[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Raise a pint..

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Raise a pint..
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1174154880.shtml


   There was one glaring omission from the International Spy Museum -
   there were Russian spies, British spies, medieval spies, Biblical
   spies - but no mention of Irish spies, of one of the greatest
   intelligence operations ever - Michael Collins' attacks against
   British secret agents on Sunday, [1]November 21, 1920 (Bloody Sunday).

     It was on that day that fourteen British secret agents in Dublin
     were assassinated, an act that shattered the British intelligence
     system in Ireland and made it possible for a small, ill-equipped
     force of irregulars to impose its will on its centuries-old
     oppressor.

   You can't talk about spies without mentioning the [2]Twelve Apostles.

     The Twelve Apostles, more commonly known as The Squad, was the name
     of an Irish Republican Army unit founded by Michael Collins to
     counter the intelligence efforts of the British during the Irish
     War of Independence, principally by means of assassination. It
     began its work by targeting plainclothes police, members of the G
     Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and - occasionally -
     problematic civil servants. Organisationally it operated as a
     subsection of the Collins' Intelligence Headquarters.

     By 1919 Collins had become such a thorn in the side of the British
     Government that they had placed a bounty of £10,000 on him, dead
     or alive. None could be found to take up this offer.

     One of the Apostles' particular targets was the Cairo Gang, also
     known as the Cairo Group, a deep cover British intelligence group,
     so called since it had largely been assembled from intelligence
     officers serving in Cairo and the Middle East. The Cairo Group was
     brought in during the middle of 1920 by Sir Henry Wilson explicitly
     to deal with Michael Collins and his organisation. Given carte
     blanche in its operations by Wilson, the strategy adopted by the
     Cairo Group was to assassinate members of Sinn Féin unconnected
     with the military struggle, assuming that this would cause the IRA
     to respond and bring its leaders into the open.

     Although the names of the members of the Twelve Apostles have never
     been formally identified, it is a list which is thought to include:
     Mick Love, Frank Thornton, Liam Tobin, Joe Leonard, Jim Slattery,
     Bill Stapleton, Pat McCrae, Sean Doyle, Gearoid O'Sullivan, Charlie
     Dalton, Paddy Daly, Ben Barrett, Mick O'Reilly, Vincent Byrne, Sean
     Healy, Francis Healy, James Conroy, Mick McDonnell, Tom Keogh and
     Tom Cullen. Seán Lemass and Stephen Behan (the father of Irish
     writers Brendan Behan and Dominic Behan) have also been put forward
     as members of the Apostles. Understandably, there is no hard
     evidence to support many of these names; however, those that
     subsequently served in the Irish Army have their active service
     recorded in their service records held in the Military Archives
     Department in Cathal Brugha Barracks.

     The most well-known operation executed by the Apostles occurred on
     "Bloody Sunday," November 21, 1920, when fourteen British army
     officers, significantly involved in intelligence or spying, were
     shot at various locations in Dublin. In addition to the "Twelve
     Apostles", a larger number of IRA personel were involved in this
     operation. In response to the killings, the Black and Tans
     retaliated by shooting up a Gaelic football match between Dublin
     and Tipperary at Croke Park, killing 12 bystanders including one of
     the players, and wounding 68.

     In May 1921, after the IRA's Dublin Brigade took heavy casualties
     while burning the Customs House, the Squad and the Brigade's Active
     Service Unit" were amalgamated into the Dublin Guard, under Paddy
     Daly. Under the influence of Daly and Michael Collins, most of the
     Guard took the Free State side in the Irish Civil War of 1922-23.

   To make up for this glaring omission, I'd ask everyone today to raise
   a pint for the greatest General Ireland has ever seen - and for my
   Grandfather, Stephen Madigan, who served with him in Army
   Intelligence.

   [3]grandpa 

   Erin Go Bragh

References

   1. http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Sunday-Collinss-Assassinated-Britains/dp/1592282822/ref=pd_sim_b_2/002-4495834-5637607
   2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostles_(Irish_counter-intelligence_organisation)
   3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/29136804@N00/424277358/