By 
A Coalisland man has published the second of a series of books focussing on the life of his grandfather, a man who fought in the Somme, the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War and was also an IRA activist.
‘Irish War of Independence: Andy Symington: Tyrone’s Most Wanted Man’ by Tony Ferguson uncovers the remarkable life of Andy Symington and his comrades in the IRA’s Second Northern Division.
Tony, who currently resides in Gerrards Gross, Buckinghamshire, admits that after retiring six years ago, he didn’t realise what he was getting into when he began researching the project.
“My grandfather fought for the British in the Somme which was covered in my first book,” he explained.
“Having returned to Coalisland in late 1917, he joined the IRA in 1919 and ended up fighting against the British in the Irish War of Independence.”
Tony explained that, following a truce which was signed between the British and Irish in 1921 following the Irish War of Independence, everything ‘went quiet’ in the South of Ireland whilst, for five months between January to May 1922, Tyrone and Fermanagh became a ‘hot bed’ of activity.
“From when the treaty was signed, whilst the rest of Ireland was quiet, the North kicked off,” said Tony.
“The issue that Republicans faced was that of partition, with the state of Northern Ireland having been created.
“This would lead to the Irish Civil War around June 1922.”
Speaking of what inspired the striking title of the book, Tony said it came from a first-hand witness account of a woman called Dolly McLoughlin.
“Two of the McLoughlin brothers married my grandfather’s two older sisters,” Tony explained.
“One of them lived in Fivemiletown while my grandfather was on the run, carrying guns, conducting attacks and all the rest of it.
“He had a number of safe houses he stayed in and their place was one of them, as it was a place he could rely on, his sister’s home.
“His sister had a daughter called Dolly, I met her in Toronto in the early ‘80s and she was a remarkable woman.
“She had emigrated at 14 but remembered my grandfather well as he was her favourite uncle.
“I think she was only 10 or 12 years old when he was visiting the house but she recalled that the house was raided several times by the army and the RUC trying to find, in their words, ‘That b**tard Symington’.
“Dolly always said he wasn’t just a wanted man… He was the most wanted man in Tyrone.”
Whilst researching for the book, Tony said his two main sources where old newspapers from the time as well as various statements by the Irish government in the years that followed the war.
“A lot of those men who fought in the 1920s, were going to take their stories to the grave,” he explained.
“However, I had to be a bit careful with what I found as most of those statements were taken 30 years after events, and with their memories perhaps not as sharp, and politics intervening, they maybe could not have been as open as they wanted to be.”
Tony found that many of these witness statements would often contradict local newspapers articles from the time.
“In this case, I would go with the newspapers as they were of the time,” he admitted.
Tony also spoke of many of the stories relating to his grandfather’s comrades.
“I like to try and uncover things that are interesting, counter-intuitive, unusual, and maybe even amusing at times,” he said.
One story he uncovered involved a man named Dr McGinley who led an IRA raid on Drumquin in the 1920s.
“A policeman was killed during that raid,” he explained.
“The following week, Dr McGinley was sitting in his surgery, and in walked a District Inspector by the name of Walsh, claiming to have a first-hand witness account linking Dr McGinley to the attack on Drumquin.
“McGinley sat back as Walsh produced a piece of paper with three names on it, including his, but before McGinley could even compose a reply, District Inspector Walsh said, ‘You’re a very lucky man as I work for Michael Collins.’
“Walsh then destroyed the evidence and McGinley got away with it.”
With rich historical detail, personal anecdotes and newly uncovered material, ‘Tyrone’s Most Wanted Man’ brings to life a dark and complex chapter of Irish history – one that shaped the nation’s identity for generations to come.
You can purchase a copy of ‘Irish War of Independence: Andy Symington: Tyrone’s Most Wanted Man’ by Tony Ferguson now at www.amazon.co.uk
