War Council of Provisional Government

Five command areas were set up:  (1) Emmet Dalton in charge of the Eastern Command (made up of old 4^th and 5^th Northern Divisions, the old 1^st and 2^nd Eastern Divisions, Carlow and the two Wexford Brigades); (2) Sean MacEoin in charge of the Western (or Midlands?) Command which took in the old 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Western Divisions and much of the midlands);  (3) J T Prout in charge of the South-Eastern Command (Kilkenny, Waterford, South and Mid-Tipperary); (4) O’Duffy in charge of the South-Western Command (Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Cork) and (5) JJ O'Connell in charge of the Curragh Command (old 3^rd Southern Division).  Cosgrave became chairman of the Provisional Government and Minister of Finance while Collins involved in military activities.  (Curran says 12^th.)  Hopkinson says that “Tensions between civilian members of the Provisional Government and the army was apparent from the early days of the war.  … The cabinet showed increasing impatience with Collins and Mulcahy for not supplying them rapidly enough with information on military developments.” 

Back