Death of Councillor John Aloysius Lynch from Kilmallock, Co Limerick on 23 Sep 1920

Let us detail what happened British Inquiry report here

• At 1.15 am a phone message was received in Ship St Barracks by Capt Baggally. Baggallay was the Duty Officer. It was from the Adjutant of RIC depot at Pheonix Park. The RIC man wanted a car and support for one RIC officer and 2 RIC men to make an arrest
• Baggallallay phoned his boss Harper Shove who sent a car for the 3 RIC men and they arrived at Dublin Castle at 02.15
• The party of RIC then picked a small group of soldiers and went to Exchange Hotel
• A group of 12 soldiers entered the Exchange Hotel in Dublin at probably 3 am on 23 Sep 1920
• The soldiers wore military caps and long black burberry coarts
• They held the hotel porter, William Barratt, at gunpoint
• After consulting the register they went to the bedroom of John Lynch. It was number 6. on the third floor.
• John Lynch had been staying here since Sept 12
• They shot him and the soldiers then left. The soldiers claimed Lynch had fired a shot at them when they attemptd to arrest him
• The military reported a death at the hotel at 2.15 am
• The RIC arrived after the military reported the death to them
• The coroners verdict was that Lynch was shot by a soldier in self defence. No evidence was gien by any soldiers at the inquirey.

Collins believed that many of the British officers that were later killed on ‘Bloody Sunday’ shot John Lynch from Kilmallock, County Limerick in the Exchange Hotel in Dublin. Lynch was the local Sinn Fein organiser of a loan and was in Dublin to hand over £23,000 in subscriptions to Collins. Altogether £370,163 was raised in the loan effort in Ireland by September 1920 when it closed down.

It is nott possible to know who the 12 men on the raiding party were, Harper Shove says he supplied 10 agents who remained downstairs and that it was the RIC men who made the arrest and shot Lynch.but it would appear that the party included

• Angliss. Angliss died on Bloody Sunday. Apparently Lt. Angliss, under the influence of drink, divulged his participation in the shooting to a girl who inadvertently passed this information to an IIS informant.
• Peel. Peel escaped death on Bloody Sunday by barracading himself in his room. The IRA certainly believed the Angliss and Peel were among them from the inside information that they got from "Lt G" at Dublin castle.Lt G is believed to be Lily Mernin who worked as a typist at army headquarters.
• Osbert Smyth is understood to have been part of the raiding party. From information given to his family on a visit home. Smyth died in the Carolan raid on the 12th Oct 1920

Incidents involving British Intelligence in Dublin