Hugo MacNeill (Irish Army officer)
Hugo MacNeill | |
|---|---|
Hugo MacNeill, between 1914-1923 | |
| Born | 16 April 1900 Howth, Co. Dublin |
| Died | 17 April 1963 (aged 63) Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin |
| Burial place | Dean's Grange Cemetery, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin |
| Spouse |
Margaret McKenna (m. 1924) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Service | |
| Service years | 1913–1951 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands |
|
| Conflicts | |
Hugo Hyacinth MacNeill (16 Apr 1900 – 17 Apr 1963) was an Irish general officer.[1]
Life and military career
Born in 1900,[2] he was the nephew of politician Eoin MacNeill (1867–1945).[3][4]
Hugo MacNeill was member of Fianna Éireann and the Irish Volunteers before becoming an officer of the National Army during the Irish Civil War.[1][4] In 1923, he was promoted to colonel after an intelligence windfall allowed him to prevent a series of Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacks in Dublin. In March 1924, McNeill led a party of troops to Devlin's Hotel in Parnell Street, Dublin to arrest army mutineers.[1][5] In the aftermath of the Army Mutiny In the aftermath of the Army Mutiny, he was promoted to major general and appointed Adjutant-General, a position he held until October 1926.[6][7] In 1926, he was sent on a mission with several other officers to visit US military installations. While there, he attended the US Army Command and Staff Course in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.[8][9][10] On his return he became Director of the Defence Plans Division in General Headquarters.[1][11]
During the Emergency, he was placed in command of the 2nd Division in the north.[1][12][13] Post war he became GOC Eastern Command before retiring in 1951. Following retirement, MacNeill co-ordinated the An Tóstal festivals in 1952-4 and was president of the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen (ONE) in 1953. He died in 1963 and was buried in Dean's Grange Cemetery.[1]
Controversies
MacNeill was reputedly sympathetic to German interests,[14][15][16] and some sources suggest he approached the German diplomatic legation in the early 1940s,[17] without apparent authorisation. These approaches were reputedly to seek German assistance in the event that Britain invaded Ireland.[18] British intelligence reported that MacNeill was "firm friends" with Eoin O'Duffy and an admirer "of German methods and efficiency".[19]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "McNeill, Hugh Hyacinth ('Hugo')". dib.ie. October 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ John P. Duggan (1985). Neutral Ireland and the Third Reich. Gill and Macmillan. p. XIV. ISBN 9780717113842.
- ^ Turtle Bunbury. "Kevin O'Higgins and Rory O'Connor - A Fatal Friendship". Turtlebunbury.com. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ a b "The Irish Crises". The Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW). 12 June 1924.
- ^ Duggan, John P. (1991). A History of the Irish Army. Gill & Macmillan. p. 134. ISBN 0-7171-1957-2.
- ^ Duggan, John P. (1991). A History of the Irish Army. Gill & Macmillan. p. 135. ISBN 0-7171-1957-2.
- ^ "New Adjutant-General takes office" (PDF). An tÓglach Magazine. The Military Archives. 14 November 1923. p. 540. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ Seán Cronin (1987). Washington's Irish policy 1916-1986: independence, partition, neutrality. Anvil Books. p. 66. ISBN 9780947962142.
- ^ Duggan, John P. (1991). A History of the Irish Army. Gill & Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN 0-7171-1957-2.
- ^ Eunan O'Halpin (1999). Defending Ireland: The Irish State and its Enemies since 1922. Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 9780191542237.
- ^ Duggan, John P. (1991). A History of the Irish Army. Gill & Macmillan. p. 153. ISBN 0-7171-1957-2.
- ^ Salt: Army Education Journal, Volumes 3-4. Australian army education service. 1942.
- ^ Duggan, John P. (1991). A History of the Irish Army. Gill & Macmillan. p. 198. ISBN 0-7171-1957-2.
- ^ Ciaran Concliffe (9 May 2016). "Hermann Goertz, Nazi Spy In Ireland". History»1900-Present. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ^ John P. Duggan (1985). Neutral Ireland and the Third Reich. Gill and Macmillan. ISBN 9780389205982.
- ^ Paul McMahon (2008). British Spies and Irish Rebels: British Intelligence and Ireland, 1916-1945. Boydell Press. p. 365. ISBN 9781843833765.
- ^ "LOT - Letter to Le Roux from Curragh Military College". Adams Auction House. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ^ "Behind a secret web of spies". Irish Times. 3 January 2004. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
Maj Gen Hugo MacNeill [...] inquired about German help if Britain should invade [.. at ..] a time when Germany had conquered most of Europe and seemed unstoppable
- ^ Jack Traynor (2024). General Eoin O'Duffy: The Political Life of an Irish Firebrand. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 197. ISBN 9781476693262.