Irish War of Independence - Dail Courts - 12.June.1920
June 1920 also witnessed the widespread establishment of republican or Dail courts, which replaced the holding of petty sessions in many towns and villages across the country. This transfer of administrative law and order was another decisive victory for the IRA. While often dealing with trivial matters they were nonetheless effective and soon people refused to bring claims before the petty sessions. The Young Ireland newspaper describes this dramatic transfer of power in June with a remarkable incident in Callan, county Kilkenny. Three cases were held at the Volunteer Court in the Town Hall in Callan where two ex-soldiers were charged with the theft of a gun from a farmer, while a third man was charged with stealing a bicycle. What made the incident remarkable was that the three men were escorted to the Court by Volunteers while the District Inspector and Head Constable of the RIC looked on at this ‘novel way of persevering law and order’. A feature of the sentences imposed on the men was that they undertook to leave the parish of Callan for twelve months. Banishment was often a more severe sentence than any monetary fine imposed by the Republican Courts.
Download Source: Young Ireland, 12 June 1920, page 2.
YoungIreland_12June_page2
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