Twelve Apostles (Irish counter-intelligence organisation)

The Twelve Apostles, alternatively known as the Inner Circle, or just The Squad, was the name of an organisation founded by Michael Collins to counter the intelligence efforts of the British during the period after the 1916 Rising, principally by means of assassination. It began its work by targeting plainclothes police, members of the G Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, and occasionally problematic civil servants. Organisationally it operated as a subsection of the IIS, the Irish Intelligence Service.

Related Topics:
Michael Collins - 1916 Rising - Assassination

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By 1919 Collins had become such a thorn in the side of the British Government that they had placed a bounty of £10,000 on Collins, dead or alive, however none could be found to take up this offer.

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One of their particular targets was the Cairo Gang, also known as the Cairo Group, a deep cover British intelligence group, so called since it had primarily been assembled from intelligence officers serving in Cairo and the Middle East. The Cairo Group was brought in during the middle of 1920 by Sir Henry Wilson explicitly to remove Michael Collins and his organisation from the picture. Given carte blanche to operate by Wilson, the strategy adopted by the Cairo Group was to assassinate members of Sinn Fein unconnected with the military struggle, assuming that this would cause the IRA to respond and bring its leaders into the open.

Related Topics:
Cairo Gang - 1920 - Sinn Fein

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Although the names of the members of the Twelve Apostles have never been formally identified, it is a list which is thought to include: Frank Thornton, Liam Tobin, Joe Leonard, Jim Slattery, Bill Stapleton, Pat McCrae, Sean Doyle, Gearoid O'Sullivan, Charlie Dalton, Paddy Daly, Ben Barrett, Mick O'Reilly, Vincent Byrne, James Conroy, Mick McDonnell, Tom Keogh and Tom Cullen. Seán F. Lemass has also been put forward as a member of the Apostles.

Related Topics:
Frank Thornton - Liam Tobin - Joe Leonard - Jim Slattery - Bill Stapleton - Pat McCrae - Sean Doyle - Gearoid O'Sullivan - Charlie Dalton - Paddy Daly - Ben Barrett - Mick O'Reilly - Vincent Byrne - James Conroy - Mick McDonnell - Tom Keogh - Tom Cullen - Seán F. Lemass

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The most well-known operation executed by the Apostles occurred on "Bloody Sunday," November 21 1920, when fourteen British army officers, significantly involved in intelligence or spying, were shot at various locations in Dublin. In response the Black and Tans retaliated by the shooting up of a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary at Croke Park, killing 12 bystanders including one of the players, and wounding 70. The events of Bloody Sunday were to have a profound effect however on the ability of the British to maintain an intelligence operation in Ireland and were to signal the beginning of the end for their activities, and pave the way ultimately for a political resolution.

Related Topics:
November 21 - 1920 - Black and Tans - Croke Park

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