Dinny Lacey
Encyclopedia
Dennis Lacey, better known as 'Dinny',(1890 - 1923) was an Irish Republican Army
officer during the Irish War of Independence
and anti-Treaty IRA officer during the Irish Civil War
. Lacey was born in 1890 in a village called Attybrack, near Annacarty, county Tipperary
.
He joined the Irish Volunteers
in 1913 and was sworn in to the secretive Irish Republican Brotherhood
in 1914. He was introduced to the IRB by Seán Treacy
. During the War of Independence (1919-1921) he commanded an IRA flying column
of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade
. In July 1920, this guerrilla unit mounted two successful ambushes of British forces - killing six British soldiers at Thomastown near Golden, County Tipperary
, and four Royal Irish Constabulary
men at Lisnagaul in the Glen of Aherlow
.
In April 1921, following another ambush of British troops near Clogheen
, he captured RIC inspector Gilbert Potter
, whom he later executed in reprisal of the British hanging of republican prisoners. In December 1921, his unit split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty
. Lacey opposed the Treaty and most of his men followed suit. He later commanded the anti-Treaty IRA's Second Southern Division.
In the ensuing civil war (June 1922-May 1923), he organised guerrilla activity in north county Tipperary against Irish Free State
(pro-Treaty) forces. He was killed in an action with Free State troops at Ballydavid, near Bansha
in the Glen of Aherlow
on February 18, 1923. 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.
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
officer during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and anti-Treaty IRA officer during the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
. Lacey was born in 1890 in a village called Attybrack, near Annacarty, county Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
.
He joined the Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
in 1913 and was sworn in to the secretive Irish Republican Brotherhood
Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland during the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century...
in 1914. He was introduced to the IRB by Seán Treacy
Seán Treacy (Irish Republican)
Seán Treacy was one of the leaders of the Third Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. He helped to start the conflict in 1919 and was killed in a shootout with British troops in Talbot Street, Dublin during an aborted British Secret Service...
. During the War of Independence (1919-1921) he commanded an IRA flying column
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....
of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade
3rd Tipperary Brigade
The 3rd Tipperary Brigade was one of approximately 80 such units that constituted the Irish Republican Army since the time of their formation from the Irish Volunteers, until after the Civil War...
. In July 1920, this guerrilla unit mounted two successful ambushes of British forces - killing six British soldiers at Thomastown near Golden, County Tipperary
Golden, County Tipperary
Golden is a village in South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is situated on the River Suir. It is located between the towns of Cashel and Tipperary on the N74 road. In older times the village was known as Goldenbridge...
, and four Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
men at Lisnagaul in the Glen of Aherlow
Glen of Aherlow
The Glen of Aherlow is a picturesque valley nestling between Slievenamuck and the Galtee Mountains in the western part of South Tipperary in Ireland. The principal village is Lisvarrinane or more commonly spelt Lisvernane with a hamlet at Rossadrehid where Aherlow creamery was located before its...
.
In April 1921, following another ambush of British troops near Clogheen
Clogheen
Clogheen is the name of several places in Ireland*Clogheen, County Tipperary*Clogheen, County Waterford*Clogheen, County Cork...
, he captured RIC inspector Gilbert Potter
Gilbert Potter
Gilbert Norman Potter, , 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...
, whom he later executed in reprisal of the British hanging of republican prisoners. In December 1921, his unit split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
. Lacey opposed the Treaty and most of his men followed suit. He later commanded the anti-Treaty IRA's Second Southern Division.
In the ensuing civil war (June 1922-May 1923), he organised guerrilla activity in north county Tipperary against Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
(pro-Treaty) forces. He was killed in an action with Free State troops at Ballydavid, near Bansha
Bansha
Bansha is a village in the barony of Clanwilliam, South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Bansha is co-extensive with the pre-Reformation parish of Templeneiry of which the townland name of...
in the Glen of Aherlow
Glen of Aherlow
The Glen of Aherlow is a picturesque valley nestling between Slievenamuck and the Galtee Mountains in the western part of South Tipperary in Ireland. The principal village is Lisvarrinane or more commonly spelt Lisvernane with a hamlet at Rossadrehid where Aherlow creamery was located before its...
on February 18, 1923. Over 1,000 Free State troops, under the command of General John T. Prout
John T. Prout
John T. Prout was an Irish American soldier. He held one of the senior commands in the Irish Army during the Irish Civil War...
, 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
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
soldiers were killed in the action.
Sources
- http://republican-news.org/archive/1998/February19/19hist.html
- http://www.rathgormack.com/history/
- http://homepage.eircom.net/~150/page46.html