On This Day / August 11, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
August 11, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 11th August 1921, relief greeted the release of Seán MacEoin after fears his continued imprisonment threatened the ongoing peace negotiations. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Relief as TD released | On This Day – 11th August 1921
ANXIETY and fear for the interruption of the peace negotiations created by the exclusion of Commandant Sean MacEoin, TD (Longford/Westmeath) from the list of Dáil Eireann members announced by Dublin Castle to be released to attend the Dáil meeting on the 16th has been happily allayed.
This bad political blunder had promised to create a major crisis. The country rang with indignation at the ‘exception’ which was a distinct breach of the Truce and a repudiation of the Lloyd George letter inviting (Sinn Féin) a conference.
Commandant MacEoin was released from Mountjoy Prison shortly after six o’clock last evening.
The prompt expression of opinion on behalf of the nation by the National leader no doubt influenced this decision and the about turn of those who issued the original order.
Mr de Valera and a large number of his colleagues were at the Mansion House early yesterday morning where the question of the detention of Commandant MacEoin and its effects on the peace negotiations was the chief topic of conversation.
Some of the released members of Dáil Eireann referred to their prison treatment after their arrival in Dublin. There are 1200 men interned in the Curragh Camp (Co Kildare).
Many of the internees who were there for a long period were in tatters and their boots worn to shreds.
TDs Released from Camp
THE following were released from Ballykinlar (Internment Camp, Co Down) yesterday:
J O’Doherty, Seamus Doyle, Joseph McGuinness, Michael Hayes, Dr Richard Hayes, Patrick Hogan, Finian Lynch and Sean Milroy.
The Case Against MacEoin
COMMANDANT MacEoin was charged with the murder of District Inspector McGrath at Ballinalee, County Longford on 7th January. He pleaded not guilty.
He declared himself to be ‘a soldier of the Irish Republic’ and contended that he had committed no offence against national law.
After his conviction the parents of the dead inspector made an appeal to the government that Mr MacEoin should not be executed.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Following strong representations from De Valera, the British authorities reversed their decision and released MacEoin despite his conviction for murder.
Had he been courtmartialled and found guilty even a few weeks earlier, his execution would have been guaranteed.
Among the northern internees released was Louis J Walsh, a Ballycastle lawyer and popular playwright, who quickly published an account of his time in Ballykinlar, On My Keeping, and In Theirs.
However, his former comrades were not impressed by Walsh’s disclosures and showed their resentment by publicly burning their copy at a special ceremony in the camp.
Walsh went on to become a district justice in Donegal after the establishment of the Free State.)
On This Day – 11th August 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.