Decoding the IRA

by Tom Mahon

  The clubs in Connecticut were doing well and a 1916 Easter Rising commemoration raised ‘$300 for [the] Army’. Other centres mentioned by Neenan included Detroit ‘in fair condition’ and California, which was as ‘good as ever’.52

  Twomey wrote to Neenan about ‘disquieting reports … of [the] activities of George Daly, organising [IRA] volunteers in Chicago in an organisation auxiliary to [the] AARIR. Put this down at once.’53 Neenan agreed: ‘George Daly started [an] Army club there to support Fianna Fáil.’ An IRA man, Thomas Loftus, was in charge of the men, who ‘misunderstood’ Daly’s position. Neenan reported that he ‘instructed our people to stop him’ and added that he would also get Anthony Farrell of Mayo to write to Loftus to ‘clear up matters’. Overall the situation in Chicago was ‘fairly good’. An important function of the Clan was to help members find employment through Irish-American networks and Neenan was able to report that in Chicago ‘employment for members [had been] successfully dealt with’.54

  IRA headquarters also pushed Neenan to persuade veterans to subscribe to An Phoblacht, both as a means to keep them in touch with IRA policy and propaganda and as a modest source of income.55 Cooney wrote to Neenan’s predecessor: ‘Spare no effort to increase the number of subscribers.’56 Neenan suggested that if there was an article devoted to America in the 1916 Easter Rising anniversary edition he could ‘easily’ sell one or two thousand copies and that the article should ‘emphasize the point as to the Clan being the only organisation who [sic] are now, as in the past, giving material assistance to the Republic’.57 Neenan professed that: ‘[I] am doing everything possible for An Phoblacht. [I] got [a] special circular sent out, [and] also seek subscribers at each meeting I attend.’58 It’s reasonable to surmise that An Phoblacht was primarily of interest only to recent IRA immigrants, rather than long-established Irish-Americans; however (despite Neenan’s optimism), sales in the US were poor. In 1930 some 480 copies a week were sent to members of the Clan and by 1932 this had declined to only 100 subscribers in the entire US.59

  The IRA and the GAA in New York

  Complementary to his work in building up the Clan, Connie Neenan planned a covert IRA takeover of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in New York. In addition he used his influence within the GAA to arrange for the IRA to secretly benefit from the Kerry Gaelic football team’s tour of the United States in 1927. By infiltrating and trying to manipulate cultural and sporting organisations Neenan was following in the long tradition of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

  The GAA was arguably the most important Irish fraternal society of the twentieth century. Through its promotion of Gaelic games, primarily football and hurling, it brought the young men (and to a lesser extent the young women) of Ireland together. One of the distinguishing features of the Irish at home and in America has been their strong allegiance to their home county, and the GAA tradition of having teams drawn from individual counties compete against each other played a significant role in the forging of this identity. Nowhere was it more so than in Kerry, which was to produce the greatest Gaelic football teams in the history of the GAA.

  The GAA was founded in 1864 by a group of nationalists, some of whom were associated with the IRB. Though the GAA was used by the IRB and later the IRA as a recruiting ground, it became a broadly nationalist organisation without allegiance to any one political party or constituency.60

  Most of the Irish in America gravitated towards the indigenous sports such as baseball, and the influence of the GAA was largely restricted to centres on the east coast. However, in the New York area the GAA retained a relatively strong following. There it was under the control of the Gaelic Athletic Association of Greater New York – the dominant GAA body in America.61

  There were several advantages for the IRA and Clan na Gael in having a strong presence within the GAA. First, IRA veterans and non-veterans alike could be recruited through the GAA. Second, IRA men holding elected office within the GAA acquired positions of influence and prestige among the Irish-American community. Third, gate receipts and other monies could be passed on to the IRA. This was either done covertly or occasionally a game could be advertised as being in aid of the IRA or Clan. As Neenan loftily put it, control of the GAA would result in ‘enormous gains’, including ‘purification of [the] games, elevation of [the Irish] race and financial benefits’.62 Neenan, a member of the New York GAA executive, used this connection as he recruited for the IRA clubs and he reported: ‘I am operating [recruiting] with success, using [the] Gaelic Athletic Association for its own and our benefit. [I’m] also paving the way for my appeal for funds.’63

  Soon after his appointment as An Timthire, he reported: ‘I expect to have [a] favourable report of [the] Gaelic Athletic Association in a month or so. I have been working on it for some time.’64 In January 1927 at the annual convention of the GAA of New York, Neenan was able to make his move. Ninety delegates assembled for what was ‘the largest, most successful and most harmonious GAA convention ever held in New York’. Delegates represented their own counties and sports and Neenan attended as a representative for the Cork senior hurlers. At the convention he must have been satisfied to hear that the financial report showed a balance of $3,770. The delegates elected the association’s officers and the members of the executive committee.65 They chose wisely and Neenan reported: ‘We have got good representation on [the] governing body [of the] Gaelic [Athletic] Association here. We elected two of our men as: Treasurer [William Magner of Cork] and Vice-President [J. McGuinness of Leitrim] respectively. Had we the necessary material here we could nearly have controlled it. I am on [the] executive committee with a few others [from the IRA].’ He clarified: ‘Our policy is to purify the games, while using it as a source of revenue. We are trying to run a few field days [games] under different headings if possible for the Army [IRA] funds. With good organisation we should be able to dictate [or gain control] next year.’66 In another letter he added: ‘If some of our fellows were more energetic we could easily control it [the GAA].’67

  Twomey was disappointed that not enough IRA and Clan na Gael members were participating in the GAA. He wrote to Neenan asking him if he could have it made official Clan policy that members must join the GAA: ‘A shame our men will not go into [the] GAA. Could you get their doing so made a policy by the Clan camps [clubs]?’68

  By February Neenan had made considerable progress in increasing the IRA’s influence within the GAA, and the IRA now had a majority among the groups that represented individual Irish counties: ‘We have made wonderful progress in [the] GAA and will be able to control it later. [I] have organised each county [group] to gain [an IRA] majority.’ He had applied to run several football games, the proceeds of which would benefit the IRA. This was largely done secretly, though one game was openly advertised as an IRA benefit. Neenan was confident that the IRA would succeed in taking control of the GAA – ‘we will succeed’ – and that at some stage the elected IRA officers and committee members should come out in the open as this would further enhance the respect for the IRA among the members.69

  Neenan’s enthusiasm was somewhat dampened the following month, when he reported: ‘We are gaining ground [in the GAA] daily … the tide is on the turn’ but ‘some of our fellows are painfully slow’.70

  The eastern division of the GAA in North America was inaugurated in early 1927, though New York refused to participate. Naturally enough the new organisation attracted Connie Neenan’s attention: ‘I am anxious we should be strongly represented on it.’71

  Figure 23. The first page of a three page report from Connie Neenan to Moss Twomey. This is a good example of the amount of cipher in some of the documents sent by the IRA’s representatives in America. In the last paragraph Neenan wrote: We have got good representation on [the] governing body [of the] Gaelic [Athletic] Association here. We elected two of our men, as Treasurer and Vice-President respectively. Had we the necessary material here, we could nearly have controlled it. I am on [the] executive, with a
few others.

  Since Clan membership was secret and Neenan kept quiet about his activities, it’s difficult to know the full extent of IRA influence within the GAA in America and for how long it continued. Interestingly, Neenan wrote to Moss Twomey six years later in 1933 about a proposed Kerry football team tour of the US, so he must have retained influence in the GAA at least up until then.72

  The Kerry football tour of America

  Connie Neenan put his influence in the GAA to use when he helped organise the Kerry football team’s tour of the United States in 1927. This visit was as much the Kerry IRA on tour as it was the Kerry GAA football team.

  The IRA had already planned to benefit from a visiting Irish team when in the summer of 1926 Tipperary, the all-Ireland hurling champions, toured the United States. On that occasion the IRA’s representative made arrangements for Tipperary to play a team drawn from Cork immigrants at Celtic Park in New York with the proceeds going to the IRA. The IRA was able to ‘square’ with the Cork team, though the majority of the players were reported to not be in ‘sympathy’ with the organisation.73 However, the IRA’s involvement in the Kerry tour was to be on a far larger scale.

  During the Civil War a series of atrocities in Kerry left a legacy of bitterness unrivalled in the rest of Ireland. In the aftermath of the war, the GAA was one of the few institutions that could bring together men from the opposing sides and in this it played a vital role. In 1924 a Kerry team composed of players who had taken both pro- and anti-Treaty sides won the All-Ireland Football Championship. And in 1926 the team, captained by John Joe Sheehy, the commander of the IRA’s Kerry Number 1 brigade, repeated this feat.

  The Kerry GAA now planned an international tour to raise funds for sports facilities at home and to celebrate their victories. Initially there was talk of an Australian trip, but the venue was changed to America.

  In October 1926, Neenan’s predecessor, ‘Mr Jones’ suggested to Moss Twomey that the Kerry team should tour the US and Clan na Gael would ‘promote the venture’.74 However, whatever the source of Jones’ information, the Clan’s executive committee soon told him that they weren’t in favour of supporting the tour. The IRA was now in it alone and ‘Jones’ wrote to Twomey: ‘If you believe in it get busy. If you disagree [send a] cable [to me] calling it off.’75

  In the meantime ‘Jones’ resigned as An Timthire in favour of Neenan, who now tried to find a sponsor. Neenan initially proposed that all the profits of the tour would be handed over to the IRA, which may not have been a very attractive business proposition for any intending sponsor: ‘We failed [to get a sponsor] and the best we can hope for, if they [the Kerry team] come, is to play one match for us.’76 He put the failure down to ‘negligence and circumstances’.77

  Eventually Ted Sullivan, the leading baseball promoter and entrepreneur, agreed to sponsor the tour. Sullivan (1851–1929) was an Irish-American born in County Clare, and following stints as a baseball player and manager in America he went on to become one of the first major businessmen in the game. He was a pioneer of baseball and made a significant contribution towards transforming it into the national sport. A contemporary newspaper referred to him as ‘probably the best known man in base balldom [sic]’. Most famously, he is credited with being the originator of the word ‘fan’. Much as Sullivan was honoured in the world of baseball, he couldn’t count the IRA and Connie Neenan as among his ‘fans’. Neenan regarded Sullivan’s support as ‘private enterprise where exploitation of [the] champions is indulged in for personal gain’ and sent word to the Kerry captain, John Joe Sheehy, that Sullivan ‘is not to be trusted’.78 Neenan added: ‘Sullivan pretends to be a martyr to philanthropic motives. I doubt [this] very much.’79

  Neenan’s dislike of Sullivan led him to write: ‘Sullivan the promoter is a very shrewd businessman with Jewish habits’ who was ‘exploiting [the] team for his own ends’.80 Remarks of this type were common in Ireland and America at the time, and it’s actually a credit to the IRA and men like Peadar O’Donnell (who fought against anti-Semitism) that this is the only anti-Semitic comment that we’ve come across in cipher in the documents.

  Neenan wanted Sheehy to ensure that the contract with Sullivan would allow the team to play additional matches to benefit the IRA. Sheehy was told that when the contract was being signed, he should ‘expressly reserve freedom of action after [the] matches contracted for, are played’. As Neenan expected to be able to ‘arrange to have at least one match in each of the following cities: New York, Boston and Chicago. [The] receipts [would be] for our benefit.’81 Sheehy felt that most of the team wouldn’t object to playing games for the IRA: ‘Sheehy states he can get 18 out of the possible 23 players to agree to any of our proposals. The opposition will come from a few individuals here [in America], but I feel we can attend to that question.’82 It would be interesting to know how exactly Neenan planned to overcome their objections.

  Sullivan promised 10 per cent of the proceeds from the gate to the Kerry GAA. Naturally he wanted to maximise the return on his investment and so proposed to take the team to all the major US cities.83 However, Neenan was more realistic and knew that it would have to be limited to those centres that could actually field a Gaelic football team to play the visitors. He also wanted Sullivan to benefit from as few games as possible; freeing up the team for the IRA games and for the social events in support of Clan na Gael and the IRA. Neenan wrote: ‘Sullivan [the] promoter is endeavouring to monopolize the whole situation, but we are going to have a big say in this.’84 He added: ‘I am going to spike him if possible.’85 He even wanted to start a dispute with Sullivan over his booking the team on an English shipping company, the White Star Line: ‘This is an English company … I am going to cause a row’ and he asked Twomey to get Sheehy to stir up trouble in Ireland.86 If the ships of the White Star Line were good enough for IRA weapons smuggling why weren’t they good enough for the Kerry footballers?

  Neenan was keenly aware that any public exposure of the IRA’s role in the tour could destroy their plans and he warned Twomey: ‘I would suggest you keep all reference[s] to [the] GAA and [the] Kerry visit in code, as if you leave [a] message deciphered and [it was] caught in [garda] raids, our plans here would be ruined.’87

  What about the Kerry players, like Con Brosnan and Paul Russell, who were opposed to the IRA? Twomey wrote that: ‘There may be friction as most likely Brosnan and Russell must be taken and these may object to play[ing] for us.’88 Brosnan was one of the greats of Kerry football. During the Anglo-Irish War he fought with the IRA and in the Civil War was a captain in the national army. Despite all the talk of reconciliation and unity Brosnan was a thorn in Sheehy’s side. Sheehy suggested that a threatening letter should be sent to him from America and Neenan wrote: ‘Sheehy sent over a message [for someone] to write [to] Brosnan an anonymous letter, informing [the] latter that [the] feeling here is so intensely republican, that it would be safer for him not to come.’ However, Neenan added: ‘This would not be practical, as Brosnan would publish [the] letter. It would also create a stir here, and when our match is advertised we would be accused of sending threatening letters. Unless Sheehy has other reasons, I would not be in favour of [sending a] letter.’89 Twomey reported to Neenan that despite Sheehy’s best efforts, ‘he could not get over having to take [Con] Brosnan and [Paul] Russell and one or two minor [Free] Staters. But outside of these [he] has a team to play. He expects you to do your best to prevent public resentment against those Staters.’90 Brosnan did indeed go on the tour, but interestingly Russell, who was a garda officer, was reported to have been ‘unable to make the trip’.91

  Neenan also planned to look after the team’s social programme which would help with Clan recruitment and with fundraising: ‘We can arrange several functions on the social side. On this question I believe we can do immense work for the organisation [the IRA]. I would suggest to Sheehy [that] on his arrival, to leave [the] social side in our hands.’92 Neenan planned to form a committee to organise the
social activities: ‘[I] am trying to form [a] social committee representing all [of] Ireland, [consisting] of prominent Gaels, to arrange [a] reception for [the] Kerry team. It would be outside [of] Sullivan’s programme, while [being] exclusively [drawn from the] Clan.’93 These activities included ‘two boat rides’ and a ‘big dance’.94

  Moss Twomey found Sheehy unco-operative and exasperating to deal with. Twomey expected him to help ensure that the team played the fundraising games for the IRA, and that in America he’d use his considerable status as team captain and IRA veteran to help with recruitment for the Clan na Gael and IRA clubs. Twomey wrote: ‘Sheehy [is] most unsatisfactory, [I] cannot get him to come to our meetings or give us his views on this business. He has become rather indifferent.’95 In April, two weeks before the team was due to sail, Twomey reported to Connie Neenan: ‘We have succeeded in getting Sheehy to come up here [to Dublin]. We have given him instructions as to [the] work we expect him to do out there. He will go as an accredited representative of the Army Council. He will attend meeting[s] of the Clan executive, Clan reunions or other Clan meetings [if] possible. He will have a week in New York on arrival, before [the] first match. Arrange some work for him, not too much. When you meet, [both of] you can decide your programme … Sheehy would have [a] good influence with [the IRA] volunteers who have gone there and [would help] to smooth things in clubs, between them and [the] old members.’96 Before Sheehy’s departure, Twomey sent him a written copy of his credentials as the Army Council representative and offered him ‘very best wishes for a successful tour’.97