Deposited Collections

Biographical History

Moss Twomey was born in Clondulane, Fermoy, County Cork and educated by the Christian Brothers. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1914 and served as Staff Commandant of the 1 Southern Division during the War of Independence. He opposed the Treaty and was captured in Dublin in April 1923 and imprisoned. He remained active in the IRA and was elected Chief of Staff in 1927, a position he held until 1936.

Under his leadership the IRA supported the Fianna Fáil government against the Blueshirts during 1932-33. He was arrested in 1936 after the government had outlawed the IRA and imprisoned until 1938. He was succeeded as Chief of Staff by Seán MacBride. He established a newsagent’s and tobacconist’s business in Dublin after his release.

Archival History

This collection was deposited in UCD Archives by Fr Maurice Twomey in August 1984. 

Scope and Content

Archives of IRA General Headquarters including:

Chief of Staff’s communications with government and GHQ departments and with army units, 1922–6;

Adjutant General’s communications with government and GHQ departments and with army units, 1922–6;

Financial records; material concerning executions, casualties, the Roll of Honour and the Foreign Reserve List, 1920–30;

Archives of the Executive, Army Council and General Army Conventions, 1922–32;

Archives of other GHQ departments including Intelligence, Publicity, Quartermaster General, Purchases, Communications, and Finance and Accounts, 1921–32;

Communications with sympathetic organisations including Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Prisoners’ Dependants’ Fund, White Cross, Cumann na mBan, the Republican Press, the Irish Volunteer Students’ Aid Committee and the Boycott British League.

• Access: Available by appointment to holders of a UCD Archives reader's ticket. Produced for consultation in microform.
• Language: English
• Finding aid: Descriptive catalogue