Bloody Sunday marked a brutal day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, amidst the Irish War of Independence. The tragic events resulted in the deaths or fatal wounding of over 30 individuals.
Background
Bloody Sunday was one of the most significant events of the Irish War of Independence, which followed the declaration of the Irish Republic and the establishment of its parliament, Dáil Éireann. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) launched a guerrilla campaign against British forces, which included the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and the British Army, both determined to suppress the movement.
To counter the rising IRA activity, the British government reinforced the RIC with recruits from Britain. Additionally, a paramilitary force called the Auxiliary Division was formed. Both groups quickly gained infamy for their harsh treatment of civilians. In Dublin, the conflict frequently took the form of assassinations and retaliatory attacks from both sides.
On the morning of 21 November 1920, the IRA, under the leadership of Michael Collins and Richard Mulcahy, aimed to dismantle British intelligence operations in the city. Collins, who was both the IRA’s Chief of Intelligence and Finance Minister of the Irish Republic, had been orchestrating a covert unit known as the "Squad," or "Twelve Apostles." Their primary mission was to eliminate key British agents, RIC officers, and suspected informers.
The need for a decisive response became urgent in early November 1920, as prominent IRA figures narrowly escaped capture in a series of raids. On 10 November, Mulcahy managed to evade arrest, but British forces seized critical documents containing the names and addresses of 200 IRA members. Realising that the IRA’s structure in Dublin was at risk, Collins decided that a targeted strike against British intelligence agents was imperative. Dick McKee, a senior IRA officer, was entrusted with organising the mission.
On the evening of 20 November, members of the assassination teams, including the Squad and the IRA’s Dublin Brigade, were briefed on their assignments. The targets were spread across eight locations in Dublin, a calculated effort designed to cripple British intelligence in a single coordinated strike. However, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, two key planners, were captured in a raid just hours before the operation commenced. Meanwhile, Collins narrowly avoided capture in another raid.
The Events of Bloody Sunday
On the morning of 21 November 1920, the IRA launched a coordinated series of assassinations in Dublin, targeting British intelligence. Notable strikes included attacks at 28 Upper Pembroke Street, where six British officers were ambushed, and 38 Upper Mount Street, where two intelligence officers were killed. At 22 Lower Mount Street, one officer was killed while others survived, triggering a firefight with arriving Auxiliary Division members, forcing the IRA to escape. The morning’s operations left 14 dead, one mortally wounded, and five injured.
Later that afternoon, as tensions in the city mounted, a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary at Croke Park became the site of tragedy. The match attracted over 5,000 spectators, despite the morning’s events. Unbeknownst to attendees, British forces, including Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, were mobilising to raid the grounds. At 3:25 p.m., as the convoy approached the southwest gate, gunfire erupted. The British authorities later claimed they intended to search the crowd and that shots were fired first by IRA sentries. However, witnesses and reports suggest the police began shooting without provocation. The police fired 114 rounds, supported by machine gun fire from an armoured car. In the ensuing chaos, 14 civilians were killed, including two boys and a bride-to-be. Michael Hogan of the Tipperary team was the only player fatality. Eighty others were injured, many during the crush of people attempting to flee.
During that night, McKee and Clancy, along with Conor Clune, were killed while detained and interrogated in Dublin Castle. Their captors claimed that, due to a lack of available cells, the men were placed in a guardroom containing arms. They were allegedly killed while attempting to escape, reportedly throwing grenades that failed to detonate and firing a rifle at the guards, who responded with fatal gunfire. Medical examinations, however, painted a different picture, revealing broken bones, abrasions, and bullet wounds to the head and body.
Aftermath
The coordinated IRA operations against British intelligence and the subsequent British military response significantly impacted British rule in Ireland, bolstering IRA support. The killings at Croke Park, which included women, children, and a player, made global headlines and damaged British credibility, intensifying Irish public outrage.
The British government did not hold a public inquiry into the massacre. Instead, two closed-door military investigations were conducted. The findings, kept secret until 2000, concluded that unknown civilians might have fired first but criticised the RIC for responding with excessive force.
The aftermath also saw the arrest and trials of several IRA members. Frank Teeling, captured during the morning operations, was sentenced to death alongside William Conway and Edward Potter for the killing of Lieutenant Angliss. Teeling managed to escape from Kilmainham Gaol, while Conway and Potter had their death sentences commuted to penal servitude. Thomas Whelan was executed for the killing of Lieutenant Baggallay, and Patrick Moran was executed for the Gresham Hotel killings.
The Croke Park incident left a lasting legacy, commemorated by the Gaelic Athletic Association naming a stand after Michael Hogan, the footballer killed during the raid. In February 1921, the IRA avenged Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy’s deaths by killing informer James “Shanker” Ryan. Although the IRA continued assassinations and guerrilla actions, British intelligence gradually recovered by spring 1921. Further IRA plans for large-scale operations were halted due to the truce in July that ended the war.
