to the archives of Hermitage Golf Club – I would like to thank Eddie Farrell, manager of Hermitage and Gerry Hogan, the club archivist and, of course, Liam Murray for his invaluable advice. In regard to the Hermitage research, my thanks also to Maurice Murray and Paddy McCrory.
Among others whom I would like to thank for their courtesy and assistance are Martin Brennan, Maurice Byrne, Vincent Caprani, Brian Chambers, Noel Coghlan, Ronnie Daly, Róisín de Buitléar, Jude Flynn, Godfrey Graham, Barry McGovern, Eithne McKeon, Michael Mulkerrin, John O’Connor, Kate O’Shea, Gerry Rowley, Philip Taubman, William Taubman and Dayna Woerner.
List of Abbreviations
| AODB | Association of the Old Dublin Brigade |
| BMH | Bureau of Military History |
| CAB | Cabinet [Papers] |
| C-in-C | Commander-in-Chief |
| CLO | Chief Liaison Officer |
| Comdt | Commandant |
| CGS | Chief of General Staff |
| CS or C/S | Chief of Staff |
| DoD | Department of Defence |
| D/T | Director of Training |
| FJ | Freeman’s Journal |
| GHQ | General Headquarters |
| GOC | General Officer Commanding |
| IE/MA | Ireland, Military Archives |
| IRA | Irish Republican Army |
| IRAO | IRA Organisation |
| IRB | Irish Republican Brotherhood |
| LE | Liaison & Evacuation [Papers] |
| MC | Military Cross |
| MP | Mulcahy Papers |
| MSPC | Military Service Pension Collection |
| NLI | National Library of Ireland |
| OC or O/C | Officer Commanding |
| OSS | Office of Strategic Services |
| RIC | Royal Irish Constabulary |
| SOE | Special Operations Executive |
| TNA | The National Archives (United Kingdom) |
| TD | Teachta Dála (deputy, Dáil Éireann) |
| UCDA | University College Dublin Archives |
| WO | War Office |
| WS | Witness Statement |
| W/T | Wireless/Telegraph |
List of Plates
1.Emmet Dalton in his youth. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
2.Emmet Dalton in British Army uniform with unidentified young man – possibly his half-brother Martin. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
3.Members of D Coy 2nd Leinsters decorated for bravery, front row from left, Emmet Dalton MC, Sgt O’Neill VC, Capt Moran MC and Pte Moffat VC. At right, Lt Dorgan. Dhunn, Germany 9 Jan 1919. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
4.Emmet Dalton and Michael Collins in London in 1921 during the Anglo-Irish Treaty talks. Image courtesy of Private Collection/Bridgeman Images.
5.Emmet and Charles Dalton in National Army uniform with their parents, James F. and Katherine Dalton and other siblings, from left, Nuala, Deirdre, Dermot and Brendan. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
6.Shelling of Four Courts, Dublin, 1922 with artillery under command of Major General Emmet Dalton. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
7.Michael Collins, Commander-in-Chief, National Army (second from left) with Major General Emmet Dalton (third left) at Curragh Camp, August 1922. Also in photo, from left, Colonel Dunphy, Comdt. General Peadar MacMahon and Comdt. General Diarmuid O’Hegarty. Image courtesy of Getty Images.
8.Major General Emmet Dalton (left) with General Tom Ennis, and ship’s officers, aboard one of the ships deployed for the Passage West landings. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
9.Emmet Dalton (front row, right) at funeral of Michael Collins, with General Richard Mulcahy (left) and Adjutant General Gearóid O’Sullivan (centre). Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
10.Wedding of Major General Emmet Dalton and Alice Shannon at Imperial Hotel, Cork, 9 October 1922. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
11.Emmet Dalton and bride Alice on their wedding day. Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
12.Emmet Dalton and children, from left, Richard, Nuala and Audrey, in the back garden of their home at Iona Road, Dublin. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
13.Emmet Dalton, smoking a cigarette as he finishes a golf swing. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
14.Dermot Dalton, in US Army uniform, with brothers Charles and Emmet at Leopardstown races, October 1945. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
15.Emmet and Alice Dalton and family, 1945/46, in front row Nuala and Richard, at back from left, Sybil, Emmet Michael and Audrey. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
16.Emmet and Alice Dalton at a film premiere in London. Image courtesy of Audrey Dalton Simenz.
Introduction
My fascination with the story of Emmet Dalton goes back to my boyhood in 1950s Dublin. It was a drab, grey era, and it seemed to me that Dalton brought a touch of glamour and much-needed excitement to the austere Irish scene by founding Ardmore film studios near Bray, County Wicklow. My parents were great newspaper readers, we were also great cinema-goers, and I read exciting stories about
