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Post 1916
Following release from Reading Prison on 24 December 1916 Liam quickly relocated to Dublin. By April he was working in Weir & Son Burgh Quay. He remained in this position until December of that year
Post 1916
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| Reference from Weir & Co where Liam worked 11 April 1917 - 11 Dec 1917 |
Following release from Reading Prison on 24 December 1916 Liam quickly relocated to Dublin. By April he was working in Weir & Son Burgh Quay. He remained in this position until December of that year
Positions held Na Fianna Éireann 1917-1922
June 1917 Captain Usher’s Quay Company
January 1918 – March 1920 Battalion Commandant 2nd (North Dublin) Battalion
1918-1921 Headquarters Staff National Director of Organisation & Education
December 1920 – April 1921 Brigade Commandant (O/C) replacing Gary Holohan who was arrested
11 July 1921 – Dec 1921 Battalion Commandant 4th
(South West Dublin) Battalion
Early 1921 – April 1921 Chief of Staff in Eamon Martin’s absence
Headquarters Staff Director
of Organisation (Ryan p.18)
May 1921 – July
1922 Brigade Commandant
(Brigade Staff Sheets p.6)
Fianna
Circle IRB (1917-1922)
Centre: Gary
Holohan
Secretary: Liam Langley
Treasurer Tom Donohoe
Meetings were held 46 Parnell Square
Principal activity of the Circle was the carrying out of instructions from the Supreme Council for the infiltration of other organisations or societies, with a view to IRB control of such bodies. According to Sean Saunders (WS854) some members were instructed to attend a meeting of a newly-formed Socialist Party of Ireland and to vote for a supplied list of nominees for the Controlling Council of the Socialist Party. Role and function of the circle committee was
recruitment of new members and assess suitability of those proposed for new
membership (Joseph Reynolds WS 191)). Members of the Fianna Circle IRB consisted almost entirely of commissioned officers of the Dublin Brigade Fianna including Garry Holohan, Liam Langley, Barney Mellows, Bob Conlon, Bob Daly, Sean Caffrey, Seán Harling, Peter Byrne and Eamon Martin (Saunders WS854)
REMOVAL OF BANNER FROM GPO APPEALING FOR RECRUITS FOR THE BRITISH NAVY
From the 14 April 1922 a column
of 200 men led by Rory O’Connor occupied the Four Courts, on 28 June Free State artillery
guns began blasting the Four Courts. REMOVAL OF BANNER FROM GPO APPEALING FOR RECRUITS FOR THE BRITISH NAVY
Extract from Statement Gearoid Ua h-Uallachain (Gary Holohan) Fianna Eireann Dublin Brigade.
Liam, along with a group of Na Fianna members, was involved in the removal of a British Navy recruiting banner from the columns of the GPO around 1918 (date uncertain). This story was often recounted at home by Liam to his family. He got a great kick out of it in part because of the daring . He also added that the following day a large crowd gathered to look a the burnt banner. Liam and the group cycled back into O'Connell Street to survey the outcome of their actions.
The following is Holohan's account of the incident: "There is just one incident that comes to mind which took place after 1916. As if to add insult to injury, the British authorities erected a large scroll or banner of bunting across the top of the columns or the G.P.O. on which was painted 'An appeal for recruits for His Brittanic Majesty's Navy'. This was too much for us, so we organised a party of the Fianna. There were about twenty of us, including Liam Langley, Hugo MacNeill and Theo Fitzgerald. We met with bicycles at George's Pocket. We had a supply of twine with lead weights attached, and several sods of turf soaked in paraffin oil. We cycled into O'Connell Street at about half-past eleven, held up the policeman on duty at the point of a revolver, threw the lead weights over the banner, hauled up the burning sods of turf and the whole thing was in ashes in a few minutes. It was never replaced."
1918 Westminster Elections
Liam Langley acted as Director of Elections for Sean T. O'Kelly in the Westminster elections of December 1918. In this landslide election where Sinn Féin took 73 of the 103 seats, O'Kelly took 77.2% of the vote in the College Green constituency in Dublin. The 73 new MPs did not take their seats in Westminster but instead set up Dáil Éireann in January 1919. O'Kelly subsequently was appointed Ceann Comhairle (speaker) of the first Dáil in Ireland.1919 Paying 'The Squad'
Following the formation of Dail Éireann in January 1919 Liam Langley began working for Michael Collins who was Minister for Finance and Intelligence. Their office were situated over Hogg & Roberstons, Market Gardners, Mary Street, Dn 1 (Saunders, WS 817). By late July Collins's had set up 'The Squad', a unit involved in counteracting British Intelligence. The Squad was ‘officially’ established on 19 September 1919 at 46 Rutland (Parnell) Square (by that time it had been in operation for two months and had already carried out two killings). Members were paid £4.10s per week. Officially the unit was a part of the Dublin Brigade under Dick McKee from Finglas, but they were separate from the Battalion structure and directly under the command of Collins. Their main aim was to wipe out British Intelligence in Ireland. Liam Langley was charged with paying the members of the squad. He usually met a squad member to hand over a cash payment, venues for the transactions were usually safe pubs around Dublin. As well as having established himself himself as an honest worker with a safe pair of hands , the fact that Liam was a teetotaler meant that monies would reach the recipients safely in the locale of a pub!
On 28 June Oscar
Traynor O/C Dublin Brigade Irish Volunteers mobilised local Battalions at Barry’s
Hotel. Liam Langley (Dublin Brigade O/C
and National Director of Education and Organisation) was among those of the
Anti-treaty side who reported for duty.
Other senior officers and HQ staff of Na Fianna who were present
included Garry Holohan (Former National Fianna Q.M.G but still on Fianna
Executive), Eamon Martin (National Fianna Director of Training and former Chief
of Staff), Joe Reynolds (National Fianna Q.M.G.), Sean Harling (Vice O/C) and
Barney Mellows (National Fianna A/G). The
men were involved in fortifying Barry’s Hotel, and commandeering of supplies
and weapons.
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| O'Connell Street 1922 Hammam Hotel on right |
Even though he was on the run he eventually made his way back to Dublin. However, his luck ran out as he was arrested on Harrington Street on Aug 8th 1922. He was leaving Harrington Street Church with his two cousins, May and Kathleen Langley, who were visiting from New York As he left the church he was arrested and taken to Wellington Barracks (now Griffith College) where he was questioned for a number of days before being transferred to Mountjoy Prison. While there, his friends and comrades, Liam Mellows, with Rory O’Connor, Joe McKelvey and Dick Barrett were executed on 8th December 1922– this event had a lasting impact on Liam. He was held in Mountjoy and moved to Newbridge Prison on 31 December 1922. Here he was interned until 14 December 1923. While there in November Liam went on hunger strike along with many of the Republican prisoners.
Hammam Hotel -
Hammam Hotel -
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| Hammam Hotel Dublin |
PRISON RECORDS LIAM LANGLEY 1922/23
