PRESENTATION OF GENERAL RICHARD MULCAHY TRIPTYCH TO THE MULCAHY FAMILY 07 OCT 2010 SPEECH BY DEFENCE FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF, LT GEN SEAN MCCANN

Transcription

1 PRESENTATION OF GENERAL RICHARD MULCAHY TRIPTYCH TO THE MULCAHY FAMILY 07 OCT 2010 SPEECH BY DEFENCE FORCES CHIEF OF STAFF, LT GEN SEAN MCCANN 1

2 Many a long day must pass before a history, properly so called, of Oglaigh na heireann can be written. When that time comes, the historian will have as his theme one of the most soul stirring epochs in the chequered history of Ireland an epoch of tragedy, comedy and glorious achievement. Thus read the editorial in An toglach, written in Feb 1926, as the nascent Irish Defence Forces and Irish Free State were taking their first tentative steps, during one of the most seminal periods in our history. Members of the Mulcahy family, and distinguished guests, we are assembled here today to honour one of the central figures of that important era an Irish patriot and one of the founding fathers of Oglaigh na heireann, General Richard Mulcahy. Although vying at times for appropriate recognition with iconic figures such as Collins and Devalera, Richard Mulcahy s role in Ireland s self-determination and in the development of our Defence Forces was unparalleled. His life was the very essence of service, sacrifice and devotion to the State. As a founding member of the Irish Volunteers, Oglaigh na heireann in 1913, Richard Mulcahy went on to play a key role in the 1916 Rising as a Commander in Thomas Ashe s Fingal Brigade. He was elected to the first Dail in 1918, and subsequently appointed Minister for Defence. He went on to play a crucial role in directing the War of Independence as Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters of the Volunteer Executive a position he held until the ratification of the treaty in January The development of the National Army, Oglaigh na heireann, from an irregular, highly politicised force which espoused military sovereignty, to a disciplined, professional institution which underpinned our newly independent democratic state, was a mammoth task which was made all the more difficult under conditions of civil war. This was 2

3 further compounded by the untimely death of the then Commander-in-Chief, Michael Collins. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man, and to fill the enormous void was the destiny of Richard Mulcahy. Indeed, his conduct in the immediate aftermath of Collins death was one of his finest hours, as he sought to reassure and galvanise an Army and a nation in mourning. In the early hours of the 23 rd of August 1922, our second, and last military Commanderin-Chief, penned a message of restraint, reassurance and perseverance to the members of Oglaigh na heireann, with a mastery of phrase which would become legendary. It is this famed message, together with a uniformed portrait and a summary of his military career, which constitute the Richard Mulcahy triptych which I am delighted to unveil here today. Although I am loathe to compare myself to a figure of the stature of General Richard Mulcahy, I can t help being struck by the personal and professional parallels which connect our lives. We were both educated in Thurles CBS, and were both closely associated with the great county of Cork. I attended Secondary School in Roscrea, run by the Cistercian Order, of which General Mulcahy s youngest brother Sam, later Dom Colomban, was a member. Ultimately, we both found ourselves thrust into the most senior position within the Defence Forces by virtue of the untimely demise of our predecessors. One of the most successful military actions of the 1916 Rising took place in Ashbourne, when Richard Mulcahy fought with distinction as a Commander in Thomas Ashe s Fingal Brigade. It gives me great pleasure to recount that, with him during that operation was J.V. Lawless, grandfather of my Personal Staff Officer, Commandant Frank Lawless, 3

4 and three other members of the Lawless Family. It is also of note that my Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Dave Ashe is a second cousin of Thomas Ashe. The history of Oglaigh na heireann, although not yet a century old, is nonetheless a proud and honourable one, saturated with valour, accomplishment and loyal service to the state. It includes chapters of insurrection, civil war, Emergency, counter-insurgency and expedition. This might not have been so, however, were it not for the contribution of Richard Mulcahy. To paraphrase the Capuchin Priest Fr Dominic, Mulcahy was a citizen of the Irish Republic, and could never be anything else. In June 1917, as Chief of Staff of Oglaigh na heireann, Mulcahy travelled to the UK to perform the duties of best man for Terence McSwiney, who had been imprisoned in Bromyard. Some three years later, McSwiney was to die in Brixton Prison, following a hunger strike designed to deny the British control over the duration of his sentence. Fr Dominic acted as McSwineys Chaplain during his last days. The ethos of noble sacrifice, embodied in the volunteers of Oglaigh na heireann on behalf of the people of Ireland, is perhaps appropriately encapsulated in AE Russells Poem Brixton Prison, written during the fraught days of McSwiney s hunger strike: Burn on, shine here, thou immortality, until we too have lit our lamps at the funeral pyre; Till we too can be noble, unshakable, undismayed: till we too can burn with the holy flame, and know there is that within us can triumph over pain, And go to death, alone, slowly and unafraid. The candles of God are already burning row on row Farewell light bringer, fly to thy heaven again. A man of enormous intellect, Mulcahy s mastery of the spoken and written word was unrivalled. He was endowed with a natural capacity to select the mot juste to rally his troops, or stir the nation. He was also a tenacious leader imbued with an unshakable 4

5 belief in the principles of democracy. In his own words, he didn t give a damn who ran the country as long as they conformed to the democratic will of the people. The central theme of Richard Mulcahy s life was, in the final words of Kevin Barry, to hold on and stick to the Republic. In that regard, as both a soldier and a politician, he devoted himself to the freedom of the State, the defence of the state and the development of the State. The professional identity, conduct and standards of Oglaigh na heireann, which make us such a proud and fundamental institution of this state, have their origins in the vision espoused by Richard Mulcahy. Ours is a unique culture which is underpinned by shared values of loyalty, integrity, professionalism, and commitment. These cultural values are the tenets from which the organisation has built a cohesive Defence Force which is inextricably infused with Irish societal values. Mulcahy viewed the organisation as a national institution through which the young people of Ireland would pass to become better citizens. In keeping with his strong sense of democratic idealism, he held that Oglaigh na heireann has been the people, is the people and will be the people. Our green uniform does not make us less the people. It is a cloak of our service, a curtailer of our weakness, an amplifier of our strength. Richard Mulcahy has secured an enduring legacy in the annals of Oglaigh na heireann and the history of Ireland, for which we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. His contribution to the state is perhaps best described by Eoin McNeill, founder of Oglaigh na heireann: There are few men in this assembly who know and are able to appreciate what this country owes to General Mulcahy. I doubt if but for General Mulcahy it would now be possible for us to be discussing the conduct of General Mulcahy. With that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to formally unveil the General Richard Mulcahy triptych on behalf of the men and women of Oglaigh na heireann. 5

6 Thank You. 6