Seán O'Hegarty
Encyclopedia
Seán O'Hegarty was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army
in Cork during the Irish War of Independence
and served as O/C of the Cork No. 1 Brigade of the IRA after the deaths of Tomás Mac Curtain
and Terence MacSwiney
.
Born in Cork
on 21 March 1881, O'Hegarty came from a family with strong nationalist roots. His upbringing was steeped in Irish culture and he was a supporter of the Irish language, music, and Gaelic games
. He followed his brother Patrick into the Gaelic League and eventually the Irish Volunteers
and the Irish Republican Brotherhood
.
His true talents as an organiser and soldier were to emerge during the War of Independence when he commanded many of the No. 1 Brigade's attacks on British forces in Ireland. Early on in the conflict he was impatient to step up the military campaign, which sometimes put him at odds with MacCurtain (and later MacSwiney). He did not want political developments to interfere with the work of the army. After MacSwiney's arrest, the IRA militants led by O'Hegarty won control and he assumed command of the brigade.
Among other operations, he planned and carried out the Coolavokig Ambush
. In March of 1921 he controversially authorized the killings of 6 unarmed British soldiers on the streets of Cork City as a reprisal for the execution of 6 IRA men captured by the British Army
.
At times he was criticized by some IRA officers for "shooting first and asking questions later," particularly in regard to suspected informers. However, these claims were usually made by officers operating in areas outside of Cork County, which by late 1920 was consumed by vicious guerilla warfare and tit-for-tat violence.
Throughout the conflict he made sure his men formed an increasingly efficient fighting force. He was intolerant of alcohol use and banned the production of poteen in his area of command.
While he strongly opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty
of 1921 he took a neutral role early in the Irish Civil War and tried to avert hostilities from breaking out into fullscale civil war.
He died on 31 May 1963 and is buried at Kilmurry Cemetery, near Macroom, Co. Cork.
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...
in Cork 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 served as O/C of the Cork No. 1 Brigade of the IRA after the deaths of Tomás Mac Curtain
Tomás Mac Curtain
Tomás Mac Curtain was a Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland. He was elected in January 1920.He was born at Ballyknockane in the Parish of Mourne Abbey in March 1884. He attended Burnfort National School. In 1897 the family moved to Blackpool on the northside of Cork where he attended The North...
and Terence MacSwiney
Terence MacSwiney
Terence Joseph MacSwiney was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He was arrested by the British on charges of sedition and imprisoned in Brixton prison in England...
.
Born in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
on 21 March 1881, O'Hegarty came from a family with strong nationalist roots. His upbringing was steeped in Irish culture and he was a supporter of the Irish language, music, and Gaelic games
Gaelic games
Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The two main games are Gaelic football and hurling...
. He followed his brother Patrick into the Gaelic League and eventually 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"...
and the 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...
.
His true talents as an organiser and soldier were to emerge during the War of Independence when he commanded many of the No. 1 Brigade's attacks on British forces in Ireland. Early on in the conflict he was impatient to step up the military campaign, which sometimes put him at odds with MacCurtain (and later MacSwiney). He did not want political developments to interfere with the work of the army. After MacSwiney's arrest, the IRA militants led by O'Hegarty won control and he assumed command of the brigade.
Among other operations, he planned and carried out the Coolavokig Ambush
Coolavokig Ambush
The Coolavokig Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 25 February 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place at Coolavokig , County Cork...
. In March of 1921 he controversially authorized the killings of 6 unarmed British soldiers on the streets of Cork City as a reprisal for the execution of 6 IRA men captured by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
At times he was criticized by some IRA officers for "shooting first and asking questions later," particularly in regard to suspected informers. However, these claims were usually made by officers operating in areas outside of Cork County, which by late 1920 was consumed by vicious guerilla warfare and tit-for-tat violence.
Throughout the conflict he made sure his men formed an increasingly efficient fighting force. He was intolerant of alcohol use and banned the production of poteen in his area of command.
While he strongly opposed 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...
of 1921 he took a neutral role early in the Irish Civil War and tried to avert hostilities from breaking out into fullscale civil war.
He died on 31 May 1963 and is buried at Kilmurry Cemetery, near Macroom, Co. Cork.