammunition. In July of that year, Hurley led a successful attack on Coastguard station at Howes Strand, capturing a large amount of weapons and ammunition. Barry remarked that Hurley was "a remarkable man and a lovable personality' and 'continually urged a fighting army policy." Hurley was present at the Tooreen ambush in October 1920 and subsequently was part of an assassination attempt on a judge who gave 'harsh sentences' to IRA members. From December 1920 until January 1921, Hurley took command of the Third Cork Brigade's flying column while Barry was ill. He also toured IRA units to assess the impact of the Catholic Bishop of Cork, Dr. Colohan's decree of excommunication on the guerrilla movement.


Death and memory

In February 1921, he led the disastrous Upton Train Ambush on 15 February 1921, an attack on train carrying British troops. In the action, the attacking IRA party was heavily outnumbered and the fire fight resulted in three IRA men and six civilians being killed. Hurley was also badly wounded in the face and ankle. Tom Barry wrote of the aftermath of the ambush that: "he urleymourned deeply for his dead comrades and for the dead civilians, whom he did not know." Hurley was killed in action by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
troops just before the Crossbarry Ambush on 19 March 1921. Hurley was staying in a house with a pro-republican family, where he was recuperating from the serious wounds he had received at Upton a month earlier. When he realised that he was surrounded by the British forces he fled the house, as Tom Barry comments in his book, to reduce the danger to those in the house, and was shot dead by pursuing troops. Barry remarks that Hurley, "died in the manner in which we expected." The British Army placed his body at the workhouse in Bandon but members of
Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; literally "The Women's Council" but calling themselves The Irishwomen's Council in English), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and d ...
surreptitiously took away his body and he was given a secret republican funeral in Clogagh.(5) A local ballad exists that commemorates him. In addition, the Gaelic Athletic Association grounds in Bandon was named after him in 1971.


See also

*
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 ...
* Ted O'Sullivan * Sean Hales *Sean Hurley (Irish republican)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Charlie Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members 19th-century births 1921 deaths Irish Republicans killed during the Irish War of Independence