Tom Hales
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Hales was an IRA
volunteer
and politician from West Cork. He was a friend of Michael Collins
.
Born at Knocknacurra, Ballinadee
, near Bandon
on a family farm owned by his father Robert who was an activist in the Land War
and a reputed member of the Fenian Brotherhood
.
Tom Hales and his brothers, Sean, Bob and William, fought with the IRA in west Cork during the Irish War of Independence
. A fifth brother, Donal, settled in Genoa from 1913, was appointed Irish Consular and Commercial Agent for Italy in February 1919. In this capacity he played a leading propaganda role, and oversaw a failed attempt to import a substantial amount of weapons and ammunition (captured Austrian stock from the World War I) from Genoa in the spring of 1921. During the War, Tom was captured by the British Army
in Cork and was badly beaten and tortured in an effort to make him disclose the whereabouts of prominent IRA figures, including Michael Collins. He never broke, though his co-accused, Patrick Harte suffered brain damage and died in hospital insane. The torture of Hales and Harte is believed to have influenced a scene in the film The Wind That Shakes the Barley
in which an IRA officer's fingernails are pulled out.
During the Irish Civil War
the Hales brothers fought on opposite sides. Tom Hales commanded the Flying Column which attacked the Free State Army convoy at Béal na Blath
which resulted in the death of his friend, Michael Collins
. Sean Hales
was killed by the IRA during the bitter Irish Civil War
. As a reprisal, the Free State executed four senior Republicans, one from each province. The Munster man who was picked out to be shot was Dick Barrett
, who had been a member of the same IRA brigade as Sean Hales during the Anglo-Irish War and were reportedly childhood friends.
Hales was elected to Dáil Éireann
in 1933 as a member of Fianna Fáil but failed to retain his seat as an independent candidate in the 1937 general election. He also unsuccessfully contested the 1944 general election as an independent candidate and the 1948 general election as a candidate for Clann na Poblachta
. Hales died in 1966.
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...
volunteer
Volunteer (Irish republican)
Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...
and politician from West Cork. He was a friend of Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
.
Born at Knocknacurra, Ballinadee
Ballinadee
Ballinadee is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the parish of Courceys, some 12 km by road west of Kinsale and 9 km South East of Bandon....
, near Bandon
Bandon, County Cork
Bandon is a town in County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 5,822 as of census 2006, Bandon lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means "Bridge of the Bandon", a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing-point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its...
on a family farm owned by his father Robert who was an activist in the Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
and a reputed member of the Fenian Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
.
Tom Hales and his brothers, Sean, Bob and William, fought with the IRA in west 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...
. A fifth brother, Donal, settled in Genoa from 1913, was appointed Irish Consular and Commercial Agent for Italy in February 1919. In this capacity he played a leading propaganda role, and oversaw a failed attempt to import a substantial amount of weapons and ammunition (captured Austrian stock from the World War I) from Genoa in the spring of 1921. During the War, Tom was 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...
in Cork and was badly beaten and tortured in an effort to make him disclose the whereabouts of prominent IRA figures, including Michael Collins. He never broke, though his co-accused, Patrick Harte suffered brain damage and died in hospital insane. The torture of Hales and Harte is believed to have influenced a scene in the film The Wind That Shakes the Barley
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War...
in which an IRA officer's fingernails are pulled out.
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....
the Hales brothers fought on opposite sides. Tom Hales commanded the Flying Column which attacked the Free State Army convoy at Béal na Blath
Béal na mBláth
Béal na mBláth, officially Béal Átha na Bláiche , is a small village in County Cork, Ireland. Both Bláth or Bláiche are variations of the word bláthach, meaning literally "flowery" or "floral", or in this case "buttermilk"....
which resulted in the death of his friend, Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
. Sean Hales
Sean Hales
Sean Hales was an Irish political activist in the early 20th century. Hales was born in Ballinadee, County Cork, where he and his brothers Tom, Donal and Robert were involved in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence.At the 1921 elections Hales was elected to the Second...
was killed by the IRA during the bitter 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....
. As a reprisal, the Free State executed four senior Republicans, one from each province. The Munster man who was picked out to be shot was Dick Barrett
Richard Barrett (Irish Republican)
Richard Barrett was a prominent Irish Republican Army volunteer who was executed during the Irish Civil War in 1922.-War of Independence:...
, who had been a member of the same IRA brigade as Sean Hales during the Anglo-Irish War and were reportedly childhood friends.
Hales was elected to Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
in 1933 as a member of Fianna Fáil but failed to retain his seat as an independent candidate in the 1937 general election. He also unsuccessfully contested the 1944 general election as an independent candidate and the 1948 general election as a candidate for Clann na Poblachta
Clann na Poblachta
Clann na Poblachta , abbreviated CnaP, was an Irish republican and social democratic political party founded by former Irish Republican Army Chief of Staff Seán MacBride in 1946.-Foundation:...
. Hales died in 1966.
Sources
- Peter Hart, The I.R.A.& its enemies, violence and community in Cork 1916-1923, Oxford University Press, (1998), pages 187-201, "The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Family".
- Donal Hales, 'Witness Statement', Bureau of Military History (Dublin)