46 Rutland Square The Squad was ‘officially’ established on 19 September 1919 at
this address (though 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.
The first four members were: Ben Barrett, Paddy Daly (Paddy Ó Dalaigh, sometimes
said to have succeeded Mick McDonnell as leader, but usually considered the
leader 876; he became a major general in the national army. See also Ballyseedy
Cross, Appendix I), Seán Doyle and Joe Leonard (came right behind Daly in the
chain of command). Other ‘original’ members were Mick McDonnell (described
by some as the first leader), James Conroy, Jim McGuinness, Jimmy Slattery (a
Clareman with only one hand, after being injured in the Custom House fire) and
William ‘Billy’ Stapleton (a Dubliner)877. Added to the ‘original’ nine after a few
months to form ‘The Twelve Apostles’ (a name first applied, derisively, by Austin
Stack) were Vinnie Byrne, Tom Keogh (from Wicklow, later killed in the Civil
War) and Mick O’Reilly.878
Others were added in January 1920 and thereafter, and were chosen for ‘jobs’
as needed. Not all did many ‘jobs’ for Collins, and many were members of various
Dublin units who were picked by Collins to assist the ‘regular’ Squad members;
this was particularly true on Bloody Sunday. In 1921 several more were added and
when men from the Dublin ‘Active Service Unit’ were included the unit was then
known as ‘The Guard’. Those sometimes chosen were: Frank Bolster, J. Brennan,
Ned Breslin, Ben Byrne, Charlie Byrne (a Dubliner called ‘The Count’ because of
his cheerful mien in all situations), Eddie Byrne, Seán (John Anthony) Caffrey,
Patrick (Paddy) Colgan (from Maynooth, Co. Kildare, he married Delia Larkin),
James Connolly, Herbie Conroy, Jim Conway (the ‘one-man column’), Andy
Cooney, Seán Culhane, Tom Cullen (a teetotaler), Charlie Dalton (he was the
brother of Emmet Dalton and wrote With the Dublin Brigade about his experiences
as a member), Jim Dempsey (a Dubliner and an old IRB man who fought in the
Rising), Joe Dolan (another Dubliner, always armed with a .45 and wore a British
876 Leonard, Joseph. Witness Statement 547. 877 Stapleton, William J. (Bill). ‘Michael Collins’ Squad’,
Capuchin Annual, 1969. 878 Leornard indicates the ‘original’ twelve were O’Daly, Leonard, Barrett, Doyle,
Kehoe, Slattery, O’Reilly, Eddie Byrne, Vinnie Byrne, Ben Byrne, Eddie Byrne and Frank Bolster. Leonard,
Joseph. Witness Statement 547.
46 Rutland Square 257
Army badge in his lapel), Joe Dowling, Pat Drury, Tom Duffy, John Dunne, Leo
Dunne, Tom Ennis, Mick Flanagan, Paddy Flanagan (the oldest member of The
Squad), Paddy Griffin, Jack Hanlon, Seán Kavanagh (a Dubliner and later a prison
governor), Ned Kelliher (a Dubliner), Mick Kennedy, Paddy Kennedy (from
Tipperary), Martin Lavan, Paddy Lawson, Seán Lemass (the future Taoiseach),
Billy McClean, Pat McCrae (a great driver), Pat McKeon, Peadar McMahon (later
Chief of Staff of the Free State Army), Mick O’Hanlon, Diarmuid O’Hegarty (a
Corkman and Director of Organisation of the IRA/Volunteers), Bob O’Neill (a
Clareman), Albert Rutherford, Frank Saurin (a Dubliner, known as the best-dressed
Volunteer), Frank Teeling, Liam Tobin (became assistant in the Department of
Intelligence), George White and Johnny Wilson.
This comes from my book, Dublin in Rebellion.
http://www.lilliputpress.ie/author.html?author=Connell%2C+Joseph+E.A.
If I can be of help searching, I often have notes and info from the period that can be helpful -- though I must admit this source is most complete.
