Sinn Féin Meeting Macroom, Royal Irish Constabulary File

Repository: Cork City and County Archives

Identity Statement

TitleSinn Féin Meeting Macroom, Royal Irish Constabulary File
Archive ReferenceIE CCCA/U104
Web Link to this Entryhttps://iar.ie/archive/sinn-fein-meeting-macroom-royal-irish-constabulary-file
Creation Dates7214
Level of DescriptionFile
Extent Medium45 items

Context

Creator(s): Royal Irish Constabulary

  • Administrative History ↴

    The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was a paramilitary police force, founded in 1836 and centrally controlled from Dublin Castle. The force was widely dispersed in barracks throughout the country except for Dublin which was policed by the Dublin Metropolitan Police. In 1922, following independence, the RIC was disbanded and replaced by the Garda Síochana in the 26 counties and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland.
  • Archival History ↴

    Deposited in Archives by Padraig O'Maidin, County Librarian
  • Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

    Donation

Content & Structure

  • Scope & Content: Royal Irish Constabulary ↴

    File, originally entitled ‘Reports and Seized Documents Sinn Fein Meeting, Macroom, October 1919’. Sent to Chief Secretary’s Office, Dublin Castle by the Royal Irish Constabulary, concerning a Sinn Fein meeting held in Macroom on 5 October 1919. The Sinn Fein meeting was attended by T.J. McSweeney (Terence MacSwiney) MP, Daniel Corkery, Denis Lynch, Patrick O’Connor, John Kelleher, John Healy, Patrick O’Donoghue, Jeremiah Leahy and Michael Kelleher, and it may have concerned the raising of the Dáil Éireann loan. Part 1 contains reports by RIC personnel such as U104/1/1, minute by the RIC Inspector general, Chief Secretary’s Office, Dublin, enclosing list of men attending the Sinn Fein meeting and advising ‘…that these men should be prosecuted under Section 7 and 2 (3) (a) of the Crime Act 1887 for taking part in an unlawful assembly.’ Parts 2 – 6 contain papers seized from some of those present at the meeting, or found at the meeting place, and reports and indices of same; such as U104/2/4, Seized item marked ‘A1′, notebook of Terence McSweeney containing notes on Sinn Fein and republicans in mid-Cork/Macroom area; and such as U104/3/5, seized item marked ‘B2’, letter, in Irish, from Secretary of Sinn Fein Mid Cork constituency office, Macroom, concerning Dail Eireann Internal Loan 1919; and such as, U104/3/16 seized item marked ‘B13’, letter from Michael Collins, Minister for Finance, Dail Eireann, Dublin, to Terence MacSwiney T.D. 4 Belgrave Place, Cork. The present collection is of interest to the study of intelligence gathering by the RIC on republican activists and organisations during the War of Independence, specifically the Sinn Féin local branch network which was used, as seen in the present collection, as a base to raise funds to maintain the fledgling Dáil Éireann. The items seized by the RIC are also of interest to the study of the republicans’ day to day activities and methods of organisation.

  • Appraisal Destruction ↴

    Permanent Retention
  • Arrangement ↴

    Original order has been maintained
    Part 1 : Reports by Royal Irish Constabulary Officers (7 items)
    Part 2 : Items Found on Terence MacSweeney MP (5 items)
    Part 3 : Papers Found on Daniel Corkery (22 items)
    Part 4 : Papers Found on Patrick O’Donoghue (3 items)
    Part 5 : Papers found in the Sinn Fein Hall, Macroom (3 Items)
    Part 6 : Papers Found in Patrick O’Connor (5 items)

Conditions of Access & Use

Creation Dates7214
Level of DescriptionFile
Extent Medium45 items
Material Language ScriptEnglish
Finding Aids Descriptive list Archive Web Link →

Allied Materials

There are no Allied Materials

Descriptive Control Area

Archivist NoteBrian McGee
Rules/ConventionsISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
Date of DescriptionsNov-09