Gerald Smyth Lieutenant - Colonel Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth , DSO and Bar , French and Belgian Croix de Guerre ( 7 September 1885 – 17 July 1920 ) was a British Army officer and police officer who was at the centre of an alleged mutiny in the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence . He was shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army in Cork in 1920 . Background . Gerald Smyth was born at Phoenix Lodge , Dalhousie , Punjab , India , the eldest son of George Smyth and Helen Ferguson Smyth . His father was the British High Commissioner in the Punjab and his mother was the daughter of Thomas Ferguson of Banbridge , County Down , Ireland . Smyth had one brother , George Osbert Smyth , who also served as a British Army officer . Both served in the First World War and in Ireland during the War of Independence . Military service . A Woolwich graduate , Gerald Smyth was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a young man and volunteered at the outbreak of World War I even though he had been offered a position as Professor of Mathematics at Chatham . He was sent to France where he was seriously injured on a number of occasions . One of his injuries restricted the use of his left arm . He was mentioned in despatches seven times . In June 1920 Colonel Smyth was sent to Ireland at the height of the War of Independence . He was seconded to the RIC of which he was appointed Divisional Commissioner for the province of Munster . Listowel . On 19 June 1920 Smyth made a speech to the ranks of the Listowel RIC in which was reported to have said , " “ Police and military will patrol the country roads at least five nights a week . They are not to confine themselves to the main roads but make across the country , lie in ambush , take cover behind fences near roads , and when civilians are seen approaching shout : ' Hands up ! ' Should the order be not obeyed , shoot , and shoot with effect . If the persons approaching carry their hands in their pockets or are in any way suspicious looking , shoot them down . You may make mistakes occasionally and innocent persons may be shot , but that cannot be helped and you are bound to get the right persons sometimes . The more you shoot the better I will like you ; and I assure you that no policeman will get into trouble for shooting any man and I will guarantee that your names will not be given at the inquest . ” " One officer , Constable Jeremiah Mee , put his gun on the table and called Smyth a murderer . Smyth ordered his arrest but the RIC men present refused . He and 13 others resigned , most joining or assisting the Irish Republican Army . Mee became a confidant and ally of Michael Collins . Death . Smyth ' s order marked him for attention from the IRA . He subsequently returned to Cork where he was staying at the Cork & County Club , an establishment club with accommodations . On the evening of 17 July 1920 he was in the smoking room of the club when a six man IRA team led by Dan " Sandow " O ' Donovan entered and said to him , " Colonel , were not your orders to shoot on sight ? Well you are in sight now , so prepare . " Smyth jumped up as he was being fired upon . Though having two bullets in the head , one through the heart and two through the chest , he managed to reach the passage where he dropped dead . He was 34 years old . Gerald Smyth was buried in Banbridge , County Down on 20 July 1920 . His funeral was followed by days of rioting and attacks on Roman Catholic homes in the area . One Protestant man was shot and killed and three Irish nationalists were convicted of firearms offences . Smyth ' s brother , George Osbert Smyth , allegedly became a member of the Cairo Gang , an elite group of British intelligence officers in Dublin sent specially to spy on and eliminate leading IRA figures , in order to avenge his brother ' s death . Osbert Smyth was shot dead in October 1920 while trying to arrest IRA suspects Dan Breen and Sean Treacy at a house in Drumcondra . Most of the other Cairo Gang members were shot dead early in the morning of " Bloody Sunday " , 21 November 1920 , on the orders of Michael Collins .