Denis Lacey (31 May 1889 – 18 February 1923) was an

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 ...

officer during the Irish War of Independence and

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 ...

officer during the Irish Civil War.

Early life and Irish War of Independence

Lacey was born in 1889 in a village called Attybrick, near Annacarty,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

. His parents were Thomas Lacy and Ellen Hayes. He worked as a clerk and manager of a coal merchant in

Tipperary Town Tipperary Town (; ) is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,979 at the 2016 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical baron ...

, prior to the Irish War of Independence. 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 1913 and was sworn into the secretive

Irish Republican Brotherhood The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...

in 1914. He was introduced to the IRB by

Seán Treacy Seán Allis Treacy ( ga, Seán Ó Treasaigh; 14 February 1895 – 14 October 1920) was one of the leaders of the Third Tipperary Brigade of the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. He was one of a small group whose actions initiated th ...

. During the War of Independence (1919–1921) he was selected to command an IRA

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 ...

of the

3rd Tipperary Brigade The 3rd Tipperary Brigade () was one of the most active of approximately 80 such units that constituted the IRA during the Irish War of Independence. The brigade was based in southern Tipperary and conducted its activities mainly in mid-Munst ...

, in September 1920. The flying column mounted two successful ambushes of British forces - killing six British soldiers at Thomastown near

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

, and four

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 ...

men at Lisnagaul in the

Glen of Aherlow The Glen of Aherlow ( Irish: ''Gleann Eatharlaí'') is a valley located between Slievenamuck and the Galtee Mountains in the western part of County Tipperary in Ireland. The principal village is Lisvarrinane (sometimes spelled Lisvernane). There ...

. In April 1921, following another ambush of British troops near Clogheen, he captured RIC inspector

Gilbert Potter Gilbert Norman Potter (10 July 1887 – 27 April 1921) was a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was born in Dromahair, County Leitrim and was stationed at Cahir, County Tipperary, during the Irish War of Independence. In Apri ...

, whom he later executed in reprisal of the British hanging of republican prisoners.

Civil War

In December 1921, his unit split over 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 ...

. Lacey opposed the Treaty and most of his men followed suit. Lacey took over commanded of the Third Tipperary Brigade as Séumas Robinson was appointed to command the anti-Treaty IRA's Second Southern Division. In the ensuing civil war (June 1922-May 1923), he organised guerrilla activity in the Tipperary area against

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

(pro-Treaty) forces. He was killed in an action against Free State troops at Ballydavid, near

Bansha Bansha () is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" (united in 1858) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. Bansha i ...

in the

on 18 February 1923. He was 33 years old. Over 1,000 Free State troops, under the command of General John T. Prout, with the intention of breaking up his guerrilla unit, converged on the Glen where he and four other men from his column were billeted. Lacey and one of his men were killed and others captured. Two National Army soldiers were killed in the action. A memorial in Annacarty commemorates Lacey's war service and subsequent death in action. ''It was England gave the orders and England gave the guns and Cosgrave dyed the khaki green to kill our gallant sons they spilt their blood upon the grass and thought it no disgrace when they murdered Dinny Lacey the noblest of our race.''

In popular culture

Lacey is mentioned in the Irish folk ballad " The Galtee Mountain Boy", along with

Seán Moylan Seán Moylan (19 November 1889 – 16 November 1957) was a senior officer of the Irish Republican Army and later a Fianna Fáil politician. He served as Minister for Agriculture from May 1957 to November 1957, Minister for Education from 1951 ...

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grang ...

, and

Seán Hogan Seán Hogan (13 May 1901 – 24 December 1968) was one of the leaders of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence. Early life Hogan was born on 13 May 1901, the elder child of Matthew Hogan of Green ...

. The song, written by Patsy Halloran, recalls some of the travels of a "

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 ...

" from Tipperary as they fought during the Irish War of Independence, and later against the pro-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacey, Dinny Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members People of the Irish War of Independence People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) People from County Tipperary Deaths by firearm in Ireland 1890 births 1923 deaths