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The Burning of Cork took place on the night of 11–12 December 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, in which one of the patrol, Spencer Chapman,〔("The Auxiliaries - Spencer R Chapman" ). Retrieved 14 August 2012.〕 was killed by an IRA grenade. In retaliation for Chapman's death, Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and British soldiers set fire to a number of houses and then looted and burnt numerous buildings in the city centre. Many civilians also reported being beaten, shot at, robbed and verbally abused by British forces. Firefighters later testified that British forces hindered their attempts to tackle the blazes by intimidating them, shooting at them and/or cutting their hoses. There were four known fatalities, the above-mentioned Auxiliary, as well as two IRA volunteers shot dead (who were brothers), and a female civilian who died of a heart attack. More than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties, City Hall and the Carnegie Library were destroyed by fire. Over £3 million worth of damage (1920 value; 172 millon euro in today's money) was done, 2,000 were left jobless and many were left homeless. Two unarmed IRA volunteers were shot dead at their home in the north of the city, and a woman died of a heart attack when Auxiliaries burst into her home. British forces carried out many other reprisals on Irish civilians during the war, but the burning of Cork was one of the biggest and most well known. The British government initially denied that its forces had started the fires and blamed them on the IRA. However, a British Army inquiry (which resulted in the "Strickland Report") concluded that a company of Auxiliaries was responsible. Although many witnesses described the burnings as systematic and organized, there is debate over whether they had been planned before the ambush. ==Background== The War of Independence had begun in 1919, following the declaration of an Irish Republic and its parliament, Dáil Éireann. The army of the new republic, the Irish Republican Army (IRA), waged a guerrilla war against British forces in Ireland: the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). To help fight the IRA, the British Government formed the Auxiliary Division. This was a paramilitary unit composed of ex-soldiers from Britain which specialized in counter-insurgency. It also recruited thousands of British ex-soldiers into the RIC, who became known as "Black and Tans". Both groups became infamous for their reprisals against Irish civilians for IRA attacks. Many villages were sacked and burnt. IRA intelligence officer Florence O'Donoghue wrote that the subsequent burning and looting of Cork was "not an isolated incident, but rather the large-scale application of a policy initiated and approved, implicitly or explicitly, by the (government )".〔O'Donoghue, F. "The Sacking of Cork" in ''Rebel Cork's Fighting Story, 1916-21, Told by the Men Who Made It''. Mercier Press, 2009. pp. 88-89〕 County Cork was an epicenter of the war, and one of the places, aside from Dublin, where the IRA was most active. Numerous incidents occurred in Cork city. For example, Commandant Michael Murphy of the 2nd Battalion, Cork Number 1 Brigade of the IRA later recounted that: "''On 25th November 1920 (it was actually the 23rd ), following a Volunteer meeting in the Thomas Ashe Hall, Cork, five men of the 2nd Battalion were standing at the corner of Princes Street and Patrick Street having a chat, when a Black and Tan in civilian dress came along and threw a grenade into the group. As a result, three of our lads were killed outright, viz: Paddy Trahey, Vice-Commandant of the 2nd Battalion; (Patrick ) Donohue, 2nd Battalion QJI., and Volunteer () Mehigan. Of the two others, Volunteer Sean Bawn Murphy had his arm shattered and Volunteer Reynolds had his thigh fractured.''"〔ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21 STATEMENT BY WITNESS. DOCUMENT NO. W.S. 1547. Witness Michael Murphy.〕In the days afterwards the ''New York Times'' reported that "''two (sic) persons injured by the explosion of a bomb in Patrick Street last evening (November ) died later at a hospital, and two others are reported to be in critical condition. Sixteen persons were injured by the bomb.''"〔Two (sic) die from Cork explosion, ''New York Times'', 25 November 1920.〕 On 28 November 1920, the IRA's 3rd Cork Brigade ambushed an Auxiliary patrol at Kilmichael, killing 17 Auxiliaries. This was the biggest loss of life for the British in County Cork since the beginning of the war. On 10 December, British forces declared martial law in counties Cork (including the city), Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary. It also imposed a military curfew on Cork city, which began at 10PM each night. IRA volunteer Seán Healy later recalled that "at least 1,000 troops would pour out of Victoria Barracks at this hour and take over complete control of the city". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Burning of Cork」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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