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We thought we’d outline why we wrote a book about six IRA men killed on the Sligo mountains…
This year, we carried out the first ever archaeological excavation of a Civil War site – the Glencar Hideout – a cave that sheltered up to 34 IRA in Sept./Oct. 1922
(thread)
This year, we carried out the first ever archaeological excavation of a Civil War site – the Glencar Hideout – a cave that sheltered up to 34 IRA in Sept./Oct. 1922
(thread)
We were delighted to discover the names of people hiding in the cave. As archaeologists, we typically examine the remains of human activity, the things they left behind (‘material culture’). It’s very rare to know the actual names of people that used/lived at a particular site.
Marion and Robert - the Cave Archaeologists - directed the excavation. James set out the excavation grid and began researching biographies of the known IRA men that hid out in the cave and the women that provided their support network in the local area.
We’re all archaeologists with fairly different backgrounds. I - @DrJamesBonsall - specialise in geophysics & remote sensing; Dr Marion Dowd is a multi-period cave archaeologist; Robert Mulraney @cavesofireland is a cave archaeologist with a background in environmental science.
Who were Sligo’s #NobleSix? They were IRA men who were shot & killed by the National Army on mountains north of Sligo in September 1922: Divisional Adjutant Brian MacNeill, Brigadier Seamus Devins, Capt. Harry Benson, Lt. Patrick Carroll, Vol. Joseph Banks & Vol. Thomas Langan
Their deaths were controversial: they surrendered to the National Army and were killed whilst in their custody. At the same time, other IRA were arrested on the mountains and taken to Sligo Gaol. Their deaths shocked both pro- & anti-Treaty supporters.
