- Patrick Howard was shot and killed in Balscadden, Ireland on February 12, 1921. He was shot three times by three armed men who entered a pub where Howard was drinking.
- Howard was taken to a hospital in Dublin but died from his wounds. A military inquiry was held where witnesses identified one of the shooters as a man dressed in a police uniform, though his face was covered.
- The killing was unusual because the shooter was identified as a possible police officer, one of the few cases where a police officer was tried and convicted for crimes during the War of Independence in Ireland.
- Patrick Howard was shot and killed in Balscadden, Ireland on February 12, 1921. He was shot three times by three armed men who entered a pub where Howard was drinking.
- Howard was taken to a hospital in Dublin but died from his wounds. A military inquiry was held where witnesses identified one of the shooters as a man dressed in a police uniform, though his face was covered.
- The killing was unusual because the shooter was identified as a possible police officer, one of the few cases where a police officer was tried and convicted for crimes during the War of Independence in Ireland.
- Patrick Howard was shot and killed in Balscadden, Ireland on February 12, 1921. He was shot three times by three armed men who entered a pub where Howard was drinking.
- Howard was taken to a hospital in Dublin but died from his wounds. A military inquiry was held where witnesses identified one of the shooters as a man dressed in a police uniform, though his face was covered.
- The killing was unusual because the shooter was identified as a possible police officer, one of the few cases where a police officer was tried and convicted for crimes during the War of Independence in Ireland.
- Patrick Howard was shot and killed in Balscadden, Ireland on February 12, 1921. He was shot three times by three armed men who entered a pub where Howard was drinking.
- Howard was taken to a hospital in Dublin but died from his wounds. A military inquiry was held where witnesses identified one of the shooters as a man dressed in a police uniform, though his face was covered.
- The killing was unusual because the shooter was identified as a possible police officer, one of the few cases where a police officer was tried and convicted for crimes during the War of Independence in Ireland.
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The Murder of Patrick Howard: A Case Study of Police Crime
in the War of Independence
D. M. Leeson ire-Ireland, Volume 47:3&4, Fomhar/Geimhreadh / Fall/Winter 2012, pp. 111-140 (Article) Published by Irish-American Cultural Institute DOI: 10.1353/eir.2012.0019 For additional information about this article Access provided by UFSJ-Universidade Fed de So Joo Del Rei (21 Jun 2013 18:19 GMT) http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/eir/summary/v047/47.3-4.leeson.html 111 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard D. M. Leeson The Murder of Patrick Howard: A Case Study of Police Crime in the War of Independence*
ON 1nc cvcNiNc or 1z February 1z1, at about 8:( i:, a woman named Elizabeth Dillon heard someone calling outside her home in the village of Balscadden, Co. Dublin. She went to the front door but saw no one. She then went to the back door, where she heard a man say, Let me in and Send for the priestI am dying. When she asked who it was, the voice replied: Pat Howard. Opening the door, Dillon helped the injured man into her kitchen, where he lay down on the oor in great pain. She then went for Patricks brother-in-law, who sent for the priest. The brother-in-law and two other men came to Dillons house and took Howard home. 1 Sometime after i: the local medical ofcer, Dr. William Fullam, went to Howards home and examined him. He had been shotonce in the abdomen and twice in the right arm. Dr. Fullam rendered rst aid and sent him to Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin. 2 The wounded man arrived at the hospital around midnight, when he was 1. Deposition of Elizabeth Dillon, Mar. 1z1 (National Archives of the United Kingdom [hereafter cited as TNA], PRO, HO 1/8). z. Deposition of William Fullam, Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). *An earlier version of this article was presented at the November zo11 meeting of the North American Conference on British Studies in Denver, Colorado. The author wishes to thank everyone involved in the panel on Policing Revolutionary Ireland: William H. Kautt, Daniel Masterson, Donald Masterson, the chair Dennis Dworkin, and the commentator W. J. Lowe. Thanks are also due to James S. Donnelly, Jr., for his extensive editing of the article. 112 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard attended by a resident, Dr. John Geraghty. 3 At about oclock on the following morning Howard underwent an operation by Dr. William McAllister. The surgeon found a bullet in Howards abdomen, along with lacerations of the intestines and peritonitis. According to Dr. McAllister, After the operation there was no improvement, and the patient sank and died about 1.(8 hours. 4 The murder of Patrick Howard has heretofore passed unnoticed by historians. I rst learned about this case in the summer of zooo, when I visited what was then still called the Public Record Ofce to conduct research for my doctoral dissertation. While searching through the les of the Irish Ofce and Irish Branch, I requested le HO 1/8 without knowing anything about its contents: the catalog promised only documents concerned with remittance of unexpired portion of penal servitude sentence of George S. Pearson for mur- der. Imagine my surprise when my beeper summoned me to the counter, and I was handed a thick folder containing more than ve hundred pages of reports and correspondence. The reason for this bulging folder quickly became clear: Patrick Howard had been mur- dered by a Black and Tanone of the thousands of British recruits who had reinforced the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in 1zo and 1z1. What was more, the police constable who had murdered How- ard was one of the very few to be put on trial, convicted, and sen- tenced to death for his crime during those years. Unfortunately, as a graduate student with a very limited budget, I had neither the time to take detailed notes nor the money to photo- copy the case le at fty pence per page. But seven years later, I came back to what was now the National Archives of Ireland, armed this time with a digital camera and determined to make sense of this very complex case. What I found was in some ways normal and in others exceptional. The murder of Patrick Howard ts the pattern that I found in other rare cases where police had been caught and punished . Second Witness (Dr. John Anthony Geraghty), Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry in Lieu of Inquest Prohibited by Regulation 81 R.O.I.R., Assembled at Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, on the 1th Day of February 1z1 by Order of Major-General G. F. Boyd, C.B., C.M.G. D.S.O., D.C.M., Competent Mily. Authy. & Comdg. Dublin District, on the Dead Body of Patrick Howard of Balscadden Vil- lage, Lying at Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin [hereafter cited as MCI (PH)], 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). (. Third Witness (Dr. V. J. McAllister), MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 113 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard for their crimes, as described in my book The Black and Tans: Brit- ish Police and Auxiliaries in the Irish War of Independence, . In all these exceptional cases the perpetrators had been strangers, unknown (or at least little known) to the local police, and their vic- tims had been civiliansloyal or nonpolitical people. There was no record of even one policeman ever having been punished for any of the very numerous extrajudicial killings of Irish republican militants or activists, and the sinister implications of this absence hardly re- quire comment. But the case of Patrick Howard also shows just how extremely difcult it was to catch and punish police who broke the law. In particular, it demonstrates how hard it could be to mount a successful prosecution when the police themselves were unwilling to give evidence against each other. In the end, the man who shot Pat- rick Howard was tried and convicted not because he had confessed, or because his guilt had been uncovered by patient investigation, but because he was betrayed by one of his accomplices. Had this accom- plice merely kept quiet, the mystery might never have been solved. The facts of the case came out slowly at rst. The village of Bals- cadden was in the Balbriggan district. The nearest police station was in Balbriggan itself, three and a half miles away. Word of the shooting reached Balbriggan at midnight, and the local RIC District Inspec- tor, Victor William Scully, was informed at z:o a:. Scully led a Report of Outrage on 1 February that specied the crime as at- tempted murder and inaccurately identied the victim as Thomas Howard, a laborer twenty-six years old: I beg to report that at about 8 p.m. on 1zth inst[ant] three armed & uniformed men entered the licensed premises of Ellen Landy [of] Balscadden & held up everyone on the premises with revolvers. One man, the injured party named overleaf, did not put up his hands as ordered, but made a dash for the door. Three shots rang out and each took effect, two in the mans arm & one in his side. He was attended by a doctor & has since been removed to Dublin to the Mater Hospi- tal. The motive of the crime is not apparent. Howard is a Sinn Feiner, but it is merely alleged the raiders were police. They took away with them the contents of the till, amount unknown. Particulars in the case are lacking, as police have not been able to visit the scene. When details have been received, a further report will be made. 5 . Report of Outrage (Attempted Murder), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 114 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard Scullys report reached RIC headquarters in Dublin Castle on 1( February. A prcis of this report, which included Scullys mistakes, was included in the Summary of Outrages prepared each week for the chief secretary. A clearer picture of the incident at Balscadden emerged on the following day, when a military court of inquiry consisting of a British army captain and two lieutenants assembled at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. 6 Having viewed Howards body, these ofcers then took evi- dence from ve civilian witnesses, the most important of whom was an eighteen-year-old girl named Mary Cannon, who worked as a bar- maid at Landys public house. Cannon testied that on the day of the shooting two men dressed in police uniform had entered the pub at z:o in the afternoon, accompanied by a third man in civilian clothes. The trio had remained in the bar drinking for about three hours and had then left. Later, at about ;:o that evening, the two men in police uniform had returned, had a few more drinks, said they were going home, and had departed again. Cannons account resumed: About three minutes later, one of the two uniformed men entered the bar and said, Hands up. Everybody in the bar put their hands up except Patrick Howard, who rushed for the front door, where he was stopped by somebody. He then made a rush for the back door, when the man who had shouted Hands up, who had his face covered by a handkerchief, red once. Patrick Howard was then just getting through the back door. I did not see the result of this shot. There were four shots red, and the one I saw was the last of them. The man who red then rushed behind the counter, and pulled out the till, and took all the money, amounting to about zo. He then rushed out, telling everybody to keep their hands up until he came back. As he went through the counter door, the handkerchief slipped down from his face, and I recognised him as one of the two men who had previously visited the bar, as I have already stated. That was the last I saw of the uniformed man. Patrick Howard staggered into a neighbours house, from where he was removed in an ambulance. I could recognise the two uniformed men again. 7 Several other witnesses also appeared before the military court. The two surgeons testied that Patrick Howard had been brought 6. Cover Sheet, MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). ;. First Witness (Mary Cannon), MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 115 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard into the Mater Hospital at midnight, that surgery had been performed on the morning of 1 February, and that their patient had died that afternoon. In their opinion Howards death was the result of shock, hemorrhage, and peritonitis from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. 8
The next witness was Patrick Howards older brother Thomas, who testied that he had come to see Patrick at the hospital, spoken to him after his operation, and learned from him what had occurred: I then asked my brother how it happened, and he said,He was having a drink in Landys public house when an uniformed man told them to put their hands up. He was a bit frightened and made a movement in the direction of the door, when he was shot. He went for the back door and was shot at again. He managed to get to a neighbours house and was brought in by ambulance. Thomas How- ard then identied the body as his brothers. The deceased was thirty- eight years old, unmarried, and a resident of Balscadden, where he dealt in eggs and poultry. As far as his older brother knew, Patrick Howard was not a member of any organization. 9
The nal witness before the tribunal was another Balscadden resi- dent, Peter Cluskey. Cluskey also identied the body of Patrick How- ard, whom he had known very well. Cluskeys testimony conrmed that of the dead mans brother: the victim had been an egg dealer and had not been linked with any organization. Cluskey himself had been in the bar of Landys public house on the evening of 1z Febru- ary. Some time about zo.oo hours, he testied, a man dressed in R.I.C. uniform entered the bar with a handkerchief over his face and revolver in his hand. This man I recognised as having been in the bar a short time before. He called out, Hands up, and everybody put their hands up except Patrick Howard, who mived [sic] towards the front door. The man with the revolver immediately red at him. Patrick Howard dropped at the rst shot, and the man red two more shots at him on the oor. Patrick Howard then scrambled to his feet and staggered to the back door, when he was red at a fourth time when he was getting through the door. The uniformed man then went behind the counter, pushed the 8. Second Witness (Dr. Geraghty) and Third Witness (Dr. McAllister), MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). . Fourth Witness (Thomas Howard), MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 116 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard women woman [sic] out of the way and threatened them. He then took the money from the till and went. I could identify the man who red the shots, Cluskey concluded. 10
The court of inquiry then adjourned for further evidence. There is a gap in the records at this pointthough RIC Deputy Inspector General Charles Walsh added a minute to District Inspector Scullys report on that same day. Walsh asked the RIC county inspector for Dublin for a careful enquiry & early report please; he also cor- rected Patrick Howards rst name. 11 Balscadden was just two miles from the RIC training camp for British recruits at Gormanston, Co. Meath. Somehow, over the next couple of days, the police came to suspect that the robbery and mur- der at Landys public house had been the work of two Black and Tansboth police motor mechanics stationed at Gormanston: Con- stables George Pearson and George Smith. On 1; February the Bal- briggan police came to the camp. Pearson and Smith were placed under arrest and remanded in custody to Mountjoy Prison in Dub- lin. 12 These arrests swiftly prompted a threat of reprisals. Both Mary Cannon and Peter Cluskey received a menacing letter the following day: Take warning, it said, if you give evidence against the two police, your doom is sealed. Your immediate death will surely follow. R.I.P. Revenge is sweet. Signed, B & T. 13 District Inspector Scully led a new Report of Outrage on zo February: Two men said to be const[able]s from Gormanston in plain clothes came to the outskirts of Balscadden village at about ; p.m. on Friday last. Both were armed; they handed two letters, one addressed to Cluskey and the other to Miss Cannon, to a young boy and ordered him to deliver them at once to the addressees. The boy who delivered them was too frightened to take much notice of the two men. It is sus- pected the letters were written by or at the instigation of the accuseds, Pearsons brothers, two of whom are at Gormanston. The motive is to prevent vital evidence being given against the men charged with mur- 1o. Fifth Witness (Peter Closkey), MCI (PH), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 11. Charles A. Walsh to H. M. Lowndes, 1 Feb. 1z1, on Report of Outrage (At- tempted Murder), 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 1z. C. Davies, Commandant, RIC Camp, Gormanston, to Walsh, 18 Feb. 1z1; Lowndes to Walsh, 1 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 1. Copy of Threatening Letter, undated (ibid.). 117 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard der; a feeling of great terror prevails in Balscadden, and the people there generally fear what may happen because the two con[stable]s are to be tried for murder. 14 The people of the locality had good reason to be concerned. Bal- briggan had been the scene of a savage reprisal a few months earlier the notorious sack of Balbriggan. On z1 September 1zo, in retalia- tion for the shooting death of a head constable by the IRA, police from Gormanston cut a swath of destruction through the village, killing two republican activists, burning a factory, wrecking public houses, and setting re to a number of homes. 15 More killings took place in the fol- lowing month. The IRA executed an ex-soldier who was suspected of having assisted the police during the sack of Balbriggan; his dead body was discovered in a ditch near Swords. The security forces retaliated by killing one IRA Volunteer and burning the homes of two others in Sker- ries. Two more Volunteers, Jack McCann of Rush and Thomas Hand of Skerries, were taken out of their homes and shot dead in November and December. 16 The IRA then struck back in the new year. During a terribly violent period of three days, in which twenty-one police and Auxiliaries lost their lives across Ireland, a Black and Tan stationed at Gormanston was shot and killed in a public house at Balbriggan on z February 1z1. 17 A week later, Alderman Thomas Halpin and James Moran were seized from their beds and shot to death in Drogheda, Co. Louth, just nineteen miles to the north. 18 A few days after that, a police patrol was ambushed at Ballough, on the road from Balbriggan to Swords, and a veteran Irish constable was killed. 19 Indeed, the case of Patrick Howard helps to show just how tense the district was at the time: the Balbriggan police refused to leave their fortied station after dark, even to investigate the shooting of a local resident. 1(. Report of Outrage (Threatening Letter), 18 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). 1. Ross OMahony, The Sack of Balbriggan and Tit-for-Tat Terror, and Da- vid Fitzpatrick, The Price of Balbriggan, in Terror in Ireland, , ed. David Fitzpatrick (Dublin: Lilliput Press, zo1z), 8;( and ;1o1. 16. OMahony, Sack of Balbriggan, 6;68. 1;. Richard Abbott, Police Casualties in Ireland, (Cork and Dublin: Mercier Press, zooo), 1z. 18. Military Court of Inquiry (Thomas Halpin), Feb. 1z1 (TNA, PRO, WO /11A); Military Court of Inquiry (James Moran), 1o Feb 1z1 (ibid., 1A); Man- chester Guardian, 1o Feb. 1z1, ;; The Times, 1o Feb. 1z1, 11. 1. Abbott, Police Casualties, 1. 118 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard The police authorities took the two threatening letters in the How- ard case very seriously. County Inspector H. M. Lowndes suggested that the Pearson brothers be transferred to a distant station, and that both witnesses be placed in protective custody: I feel certain that the threat to murder them will be carried out, he wrote. 20 The divisional commissioner for Meath, Dublin, and Wicklow, Major W. T. Rigg, re- ported that the two witnesses had gone to Dublin, and recommended sending them to the training camp of the Ulster Special Constabu- lary at Newtownards in County Down. 21 Deputy Inspector General Walsh told his subordinates to take whatever steps are necessary for the present protection of the witnesses and ordered the com- mandant at Gormanston both to trace the writer of the letters and to transfer the Pearson brothers to some distant county where recruits are wanted. 22
The Gormanston commandant reported back that Constable Pearson had only one brother in the RIC, a sergeant; that a second brother had come to Ireland from England after hearing of Constable Pearsons arrest; and that the two brothers had left for England on 18 FebruarySergeant Pearson was on leave for a week. 23 In the end, however, District Inspector Scully was able to calm the situation. On z6 February he reported that Mary Cannon had left the district at his own suggestion. It is extremely difcult to get in touch with Cluskey, he admitted, but I am having vigilant watch kept for him, & when [he is] located, the suggestions for his safety will be put before him. In the meantime I do not think he is in grave danger as, since the local police cannot nd him, it is scarcely likely strangers will nd him. 24 Meanwhile, the military court of inquiry had reassembled on zo. Lowndes to W. T. Rigg, zz Feb. 1z1 (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). z1. Rigg to Lowndes and V. W. Scully, zz Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). zz. Walsh to Rigg, zz Feb. 1z1; Walsh to Davies, zz Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z. Davies to Ofcer Commanding Motor Transport Division [OCMTD], z Feb. 1z1; OCMTD to Davies, zz [sic] Feb. 1z1; Davies to Scully, z( Feb. 1z1; Scully to Walsh, z( Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). According to a letter from his brother, Sergeant Pearson was conned to camp for two weeks & then drafted to Waterford. See Thomas Pearson to Sir Hamar Greenwood, 16 Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). z(. Scully to Lowndes, z6 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). Divisional Commissioner Rigg later reported that Cluskey has now returned to Balscadden but refuses to go to Newtown- ards, so if he comes to grief, it will be his own lookout. I hardly think this is likely to happen as he is probably sleeping away from home, & the local police nd it difcult to locate him, as would also anyone who would try to do him harm. See Rigg to Walsh, 119 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard zz February at Mountjoy Prison in the hearing and presence of the men who are alleged to have committed an offence. 25 The evidence was read out, and new evidence taken. District Inspector Scully testi- ed that an identication parade had been held at Gormanston camp ve days earlier. At this parade both Mary Cannon and Peter Cluskey had identied Smith and Pearson as the parties responsible. 26 Can- non herself conrmed that she had picked out the two men now before the court, and further testied that she had earlier seen both men in the bar. It was George Pearson, she declared, who had en- tered the bar with a revolver in his hand and a handkerchief over his face and who had shot Patrick Howard. 27 Both Smith and Pearson declined to cross-examine the witnesses or to make any statement whatsoever. In its opinion, delivered on z February, the court of inquiry concluded that the deceased . . . died at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin, on the thirteenth day of February, 1z1, of shock and peritonitis, following gunshot wounds inicted by George Stuart Pearson of Balbriggan district, who is guilty of wilful murder. 28 As the convening authority, Major General G. F. Boyd concurred in the courts opinion and added that Constable Smith should be tried as an accessory before the fact. 29 The authorities continued to gather information. Mary Cannon gave a full deposition on the same day. Soon thereafter Peter Cluskey and six other witnesses in the case gave depositions in front of a resi- dent magistrate (RM) at the RIC depot in Phoenix Park, Dublin. 30 A civilian, Robert Byrne, had seen the shooting but could not identify the shooter. A police witness, Constable Edward Roberts, had not seen the shooting but was able to conrm that Constable Smith and a companion had come to Landys public house earlier that day. 31
z8 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). Walsh concurred: Everything that can be done has been done to protect these witnesses. See Walsh to Undersecretary, z8 Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z. Note, MCI (PH), z Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z6. Sixth Witness (V.W. Scully), MCI (PH), z Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z;. First Witness (Mary Cannon) Recalled, MCI (PH), z Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z8. Opinion, MCI (PH), z Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). z. Opinion of Convening Authority, MCI (PH), z Feb. 1z1 (ibid.). o. Summary of Evidence in the Case of the King vs. George Smith & George Pearson, Charged with the Murder of Patrick Howard, Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 1. Roberts later conrmed that Smiths companion had been Pearson. See Statement of Henry Edward Roberts, undated (ibid.). 120 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard A troubling detail emerged from Mary Cannons deposition. When cross-examined by Constable Smith, the girl admitted that she had recognized only one of the two accused at rst; she had identied the other only after taking a second look. 32 In his own deposition District Inspector Scully conrmed that the rst man whom Mary Cannon had identied had been Smith, and that the second had been Pear- sonthe alleged shooter. 33
Doubts were then voiced after both constables were returned for trial by court-martial on the charge of murder. 34 At Dublin Castle, Deputy Inspector General Walsh submitted the depositions to the undersecretarys ofce on ; March, but he noted: There appears to be no evidence against Smith. 35 In a le minute three days later, Assistant Undersecretary Mark Sturgis agreed. I do not understand on what evidence the RM returned Smith for trial, Sturgis wrote. I can see no evidence against him. True, he was with Pearson shortly before Pearson is alleged to have committed this murder. But we can- not without some evidence impute guilt to a man. 36
Then, on 1z March, the court-martial ofcer in charge of preparing the case, Lieutenant C. Wedgwood, penned a rather startling letter to his superior. In Wedgwoods opinion Constable Pearson was quite innocentthe police had arrested the wrong man for the shooting. Constable Pearson was reportedly in camp when the crime was com- mitted. The true culprit was another man who looked like Pearsona Black and Tan whose name was James Henry Featherstone. Feather- stone was the man who had come to Landys public house with Smith on the afternoon and evening of 1z February, who had returned later with a handkerchief over his face and a revolver in his hand, and who had shot Patrick Howard and robbed the till. Soon after the robbery Mary Cannon had even identied Featherstone as the culprit. Wedg- wood added other signicant details in his letter to RIC headquarters: About 1(th or 1th February in a house in BalscaddenI can ascer- tain the name of the occupierMary Cannon was in a room with z. Deposition of Mary Cannon, z Feb. 1z1, ff. ( (ibid.). . Deposition of V. W. Scully, Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). (. Further Report of Outrage (Murder), ( Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). . Walsh to Undersecretary, ; Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 6. Mark Sturgis to H. Toppin, 1o Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 121 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard other civilians and Featherstone. She pointed at Featherstone and said, That is the man who shot Patrick Howard. Featherstone denied it and said that Pearson had done it and that he could prove it. Later on, I am of opinion that Featherstone threat- ened Mary Cannon and made her promise to identify Pearson as the man who had committed the murder. On the identication parade on 18th February, Mary Cannon stopped in front of Featherstone but passed without pointing him out. She passed Pearson also but identied Smith. Later on, she was taken round again and then she identied Pearson. Featherstone and Pearson have light hair, but the latter is taller and thinner than the former. Featherstone is a bad hat and was made to resign from the R.I.C. He was escorted to the boat and sent over to England. Lastly, Wedgwood had learned from the provost sergeant at Gor- manston that Smith and Featherstone had been overheard arguing about the robbery at the pub. Smith and Featherstone were talk- ing together, and Smith was upbraiding Featherstone, Wedgwood reported. Featherstone said that he had the wind up at the time and wanted to make sure of getting the money, so he shot Howard. Wedgwood conceded, however, that the provost sergeant had heard this account from another man, whose name the sergeant refused to disclose. 37 Wedgwoods intervention contributed to an extension of the investigation. On 18 March the deputy adjutant general for- warded Wedgwoods letter to the ofce of the undersecretary at Dub- lin Castle, along with copies of the depositions in the case and the proceedings of the military court of inquiry, and recommended that further investigations should be made before this case is proceeded with, and the taking of the depositions completed. 38 Orders to this effect were sent to Deputy Inspector General Walsh and from him to Divisional Commissioner Rigg. 39 Rigg investigated the case personally and reported back to his superiors on z March. It was true, he said, that Featherstone was a former member of the RIC. The Black and Tan had resigned from the force in early De- cember of the previous year. After his resignation Featherstone and ;. Lieut. C. Wedgwood to Lieut.-Col. E. H. Chapman, 1z Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 8. Deputy Adjutant General to Undersecretary, 18 Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). . Toppin to Walsh, 1 Mar. 1z1; Walsh to Rigg, zo Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 122 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard his wife had lived in a three-room cottage near Gormanston (the Ivy Cottage) that they shared with another married couple, Clive and Hilda Peters. (Like Pearson, Smith, and Featherstone, Clive Peters was a Black and Tana motor driver stationed at Gormanston.) And it was true that the Featherstones had both returned to England. But Rigg was convinced that Wedgwoods theory was mistaken. That conviction was based on what Rigg had learned from the provost sergeant at Gormanston camp, whose name was ONeill: He tells me, reported Rigg, that Lieut. Wedgwood has got the names wrong in his report of 1zth inst[ant]. What he told Lieut. Wedgwood was that Smith & Featherstone were talking together & Featherstone up- braided Smith for killing Howard. Smith said that he had the wind up at the time & wanted to make sure that he got the money & so shot Howard. Sergeant ONeills informants were Featherstone himself and his wife. Rigg further informed Walsh: As a result of my investigation I feel sure that Pearson & Smith were the two constables who were concerned in this shooting. Feather- stone was not there. He undoubtedly went to Balbriggan with Mrs. Featherstone & Mrs. Peters on the evening of 1zth & was there when the shooting occurred. Sergt. ONeill tells me that quite a number of men in Gormanston saw Featherstone in Balbriggan that evening. Besides, he was not in uniform during the day & had none, though of course he could have borrowed it from Peters. Featherstone & Pear- son are not alike in appearance. Nevertheless, Lieutenant Wedgwoods error had been a fruitful one. Rigg was sure that Featherstone had been involved in the rob- bery. Recall Mary Cannons testimonythat Pearson and Smith had visited Landys public house on the afternoon of 1z February, ac- companied by a third man in civilian clothes. Rigg identied Feath- erstone as that third man: I am of opinion that Featherstone & Smith hatched the robbery, & Featherstone went to Balbriggan as he was living near & would have been well known. Smith & Pearson, the latter of whom was more or less a tool, carried out the job, & Smith left the dirty work to Pear- son. Pearson went in expecting everyone would hold up their hands on seeing the revolver, & when Howard tried to escape, he lost his head & started shooting. I feel certain that Smith & Pearson were the two men concerned; the only possible doubt is as to which of them 123 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard did the shooting, but the evidence of Miss Cannon & Cluskey seems conclusive & I see no reason to doubt it. 40 Riggs report was forwarded to the undersecretarys ofce but was then returned with a request for additional information. 41 Ten days passed while Rigg tried to locate Mary Cannon. 42 When she was nal- ly found, she informed Rigg that Featherstone had been the man in ci- vilian clothes, but she insisted that never at anytime had she stated that Featherstone had shot Howard. 43 Moreover, Rigg had obtained a statement from Mrs. Peters, who attested that Pearson, Smith, and Featherstone had gone to Balscadden together on the afternoon of 1z February. She also conrmed that Pearson and Smith had re- turned to Balscadden that evening, after asking if they could spend the night at the Ivy Cottage. In a few minutes after Smith & Pearson left, she said, Mr. Fe[a]therstone said to Mrs. Fe[a]therstone & I, we had better clear out of it, Smith & Pearson have gone to Balscad- den to raid the pub & I dont want to be brought into it. Though she was not present herself, Mrs. Peters claimed in her statement that the murder had occurred in the following way: Smith stood in the door & Pearson went in & red shots. The rst shot was red into the oor, and then Howard threw himself on the ground at Pearsons feet and tried to knock Pearson down; then Pearson said the next shot is for you, you Irish bastard, & he red two shots at Howard & shot him in the kidneys; they then returned to the Ivy Cottage but could not get in, & they went back to the [Gormanston] camp. 44 On ; April the undersecretarys ofce directed Deputy Inspector General Walsh to have the police check Featherstones alibi with a Black and Tan constable named Russell Martingell, who had met (o. Rigg to Walsh, z Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). This document is dated z February 1z1 but clearly refers back to Riggs message of zo March 1z1. (1. Walsh to Toppin, z Mar. 1z1 [also wrongly dated z Feb. 1z1]. It is now I think quite clear, Walsh stated, that it was Pearson and not Featherstone (who by the way was in plain clothes & was out of the police at the time) who red the fatal shot (ibid.). See also Toppin to Walsh, z( Mar. 1z1; Walsh to Rigg, z( Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). (z. Rigg may have been preoccupied with more pressing matters. The IRA am- bushed a small RIC cycle patrol at Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin, on o March 1z1; Head Constable Edward Mulrooney and Sergeant Michael Hallissy were killed. See Ab- bott, Police Casualties, z16. (. Rigg to Walsh, ( Apr. 1z1 (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). ((. Statement of Mrs. Hilda Peter, o Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 124 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard Mrs. Peters in Balbriggan on the night of the crime and had been mentioned in her statement. Martingell was asked to conrm that Featherstone had been in Balbriggan when Landys public house in Balscadden was robbed and Patrick Howard was fatally shot. 45 In- terestingly, Martingells own statement cleared Featherstone of the shooting while implicating him further in the robbery. Martingell re- lated a conversation that had taken place after he and Featherstone had returned to sleep at Ivy Cottage after drinking together in a Bal- briggan pub on the night of the robbery and murder in Balscadden: Fe[a]therstone . . . told me that Constable Smith & his chum were going to hold up a public house in Balscadden, & said, We were all there this afternoon having a look around; we came back here & had tea, & Smiths pal went back to camp to get his revolver; he came back with the revolver, & he & Smith set off in the direction of Balscadden, & they promised me o-o of the proceeds. I did not want to be here when they came back, so that is the reason I went to Balbriggan; I am jolly glad that I ran into you so that I can prove I was not there. 46 On 11 April the undersecretarys ofce nally responded to the dep- uty adjutant generals minute of some four weeks earlier. Riggs inqui- ries had revealed that Lieutenant Wedgwoods theory of the case was incorrect. Wedgwoods letter of 1z March was refuted point by point. There was enough evidence to put Constable Pearson on trial for his life. Unfortunately, the case against Constable Smith was weak. While it was likely that Smith had been involved, there was still no evidence against him. Admittedly, according to Mrs. Featherstone, Smith had confessed to ring the fatal shot, but this was simply hearsay, whereas Cannon and Cluskey had identied Pearson as the shooter. Neverthe- less, Dublin Castle ofcials issued instructions that both Smith and Pearson be referred to the military for trial by court-martial. 47
(. Toppin to Walsh, ; Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). (6. Statement of Constable Russell George Martingell, 11 Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). Another constable conrmed that he and Martingell had been drinking in a public house at Balbriggan that night with two women and a man he did not know. See Statement of Constable Thomas McGlynn, 1z Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). (;. Toppin to Deputy Adjutant General [DAG], RIC Deputy Inspector General, Chief Crown Solicitor, and Chief of Police, 11 Apr. 1z1; Note on Lieut. Wedgwoods Statement (ibid.). 125 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard The armys deputy adjutant general, however, declined to proceed until evidence had been obtained from Featherstone. 48 The police were ordered to make further inquiries, and though they apparently complied, the case appears to have stalled for more than a month. On 1z May the undersecretarys ofce informed the deputy adjutant general that Featherstone has not yet been traced, but further ef- forts are being made. 49 Twelve days later, Dublin Castle went so far as to contact Sir Basil Thomson, director of intelligence at the Home Ofce and head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Lon- dons Metropolitan Police, to determine if there was any prospect of tracing Featherstone. Nor was this the rst time that the Castle had requested such help from Scotland Yard. The RIC inspector general himself had previously requested Thomsons help in track- ing down Featherstone. 50 The mystery of Featherstones whereabouts was solved, however, when the former Black and Tan was arrested in Deptford on a warrant for arrears on a bastardy order, or, as we would now say, an order for child-support payments. He appeared at East Ham police court on z May and was sentenced to 1 days im- prisonment in Brixton Prison. 51 Sir Basil Thomson immediately sent the good news to Dublin Castle but warned that Featherstone might yet slip through their ngers. As there is a possibility that he may pay the arrears under the order, he wrote, I should be glad if you would inform me early about what steps you desire taken. 52
At this point the wheels of the British judicial system in Ireland - nally began to grind forward once more. The date of Smith and Pear- sons trial was nally set: the two men would be tried for Howards murder by court-martial in Dublin City Hall on 1 June. 53 Two oth- er police constables were also scheduled to face a court-martial for murder that same day. Like Smith and Pearson, they were accused (8. Lieut.-Col. Chapman (for DAG) to Undersecretary, 1 Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). (. Toppin to DAG, 1z May 1z1 (ibid.). o. G. G. Whiskard to Sir Basil Thomson, z( May 1z1 (ibid.). 1. Constable J. Petherick to Divisional Detective Inspector, z( May 1z1; Min- ute Sheet, East Ham Station, K Division, Metropolitan Police, z6 May 1z1; Com- missioner of Police, London, to Scully, z; May 1z1 (ibid.). z. Thomson to Walsh, z6 May 1z1 (ibid.). . Lieut.-Col. H. D. Foster MacGeagh to General Ofcer Commanding-in- Chief, Ireland, z6 May 1z1; DAG to GHQ Ireland, o May 1z1; DAG to Under- secretary, o May 1z1 (ibid.); Charge Sheet, undated (ibid.). 126 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard of shooting a man dead while committing a robbery. 54 In preparation for the trial of Smith and Pearson, James Featherstone was trans- ferred to Mountjoy Prison, 55 where he nally made a statement at the beginning of June in the presence of Lieutenant Wedgwood and the two accused constables. Featherstone corroborated his wifes ear- lier statement while doing his best to exonerate himself. He admit- ted that he had indeed accompanied Smith and Pearson to Landys public house in Balscadden on the afternoon of 1z February, but he claimed ignorance of Smith and Pearsons malevolent intentions un- til the group had returned to Ivy Cottage. Featherstone then offered his version of what had transpired there: As they were leaving, at the front door Smith said to me, We are go- ing to Balscadden. I said to him, What for? Smith replied, We are going to raid the pub; can we come back here later to-night? They then left, and shortly afterwards I went with my wife and friend to Balbriggan. On the next day, Sunday, I saw Smith about 1.oo. I saw Smith at Gormanstown camp. I said to Smith, You went up there [to Bals- cadden] last night. He said, Yes. I said, Youve done a ne thing. Do you know that man is dead? He said, Yes. We only got 1. I had 6 and Pearson had ;. We will give you z to-morrow. Smith then told me what happened in Landys public house the previous night. I said to Smith, What made you shoot him? Smith replied, When we rushed in to the public house, Pearson said, Hands up, and I stood just inside the door. A man started to run to get out of the public house and Pearson shot him. He didnt stop moaning, so he shot him again. He almost dropped on his knees at his (Pearsons) feet. The handkerchief almost fell off Pearsons face once. 56 In light of this new evidence it was decided to charge both Smith and Pearson with robbery and receiving stolen goods, as well as mur- der, with an alternative charge of manslaughter. 57 The two constables (. On this case, see D. M. Leeson, The Black and Tans: British Police and Auxilia- ries in the Irish War of Independence, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, zo11), zoozoz. . Whiskard to Sir Basil Thomson, z May 1z1; Toppin to Walsh and Chief Commissioner, Dublin Metropolitan Police, 1 May 1z1 (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). 6. Further Summary of Evidence in the Case of George Stewart Pearson and George Smith, Constables, R.I.C., June 1z1 (ibid.). ;. Toppin to DAG and Wedgwood, June 1z1 (ibid.). The authorities were still concerned that Featherstone might pay the arrears for which he had been commit- 127 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard were tried by court-martial on 116 June. 58 Smith was acquitted while Pearson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. 59 In his re- port Judge Advocate P. Sutherland Graeme explained this decision: As Judge Advocate, I felt it to be my duty to advise the court that as the case against Smith rested almost entirely on the evidence of a wit- ness of bad character, one Featherstone, it would not be safe for the court to nd him guilty of murder; moreover, there was every ground for believing that Featherstone was deeply implicated in the robbery in the course of which the murder was committed. There was in my opinion ample evidence upon which the court could nd Pearson guilty of murder, and he was the man who red the fatal shot. I feel it, however, to be my duty to say that the court was not unanimous in their nding. Moreover, there was every rea- son for thinking that Smith and probably Featherstone were equally guilty with Pearson. 60 In my book I discuss a number of cases of police crime during the War of Independence. More than 1,1o British recruits joined the RIC in October 1zo alone. At least eleven of these men were subsequently dismissed from the force after having been convicted of criminal offenses, including housebreaking and armed robbery. Ten of them are mentioned in the book. The eleventh was George Pear- son. Though unusually tall for a Black and Tan (six feet, in fact), he was a typical British recruit overall. Born in 18;, he was a Protestant and a bachelor from Londonan ex-soldier who had also worked as a motor driver. He joined the RIC on 1 October 1zo and was posted to County Wicklow early in November, after less than three weeks of police training. Then, a month later, he was re-posted to the Dublin depot. Otherwise, the RIC General Register mentions only ted, go free, and disappear once again. On ; June, Toppin asked the deputy attorney general for a warrant to compel Featherstones appearance at the court-martial under the regulations of the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act. 8. The proceedings run for more than two hundred pages: General Court- Martial, 16th June 1z1, upon the Trial of GEORGE SMITH and GEORGE S. PEARSON, Royal Irish Constabulary, Shorthand Notes (ibid.). These proceedings will hereafter be cited as Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson). . Extracted from the Proceedings of a General Court-Martial Held at Dublin on the 1th and 16th June 1z1 for the Trial of George Smith and George Stewart Pearson, Constables, Royal Irish Constabulary (ibid.). 6o. R v. Pearson, RIC, 16 June 1z1 (ibid.). 128 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard that Pearson was dismissed from the force on 1; February 1z1the date of his arrest. The fact that he was later convicted of murder was not recorded. 61
Like George Pearson himself, the murder of Patrick Howard was quite ordinary in many ways. It was not the result of a reprisal. Police and Auxiliaries were almost never prosecuted for extrajudicial kill- ings. Recall that two men had been assassinated in Drogheda, Co. Louth, on the night of 8 February 1z1just four days before Patrick Howard was fatally shot in Balscadden, Co. Dublin. Though military courts of inquiry were held in both cases, there is no record of any subsequent police investigation of the Drogheda murders. Re- call as well that other Black and Tans were tried by court-martial for murder in Dublin that June. Some six months earlier, Temporary Constables J. H. Cockburn and John Reive had fatally shot James Whelan after invading his home at Ballyroan in Queens County. On 18 June 1z1 both men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, though their sentences were subsequently reduced to life imprisonment. Reive later told the chaplain at Dartmoor Prison that the attack on Whelan had been a reprisal, not a robbery: Shortly before the occurrence, a police barrack had been raided and burned. The men knew that the man, for the murder of whom these two are undergoing sentence, was one of the party who did it, and was seen dancing in the street as the barrack went up in ame. They decided to give him reprisal. There were others to go with them; but at the last moment they did not turn up, and Cockburn and Reive went in alone. They protest that they had no intention to commit murder, only to raid and scare him. 62 Reive was clearly hoping that the authorities would take a more lenient view of his offense if it had been a reprisal rather than a rob- 61. Constable ;(8;, RIC General Register (TNA, PRO, HO 18(/8). When asked about their service in the RIC, Walsh wrote that the commandant of Gormans- town [sic] informs me that both Constable Pearson and Constable Smith have borne excellent characters. See Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson), 16 June 1z1, f. (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). 6z. J.C. Johnston to Home Secretary Edward Shortt, Jan. 1zz (TNA, PRO, HO 1((/1;61/(z6). At the military court of inquiry into James Whelans death, three witnesses to the crime described how the two temporary constables had de- manded money. See Military Court of Inquiry (James Whelan) (TNA, PRO, WO /1B). 129 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard bery. But his hopes were probably misplaced, as suggested by a com- parable set of events elsewhere in Ireland. On the night of 1(1 May 1z1 police in Salthill, Co. Galway, seized a young medical student from his hotel room, beat him, shot him, and left him for dead. But their victim, John Green, survived and swore out a complaint. Con- sequently, as in the case of Patrick Howards murder, the shooting of John Green was investigated by both the RIC county inspector and the divisional commissioner. Ultimately, two Black and Tans were sentenced to prison for fteen years for this attempted murder, which was clearly meant as a reprisal. 63
As these and other cases show, the identity of the victim was an im- portant consideration as well. Patrick Howard was not involved in the struggle for national independence. As previously noted, both Peter Cluskey and Thomas Howard told the military court of inquiry that Patrick Howard was not a member of any organization. This cir- cumstance was consistent with a general pattern. While police were almost never prosecuted for crimes against revolutionaries or politi- cal activists, they were prosecuted for crimes against ordinary people. John Green, for example, was friendly with the police, and there is no evidence that James Whelan was a Volunteer. The two men mur- dered in Drogheda, by contrast, had both been republican activists. Thomas Halpin was a Sinn Fin alderman. John Moran was a Volun- teer from Wexford who had been interned after taking part in the oc- cupation of Enniscorthy during the 116 Rising. The police investiga- tion of their deaths ended with the court of inquiry. 64 Thomas Hand, murdered at Skerries in December 1zo, had also been a Volunteer; he had been interned for taking part in the attack on Ashbourne RIC barracks in 116. Once again, though two witnesses testied at the military court of inquiry that Hand had been shot by men dressed in police uniform, the investigation was perfunctory. An anonymous police witness stationed at Balbriggan (probably District Inspector Scully) testied that he had learned of Hands death by reading the 6. Leeson, Black and Tans, zoz. 6(. In October 1zo notices had been posted in Drogheda threatening reprisals for attacks on the police. DROGHEDA BEWARE, the notices read. If in the vi- cinity a policeman is shot, ve leading Sinn Feiners will be shot (quoted in Rich- ard Bennett, The Black and Tans [rst published London, 1; new ed., New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1], 8). 130 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard newspaper. He had checked the scene, nding no signs of shots or a struggle, and had made inquiries in the vicinity without result. All he could say was that there had been no police patrol in the neighbor- hood on the night in question. 65
This brings us to a third factor that inuenced who was prosecut- ed: the identities of the perpetrators. When police were prosecuted for crimes against civilians, the perpetrators were generally strang- ers to the district where the crime was committed. Two days before Christmas in 1zo, for example, a gang of men in police uniform robbed a bank in Strokestown, Co. Roscommon. The manager of the bank escaped and went to the local police, who quickly determined that the perpetrators were Black and Tans from Longford town; an RIC sergeant had come from Longford to Strokestown to testify in a court case, and the bank robbers were members of his escort. 66
Similarly, the two temporary constables who shot James Whelan in Queens County had been stationed in the district only for a couple of days, temporarily. This was also the case with Pearson and Smith in County Dublin. In his summary of the evidence against the two constables, District Inspector Scully indicated that both men were of no local impor- tance, and that their RIC character was not known. 67 Interest- ingly, Scully also knew very little about Featherstone or Peters. At the court-martial of Pearson and Smith, when he was questioned about Featherstone, Scully replied: I could not tell you that, sir; he is not in my area, you see. 68 Then, when asked a few questions about Peters, Scully could say only that his character was bad: He was always drunk, chiey; that was his drawback. When pressed further, Scully responded: I do not know; he was not one of my men. I belong to Balbriggan station [and have] nothing to do with the Gormanstown [sic] station. 69 Scully could not even say if Peterss hair was light or dark: I do not know, he said; I do not remember ever seeing him. 70 6. Court of Inquiry (Thomas Hand), 8 Dec. 1zo (TNA, PRO, WO /11A). 66. Leeson, Black and Tans, 88(. 6;. V. W. Scully, Summary of Evidence in the Case of the King v. George Smith & George Stewart Pearson, Charged with the Murder of Patrick Howard, Mar. 1z1 (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). 68. Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson), 16 June 1z1, f. 1 (ibid.). 6. Ibid., f. (. ;o. Ibid., f. . 131 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard As Scullys testimony suggests, the institutional ability of the RIC to police itself was quite limited: its gaze was directed outward, not inward. Compare, for example, Scullys brief statements about Smith and Pearson to the detailed evidence he gave at the military court of inquiry into the death of IRA Volunteer Peter White: From inquiries made, I have discovered that Peter White was an ac- tive member of the I.R.A. He was never detected in any active en- gagement but was suspected of having taken part in [the] murder [of] Const. Green at Balbriggan, z-z-z1; [the] attempted murder of Sgt. Kielty, Balbriggan, 1z-(-z1; and several raids for arms, &c. In docu- ments captured recently, Whites name was found as showing him a subscribing member of the I.R.A., the subscription going towards the purchase of a revolver. White, when a young lad, was very wild. When quite a boy, he ran away from home and joined the army, from which he was sub- sequently bought out by his mother. He never is known to have done an honest days work, but kept himself alive by sponging on his parents and picking pockets at race meetings. Naturally, the criminal prospects offered by the I.R.A. proved a great temptation, and he became a willing member. 71 The RIC had nothing like a police-complaints commission or an internal-affairs bureau to investigate allegations against its own members. Instead, this responsibility rested with its ofcersmen like District Inspector Scully, Divisional Commissioner Rigg, and ultimate- ly Deputy Inspector General Walsh. Curiously, the highest-ranking po- lice ofcer in Ireland, the chief of police, Major General Henry Hugh Tudor, seems hardly to have concerned himself with such matters, despite being responsible for the recruitment of thousands of Black and Tans and Auxiliaries. The surviving records of the chief of polices ofce include an elaborate table of organization for O Department, headed by the director of intelligence, Colonel Ormonde Winter. The various branches of this department were dedicated to the detection and investigation of plots against the constituted authority of the realm and against the loyal subjects of the crown. 72 But there is no ;1. Statement of V. W. Scully, Military Court of Inquiry (Peter White), ; May 1z1 (TNA, PRO, WO /1B). ;z. Ofce of Chief of Police, O Department, Distribution of Staff and Duties (TNA, PRO, HO 18(/;8). 132 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard record of any ofcial being given responsibility for internal investiga- tions, and none of the ofcial correspondence in the Patrick Howard le was addressed to General Tudor, except for information. Indeed, around the same time that Patrick Howard was murdered, the topic of police discipline came up in a conversation between two senior civil servants: the deputy secretary to the British cabinet, Thomas Jones, and the undersecretary for Ireland, Sir John Ander- son. In a diary entry for 1 February 1z1, Jones threw a ood of light on the resistance at the highest levels to tackling police indiscipline in Ireland: Over two months ago, Anderson had put up to [Chief Secretary] Hamar Greenwood a proposal to set up a board to deal with disci- pline in the police forces, but Hamar Greenwood had turned it down. Anderson had then persuaded Tudor to set up a small board for the same purpose, but Anderson was satised from information that con- tinued to reach him that there were many serious breaches of disci- pline. In private conversation Tudor would agree that steps ought to be taken to deal with these, but Andersons advisers were satised that he took another line when he met his men. 73 In addition, the RIC could offer very little of what would nowa- days be called witness protection. And what little it did provide was geared toward protecting witnesses from IRA retaliation, not RIC reprisals. The standard procedure was apparently to send witnesses to some place like the training camp of the Ulster Special Constabu- lary at Newtownards. Once it was reported that both Mary Cannon and Peter Cluskey had received threatening letters, County Inspec- tor Lowndes recommended that they be sent at once, if willing to go, to the camp at Gormanston or to the RIC depot [in Dublin] for safety, as I feel certain the threat to murder them will be carried out. This step would hardly have reassured witnesses in a case involving police constables accused of murder, and as mentioned earlier, both Cannon and Cluskey chose to go on the run instead. And this was scarcely the only case in which police tried to interfere with such an investigation by threatening witnesses. After the bank-robbing Black and Tans from Longford had been arrested, someone wrote a letter ;. Thomas Jones, Whitehall Diary, vol. : Ireland, , ed. Keith Middle- mas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1;1), z. 133 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard to the manager of the bank at Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, threat- ening to kill him unless he dropped the charges. The only protection that RIC headquarters could afford in this case was a warning to the district inspectors concerned that they would be held personally re- sponsible for the managers safety. 74 Not surprisingly, many civilians were just as reluctant to give evi- dence against the police as they were to do so against IRA insurgents. Thomas Hands next of kin did not even report his murder to the au- thorities. At the court of inquiry into this Volunteers death, an ofcer of the Royal Army Medical Corps testied that he was unable to make a complete examination of the bodyit was in a cofn, bandaged, and four days dead. And while Hands family was willing to talk to army personnel, they seem to have had nothing to say to District Inspector Scully. 75 Witnesses were even more closemouthed in the case of Al- derman Thomas Halpin and James Moran. Their next of kin refused to give evidence at a closed military inquiry, though the president of the court eventually persuaded them to identify the bodies. 76 A month later, the mayor of Drogheda, Philip Monahan, wrote a letter to the Irish Independent accusing the crown forces of covering up the killings. 77
The army tried to investigate further but with no result. The deputy adjutant general criticized the ofcer commanding the Dublin district, Major General Boyd, for not reassembling the court of inquiry: under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Regulations, these courts had all the powers of a coroners inquest, which includes the power to com- mit to prison for contempt of court any person who refuses to give evidence. 78 But in his nal report on the matter Boyd turned aside the criticism: No further information can be obtained. Alderman Mona- han and the other witnesses will certainly refuse to answer any ques- tions except in public, and moreover, I should not personally attach very much weight to any evidence they might give. For good measure Boyd remarked: If this case is re-opened, I think that we shall be com- ;(. Leeson, Black and Tans, 88(. ;. Military Court of Inquiry (Thomas Hand), 8 Dec. 1zo (TNA, PRO, WO /11A). ;6. Statement by Capt. E. W. Avenell, 1 Mar. 1z1; Major-Gen. Boyd to GHQ Ireland, zz Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). ;;. News Clipping, Irish Independent, 1; Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). ;8. DAG to RIC Headquarters, Dublin District, 1 Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). 134 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard mitted to a trial of the alderman and some women for refusing to give evidence, except in public, with the result that they will probably be sent to prison, and good propaganda made out of this incident. 79
In light of all these facts it should hardly be a cause for surprise that police who broke the law were caught only if they bungled the job. George Pearson rst shot Patrick Howard, then unintentionally let witnesses see his face before eeing the scene. The police who robbed the bank in County Roscommon were apprehended with their pockets full of banknotes; some were even caught spending the stolen money in a nearby pub. In Queens County, Temporary Con- stable J. H. Cockburn shot James Whelan with a police revolver that he had stolen from his temporary station; he then left the murder weapon behind at the scene. The two Black and Tans who shot John Green in County Galway left him alive and able to lodge an informa- tion. This was also what happened in a different case when a police- man was prosecuted for a political killing. Captain William L. King, the commander of F Company of the RIC Auxiliary Division, was arrested in February 1z1 for the execution-style shooting of the Dubliner James Murphy. Like the men who assaulted John Green in Salthill, King had neglected to ensure that his victim was dead. Though Murphy later died from his wounds, he lived long enough to identify King as his killer. Yet this Auxiliary ofcer was eventually acquitted of murdering Murphy, partly because the victims evidence was ruled inadmissible and partly because two of Kings subordinates were able to give him an alibi. 80
Though Patrick Howards killer was convicted, that case under- lines the obstacles to catching and punishing policemen who had broken the law. The case against George Pearson was hardly conclu- sive. Though both Mary Cannon and Peter Cluskey had identied Pearson, a third witness, Robert Byrne, had not. 81 And while Can- non and Cluskey both agreed that Pearsons handkerchief mask had slipped, exposing his face, Byrne testied at the court-martial that ;. Boyd to GHQ, z8 Apr. 1z1 (ibid.). A note on this report reads: Seen by chief, who says no further action. 8o. Leeson, Black and Tans, 1886. 81. Deposition of Robert Byrne, Mar. 1z1 (TNA, PRO, HO 1/8). When cross-examined, Byrne also admitted that he had not seen Smith in the pub that night. 135 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard the man who had robbed Landys pub and shot Howard had kept a handkerchief over his face the whole time. 82
Pearsons defense counsel was quick to point out other problems with Cannon and Cluskeys testimony as well. At the identication parade held at Gormanston camp in mid-February 1z1, Mary Can- non had at rst identied Smith but not Pearsoneven though Smith was not in the pub when the crime took place. As previously noted, Cannon had identied Pearson only after a second look. In fact, it is possible that the identication parade was conducted improperly, and that Cannon and Cluskey were led to identify Smith and Pear- son. In his deposition, given early in March of that year, Cluskey had said: At Gormanston in or about twenty men were put in a line before me, and I was asked to identify the prisoners. I mean I was then asked to identify the two men who were in the public house the Saturday night previous, the night of the shooting. 83 This phrasing may simply have represented a slip of the tongue, but Mary Cannon said something equally suggestive at the court-martial in mid-June. For some reason, ex-constable Featherstone had been put back in uniform and placed on parade before Cannon and Cluskey. When Cannon was asked if she had seen Featherstone that day, she replied: Well, I did not want to see Featherstone among them. 84 Pearson was also dressed differently from the other men on parade that day: unlike the rest, he wore a belt with his tunic, and puttees with his trousers. Lastly, in a letter to the attorney general, George Pearsons brother, Thomas, came right out and accused District Inspector Scully of having led the witnesses at the parade. The district in- spector in charge of the identication parade, he wrote indignantly, stood directly in front of my brother, nodding his head obviously in Pearsons direction, said to Miss Cannon, Go on, have a good look, he is here; you will nd your man; she then identied my brother. 85 8z. Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson), 1 June 1z1, ff. 8(86 (ibid.). 8. Deposition of Peter Cluskey, Mar. 1z1 (ibid.). 8(. Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson), 1 June 1z1, f. z (ibid.). This passage has been underlined with a colored pencil; three exclamation points stand in the mar- gin. Nor was this a mistake, as her subsequent testimony makes clear: Q. But you did not see him? A. He might have been there. I did not want to see him. Q. You did not want to see him? A. No. 8. Thomas Pearson to Attorney General Sir Denis Henry, z8 June 1z1, f. z (ibid.). 136 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard Thomas Pearson, of course, had not been present at the identi- cation parade. He did not specify the source of his information, but it was probably his other brother, an RIC sergeant stationed at Gormanston. And of course neither man was disinterested in this case. Indeed, to judge from the correspondence preserved in the le, Thomas Pearson was convinced of his brothers innocence and worked hard to get George Pearson acquitted, to have his conviction overturned, and nally to get his sentence commuted. He even enlist- ed the help of George Smith, who wrote letters on George Pearsons behalf. And in this persistent effort to exonerate his brother, Thomas Pearson went so far as to claim that Peter Cluskey had changed his story under pressure from the IRA: Our solicitors Messrs. Gerald Byrne & Co. and counsel discovered that the Sinn Fein organisation had gained access to the witnesses for the defence and prosecution, and had threatened them (especially the crown witness, Mr. Clusky). Mr. Clusky is a prominent member of the I.R.A., and he was informed that as a member of the I.R.A. he would be violating one of their most stringent laws if he gave evi- dence for the crown, and thereby recognising a British court. If, on the other hand, one or both of the accused were convicted, he, Mr. Clusky, would be exonerated; but if both of the accused were acquit- ted, he would have to answer to the I.R.A. Being thus threatened, Mr. Clusky altered his statement to coincide with Miss Cannons evidence, namely, that the handkerchief fell from the face of the man who shot Patrick Howard. This was absolutely contrary to the four previous statements he had given to the military. 86 These claims should not be dismissed out of hand. Cluskey did not mention that the handkerchief had fallen from the shooters face at either the court of inquiry into Patrick Howards death or in his de- position of March 1z1. And one reason why the traditional coro- ners inquest into every death had been suspended by the Restoration 86. Ibid. Pearson also claimed that other Irish witnesses had been intimidated by Sinn Fein, hence, we did not produce them because we knew they intended to give false evidence to help convict the accused. In a letter to the chief secretary, George Smith complained of the very imsy evidence offered by the crown & [by] two rank Sinn Feiners who would not care how they perjure themselves so as they could get a conviction against the Black and Tans. See Smith to Greenwood, z6 June 1z1 (ibid.). 137 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard of Order in Ireland Act was to protect the police from politically mo- tivated prosecutions. But that Thomas Pearsons charges were valid seems unlikely. The letters of Thomas Pearson, however, do help us ll in one of the many blanks in this case. Recall that there was a two-day gap in the le between 1 and 1; February 1z1in other words, between the date of the rst session of the military court of inquiry and the date of the identication parade at Gormanston. Recall as well that there was no indication of how suspicion fell on Smith and Pear- son until Lieutenant Wedgwood voiced his concerns on 1z March 1z1 that the police had arrested the wrong man. In fact, it seems clear that Pearson and Smith came under suspicion for Howards murder only because Featherstone lost his nerve and informed on both of them in order to save himself. What made Featherstone turn informer? At the court-martial of Smith and Pearson the counsel for the defense had promised in his opening statement to produce a witness who, among other things, would perhaps give some little insight as to what the general idea of the locality is about the iden- tity of the culprits. This witness, a local shopkeeper named Annie Morgan, fell ill with tonsillitis, which prevented her from testify- ing, but she had provided a written statement beforehand. After some discussion at the court-martial and over objection from the prosecution counsel, Judge Advocate Graeme began to read out her statement: I keep a shop at Gormanston. It is situated on the road leading to the camp and is the next house to the camp gate, a few hundred yards away from the gate. I sell butter, eggs, bacon, and suchlike things. I supply these goods to a great number of men at the camp. I remem- ber . . . hearing the next morning after the murder of Mr. Howard what had occurred, and I afterwards heard that two men had been ar- rested. I remember on the Saturday night a number of men had been in, getting butter, eggs, and bacon on their way back to the camp. I believe I could identify the two accused if I saw them as having been in my shop that night on their way back to the camp, somewhere be- tween 8:o and oclock. I know Featherstone and Peters[at this point the judge advocate paused and said to the prosecution counsel, I see now why you referred to it; I did not know it was in this state- ment] . . . that it was common talk round the district . . . that Feath- erstone and Peters were the parties that had killed Howard. [Pausing again, the judge advocate conceded his mistake: I had no idea we 138 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard were being led to this. I think that is as far as the statement ought to be read.] 87 Featherstone, it seems, had a bad reputation around Gormanston. He had resigned from the RIC after being punished for stealing from his police comrades, and had been reported for poaching as well, though he denied having done either. He also denied having heard any rumors that he was involved in the robbery that led to the shoot- ing of Patrick Howard. 88 But in his letters on his brothers behalf, Thomas Pearson claimed to have overheard Featherstone talking in a public house on the morning of 1; February 1z1, after the identi- cation parade at Gormanston camp. According to Thomas Pearsons account, Featherstone gave this explanation of why he had gone to the police after the shooting: Well, everybody was saying that I had shot this man Howard, everywhere I went I heard it, so on Sunday night I went to the police and told them Smith and Pearson shot Howard; and they were arrested the next day. 89 Thus the murder of Patrick Howard illustrates the major obstacles during the Irish War of Independence to prosecuting and convicting policemen who had committed serious felonieseven in cases where there was not even passive resistance from the police themselves. The murder of Patrick Howard exceeded what Foucault called the mar- gin of tolerated illegality. Instead of carrying out an extrajudicial kill- ing in reprisal for insurgent attacks against the police, as the crown forces commonly did in late 1zo and early 1z1, George Pearson had shot a civilian while robbing a public house, in a district where before the incident he was unknown to the local police. In addition, he had botched the job and left behind witnesses who could iden- tify him as the shooterwitnesses who could not be frightened into 8;. Court-Martial (Smith and Pearson), 16 June 1z1, ff. (;(8. In his objec- tion the counsel for the prosecution had stated: You see, I have no opportunity of cross-examining this lady or being able to qualify the statement that is contained there, which is, of course, a very serious statement, and a portion, the latter portion, of which I submit could not possibly be evidence at this trial (ibid., f. (). 88. Ibid., f. ((. 8. Thomas Pearson, Statement of Conversation with Featherstone, undated, but probably late June 1z1 (ibid.). In a letter to Major General Tudor, Pearson stat- ed: I have posted to you under a seperate [sic] cover a statement of the conversation I heard in Gormanston made by ex-constable Featherstone. See Thomas Pearson to Tudor, z8 June 1z1 (ibid.). 139 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard silence, despite the inability of the police to ensure their safety. And yet Pearson came close to going freeas his accomplice Smith actu- ally did. Neither man ever confessed to his crime, and they both got away before the local police could catch them; indeed, the local po- lice never left their barracks on the night of the shooting. In the days that followed, preoccupied with a guerrilla war, the local RIC had little time or manpower to spare for such internal investigations, even when the military suggested that they had arrested the wrong man. Lastly, the authorities might never have identied either Pearson or Smith if Featherstone had simply kept quiet. Unexpectedly, the case of Patrick Howarda case in which a Black and Tan was caught and punished for murderdemonstrates just how limited the power of the British government really was in Ireland during the War of Inde- pendence. Its hold over its own police was almost as weak as its hold over Irish nationalists. Even George Pearson escaped the noose in the end. Judge Advo- cate Graeme had concluded his report with a recommendation for mercy: I feel very strongly that this is a case where the death sen- tence should be commuted. 90 The judge advocate general did not go this far, but he too called the attention of higher authorities to the fact that the courts nding had not been unanimous. 91 And while Thomas Pearson was writing repeated letters on his brothers behalf, Dublin Castle took its time in considering whether the extreme pen- alty should be imposed. In mid-July 1z1 the Irish government was formally advised that the case against Pearson was too weak to justify the death sentence, and at the beginning of August the viceroy com- muted Pearsons sentence to penal servitude for life. 92 On z; Febru- ary 1zz the chief crown solicitor went one step further and recom- mended to the viceroy that Pearson be freed from custody: Whilst I cannot say that the verdict was wrong, whilst it is for the court to weigh the evidence, I think that in dealing with the case now regard can be had to the fact that there was only a bare majority in favour of conviction, that this trial took place under exceptional leg- o. P. Sutherland Graeme, R v. Pearson, RIC, 16 June 1z1 (ibid.). 1. Judge Advocate General to General Ofcer Commanding-in-Chief, Ireland, z( June 1z1 (ibid.). z. Whiskard to Assistant Undersecretary, 1; July 1z1; Whiskard to Chairman, General Prisons Board, z Aug. 1z1 (ibid.). 140 ire-Ireland 47: 3 & 4 Fall/Win 12 The Murder of Patrick Howard islation necessary to cope with exceptional conditions, that had one out of twelve jurors any real doubt in the case, there could not have been a conviction, and that considering the amnesty [following the Treaty on 6 December 1z1] and the release of persons about whose guilt there can be no doubt, the prerogative of mercy may now be exercised and Pearsons release directed. 93 George Pearson was freed on 1; March 1zz but does not appear to have prospered in life. The remainder of the le consists of correspon- dence between the ex-constable and various government ofcials. In a letter to Chief Secretary Greenwood in late September 1zz, Pearson complained that he was now destitute a heavily in debt. 94 In a let- ter to the king almost three weeks later, Pearson moaned that he was absolutely unable to obtain a livelihood of any kind and pleaded for a full pardon. 95 In his last letter, sent to the Irish Ofce in late November, Pearson still maintained his innocence and groaned once more that he was unable to obtain employment of any kind through this charge being brought against meand its results. There is no relief for an Englishman who served over there, he declared in utter dejection, and I am at the end of my resources. 96 The governments coldly formal response ve days later is the nal document in the le: It is regretted that the decision previously conveyed to you that it is not possible for you to be granted a free pardon is nal and cannot be reconsidered, and that therefore no pension can be paid to you in respect of your service in the Royal Irish Constabulary. 97 . H. A. Wynne, George Stewart Pearson, z; Feb. 1zz (ibid.). (. George Pearson to Greenwood, zz Sept. 1zz (ibid.). . Pearson to King George V, 1o Oct. 1zz (ibid.). 6. Pearson to Irish Ofce, z Nov. 1zz (ibid.). ;. Irish Ofce to Pearson, z8 Nov. 1zz (ibid.).
Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon - Turning Points of The Irish Revolution - The British Government, Intelligence, and The Cost of Indifference, 1912-1921 (2007)