List of IRA Chiefs of Staff

The following is the list of those who are reported to have served as Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army in the various incarnations of organisations bearing that name. Due to the clandestine nature of these organisations, this list is not definitive.

Chiefs of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, (1917–1922)

No.	Name	Assumed Position	Left Position	Source
1	Cathal Brugha (Chairman of the Resident Executive)	27 October 1917	March 1919	[Aengus Ó Snodaigh, " [http://republican-news.org/archive/2000/May11/11hist.html IRA Convention meets] ", "An Phoblacht/Republican News", 11 May 2000.]
2	Richard Mulcahy	March 1919	15 January 1922	[Maryann Gialanella V, "Portrait of a Revolutionary. General Richard Mulcahy and the Founding of the Irish Free State", Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8131-1791-7]
3	Eoin O'Duffy	15 January 1922	July 1922	[Maryann Gialanella V, "Portrait of a Revolutionary. General Richard Mulcahy and the Founding of the Irish Free State", Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8131-1791-7]

Chiefs of Staff of the (anti-Treaty) Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)

No.	Name	Assumed Position	Left Position	Source
	Liam Lynch	26 March 1922	18 June 1922	[Meda Ryan, "The Real Chief: Liam Lynch", Cork: Mercier, 2005. ISBN 1-85635-460-1]
	Joseph McKelvey	18 June 1922	30 June 1922	[Paul V. Walsh, [http://libraryautomation.com/nymas/irishcivilwar.html The Irish Civil War, 1922-1923] ]
	Liam Lynch "(second time)"	30 June 1922	10 April 1923
	Frank Aiken	20 April 1923	12 November, 1925	[Henry Boylan, "A Dictionary of Irish Biography", Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1998.]
	Andy Cooney	12 November 1925	July 1926	[" [http://cao.gaa.ie/archive.html Student Radicals] ", in: "High Ball", February 2002.]
	Moss (Maurice) Twomey	1926 (acting) 1927 (officially)	June 1936	[Brian Hanley, "The IRA: 1926-36", Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2002. ISBN 1-85182-721-8]
	Seán MacBride	June 1936	late 1936	[Seán MacBride "That Day's Struggle. A Memoir", ed. Caitríona Lawlor, Dublin: Currach Press, 2005. ISBN 1-85607-929-5]
	Tom Barry	1937	1937	[Meda Ryan, "The Real Chief: Liam Lynch", Cork: Mercier, 2005. ISBN 1-85635-460-1]
	Mick Fitzpatrick	1937	1938	[Brian Hanley, "The IRA: 1926-36", Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2002. ISBN 1-85182-721-8]
	Seán Russell	1938	14 August 1940	[J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997. ISBN 1-56000-901-2]
	Stephen Hayes	1940?	30 June 1941	[ [http://www.oireachtas-debates.gov.ie/D/0091/D.0091.194307070012.html Dáil Debates] , 7 July 1943.]
	Pearse Kelly (aka Paul Kelso)	1941	27 November 1941
	Seán Harrington	Aft. November 1941	February 1942
	Seán McCool	February 1942	14 August 1942
	Eoin McNamee	1942	1942
	Hugh McAteer	1942	12 October 1942
	Charlie Kerins	October 1942	16 June 1944
	"position vacant for some months"	16 June 1944
	Harry White	1944	1945
	Patrick Fleming	1 March 1945	1947?	[J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997. ISBN 1-56000-901-2]
	Willie McGuinness	1947	1948?	[J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997. ISBN 1-56000-901-2. See also " [http://homepage.eircom.net/~eirenua/jun97/50yrsago.htm Bodenstown: IRA GHQ reorganised] ", "Saoirse", June 1997.]
	Tony Magan	November 1948	6 July 1957	[J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997.]
	Richard Burke	January 1957	May 1957	[ [http://www.rsf.ie/saoirse/current/may07.jpg"Arrests, Collaboration, Victimisation"] , in Saoirse, May 2007, p. 16]
	Tony Magan	May 1957	6 July 1957	[J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997. Magan's tenure ended with his arrest in Dublin. The IRA adjutant-general as well as members of the Army Council were also arrested. See [http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0164/D.0164.195711060091.html "Dáil Debates"] , 6 November 1957.]
	Seán Cronin ("1st time")	July 1957 (acting), 11 November 1957 officially	October 1958	[Robert W. White, "Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary", Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084, pp. 85–6.] ]
	John Joe McGirl	October 1958	24 October 1958	[Named as such by prominent republican, Owen Carron, in a letter entitled [http://republican-news.org/archive/1997/July31/31lett.html Deireadh Seachtaine John Joe McGirl] , "An Phoblacht/Republican News", 31 July 1997. See also: J. Bowyer Bell, The Secret Army: The IRA, Somerset: Transaction Publishers, 1997, p. 322.]
	Ruairí Ó Brádaigh ("1st time")	24 October 1958	Late May 1959	[By his own admission, see "Saoirse" interview [http://www.freewebs.com/saoirse/record/record08.htm Revolt in the North 1956-62] . See also: Robert W. White, "Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary", Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084, p. 89.]
	Seán Cronin ("2nd time")	Late May 1959	June 1960	[Robert W. White, "Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary", Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084, p. 98.] ]
	Ruairí Ó Brádaigh ("2nd time")	Summer 1960	7 September 1962	[Robert W. White, "Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary", Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084, pp. 98–9, 114.] ]
	Cathal Goulding	7 September 1962		[Robert W. White, "Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary", Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2006, ISBN 0253347084, pp. 114.] ]

At an IRA Special Army Convention (SAC) held in Dublin on 28 December 1969, the IRA split into two factions, namely the majority Official IRA and the minority Provisional IRA.

Chiefs of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (1969–present)

No.	Name	Assumed Position	Left Position	Source
	Seán Mac Stiofáin	December 1969	19 November 1972	[Confirmed by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, see " [http://homepage.tinet.ie/~eirenua/2001/jun01/saoirse3.htm Outstanding IRA leader and giant of a man in the Republican Movement] ", and " [http://homepage.tinet.ie/~eirenua/2001/jun01/saoirse3.htm Seán Mac Stíofáin -- a tribute] ", "Saoirse", June 2001. See also: Ed Moloney, "A Secret History of the IRA", Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-101041-X]
	Joe Cahill	November 1972	March 1973	Ed Moloney, "A Secret History of the IRA", Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-101041-X]
	Seamus Twomey ("1st time")	March 1973	June 1973
	Éamonn O’Doherty	June 1973	June/July 1974	[Ed Moloney, "A Secret History of the IRA", Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-101041-X. Confirmed in [http://homepage.tinet.ie/~eirenua/dec99/saoirse4.htm obituary] , Saoirse, December 1999. ]
	Seamus Twomey ("2nd time")	June/July 1974	December 1977
	Gerry Adams*(see note)	3 December 1977	18 February 1978	[cite book | last = Bowyer Bell | first = J. | authorlink = | title = The Secret Army: The IRA | publisher = Transaction Publishers | year = 1997 | pages = p. 520 | doi = | isbn = 1560009012] [cite book | last = Bishop, Patrick & Mallie, Eamonn | first = | authorlink = | title = The Provisional IRA | publisher = Corgi Books | year = 1987 | pages = p. 315 | doi = | isbn = 0-552-13337-X] [cite web | title = Broth of a boy - President Clinton recognizes Sinn Féin | author = | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n20_v46/ai_15905959 | publisher = "National Review" | date = 24 October, 1994 | accessdate = 2007-02-19] [cite book | last = Taylor | first = Peter | authorlink = Peter Taylor (Journalist) | title = Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing | year = 1997 | pages = p. 201 | doi = | isbn = 0-7475-3818-2 ] [Ed Moloney, "A Secret History of the IRA", Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-101041-X. Adams denies he was Chief of Staff at any time. [http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v11/n14/moloney.html "IRA Expert Ed Moloney to Speak On Campus Nov. 20"] , "Boston Chronicle", 14 November 2002.]
	Martin McGuinness	1978	Autumn 1982
	Ivor Bell	Autumn 1982	September 1983
	Kevin McKenna	September 1983	October 1997
	Thomas "Slab" Murphy	October 1997

*Some noted Irish and British historians, including Ed Moloney, author of "A Secret History of the IRA", have claimed that Gerry Adams has been part of the IRA leadership, but Adams has long-since denied IRA membership, let alone being chief of staff. [ [http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v11/n14/moloney.html "IRA Expert Ed Moloney to Speak On Campus Nov. 20"] , "Boston Chronicle", 14 November 2002.]

Chiefs of Staff of the Official Irish Republican Army, (1969–present)

No.	Name	Assumed Position	Left Position	Source
	Cathal Goulding	December 1969	1972
	Seán Garland	1998		[Liam Clarke, " [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-1817418,00.html Garland arrested in US forgery hunt] ", "Sunday Times", 9 October 2005.]

Chiefs of Staff of the Continuity Irish Republican Army, (1986–present)

No.	Name	Assumed Position	Left Position	Source
	Dáithí Ó Conaill	1986	1991	[ " [http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2000/02/07/current/opinionpage_9.htm CIRA bomb adds to growing crisis in the peace process] ", "Irish Examiner", 7 July 2000.]

References