Editing Death squad (section)

===== Irish Civil War =====
[[File:Prisoner (6417469255).jpg|thumb|left|Irish Army soldiers escorting a captured IRA member]]

After independence, Irish nationalist movement divided over the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which granted a partitioned Ireland [[Dominion]] status within the [[British Empire]]. Furthermore, all officials of the new [[Irish Free State]] were required to take an [[oath of allegiance]] to [[George V|King George V]].

As a result, the [[Irish Civil War]] was fought between those [[Irish nationalism|Irish nationalists]] who accepted the Treaty and those who considered it treasonous. Although fought between men who had recently served together against the British, the fighting was often without quarter and brutal atrocities were committed by both sides.

In IRA communications, the Irish State was referred to as, "The Imperial Gang", the "Murder Government", and as "a British-imposed Dáil". Therefore, Irish men and women who supported the Free State were regarded as traitors. At the orders of IRA Chief of Staff [[Liam Lynch (Irish republican)|Liam Lynch]], [[Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)|Anti-Treaty IRA]] began raising money for their cause via [[armed robbery]] of banks and post offices. On 30 November 1922, Liam Lynch issued what were dubbed the "orders of frightfulness", in which he ordered IRA members to assassinate members of the Irish Parliament, or Dáil Éireann, and Senators whenever possible. This General Order sanctioned the assassination of certain judges and newspaper editors. The IRA also launched a concerted [[arson]] campaign against the homes of members of the Dáil, or TDs. Among these attacks were the burning of the house of TD James McGarry, resulting in the death of his seven-year-old son and the murder of Free state minister [[Kevin O'Higgins]] elderly father and burning of his family home at [[Stradbally]] in early 1923.

After TD [[Seán Hales]] was assassinated, the Dáil began to treat the civil war as a [[state of emergency]]. They voted to retaliate by [[Summary execution|summarily executing]] four captured members of IRA Executive — [[Rory O'Connor (Irish republican)|Rory O'Connor]], [[Liam Mellows]], [[Richard Barrett (Irish republican)|Richard Barrett]] and [[Joe McKelvey]]. After the motion passed, all four men were executed by [[firing squad]] on 8 December 1922. During the conflict, at least 73 other captured IRA men were treated in the same fashion—some following [[court martial]], others without trial. There are no conclusive figures for the number of unofficial executions of captured IRA insurgents, but Republican officer [[Todd Andrews]] estimated 153.<ref>Todd Andrews, Dublin Made Me, p269</ref> (see [[Executions during the Irish Civil War]]).

At the beginning of the Civil War, the Irish State formed a special [[counter-terrorism]] police, which was called the [[Criminal Investigation Department (Ireland)|Criminal Investigation Department]]. Based in Dublin's Oriel House, the CID were despised by the Anti-Treaty IRA, which referred to them as "The Murder Gang". During the [[Battle of Dublin]], the CID is known to have shot 25 Anti-Treaty militants, officially while, "resisting arrest." Ultimately, the Irish State disbanded CID upon the cessation of hostilities in 1923.

Despite the best efforts of the Anti-Treaty forces, both the [[Irish Army]] and the CID proved highly effective in both combat and intelligence work. One tactic involved placing IRA message couriers under surveillance, which routinely led the Irish security forces to senior members of the insurgency.

According to historian Tom Mahon, the Irish Civil War "effectively ended" on 10 April 1923, when the Irish Army tracked down and mortally wounded Liam Lynch during a skirmish in the [[Knockmealdown Mountains]] of [[County Tipperary]]. Twenty days later, Lynch's successor, [[Frank Aiken]], gave the order to "Surrender and dump arms."<ref>Tom Mahon & James J. Gillogly, ''Decoding the IRA'', [[Mercier Press]], 2008. Page 66.</ref>