The Clock Is Still Going

Edward ‘Ned’ Stapleton’s life and role in the War of Independence were almost forgotten after his horrific death late in the Civil War. Even that tragedy was quickly overshadowed by reprisal atrocities in its wake. So his pre-Truce IRA and National Army service went unrecognised for more than a hundred years.

But now, thanks to the fantastic efforts of his grandnephew, Commemoration Group member Anthony Valentine, Ned’s military service has finally been certified. And we can now try to do justice to this unsung Volunteer who also helped to burn the Custom House.

Origin and Background

Edward Joseph Stapleton’s parents Edward senior (a Float-man) and Julia née Morris married in Dublin, 1890. The following year their first child, James, was born at Echlin Street (near the present Guinness Storehouse) but died aged eleven months in May 1892 in Moland Place (off Talbot Street). At the time Ned arrived on 21 March 1893 in the Rotunda Hospital, the couple were living on Howth Road in Clontarf. They moved back to town at North Cumberland Street and a daughter Margaret was born in 1895. Sadly, this little girl died at three months.

The surviving three Stapletons next relocated to nearby Upper Gloucester (now Sean MacDermott) Street. But tragically their bread-winner, Edward senior, contracted TB and died in the Harold’s Cross Hospice on 29 November 1896, aged just thirty-four. The widowed Julia (aged 30) was left alone to rear her infant son and had to take up work as a Domestic Servant. Herself and Ned are recorded at 41 Upper Gloucester Street in the 1901 census.

Ten years later the pair were living in 98 Lower Gloucester Street and eighteen-year-old Ned was a Railway Porter supporting his mother. He worked for the London & North Western Railways on the Liffey north quays and was already a staunch trade union man. There was a rail strike in September of that year and young Ned, by then a Crane Driver or Winch-Boy, was accused of intimidation and assault on a strike-breaker. In court he pleaded not guilty. A railway inspector vouched for his good character and work record. Alibis were provided by a work colleague and house-mates – his future wife and her brother (Anthony’s grandfather). But a jury found him guilty, recommending mercy for his youth and good character. Ned was given six months with Hard Labour in Mountjoy. On 8 January 1912, his sentence was commuted and he was discharged under a surety of £10.

The Times They Were A’ Changin

There were major social and political upheavals in Dublin in the following years as workers and police clashed in 1913 during the Lockout leading to the formation of the Irish Citizen Army. The militant Nationalist movement grew in strength, with the Volunteers also appearing in 1913 and Cumann na mBan the following year. Then the World War broke out. Through all these events, the Stapletons continued living at 98 Gloucester Street. During the Easter Rising their locality was not a major scene of fighting, But there was some action on that street when a party of Volunteers withdrawing from the GPO were surrounded and besieged by British troops until surrendering after two days.

The Family Grows

Possibly those momentous events, followed by the massive Nationalist demonstration for the funeral of Thomas Ashe in 1917 influenced Ned’s decision to later join up himself. But in a personal context, 1916 year was a big one for him, as he got married on 25 September in Lady of Lourdes Church, Gloucester Street. Ned was working as a Van Driver and his bride was Mary Tancred (His alibi-giver in 1911), now living on Summerhill.

The couple went on to have two sons – Edward Francis in October 1918 and Patrick Joseph in March 1921. During those times Ned was active in Trade Union affairs as a shop-steward with the Irish Transport & General Workers Union (IT&GWU). He worked as a News Packer and then as a Charge-Hand at Eason’s booksellers/stationers on Sackville (now O’Connell) Street. The Protestant-owned firm (still in business to this day) had rebuilt its premises after its destruction at Easter 1916 (receiving compensation of £55,850). The firm was a good employer and loyal to its staff, paying them full wages while business was suspended. The new premises opened in 1919. While Eason’s was regarded as unionist/conservative, it was not in any way prejudiced against employing Catholics such as Stapleton.

Active with Dublin Brigade

Ned also joined another organisation – The Volunteers Dublin Brigade. Starting with C Coy, 1st Battalion, Dublin Brigade in 1917, he transferred to C Coy, 2nd Battalion in 1920. Vol. Stapleton took part in his unit’s major actions. He was among a number of men working at Eason’s arrested on 9 November 1920 following a raid and search of the firm’s premises by a combined party of military and Auxies.

He was taken to the Bridewell police station, charged with offences under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Regulations and sent to Mountjoy Prison. He was registered as Prisoner 1395, aged 27, stood 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighed 142 lbs., had brown hair, blue eyes with a fresh complexion and working as a Packer. Stapleton was detained until his discharge 25 January 1921. Ned returned to his home and resumed his job and IRA activities. He participated in several of his unit’s major operations. Most notably, he took part in the burning of the Custom House on 25 May 1921 and managed to get away safely.

Post-Truce Service

Stapleton remained a Volunteer up to and beyond the Truce. When the IRA Split occurred, he took the pro-Treaty position. Ned attested with the new Irish Army on 24 February 1922 at the rank of Sergeant Machine Gunner, Dublin Guards and was soon commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Civil War

He was later promoted to Captain and served as O/C of the garrison at Croom, Co. Limerick until February 1923. Ned was then posted to Kerry Command under Comdt. Maurice Culhane, 19th Infantry Division. Stapleton could never have imagined in his worst nightmares that this would lead to a freakish, eerie echo from the past. His young family would soon suffer a tragedy very similar to what he and his mother experienced in his own early life…

Knocknagoshel Changes Everything

Located in a remote rural part of northeast Co. Kerry, close to the border with Co. Limerick, Knocknagoshel is a small village giving its name to the surrounding district. Before 1923, it was probably most renowned for an odd banner flown at a Parnell rally in 1891 “Arise, Knocknagoshel and take your place among the nations of the Earth!”. A little over a kilometre south of the village is Talbot’s Bridge in the townland of Ballyduff where there is a steeply inclined field. In 1923 this was part of Baranarig Wood.

The National Army Kerry Command’s nearest garrison was in Hartnett’s Hotel, Castleisland, about 12 kilometres south of Talbot’s Bridge. One of its recently-enlisted members was a local, Lieutenant Patrick ‘Pats’ O’Connor. Bad feeling had developed between him and two local IRA men before he joined up. O’Connor had some pro-Treaty informants in the area and knew who the Republican activists were. That knowledge had assisted the Castleisland garrison with some arrests. It is said that senior officers of IRA 1st Battalion, Kerry 2 Brigade came to see O’Connor as significant threat and determined to take him out. A landmine was manufactured and packed with explosives by six IRA men at Kilmurray House in Cordal (to the east of Castleisland). To coax him out of his well-defended post, two sisters in the local Cumann na mBan were asked to forge an anonymous note to O’Connor telling of a large IRA arms dump in a dugout in the wood.

Acting on that tip-off, at 1.40am on 6 March 1923, Captains Mick Dunne and Ned Stapleton (Dublin Guard, both Custom House veterans), guided by Lt. O’Connor, led a party of six National Army troops from Castleisland towards Knocknagoshel. The party travelled by Crossley tender and arrived at Talbot’s Bridge about 3.45am. Sergeant Matthews and Lewis gunner Private O’Shea were detailed to stay with their vehicle. Not having any inkling they had been lured into a deadly trap, the rest of the party proceeded towards the woods and located the dump. After about 15 minutes the soldiers at the bridge heard a heavy explosion. Telling O’Shea to stay put, Matthews ran in the direction of the blast. He came upon a horrific scene of carnage.

Blown To Pieces

At a subsequent military inquiry, Matthews said he found Capt. Dunne and Lt. O’Connor were dead. After a search in the darkness, he discovered Capt. Stapleton and Privates Michael Gallivan and Laurence O’Connor “almost dead”. Stapleton was conscious and asked him to report to Castleisland HQ and get a priest, which he and O’Shea did. On their arrival back at the scene with a party under their O/C Comdt. Maurice Culhane, with Medical Officer Comdt. Duffy and the priest, the two wounded privates had expired. The M.O. did all he could but Capt. Stapleton survived just long enough to receive the Last Rites. Dr. Duffy treated the horrific wounds suffered by a sixth casualty, Private Joseph O’Brien (possibly not seen in the darkness by Sgt. Matthews). He lost both lower legs and was almost totally blinded, but survived and was taken to Tralee Infirmary.

There was extensive press coverage of the incident which evoked widespread public revulsion and sympathy, Kerry included (Three of the victims were from the county). An official GHQ report stated: “Three officers and two other ranks were killed and one Volunteer seriously wounded as the result of a mine explosion in Knocknagoshel, Co. Kerry this morning. …

A party of troops left [Castleisland] to locate a dump in Baranarig Wood. It contained a trap-mine which exploded when disturbed, killing Capt. Michael Dunne, Capt. Joseph [sic] Stapleton, Lieut. O’Connor and two Volunteers. One other Volunteer was seriously wounded.”

It was also reported that Major General O’Daly, Kerry Command, had issued an order “in future all mines must be lifted and all dumps cleared by Irregular prisoners“. A seemingly precautionary decision to protect his troops. How ominous the real meaning was would emerge all too soon.

The IRA had covered a dugout with a pile of stones on top of a boulder under which a trap-mine had been laid. It is believed the mine was triggered when Mick Dunne moved the boulder. He and his comrades were mangled. Even their weapons, including Stapleton’s Lewis gun, disintegrated. Body parts and uniform scraps were found scattered widely around the scene. In follow-up searches, a limb was discovered a good distance away. A young girl from the area found Lt. O’Connor’s decapitated head in a stream. Further gory details were given in a newspaper interview by Comdt. Delaney, Kerry Command M.O. which will not be repeated here.

There were also press tributes paid to the dead officers: “DUBLIN MEN – Captains Stapleton and Dunne were both natives of Dublin and had excellent pre-Truce Volunteer records.” Their past association with Col. Comdt. Tom Kehoe and the similar fate he met at Carrigaphooka, Co. Cork six months previously were recalled in the press.

The Sad Return Home

The remains of the dead were brought to Castleisland where the inquiry was held. The bodies of Mick Dunne and Ned Stapleton were then transported by rail destined for their home city, Dublin, accompanied by Kerry Command O/C O’Daly, other officers and an escort. It was reported that a crowd of about 2,00 people kneeled and recited the Rosary as the funerals paused at Newcastle West railway station in Co. Limerick.

At Ballybrophy, Co. Tipperary it was necessary to requisition road transport owing to IRA-inflicted damage to the rail lines onward to Portlaoise. From there the sad journey resumed by special train to Kingsbridge (now Heuston) station in Dublin and the dead were received at nearby St Bricin’s Military Hospital, Infirmary Road.

The coffins draped with Tricolours were brought to the Pro-Cathedral, Marlborough Street accompanied by one hundred soldiers from Portobello Barracks under Col. Charlie Dalton and a pipe and reed band. They reposed overnight before a funeral Mass on 9 March. The long cortege of two hearses and over sixty other vehicles plus pedestrians made its way to Glasnevin Cemetery past huge crowds lining Talbot and O’Connell Streets. One viewer commented that such a public display of sympathy had not been witnessed since the funeral of Michael Collins the previous year, apart perhaps from that of Sean Hales T.D. “A silent crowd lined the route, packed in a dense mass as far as the eye could see, with nearly every woman in it furtively dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Opinions were freely expressed amongst the men as to the kind of men who would send a fellow-being to such an appalling death.”

The small Stapleton family at the graveside were his widow Mary, two little sons Edward and Patrick, his mother Julia, and his in-laws, Michael and Robert Tancred. The chief mourners for Mick Dunne included his mother, sister, uncles and other relatives. Notable names among the general attendance included President Cosgrave, Minister Desmond Fitzgerald T.D., Dáil Ceann Comhairle Michael Hayes T.D., Major Generals Tom Ennis, Liam Tobin, Paddy O’Daly, Col. Charlie Dalton, Col. Comdt. Tom Flood and officers from Limerick Command, Ned Stapleton’s previous posting. Civilians included Francis Griffith, brother of the late Arthur, and family; ; John Flood, father of Army officers Tom (already mentioned above) and Peter; and representatives of Cumann na Saoirse.

The Army pipe band and firing party were from Kehoe Barracks.

So ended the life and military career of Ned Stapleton, just short of his 30th birthday. He disappeared from public memory too, unless a visitor spotted his name on one of the panels at the Army plot in Glasnevin.

The Aftermath – Reprisal Killings…

The Civil War which cost him his life would end two and a half months later. But not before National Army Kerry Command under Paddy O’Daly had gone on a rampage of horrific atrocities against IRA prisoners at Ballyseedy, Killarney (6 March – 8 dead, one survivor);  Countess Bridge, Killarney (7 March – 4 dead, one survivor); and Bahaghs, Cahersiveen (12 March – 5 dead) using landmines. The first two massacres were carried out when tempers were at their hottest. O’Daly was said to have gone berserk at the news from Knocknagoshel and had to be restrained. He had known Stapleton and Dunne very well and wanted revenge. He was not to be stopped, or even attempt to put a stop to illegal killings by his men.

In all, over twenty Kerry IRA men died in those and other brutal acts of violence by National Army troops that month. One was blacksmith Dan Murphy shot at Baranarig Wood after his arrest on 23 March. He was suspected of manufacturing the mine used there (In fact his brother John ‘Coffey’ had made it). Even later, on 29 May – after the end of Civil War fighting – Jeremiah O’Leary, one of the makers of the Knocknagoshel mine, was shot dead in captivity.

It has been widely recognised that all these killings were in reprisal for the deaths of Ned Stapleton, Mick Dunne and the other three soldiers on 6 March 1923.

…And Cover Up

Compounding the shock-value of the atrocities, adding insult to injury and rubbing salt into the wounds, a disgraceful white-wash inquiry took place which exonerated the National Army members responsible. Their actions were defended by Gen. Richard Mulcahy and the real circumstances covered up. This was aided by the silence and tacit support of most of his government colleagues and Army top brass.

The real story began to emerge from the accounts of the two men who had miraculously survived the massacres at Ballyseedy and Countess Bridge. But it made no difference. The Free State closed ranks. Nobody was held to account. Only a small number of voices dissented among Kerry Command, the Garda and in the Dáil and they were ignored.

Those Left Behind after Knocknagoshel

In an ideal world this shameful episode should never have reflected badly on Ned Stapleton and his comrades blown to pieces on 6 March 1923. But, inevitably, a long shadow was cast over their memories. Knocknagoshel unleashed a series of reprisals beginning at Ballyseedy and ending with the death of Jeremiah O’Leary. But the bitter legacy has lasted for decades and has not faded away. There is still hurt in Kerry; some have forgiven, others have not even tried and probably never will (more about that in the footnote below).

It is hard to imagine that the Stapleton and Dunne families would have taken any consolation, let alone satisfaction, from the appalling actions of the National Army in Kerry Command in revenge for their losses. One thing is certain – the whole episode did nothing for the dependents’ grief or sustenance.

Ned Stapleton’s widow Mary was left to rear her two young lads, living with her own grief and that of her mother-in-law Julia, an elderly and frail invalid unable to work. They had been totally dependent on the dead officer’s pay.

It was not till April 1924, over a year after Ned’s death, that Mary Stapleton was awarded a Military Dependent’s Allowance for herself (£90 p.a.) and her two sons (£24 each p.a.). Her mother-in-law Julia was awarded an allowance of £1 per week.

Tragedy Upon Tragedy

Sadly, the younger son Patrick Joseph died from Bronchitis and Pneumonia in 1926, aged 5. His dependent’s allowance ceased.

Then, seven years later Ned’s mother Julia passed away. What made it sadder was that it occurred in the same hospice at Harold’s Cross where her husband had died thirty-seven years earlier.

Tragedy just kept visiting the Stapletons. The eldest son Edward Francis, occupation Messenger, succumbed to T.B. in February 1941 at 25 North Great George’s Street with his mother at his bedside. He was 22 years old.

Mary herself did not live much longer. Aged only 48, she passed away – also from T.B. – just five months later, on 8 July 1941 at her home, 64 Marlborough Street. Her death notice mentioned her late husband Captain E. J. Stapleton, National Army. She was survived by her mother, sister, brothers, and friends. Mrs. Mary Stapleton was laid to rest in Glasnevin Cemetery.

As for the others directly affected by Knocknagoshel: the sole survivor, Joseph O’Brien, was incapacitated for life which was a continuing struggle for him. He did receive a wound pension but had to fight for other necessary aids for his disability. He passed away in 1962, having outlived his wife and children. Mick Dunne’s mother was awarded a dependent’s pension while the parents of the other men killed received gratuities of varying amounts. They would all be long in their graves and forgotten by the general public before a memorial appeared at Knocknagoshel in 2013 (More in footnote below).

Conclusion

As stated at the start of this piece, Anthony Valentine deserves great credit and thanks for his persistence and success in championing Edward Stapleton’s memory. Little was widely known about his granduncle before Anthony’s research. Thanks to him and some help from Gary Deering, we now have a lot more information.

Anthony’s maternal grandfather John Tancred was a brother of Ned Stapleton’s wife. “My Mam lived in a tenement house on the corner of Sean MacDermott Street and Cathal Brugha Street as a child and they had a photo of Ned in National Army uniform on the wall. She and her sisters tell of my grandfather saying how harsh life was for his sister and her children after Neds death. I thought Ned deserved that his story be told and his heroic actions before his tragic death be recognised.”

A Bit of Good News!

After contacting the Department of Defence, Anthony was supplied with extracts from Ned Stapleton’s file, including his Attestation Papers and the record of the Inquiry proceedings. Ned and his direct family had all passed away before the 1917-1921 Service Medal was introduced in 1941. So no Award was ever recorded. Finally, that omission has been rectified.

Delighted to say that Anthony is now the proud possessor of a Service Medal Certificate issued in the name of Captain Edward Stapleton.

And, on that happier note, we are honoured to join in the commemoration of Custom House Fireman Ned Stapleton’s life and tragic death.

Des White

Footnote – Bitter Legacies v. Reconciliation

The horrific events of “Terror Month” March 1923 in Co. Kerry still evoke bitterness today. It may have faded to an extent but memories handed down the generations live long. Some idea of how some in Kerry still feel may be grasped from relatives’ speeches made at the centenary commemoration for the IRA blacksmith Dan Murphy murdered by three National Army officers (Named by a witness – one them was the O/C of Captains Stapleton and Dunne, mentioned above).

On the other hand, huge respect and a spirit of reconciliation has been shown by many other people linked, literally, by blood to the victims of Knocknagoshel and Ballyseedy. This began with Stephen Fuller, sole survivor of Ballyseedy. He deserves his reputation as an honourable man who voiced no bitterness or looked for retribution despite his horrific experience on the night of 7 March 1923. Even when he became a Fianna Fáil T.D., he did not speak publicly of Ballyseedy or use it for political purposes. His family believes he found some level of forgiveness for his would-be killers.

His son Paudie Fuller followed his father’s lead by attending the unveiling of the Knocknagoshel memorial in 2013, ninety years after the event (Monuments at the scenes of the reprisal killings had been in place long before that. Ironically Stephen Fuller was not invited onto the stage for the unveiling of Yann Goulet’s sculpture at Ballyseedy in 1959. Intra-Republican politics…).

A further example was a joint wreath-laying at Talbot’s Bridge in March 2023 by Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin with William O’Connor, the nephew of National Army Private Laurence O’Connor, blown to pieces close by, one hundred years before. Also in attendance was Jimmy O’Connell, nephew of Michael, one of the Ballyseedy victims. And for the first time, a Fianna Fáil minister, Norma Foley, stood beside her government colleagues from Fine Gael, the traditional ‘guardians’ of Knocknagoshel’s National Army dead.

In stark contrast, that memorial had been maliciously damaged in 2014, only five months after its erection. Three years later it was totally destroyed. As if the men commemorated there had committed the crimes of others, supposedly in their name so soon after their deaths.

Yes, they were dreadful, appalling acts by the official army of the state. But such vandalism to a mark of respect to men who happened to also wear that uniform achieves nothing positive. Surely memorials to all of Ireland’s fallen during the tragic Civil War are deserving of tolerance, if not respect, by all in this day and age?

Thankfully the monument has been restored. Like those for the Republican Civil War dead at Ballyseedy Cross, Tralee; Countess Bridge, Killarney; Bahaghs, Cahersiveen and elsewhere, the modest stone at Knocknagoshel will hopefully will be left to stand so future generations can learn about the futility and human cost of the War between Irish Brothers.

D.W.