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Mon, 29 Apr, 2024 - 00:01

Sally Gorman

A new research and digital mapping project which lists all the combatant and civilian fatalities during the Irish Civil War launches today.

The project, led by University College Cork (UCC), represents the first systematic attempt to investigate the number of people killed in the conflict as, for decades, “historians have resorted to estimates when surveying the human cost”.

The Irish Civil War Fatalities Project will “provide a new insight into the frequency, nature, and concentration of violence” across Ireland during the Civil War. An interactive map will “fill a significant gap in the historical record”.

The interactive map lists all of the combatant and civilian fatalities in the 32 counties between the opening shots of the Civil War on June 28, 1922, and the ceasefire and order to dump arms on May 24, 1923.

Interactive maps on the Irish Civil War Fatalities Project site show the location and affiliation of 185 combatant and civilian fatalities in all 32 counties (in this instance, Co Kerry).

It finds that in that period, there were 1,426 violent deaths in the Free State, of whom 648 were pro-Treaty, 438 were anti-Treaty, 336 were civilians, and four were members of the crown forces. The death toll rises slightly to 1,485 when fatalities north of the new border are added.

The project shows that numbers killed during the Civil War were considerably less than in the War of Independence. And it was also more violent, brutal, and protracted in counties Kerry, Tipperary, and Louth.

The research suggests a new chronology of the Civil War. It contradicts the idea that major combat was over after the first month of the war.

Republican prisoners captured during the attack on Passage West being marched to Cork Gaol during the Irish Civil War.

The study of fatalities shows that deaths spiked not only in the opening phase of the war, but also in the peak of the guerrilla war in 1922, and again in March 1923.

Launching the project, Culture Minister Catherine Martin said: “The Irish Civil War was a great national tragedy and left a deep wound in the newly independent State.

“The significant loss of life and the injury to the fabric of our communities, and many families, were felt for generations, even to this day.

“By exploration of the impacts and factual history of the war, UCC’s research serves to deepen our appreciation of the challenges faced and sacrifices made by the individuals and families that made those communities —and the University has done so with a very thorough, engaging, innovative, and accessible new resource.”7

Irish Civil War Project: Total fatalities across the 32 counties between June 28, 1922, and May 24, 1923..

Andy Bielenberg, principal investigator of the Irish Civil War Fatalities Project and senior lecturer at UCC School of History, said: “This project offers new insights into the spatial and temporal patterns of violence during the Civil War as well as the social profiles, ages, and backgrounds of the victims of that violence.

“In addition to building a clearer picture of the combatant fatalities of the Irish Civil War, the new research presents a fuller picture of civilian fatalities,” he said.

“We can now see the impact of the conflict on civilians in large swathes of Ireland which remained entirely uncharted until now.

“The interactive map will be an invaluable tool for researching family history, local history, and filling in gaps in our knowledge about the Civil War.”

The project includes a searchable, interactive Civil War Fatalities map providing new insights into the frequency, nature, and concentration of violence across Ireland, as well as research findings by Andy Bielenberg and John Dorney, historian and research assistant.

It also features a series of articles by invited scholars contextualising the conflict in local areas, including John O’Callaghan on the Civil War in Limerick; Owen O’Shea on the Civil War in Kerry; Helene O’Keeffe on child victims of political violence; and Pauric Travers on the Civil War in Donegal.

• You can access the new site by typing exa.mn/CivilWarUCC into any browser or by clicking on that link.