General played tennis in IRA custody – Remembering the Past

BRIGADIER GENERAL LUCAS, arrested by the IRA in June 1920, was the most senior British officer to be captured during the Tan War.

Throughout the Tan War (1919 - 21) the IRA captured numerous British military personnel. But, having nowhere to hold such prisoners, the majority of them, with the exception of spies and agents, were released.

In the three months from May to July 1920 alone, 140 prisoners were captured by the IRA in all parts of Ireland, all of whom, with the exception of one man, were disarmed and released.

The exception was Brigadier General Lucas.

In late June 1920, Lucas, along with two colonels, was arrested by IRA Volunteers led by Liam Lynch, O/C Cork No 2 Brigade, while fishing on the River Blackwater near Fermoy in County Cork. During the arrest one of the British officers was wounded while attempting to escape and the Volunteers left his colleague to attend to him.

Lucas, the commander of the British garrison at Fermoy, was taken prisoner by Lynch and his men and moved to a safe house some distance away where he could be interrogated. A huge nationwide search by the British military using aircraft to scour the countryside for any trace of Lucas failed to locate him. Because the area was saturated with military, Lynch and his men were forced to go 'on the run', taking their prisoner with them as they moved from one safe place to another.

In reprisal for Lucas's capture by the IRA, British troops from his brigade at Fermoy attacked and burned houses and shops in Fermoy. Here also the local Sinn Féin hall was wrecked and damage done to the town was estimated at several thousand pounds. During the following days and weeks, with still no trace of Lucas, the reprisals were extended to the surrounding villages and into County Limerick.

However, after five weeks in IRA custody, Lucas managed to loosen the bars on the window of a house where he was being held and made his escape. While in custody, despite the huge search for him and having to move about constantly with his captors, Lucas was regularly able to fish and play tennis. In stark contrast to republicans captured by the British, Lucas was treated exceptionally well by his captors, who were relieved in many ways to see the back of him when he made his escape.

In interviews to the press after his escape, Lucas told how he was treated as "a gentleman by gentlemen" and, in a sardonic address to his troops, he said that the outrages and atrocities carried out by them during his captivity represented "an over-zealous display of loyalty".

Brigadier General Lucas was captured by the IRA on 26 June 1920, 95 years ago this week.