Florence O ' Donoghue Florence O ' Donoghue ( 1895 – 18 December 1967 ) was an Irish historian and head of intelligence of the Cork No . 1 Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence . He was born in Rathmore , County Kerry , Ireland in 1895 . He moved to Cork in 1910 , where he worked as an apprentice in the drapery trade . Military life . The 1916 Easter Rising was a watershed in O ' Donoghue ' s life . In December 1916 , Florence joined the Cork branch of the Irish Volunteers . In early 1917 , he was elected unanimously 1st Lieutenant of the Cyclist Company and as result devoted all his spare time to Volunteer work . He began writing weekly for two years for the " Irish World " newspaper . By May 1917 , he was sworn into the Irish Republican Brotherhood and in October , Tomás Mac Curtain appointed O ' Donoghue as communications of the Cork Brigade . He replaced Pat Higgins as Brigade Adjutant in February 1917 . O ' Donoghue was a key organiser in the sensational jail - break of Captain Donnchadha Mac Niallghuis on Armistice Day 1918 and took personal responsibility for his protection . Michael Collins was the last officer from Volunteers General Headquarters to visit Cork shortly after Christmas 1919 , until the truce in 1921 . O ' Donoghue built up an intelligence network and agents which included his future wife , Josephine Marchment . She was head female clerk at the 6th Division Headquarters at Victoria Barracks , Cork and passed on secret British Army correspondence to him . Florence recruited people to open letters , tap phone lines and intercept telegrams . The Irish Republican Army had 2 , 000 active members in Cork which were also used for intelligence gathering . By March 1920 , after killing a RIC Inspector , Florence was on the run and serving full - time in the Irish Republican Army . In November that year , the Cork Brigade killed six British Army Officers and executed five Cork civilians on suspicion of spying . After two and a half years of fighting , a truce was agreed on 11 July 1921 . When the Dáil approved the Anglo - Irish Treaty , in January 1922 , the army split into pro - and anti - treaty camps . Over the coming months and after being elected onto the army ’ s executive as Adjutant - General , O ' Donoghue warned of the dangers of an Irish Civil War . In June 1922 , he resigned from the army ' s national executive and a month later , on 3 July 1922 , from the army . Civil war did break out on June 28 , 1922 between pro and anti treaty factions , much to O ' Donoghue ' s dismay . During the civil war , he remained neutral and tried to organise a truce to end the fighting . In December 1922 , he formed a group called the " Neutral IRA " , along with Sean O ' Hegarty , composed of pro - truce IRA men . O ' Donoghue claimed he had 20 , 000 members in this group . He campaigned for a month ' s truce between the two sides , so that a political compromise could be reached . However , his efforts came to nothing and in March 1923 , he wound up the " Neutral IRA " , judging that its objectives could not be achieved . The civil war ended in late April 1923 . He served as Major in the Irish Army from 1939 - 1946 . He formed a Supplementary Intelligence Service that would remain behind enemy lines in the event of an invasion . He also taught guerrilla war tactics to new army recruits . Home life . Florence married Josephine Marchment in April 1921 and had four children . The couple also adopted two children from Josephine ’ s first marriage , including Reggie Brown , whom Florence kidnapped from his grandparents in Wales in 1920 . Florence became a rate collector and remained outside politics . In later years he became a respected historian . While in the army he edited " An Cosantóir " , the Irish Army ’ s magazine . He convinced Éamon de Valera to establish the Bureau of Military History which would record personal accounts from the Irish War of Independence . O ' Donoghue was a recording officer until 1948 . His most famous work is his biography on Liam Lynch , entitled " No Other Law " . O ' Donoghue died on 18 December 1967 and Tom Barry gave the graveside oration .