General Maxwell replaced as head of military in Ireland

Dublin, 6 Nov 1916 - The War Office has today said that Lieutenant General Sir John Maxwell is to be replaced as General Officer Commanding in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland.

This news has been met with unmixed satisfaction in many quarters of the Irish press due to what is widely perceived as the heavy-handed manner in which he dealt with the Easter Rising – in particular his role in the execution of many of the leaders. The Freeman’s Journal says: ‘It is inevitable that his regime shall go down through the ages ensanguined with the memory of the executions and the other horrors of the rising.’

His successor is an Irishman: Lieutentant General Sir Bryan Mahon, who famously led the 10th (Irish) Division who landed at Suvla Bay during the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.

The Journal hopes that the Galwegian’s appointment represents a change in the Government’s policy towards Ireland, which the paper described as ‘brutal repression’.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]