Belfast Brigade (IRA)

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The Belfast Brigade of the

Active Service Unit within the 1st battalion, led by Roger McCorley. McCorley and Seamus Woods were leaders of a very active IRA Active Service Unit in Belfast (consisted of 32 men) which targeted the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) - Auxiliaries and Black and Tans.[1]

The Brigade was strengthened during the period between the end of hostilities between the IRA and British forces in July 1921 and the outbreak of the

Belfast Pogrom
).

In May 1922, the IRA in Belfast assassinated

Anti-Treaty IRA in the civil war. He was captured and subsequently executed by the Free State. Most of the other IRA leaders in Belfast supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty, as they had been persuaded that it would ultimately result in a united, independent Ireland. In addition over 1,000 IRA men in Belfast had to flee Northern Ireland to escape the repression there and around 500 of them were recruited into the pro-treaty National Army
during the civil war.

As a result of these factors, the IRA in wartime Belfast lacked the will and resources to mount a renewed armed campaign. Remarkably, however, the Brigade developed a "Protestant squad", an intelligence unit, largely recruited by John Graham, a Church of Ireland devout, from Denis Ireland's Ulster Union Club.[3]

While Graham and others in the Belfast command continued to debate the merits of a new northern campaign, in April 1942 a diversionary action, drew the RUC into a gun battle in Cawnpore Street. A police constable, father of four Thomas James Forbes, was killed, in consequence of which six of the eight members of the active unit were sentenced to hang. In the event all but one were reprieved.[4] On 2 September 1942 Tom Williams, nineteen, was hanged the first, and only, Irish Republican to be judicially executed in the North.[5][6]  

In the

IRA Border Campaign
of the 1950s, there were no actions in Belfast.

It took the formation of the

Provisional IRA and its Belfast Brigade
in 1969 before republicans were again in a position to carry out attacks in Northern Ireland's capital city. The
Official IRA also had a Belfast brigade which was commanded by Republican Billy McMillen
, just like the Provisionals it carried a guerrilla campaign against the British forces in Ireland but they called a ceasefire in May 1972, but still carried out a handful of attack in 1973, 1974 & 1975, and they also became involved in a feud with the Provisionals, 11 people were killed in the feud & many more injured, the vast majority of attacks by both sides happened in Belfast.

The IRA of the 1920s in Belfast is the subject of the song Belfast Brigade.

See Also

References

  1. ^ Lynch, Robert, (2006), The Northern IRA and the Early Years of Partition, Irish Academic Press, Portland, pg 74, ISBN 0-7165-3378-2
  2. ^ McDermott, Jim, (2001), Northern Divisions The Old IRA and the Belfast Pogroms 1920-22, BTP Publications, Belfast, pg 266, ISBN 1-900960-11-7
  3. ^ Coogan, Tim Pat (2002). The IRA. London: Macmillan. p. 178..
  4. ^ Farrell, Michael (1976). Northern Ireland: the Orange State. London: Pluto. p. 166..
  5. ISBN 978-1-9993008-0-7
    ..
  6. ISBN 9780099415220
    ..
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