Michael Joseph Costello (4 July 1904 – 20 October 1986) was an Irish rebel and military leader 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 ...

Biography

Michael Joseph Costello was born on 4 July 1904 in Cloughjordan,

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 th ...

, son of Denis Costello, headteacher in Cloughjordan National School, a native of Kilmihil, County Clare, and Teresa Moynihan, of

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

. He was the eldest of nine children, three of whom died during an epidemic of whooping cough. His godfather was

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 o ...

, who signed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 and was one of the seven leaders of the

Easter 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 ...

. Costello became involved in the

of 1919–1921, after seeing his father, a school teacher, arrested by the Black and Tans. He served with the Old IRA as an Intelligence Officer with No. 1 Tipperary Brigade. Costello 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, ...

in 1922 and fought in 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 ...

of 1922–1923. Not long before his own assassination,

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 Ge ...

promoted him to Colonel-Commandant when Costello was still only eighteen years old. He served as National Army Director of Intelligence from 1924 to 1926. He attended the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's Command and Staff College at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

from 1926 to 1927. He advised the Free State on establishing an Irish Military College, of which he would later be appointed Director of Training in 1931 and Commandant two year later, in 1933. During The Emergency, he commanded the Irish Army's 1st Division, which was primarily responsible for the defence of the south coast of Ireland, as O/C Southern Command from 1940. The division, a volunteer force, had able personnel, but was poorly equipped. In Costello's words,

Given the inadequate armament and signal equipment of the Forces, training concentrated on attaining superiority over a potential invader in night operations with small forces expected to yield capture of enemy arms and ammunition, in cross country mobility and in marksmanship and the use of mines and explosives generally. The platoons made silent advances during dark nights over difficult and unknown country.

In 1944, one of Costello's units carried out a 44-mile (71-km) march carrying 40-pound (18-kg) packs in 11 hours. Costello was instrumental in founding '' An Cosantóir'' in 1941. He was promoted to Major General in 1941 and to Lieutenant General in 1945. He retired from the Army in 1946, after which he became the managing director of the Irish Sugar Company. At Irish Sugar, he bought the first electronic computer in Ireland from

Dora Metcalf Dora Stuart Primrose Metcalf (11 March 1892 – 17 October 1982) was an entrepreneur, mathematician and computing pioneer. During World War I she was a comptometer operator in a munitions factory during which time she realised the potential in ...

in 1957. He died on 20 October 1986, aged 82.

References

External links

War Room profile

1980 Interview

Bibliography

Writings

* Costello, Colonel M.J, "Guerilla Warfare" in (ed.) O'Reilly, ''Our Struggle For Independence'' (Cork 2009), pp. 187–98 * Costello, Col. M.J, "A New Type of Warfare? German Strategy and Tactics, Parts I and II" in O'Reilly pp. 199–216 * Costello, Col M.J, "Irish Soldiers Abroad: The Story of Ireland's Exile Soldiers", in O'Reilly, pp. 217–22 * Costello, Col M.J, "The Principles of War", 4 parts in O'Reilly, pp. 223–44

Secondary sources

* Duggan, John.P ''A History of the Irish Army'' (Dublin 1991) * Harkness, David, ''The Restless Dominion: The Irish Free State and the British Commonwealth 1921-31'' (London 1969) * O'Halpin, Eunan, ''Defending Ireland: The Irish State and its Enemies since 1922'' (Oxford 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Michael Joe People of the Irish Civil War (Pro-Treaty side) 1904 births 1986 deaths Irish Army generals People from Cloughjordan Fort Leavenworth National Army (Ireland) officers Military personnel from County Tipperary