ira

Who's who in this photo?
Th officer (I'm going by the cut of his uniform) has Flying Corps wings above his campaign ribbons. campaign ribbons are also worn my the man to his right.
By the look of cap badges (a harp surmounted by a crown) and the dark uniforms they might be members of the RIC . The presence of a khaki clad officer also makes me think of RIC Auxiliaries, aka Black and Tans.

I'm assuming he's Auxiliary - those men were recruited from ex-WWI officers including the Royal Flying Corps. Most of the others seem to be Black and Tans. So many men (mostly WWI veterans) responded to British Government appeals for recruits to bolster R.I.C. (Royal Irish Constabulary) numbers, that there was a severe shortage of uniforms. Hence the Tans mostly ended up with khaki trousers and dark tops, either R.I.C. (dark green) or British police tunics (dark blue) - and hence the nickname...

For more on this attack, and some fascinating details on participants from both sides, see this link - irishconstabulary.com/topic/755/Q-Company

Peter Mc Thank you! Absolutely fascinating, and allowed me to tag with Q Company...
With regard to the "liquid fire" spoken of on irishconstabulary.com, the Irish Times reported that:
"... A sinister feature of the attack was the use of gas bombs and of bottles containing a thick red-brown corrosive liquid, which gave off nauseous fumes and partially choked the police occupants of the hotel..."

Peter Mc Very interesting, I read the account of the attack, fascinating!

Not a huge amount on him: www.limerickcity.ie/media/1922%2007%2024%20vol%201%20no%2...

I think this is his BMH Statement, which gives him a first name, Joe, and mentions that he was part of the Squad.

4 July 1922 was a Tuesday.

Leonard was on the "Ashtown Ambush" when the IRA failed to assassinate Lord French. www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/17069060140/in/photolist-... He seems to have had a wry sense of humour by his BMH account. "Lord Lieutenant Ffrench 19th December, 1919. Ashtown. Lord Ffrench was a gallant gentleman and he conducted his British affairs in Ireland to the very best of his ability but he fell very short of our idea as to how we could run our own country ourselves, consequently it was thought best to remove him from office by gunfire....!"

I see one source saying this is him aged 18 in the 1911 census.

22 August 1922 was a Two-esday ...

There is a lady in the middle whose hat looks like hair, and a young gentleman seated in front and right of her, whose hair looks like a hat.

Edit: The gent is Tom Barry ?!

Hmmm - wiki says 21/08/1921 - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Barry,_August_1921_(cropped)_(cropped).png

Here we go ...

"AN Irish television series claims to have solved an ongoing dispute over the seating arrangement for what it calls the ‘greatest wedding photo of all time’.
The famous photo – of the wedding of Irish freedom fighter Tom Barry and his wife Leslie Price in 1921 – has long held a fascination for Irish historians.
The image, taken at Vaughan’s Hotel on Parnell Square in Dublin on August 22nd 1921 – came about exactly one year before General Michael Collins was shot. Collins is seen in the back row, holding his head to one side, and many believe it was because he did not want to be readily identified at the time. ... "

via - www.southernstar.ie

Tom Barry: 'We May Have Great Men, But We’ll Never Have Better'

29 Parnell Sq. West.
maps.app.goo.gl