Detail - Meeting of Cork, Tipp and Waterford IRA Brigades
The meeting lasted two days. The following represented the brigades: Cork No. 1 - Commandant Sean O'Hegarty and Brigade Adjutant Florence O'Donnoghue; Cork No. 2 - Commandant Liam Lynch; Cork No. 3 - Commandant Charlie Hurley and Quartermaster Dick Barrett; Tipperary No. 2 - Commandant James Leahy and Vice-Commandant Matt. Barlow; Tipperary No. 3 - Commandant Seamus Robinson and Brigade Adjutant Con Moloney and East Limerick - Commandant Denis Hannigan and Seamus Malone. They reviewed the situation in their areas and made a number of recommendations to GHQ such as that since the British had declared that in the martial law areas that IRA men taken prisoner under arms would be shot that similar action be taken against their forces. They also offered one or two (unarmed) columns which GHQ could arm and send to inactive areas. [Deasy describes a meeting near Donoughmore of the three Cork brigades at this time to discuss the prospective landing of arms at Squince Strand but does not give an exact date. O'Hegarty and O'Donoghue represented the 1st, Lynch and George Power represented the 2nd and Hurley and Deasy represented the 3rd. (Deasy 1973, pg 194). O'Donoghue describes a similar meeting as having taken place before the meeting on the 6th January near Bweeing (Bweeng) which is almost definitely the same one as described by Deasy but O'Donoghue says that Hurley was not present and that it was an informal meeting to discuss the general situation.]