Hello brenbox
Reginald (Reggie) Dunne carried out the murder of Sir Henry Wilson
with a companion, Joseph O'Sullivan, on 22 June 1922. They tried to
escape, shooting two policemen and a civilian in the attempt, but were
soon caught. Their trial ("Rex v Connolly and O'Brien", since Connolly
and O'Brien were the names they gave to the police at first) started
at the Old Bailey on 2 July. They were hanged on 10 August by the
"famous" hangman, Ellis, at Wandsworth Prison.
In the 1960s their bodies were re-interred in Dublin, despite their
having been born and bred in London.
Dunne was commander of the London IRA in 1922. There has been much
debate about whether Dunne and O'Sullivan had official orders for the
murder, possibly from someone as senior as Michael Collins, or whether
they acted on their own initiative.
It was difficult to find anything about Dunne's background prior to
his service in World War 1, but luckily there was one online source
with some information.
From now on I will offer you mostly excerpts and links to webpages,
some Republican and some not.
"In the summer of 1922 Reggie Dunne and Joe O'Sullivan were both 24,
unmarried, and still living with their parents. Both had been born and
raised in London, both had volunteered for service in the British
army, (Dunne's father was an ex-serviceman), been wounded, and had
been invalided out with good records. O'Sullivan lost a leg in France
in 1918. Dunne was an unemployed teaching college drop-out, while
O'Sullivan worked as a messenger for the Ministry of Labour. Both men
were devout Roman Catholics."
"Neither Dunne nor O'Sullivan had been politically active before or
during the war (Dunne, in fact, had joined the army after the Easter
Rising) but they displayed the zeal of converts once they became
committed to the cause of an Irish republic. They joined Sinn Fein and
the Gaelic League, but there was no real focus for their energies
until a branch of the Irish Volunteers (soon to be known as the IRA)
was formed in London in 1919."
"Both were leading figures in London Republican circles and were sworn
into the IRB [Irish Republican Brotherhood] in 1920, with Dunne soon
given command of the London IRA."
"Dunne was . . frustrated with his position in the IRA. Neither the
London organization nor Dunne's rank had ever been officially
recognized, a fact which he attributed in part to nationalist snobbery
over his English birth."
The excerpts above were taken from chapter 8 of this book:
"Defending Ireland - The Irish State and Its Enemies Since 1922"
by: Eunan O'Halpin, Bank of Ireland Chair of Contemporary Irish
History, Trinity College, Dublin
Price: £32.50 (Hardback)
0-19-820426-4
Publication date: 22 July 1999
398 pages, 234mm x 156mm
http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-820426-4
Chapter 8 is online at:
http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-925258-0.pdf
This chapter also describes how Dunne had difficult relations with
other Republicans in London, especially with pro-Treaty factions.
O'Halpin says Dunne found it easy to become emotional. His father,
Robert Dunne, had seen tears run down his son's face while reading of
"pogroms" in Belfast. Reggie saw himself as a martyr, compared himself
to Christ, and admired others who sacrificed themselves to advance the
Republican cause.
====================
"On the morning of 22 June 1922, Wilson was returning to his home in
Eaton Place (London). He had just unveiled the war memorial at
Liverpool Street Station, in London. He had paid his taxi driver, and
was feeling for his keys, when two men came up behind him, pulled out
revolvers and shot him down as with an arm wounded by the first two
bullets he half drew his sword. His two murderers fired a total of
nine bullets at Wilson before attempting to escape. They were
eventually captured half a mile away from Eaton Square."
"Both Dunne and O'Sullivan were found guilty of murder, and sentenced
to death by hanging. On 10 August 1922, both men were hanged together
in a double execution at London's Wandsworth Prison. As was usual for
executed prisoners, they were both buried within the prison grounds."
http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/henry_wilson.htm
====================
"On 22 June 1922 two London IRA Volunteers walked up behind Sir Henry
Wilson as he returned to his Eaton Square home after unveiling a war
memorial in Liverpool Street Station, and fired the fatal shots. Two
policemen were also shot as the Volunteers tried to make good their
escape. They were then surrounded by a hostile crowd and arrested by
other policemen."
"Reginald Dunne and Joseph O'Sullivan were both former British army
soldiers, O'Sullivan having lost a leg at Ypres, and during the Tan
War they were active in England for the IRA. Following the Treaty
Dunne leaned towards the pro-Treaty side (Cumann na mBan members in
London sent him white feathers) and was firm friends with Michael
Collins. Both men are believed to have been members of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood; this has added to the speculation as to who
ordered Wilson's execution."
"Collins, who said to General Joseph Sweeney that ``it was two of ours
that did it'', attempted a rescue attempt. Joe Dolan and later Tom
Cullen were sent to London by him, whereas the IRA sent several Cork
Volunteers over, including Frank Cremins and Billy Aherne led by Dinny
Kelleher.
The Cork Volunteers talked of schemes to capture the Prince of Wales
at Bournemouth, and of capturing his sister and using her as a
hostage, but neither scheme got off the ground. A plan was also
hatched to blow up the van carrying Dunne and O'Sullivan from Brixton
prison to their trial, but again nothing resulted."
http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/June19/19hist.html
====================
"'We took our part in supporting the aspirations of our
fellow-countrymen in the same way as we took our part in supporting
the nations of the world who fought for the rights of small
nationalities. ... The same principles for which we shed our blood on
the battle-field of Europe led us to commit the act we are charged
with.'
-- From a speech that Reginald Dunne prepared, but was not allowed to
read, after his conviction for the killing of Field Marshal Wilson"
http://osullivan9.freeyellow.com/sull/chap11.htm
====================
Reginald Dunne had been a friend of Collins in the London I.R.B. organisation
http://generalmichaelcollins.com/Michael%20Collins%20Life%20&%20Times/10.THE_CIVIL_WAR.html
====================
"The Republican Plot was last opened in 1967 to inter Reginald Dunne
and Joseph O'Sullivan. The two had been executed in Wandsworth prison
over 40 years earlier for the killing of Henry Wilson"
http://republican-news.org/archive/2003/April24/24eas2.html
====================
Source for Ellis as hangman:
http://www.dannymorrison.com/articles/consumers.php
====================
Dunne lived in Stamford Hill.
http://www.ku.edu/~kansite/WWI-L/1999/09/msg00008.html
====================
"Reggie Dunne, O/C London, explained in October that `the last time
you met my officers they were not exactly prepared to give details of
possible operations without reports in hand. They would be now in a
somewhat better position. The number of intended operations is greatly
increasing.'"
"For front-line guerrillas like Dunne, the Truce was a somewhat
uncertain period unrelieved by the sense of victory and recognition
accorded their Irish comrades."
from a long article with much scholarly research:
"Operations Abroad': The IRA in Britain, 1919-23"
English Historical Review, Feb, 2000, by Peter Hart
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0293/460_115/60104292/p1/article.jhtml?term=
Where can you find more information?
====================================
I know of records relating to the trial in The House of Lords Record
Office, and there are probably others in the Public Records Office.
1 ~ The House of Lords Record Office, amongst the Lloyd George Papers
"FILE - (a) A.H.Bodkin, Director of Public Prosecutions Dept. 1,
Richmond Terrace, S.W.1.,
to (The Private Secretary to the Prime Minister). - ref. LG/F/97/1/30
- date: 24 June 1922
[from Scope and Content] Enclosure Statements already taken in Rex -v-
Connolly and O'Brien, relating to the murder of Sir Henry Wilson.
Typescript copies.
[from Scope and Content] Enclosure: Further statements relating to Rex
-v- Connolly and O'Brien. Typescript copies."
See this database:
http://www.a2a.org.uk/search/index.asp
2 ~ The Public Record Office at Kew has records of "Statements on oath
used in evidence in trials at the Old Bailey" for a long period
including 1922.
Public Records Office
http://www.pro.gov.uk/
====================
Rex Taylor's book, "Assassination" might be of interest. It is the
source cited by O'Halpin for his information on Dunne's background.
Here is the British Library catalogue entry:
Title: Assassination. The death of Sir Henry Wilson and the tragedy
of Ireland.
[With plates, including a portrait.]
Main heading: TAYLOR. Rex
Additional headings: WILSON. Sir. Henry Hughes. Bart.
Publication details: pp. 224. Hutchinson: London, 1961. 8o.
Search catalogue at:
http://blpc.bl.uk/
There are second-hand copies listed here:
http://used.addall.com/
====================
I hope this gives you the information you need, but please let me know
if you have a query about anything, or if a link fails to work, so I
can do my best to help.
Best wishes - Leli
searches:
"Henry Wilson" IRA
"Henry Wilson" Dunne
Reginald Dunne
Reggie Dunne
Dunne O'Sullivan
I also followed up leads to books, articles, and records from 1922. |
