ON THIS DAY...

100 Years ago....

British tanks ordered to roll into Dublin

Jan 22, 1921

British tanks rolled over Dublin's cobbled streets yesterday and took up positions in the docks and market areas. As they came into position, there was firing from a timber store. Snipers had taken up positions behind a wall of planks.

The troops are in full battledress and heavily armed. The areas occupied are a zig-zag of old warehouses and faded red brick tenements. Dublin Castle is remaining tight-lipped about the reason for this sudden move. But tonight two areas of the city are sealed off with barbed wire and gates.

In the past few days martial law has been extended to embrace the counties of Clare, Limerick, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford.

The aim is to catch gunmen on the run and those who have already left areas where martial law has been proclaimed. All the counties in the extreme south are now sealed off by the military with essential supplies being moved from Dublin by sea; the roads are not considered safe. Householders are stocking up for what they call "a long siege" with queues at breadshops and potatoes being bought by the sackful.

General Strickland, who is in command of the Army in Cork, has ordered all 20,000 householders to paste a list of occupants on the back of their front doors. The list is to include age, sex and occupation; the information is to assist the search for weapons.

Article from "Chronicle of the 20th Century" ISBN 1 872031 80 3