Raid on Erskine Childers House - 9 May 1921

 

An ADRIC patrol under DI3 Charles Thomas, Intelligence Officer of I Coy, raided Erskine Childer´s home at 12 Bushy Park Road, Rathgar. Also in the raid was Curtis on Intelligence General Staff

Erskine Childers had been appointed Director of Propaganda taking charge of publicity and thus becoming the Irish Bulletin´s editor. Both Childers and Gallagher were arrested and taken Childers to Dublin Castle and Gallagher to North Dublin Union. Following the intervention of 'Andy' Cope, both were released that night and 'went on the run'.

The other man arrested with Childers gave the name "Henry O'Neil". He was in fact Frank Gallagher who worked with Childers in relation to the Republican paper "The Bulletin". Frank Gallagher was first taken to Dublin Castle and later taken to the Royal Barracks near Kingsbridge Station. Whilst there Gallagher stated that an Auxiliary wanted to speak to him and this Auxiliary informed Gallagher that his uncle was A.E.W.Mason the author of "The Four Feathers". There were 5 Temp Cadets called Mason. Gallagher describes the incident on page 284 in his memoirs "The Four Glorious Years".

Erskine Childers was initially he was placed in an cell near the Lower Castle Gate - presumably part of the ADRIC premises. Ring in his biography "Childers" says that Childers recounted his interaction with Cope: “To my immense astonishment I was called for in an hour, taken to an officers’ sitting room and given a cup of tea. After a long wait in another room Alfred Cope came and told me I was to be released.... The disgust of the officers at the whole business was amusing, but Cope was adamant.... I left the Castle myself; Cope in his effusive manner and actually carrying my valise out of the gate for me!”

Incidents involving ADRIC