Michael Collin’s “Twelve Apostles” also known as “The Squad” was a unit formed in July 1919 when Collins asked Dick McKee to form an assassination squad to counter British Intelligence gathering on the Irish Republican Army. Originally Sinn Fein was against the use of violence instead preferring to use boycotting, persuasion, and milder forms of intimidation. This was reaffirmed when The First Dáil proposed a policy of ostracism of those serving in the Royal Irish Constabulary. However, this idea was proving to be largely ineffective and in the mean time the British intelligence services were routinely infiltrating the various republican groups, so more drastic measures were enacted.
The founding members of this unit were Paddy Daly, the unit’s commander, Mick McDonnell, Ben Barrett, James Conroy, Sean Doyle, Joe Leonard, Jim Slattery and Bill Stapleton. They were all considered soldiers of the Irish Republican Army, and were given a weekly wage from the Dáil.
The first authorized assassination order from Michael Collins came July 30th 1919 and was carried out when Detective Sergeant “The Dog” Smith, a member of the G division of the Dublin Metropolitan police, was shot dead near Drumcondra, Dublin. The Squad would continue to target plain clothes policemen and other collaborators in the English run government. This would set the standard for the types of missions issued down from Michael Collin’s Intelligence Headquarters.
These assassinations crippled the British system of using paid spies and informers to keep tabs on the Irish Republican Army so in response Sir Henry William brought in what was known as the “Cairo Group” a deep cover British intelligence group. Their mission was to stop Michael Collins and was given carte blanche by Sir William to achieve this goal. Their strategy was to assassinate members of Sinn Fein unconnected to the military struggle assuming the Irish Republican Army would bring its leaders into the open where they too could be assassinated.
Upon learning of the Cairo Group’s intentions, Michael Collins decided his only course of action was to strike first. On November 21st 1920 which would become known as “Bloody Sunday” Collins sent out his Apostles and preemptively executed fourteen British Army officers connected to the Cairo Group effectively ending their threat.
After Eamon De Valera’s return from America he had proposed that in order for the Irish Republican Army and The Dáil to be perceived as a legitimate Army and government that the I.R.A. would cease using guerrilla hit and run tactics and assassinations in favor of traditional army like full scale assaults. This policy proved to be disastrous. In May 1921 after the Irish Republican Army’s Dublin Brigade took heavy casualties in assaulting and burning the Customs house, The Squad and the Dublin Brigade were combined into a new unit known as the Dublin Guard under command by Paddy Daly.
