Contributor:

Professor Fearghal McGarry

Talk Title:

The Killing of Sir Henry Wilson: An Irish Tragedy

Talk Synopsis:

This talk explores the circumstances and impact of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson’s murder on the doorstep of his Belgravia home in June, 1922. It describes his role in the politics of this period, including as chief security advisor to the new Northern Ireland government, and how his killers (two London-born republicans) had served in the British army during WW1. It suggests that the story of Sir Henry Wilson and his killers, including their views and sense of identity, illustrates the complex and interconnected nature of relationships ‘within and between’ Ireland and Britain – many of which are played out in people’s individual lives/family circumstances. And it concludes by suggesting that ‘an ethical remembering of this difficult history’ might usefully foreground ‘its complexities and contradictions and the cost of violence for those left behind… not least the narrowing of identities… which continues to challenge reconciliation in Ireland.’

Biography:

Fearghal McGarry is Professor of Modern Irish History at Queen’s University Belfast.

Further Reading:

Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson: A Political Soldier – Keith Jeffery
‘Michael Collins and the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson’, Irish Historical Studies, 28/110, pp 150-170 – Peter Hart
Southern Irish Loyalism, 1912-49 – Brian Hughes and Conor Morrissey (eds)
The Partition of Ireland, 1918-1925 – Robert Lynch
The IRA in Britain, 1919-1923 – Gerard Noonan