History of County Wexford (1914–1923)

County Wexford () is a county located in the south-east of Ireland. The period 1916–1923 was one of the most turbulent in the county's history. In 1914 Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom. During World War I much war-related activity took place in County Wexford, especially in Wexford's coastal waters. A number of men enlisted in the British Army from Co. Wexford died in the land war in Europe. In 1916 Wexford Rebels seized the town of Enniscorthy during the Easter Rising. Co. Wexford was very active throughout the War of Independence and later fought an especially bloody Irish Civil War.

Enniscorthy 1916 In 1916, a small rising occurred at EnniscorthySee: Furlong and Hayes, pp 46 – 70. on cue with that at Dublin. On Thursday, 27 April 1916, Enniscorthy town was taken over by about 600 armed patriots,”[British] Commanding Officer's Report – G.A. French, 2 May 1916", in Furlong and Hayes, p 61. almost without opposition in a surprise attack. They were led by Robert Brennan (journalist) (1881–1964). The rebels consisted primarily of Irish Volunteers, supplemented by members of Fianna Éireann and Cumann na mBan. Seamus Doyle and Seán Etchingham were next in command. The patriots made the Athenaeum Theatre, near Enniscorthy Castle, their headquarters, taking over the town and blocking the roads and the railway line. They surrounded the R.I.C. barracks and though shots were fired, no real attempt was made to take the barracks. Meanwhile, a force under Paul Galligan occupied the town of Ferns and some northern parts of the county. The British responded by sending a force of more than 1,000 men to retake Enniscorthy, under the command of G.A. French.George Arthur French (d. 1950) was a Co. Wexford native, who lived at Newbay House near Wexford town after his marriage in 1899. The fact that he was from Co. Wexford seems to have been a big influence in resolving the situation at Enniscorthy without bloodshed. On Saturday, 29 April 1916, news of the general surrender in Dublin reached Enniscorthy. The rebels refused to believe it. They refused the demand to surrender and required also that the Dublin surrender be confirmed to them. They would only surrender if ordered to do so by Patrick Pearse.Furlong and Hayes, p. 46. The next day, 30 April 1916, the British escorted two patriots, Seamus Doyle and Seán R. Etchingham, to Dublin to consult Pearse in Arbor Hill Prison. The order to surrender was obtained. On Monday, 1 May 1916, the Enniscorthy patriots surrendered unconditionally. There had been no fatalities and relatively little damage to property. Some of the leaders, including Robert Brennan, were sentenced to death, but all had their sentences commuted. Furlong and Hayes state that "270 were arrested, of whom 150 were interned at Frongoch in north Wales". Frongoch internment camp was formerly a German prisoner-of-war camp. It was cleared of German prisoners to accommodate the Irish patriots involved in the Easter Rising, the first of whom arrived there 9 June 1916. The camp was located at Frongoch, three miles from the town of Bala in Merionethshire, North Wales.Coogan, Michael Collins, p. 49.

Michael O'Hanrahan of New Ross, a member of Sinn Féin, of the IRB and of the Irish Volunteers, who played a prominent role in the Easter Rising at Jacob's Biscuit Factory, Dublin, was executed 4 May 1916 at Dublin.

World War I

During World War I, a large number of men from Co. Wexford fought and died on the Continent. The local newspapers of the period are full of the obituaries of those who died.often with an accompanying photograph. Throughout the War Ireland remained under British rule. At least 504 men from Co. Wexford, enlisted in the British Army, died fighting in the land war.See List at World War 1 – The Wexford Casualties (Online Edition of Journal of the Taghmon Historical Society). German U-boats were very active off Wexford's southern coast during the War. Royal Naval Air Service airships were based at Johnstown Castle,Furlong and Hayes, pp 80 – 84. and were primarily used to deal with the U-boat threat – but with limited success. However, later, from 25 February 1918, American seaplanes operating out of United States Naval Air Station Wexford cleared the shipping lanes of U-boats in a short period of time.Furlong and Hayes, pp 94 – 103. One famous U-boat that operated off Wexford's coasts was , commanded by Walther Schwieger (d. 1917). On 6 May 1915 it torpedoed and sunk SS Centurion off the south Wexford coast, but Schwieger allowed the 44-man crew to escape to safety. Later that same day he also sunk SS Candidate, but its crew was rescued by a friendly ship. The next day, this same U-boat infamously torpedoed and sunk , a large passenger liner, off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board – including many Americans, which partially influenced their entry into the War.Furlong and Hayes, p. 85. The was torpedoed and sunk by a different U-boat 17 March 1917 off the south Wexford coast, with the loss of 55 persons.See: SS Antony. The main shipping route between Britain (primarily to the port of Liverpool) and America passed through Wexford coastal waters. Britain was incredibly dependent on this route for supplies for its War effort. A huge number of ships were sunk off Wexford's coasts during the War – 1915 and 1917 being the worst years.Search: Shipwrecks off Co. Wexford coast at www.irishwrecksonline.net. The area of sea around Tuskar Rock came to be referred to as "The Graveyard" – the graveyard of Allied ships.Furlong and Hayes, p. 94. A number of German U-boats were also sunk in Wexford coastal waters. One of these was , The 'UC' type of U-boats were a smaller type of U-boat used mainly for laying mines. sunk off the Hook Peninsula on 4 August 1917 by a mine. The only survivor was the commander, Kurt Tebbenjohanns, who escaped as he was in the conning tower at the time. The rest of the crew – 28 men – died. They had been tricked by false reports from the British that the minefield had been cleared.Gibson and Prendergast, pp 196 –197.See also: U-boats – German Submarine Losses From All Causes During World War One.Furlong and Hayes, p. 87. Here it is incorrectly called U-44, a different U-boat that sunk off Norway later that same month. This page contains a black-and-white photo of UC-44. Another U-boat sunk off the Wexford coast was . It was sunk by a British patrol boat off Tuskar Rock in St George's Channel, 26 September 1917. Only one man, who turned out to be the commander, Alfred Arnold, was rescued.Grant, p. 67. The other 27 members of the crew died.Photo of UC-33 and a list of those who died (in German). was also sunk further off the south Wexford coast, 25 April 1918 – 41 men died and 1 survived.

Death of John Redmond and the first Dáil

John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, died at London, 6 March 1918. He was interred in the Redmond family vault at St John's Graveyard, John Street, Wexford, later that same month. A large crowd attended his funeral.Furlong and Hayes, pp 115 – 116. The executions of the Dublin-based patriots that followed the Easter Rising, and the resultant change in public opinion, meant that Redmond's Party and many of his political aspirations had become effectively redundant at the time of his death. It was never to rise to prominence again and it was wiped out by Sinn Féin at the 1918 General Election for the House of Commons at Westminster – when 73 out of a total of 105 seats went to the Sinn Féin party. At that Election, Co. Wexford returned two Sinn Féin candidates, James Ryan and Roger Sweetman – who replaced the Redmondites who had previously held these seats, Peter Ffrench and Thomas Esmonde. However, Sinn Féin refused to take their seats in the British Parliament. Instead they set up their own Parliament, Dáil Éireann, at Dublin, in direct opposition to the British one at London, and it met 21 January 1919 for the first time. Only members of Sinn Féin attended. Members who formed the First Dáil were those Sinn Féin candidates elected 1918, but who had refused to take their seats in London – only 29 Sinn Féin members attended, as most of the other 44 were in prison or, in a few cases, "on the run". The Dáil elected Éamon de Valera, as President of the Republic (that is, of the Republic that had been proclaimed Easter 1916). De Valera had been born in 1882 at New York City, to an Irish mother and a Cuban father (of Spanish descent). He had been brought to Ireland when about three years old and was raised there. The Dáil set up a Department of Defence, represented by the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.). Michael Collins and Cathal Brugha were the main leaders of the I.R.A. World War 1 had effectively ended 11 November 1918 with the signing of the armistice of that date. However, while peace came to Europe, troubled times lay ahead for Co. Wexford and Ireland as a whole. On the same day that the First Dáil met, the Irish War of Independence began.

Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Treaty The Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) was fought by the I.R.A. in an attempt to end British rule of Ireland and thereby establish an independent Irish state. It was a guerrilla war. Though not as much activity took place in Co. Wexford as in some parts of Ireland, like Dublin and Munster, the county was still very much involved. The War in Co. Wexford saw numerous attacks on Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.) Barracks. Furlong and Hayes state that "Amongst the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Co. Wexford that were attacked, burned or demolished were those of Clonroche, Ferns, Kilmore, Oylegate [Oilgate], Ballinaboola, Tintern, Duncormick, Blackwater, Ballybrazil near Campile, Castlebridge, Ballycanew and Gorey."Furlong and Hayes, p. 117. Fethard and Arthurstown R.I.C. Barracks were also burned. Ballywilliam R.I.C. Barracks was burned, 5 April 1920. In December 1920, a major attack was made on the R.I.C. Barracks at Foulksmills. New Ross R.I.C. Barracks was attacked, 31 March 1921, and again in June 1921. This is just a partial list of R.I.C. Barracks attacked in Co. Wexford. Some attacks on R.I.C. Barracks were made in an effort to procure arms, also the cause of many attacks on other premises. Many of the R.I.C. Barracks attacked were abandoned by the R.I.C., who though an armed force, were unable to defend them. They were then stationed in the larger towns where they could more easily defend themselves by virtue of their larger numbers.

Post Offices were also attacked and some attacks on the Railways also occurred. An I.R.A. newspaper, called An tOglach, was distributed. A hastily assembled and undisciplined force called the Black and Tans were soon introduced to Ireland and Co. Wexford, by the British, to deal with the problem. Furlong and Hayes state that, from that point on, "Raids and counter-raids, burning of Sinn Féin members' properties, revenges, ambushes, assassinations and intimidation were persistent occurrences." As alluded to, constant raids on peoples homes – often of those who had little to do with the fighting – was a big feature of the Black and Tans' activities in Co. Wexford, who drove around the county in vehicles called Crossley Tenders on such 'missions'. The occupants were usually badly treated. The Black and Tans (or Tans as they were often called) quickly became extremely unpopular. Their repulsive behaviour and methods alienated Co. Wexford people further, ensuring that they would never be forgotten. Even the British King, George V, was outraged at their actions. Many people were imprisoned. Many of these prisoners were mistreated, some were tortured, and some went on hunger strike. One of the many locations where men from Co. Wexford were imprisoned was at Kilworth Camp, Co. Cork.