Tony D'Arcy facts for kids
Tony D'Arcy was a senior leader in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died as a result of a 52 day Hunger-strike (16 April 1940) at the age of 32.
Background, roles in the IRA and arrest
D'Arcy was from north Galway and a member of the IRA during the 1930s. Tonys cousin Louis Darcy, was Commandant of North Galway Brigade IRA during the Irish War of Independence and was killed by British forces in March 1921 at the age of 23.
In 1938 Sean Russell appointed Volunteer Tony D’Arcy to the IRAs Army Council and the Officer Commanding (O/C) of the IRAs Western Command. By 1938 D'Arcy had become a key target for the Irish police Special Branch. In 1939 he was assigned to the IRA's Headquarters staff. D'Arcy and the younger members of the Headquarters – Michael Traynor and Jack McNeela proposed the launching of raids from the Free State across the border into Northern Ireland. This proposal eventually became the 1959–62 Border campaign.
On 17 Feb 1940 D'Arcy (and 15 other high ranking IRA men) were arrested at a meeting in a Dublin hotel. The topic of the meeting was planning for the upcoming Northern Campaign (September 1942 – December 1944), these arrests were a severe blow to the IRA organization. The men arrested were imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison during what was called The Emergency in Ireland. D'Arcy was sentenced to three months for refusing to account for his movements and for not giving his name and address when arrested. On Sunday 25 February 1940, six republican prisoners embarked on a hunger strike demanding free association and to have two prisoners (IRA Volunteers Nicky Doherty of County Meath and John Dwyer) moved from the criminal wing to the republican area within the prison (Mountjoy Jail).
See also
- Louis Darcy (his cousin)
Sources
- http://hungerstrikes.org/forgotten_strikes.html
- Northern Nationalism, Eamon Phoenix, Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast 1994 ISBN: 0-901905-64-X
- The History and Folklore of the Barony of Clare, Michael J. Hughes, c. 1993.
- Biting at the Grave, O'Malley, Padraig, Beacon Press, Boston 1990 ISBN: 0-8070-0208-9
- Pawns in the Game, Flynn, Barry, 2011, Collins Press, Cork, Ireland ISBN: 9781848891166
