“The Connaught Rangers Mutiny, 1920: the Legacies of a Doomed Revolt”

The 28th June 2020 marked the centenary of the Connaught Rangers Mutiny in India, when a group of Irish soldiers rebelled in opposition to Black-and-Tan atrocities in Ireland.

To commemorate this significant historical event the Liam and Tom O'Flaherty Society hosted an online event with historian Dr Conor McNamara entitled “The Connaught Rangers Mutiny, 1920: the Legacies of a Doomed Revolt”. This talk was broadcast to coincide with this historic occasion.

The rebellion began on Sunday, 28 June 1920, when a small group of Rangers at Wellington Barracks, Jalandhar (officially named 'Jullundur' during British occupation) protested against British military atrocities in Ireland. Their refusal to obey orders spread to other garrisons. Joseph Hawes, from Kilrush,— veteran of the Western Front and Gallipoli— informed his Commanding Officer that the men would not return to duty until all British soldiers had left Ireland. He then hoisted the Irish Tricolour.

The mutineers were court martialled, with fourteen sentenced to death by firing squad. However, the only soldier to suffer the death penalty was Galway born Private Daly, leader of the mutiny. He was executed in Dagshai prison in northern India on 2 November 1920. He was twenty years young. Two soldiers were shot dead during the mutiny on 1 July 1920 - 100 years ago today. They were Peter Sears of the Neale in south Co. Mayo and Patrick Smythe from Drogheda, Co. Louth. The Liam & Tom O’Flaherty Society dedicates this video to the memory of Daly, Sears and Smythe and their fearless comrades.