Dan was apparently renowned for his poteen making and for being quite a ladies man. He was also an intelligence specialist and arms smuggler for Sinn Fein/IRA. Dan would gather eggs and butter around Inishowen and take them on the cargo ships out of Derry which sailed to Glasgow, Scotland. These trips would allow him a means of getting to and from Scotland for both his legal and illegal ventures. He would hide metal cans of poteen made from his two-50 gallon stills and bring them to Scotland where he sold the poteen to distilleries for blending in their scotches. He also used these trips during his Sinn Fein/IRA days to smuggle weapons back into Ireland. According to his petition for a Military Service Pension dated 10 January 1926, Dan and 5 others started the Sinn Fein movement in the parish of Clonmany. The following is a quote from his petition: "In the company with 5 others on 20 August 1917, we started - I may say stealthily - the Sinn Fein movement in this parish. When we had a fairly good footing made we invited Mr. Pimm to Clonmany to address a meeting and thereby establish a branch. Accordingly a public meeting was held in Ballyliffin Hall at which Rev. Has. Maguire C.C. attended on 17 Sep 1917 and a branch duly established. In January 1918 Mr. Pimm came to Carndonagh and there addressed a meeting at which I attended as delegate from Clonmany branch. During this time I worked at shipping eggs to Glasgow, and when collecting the eggs through the country in my van, I took avail of every opportunity to forward Sinn Fein and after the two police were killed at Solohead in January 1919**(See End note) and the burning of the R.I.C. barracks at Easter of said year, I became a whole time service member of Sinn Fein. I joined in April 1919. I had then 250 (Pounds) which I place at the disposal of our local volunteers, and gave up my business altogether." Dan's Operational Commander (O/C) while he was on active service was Patrick Gallen. Witnesses to his service claims included Mr. James Diver or Gortagaran, Carndonagh, Co. Donegal; Captain Cecil O'Doherty of Finner Camp, (Bundoran), Co. Donegal; Patrick Quigley, Police Constable, Carrickbrahey, Clonmany Co. Donegal and the Reverend P. Conway, Parish Priest, Clonmany, Co. Donegal. Based on the stationary he used in making his statement; James Diver ran a General Drapery and Boot Warehouse in Manorgunningham at the time (March 9th, 1926). James stated that he was sorry for the delay in his statement but the original form was sent to his former home address. He also mentioned that while on active service he was under the command of Major-General Joseph Sweeney and upon his resignation from service he entered into the employment of Senator McLaughlin of Buncranna. According to James Diver, who held the ranks within the IRA, of Battalion Adjutant, No. 2 Battalion between the 1st of April, 1919 and the 31st of March, 1920; Battalion Commandant and acting Adjutant to Inishowen Active Service Unit (ASU) from the 1st of April, 1921 to the 11th of July, !921 and Vice Brigadier of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Northern Division from the 12th of July, 1921 to the 30th of June 1922; Dan was assigned as a private in the Intelligence Department of the Clonmany Company of the IRA and later a member of the Republican Police, Clonmany Unit. James Diver wrote in support of Dan's pension claim: " He (Dan) was anxious to join the Active Service Unit in Inishowen, but owing to an accident to his leg when he was in Infancy, he was slightly handicapped in walking and I considered the strain would be too great for him. He did us invaluable service in supplying information on the enemy and supplied the column with clothing, food, etc. at his own expense." James Diver further wrote: "I was Battalion Adjutant, and administered the Oath of Allegiance (sic) to him, when he joined the Volunteers...He was engaged in every operation which was carried out in his company area. Cutting wires, roads and demolishing bridges. He purchased small quantities of firearms and ammunition any time he got the opportunity." THE BLACK AND TAN KILLINGS Laurence Farren of Clonmany tells a story of two "Black and Tans" who were killed by the IRA at the Glen House. He stated that Dan Devlin, along with other local IRA members, was a participant in the killings. The story of these killings is as follows: "In 1921, during one of the regular dances in the hall (The Clonmany Green Hut), two Black and Tan soldiers came in among the crowd, walked up to the stage, ripped down the tri-colour, spat on it and tramped it into the floor before leaving. The same two soldiers, by the name of Clarke and Murdock, were ambushed and killed two weeks later." (The Inish Times, Thursday April 20th 2000 pp 8-9) On or about May 10, 1921 five local IRA men, Dan Devlin among them, came upon RIC Constables Charles Murdock and Alexander F. Clarke one night out by the Glen House. The two Black and Tans were shot and were then thrown in the ocean. Constable Clarke drowned, but Murdock managed to swim back to shore at Binnion. He sought refuge in the McLean house in Binnion where he was turned in by the occupants to the IRA. He was finished off in the hen house with a hatchet and was later buried near the town cemetery. His body was never recovered, but the body of the other Constable Clarke washed up on shore a couple of days later and was discovered by someone harvesting sea weed. When the army heard of the body washing ashore they dispatched soldiers to exact revenge on the village. Up until the body appeared, they had assumed the Murdock and Clarke had deserted, which was a common problem in the army at that time. The National Police Officers Roll of Honour* which is dedicated to the Memory of those police officers of the United Kingdom who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Constables Clarke and Murdock are listed under ROYAL IRISH CONSTABULARY and constituent forces. Clarke is listed as a victim of Political Violence and Murdock is listed as unconfirmed. Eileen Ternay of New Windsor, NY added further to the story of the "Black and Tan" incident when she passed on a story told to her by her relatives in Clonmany. The story is as follows: "The two black and tans, Murdock and Clarke, were harassing the town's people and they had gone too far. The IRA had decided it was time they had to go. So they threw them into the ocean. One drowned and the other was able to swim back to Binnon and came into my cousin's house in bad shape. Her father brought him in and covered him with a blanket and went to get a doctor. His wife and children were still in the cottage and very afraid of him (the Black and Tan). Instead of getting a doctor, her (my cousin's) father went and got the IRA. They finished the job." Eileen adds further that "There was a lot of harassment over the Black and Tans death. My cousin's father was taken outside by the Black and Tans, but because he had taken an American citizenship out, they could not shoot him. My father, Hugh, was only a kid at the time and was down at the Cross when the B&T soldiers pointed a gun at them both. My grandmother was frightened for her boys. They brought more soldiers into the area and came down through Straid. Every house had their curtains drawn and lights out with fear." Two other accounts of the "Black and Tan" incident were included in the book 'It's Us They're Talking About' - Proceedings from the McGlinchey Summer School 1999 and stories from local people. The Diversity of the Inishowen Heritage. Issue 2. Edited by Margaret Farren and Mary Harkin. In the book, Margaret Farren interviews three local inhabitants; Cassie and Sarah Frances Quigley and Charlie Owen. During these interviews, Margaret brings up the subject of the "Black and Tan" killings. The following are excerpts from their conversations: Margaret Farren speaking with Charlie Owen: There are times when Charlie's memory could legitimately be described as photographic, and never more so than when he is recounting a situation which was more than usually tense or dramatic. One such occasion (an encounter with the infamous Black and Tans) combines so much of the life of the community - the church, the school, the public houses and, most obviously, the political strife of the time - that it is worth retelling, even if it touches upon a troubled memory for the people of Clonmany. During the course of conversation about feast days and priests, Charlie remarks that it was customary for the young people to make their First Communion and their Confirmation in the same year. He recalls that he made his First Communion on Ascension Thursday, which was the 5th of May, 1921. He made his Confirmation on the following Tuesday, May l0th. According to Charlie's recollections, this event coincided with a more momentous occurrence in Clonmany. "We got out of the Chapel - it was all Urris and Clonmany - and my mother and father were waiting outside with biscuits and lemonade. When we got out on the road there was a line of Black and Tans sitting on the wall and a Black and Tan lorry at the gate. We got past them as quick as we could. It was a market day at the Cross and there was cattle coming down the road and up from Urris. We dillied at the school. The next thing this cart came up the road, with a man holding the horse's head and a crowd of policemen around it. We got very excited then wondering what did this man do. He was led into the Barracks. What was it only the finding down at Binion, of the Black and Tan who was shot. The man had been gathering seaweed. The seaweed was all hanging out of the cart and the water was dripping out of it. The Tans were over at the chapel gate because they suspected a prominent IRA man of the time, and thought he might be in Mass." As was common in the country at the time, the Black and Tans returned to Clonmany to exact revenge for the death of their comrade. "I was in school the day they came to burn The Cross. It was in June and I min' rightly t'see the little petrol lorry they had with them. It was a bit bigger than a pick-up truck and it was stemmed as full as it could hold with petrol tins. There were no petrol tanks in them days and Pratt was the name of the firm that supplied the petrol. How I know that is that the only man at the Cross to have a car was Campbell. I used to go into James Quigley's, he was the shoemaker, and then we'd go into Campbell's and I would see these tins out in Campbell's and we'd wonder what the word Pratt was. So Pratt's was written on the lorry the Black and Tans had with them. They had 300 soldiers came with them into the barrack yard. Maloney, the headmaster, was living in Ballyliffen and had three sons. He used to make tea for them in the school and someone would have to go over for a kettle of water to the pump,and the pump was on the day-room side of the barrack. It was painted red too, the English colour. There'd be a fight some days to get out for the kettle of water. You could be out ten minutes! That day I scamped the kettle, and when I came down all these soldiers were in the yard. They split in two to let me past. It was a very warm summer. I went over to the pump and was pumping away but there came no water at all. I couldn't do it hard enough. So one of the soldiers came over and pumped like hell and got the water going and filled the kettle. They let me through again and I went back over to the school. The next thing I saw was Fr Maguire and the doctor going into the barrack. Big Campbell, who was married to Susan Kearney, was the Chief Constable in the Strand Road RIC barracks in Derry. Apparently he wired the barrack from Derry and said to the Tans that there were no IRA men in Clonmany to his knowledge, but that if they burned The Cross, every man in it would be an IRA man. Fr Maguire worked hard pleading with them as well, apparently. Whether they took that or not I don't know. We came out at three o'clock. We hadn't been told anything but we could see Maloney was as white as a sheet, looking out the window, and there was no teaching done. When we came round the school, all these soldiers were coming out of the barrack yard, with the tin hats pushed back off their heads, hanging onto their necks by a piece of string. The Commanding officer put some of them into Barney Sarah's, some into Johnny Harkins, some into Big Hannah's, into Gallon's and McCauley's, into all the pubs - down to Crampsey's too. They all went in there and drank their beer and we headed home from school. We could still see the wee lorry packed with petrol." The rest, of course, is history. Who or whatever persuaded them to spare the village, Clonmany was not burned out. I enquire somewhat naively as to how real the danger had been and Charlie assures me that there were many villages that weren't as lucky as Clonmany, referring me to "Dan Breen's book". Margaret Farren speaking to Cassie and Sarah Frances Quigley: While Cassie exhibits a particular fondness for remembrances, Sarah Frances is busier with the historical details of the parish. In fact, I am astonished to find that she has actually taken the time to write out all the information she can remember, that would be of interest to the Summer School. While she goes off to get her material, Cassie and I chat generally about the interviews and how they are progressing. "I mention to her that Charlie Owen spoke of the murders of the Black'n'Tans in Clonmany - an incident that is well-known in Clonmany, but only ever talked about as an episode from our remote past. Imagine then my amazement when Cassie casually announces: "Oh aye, Clarke and Murdoch, I knew them boys." "How?", I enquire. Seemingly, although it was frowned upon for a Black'n'Tan to enter a pub by the front door,they were tolerated as long as they went in through the back. Cassie's house was next door to the pub (probably Eunie's, if Cassie lived in Snowflakes) and one had to go through Cassie's kitchen to get out to the back yard to get to the pub. Clarke and Murdoch therefore became familiar to the family and would sometimes stop for a chat. "I thought they were very nice fellows. One of them in particular was very nice. I think he said he was from London. I had a photograph of them here one time, but I think I've lost it." Dan Devlin's involvement is documented in his pension claim in which he included the following statement related to the killings: "I was on the run then in several places through Inishowen and Donegal, and was present at the shooting of the two Black and Tans - Murdock and Clarke - outside Clonmany on 20 August 1920. The men who shot them were secreted in my fathers house for days after, and I was deputied by the Officer in Charge to provide all necessaries for them. This was all done at my expense." Sarah McCarron, Dan's niece, recounts a story from her childhood. While living in the Devlin cottage in Cleagh, she remembers Dan being pulled from his bed one night by some "Black and Tans" and being taken outside. He was made to kneel on the ground in front of the cottage. The "Black and Tans" then fired shots next to his head from behind to make him aware of the consequences of being a member of the IRA. In a statement by the Reverand P. Conway, Parish Priest, he stated that in addition to his services related to the shooting of the Black and Tans, Dan "Also went to Buncrana to ambush an R.I.C. Sergeant who was giving trouble" and "He and Cecil O'Doherty - now Captain O'Doherty - went to obtain rifles from and English soldier in Buncrana". Father Conway wrote that he was able to testify to Dan's service since he was "...intimately connected with the O.C. (Operational Commander) and from him learned of his (Dan's) movements. Father Conway also wrote "Twas he (Dan) in company with a few others who actually started Sinn Fein in this parish. He brought Mr. Pimm to address a meeting here and went as a delegate to Carndonagh to DeValera's meeting there." Dan further states in his pension claim: "At the split in the Army I took the Free State side and was at the taking over of the R.I.C barracks - Clonmany, where I served as volunteer for several months. I formally joined the National Army in April 1922 and served until October 1922 when I was demobilised (sic), and had to return home to my parents on whom I have since depended on for my upkeep." Dan's pension claim was denied by the Board of Assessors on September 18, 1926 on the grounds that he had only served for 2 months after the first of July 1922 under the Temporary Provisions Act. Dan was demobilized in October 1922. He was later decorated for his membership in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) (he received two medals for his participation in the 1922 Civil war and other events). The medals were buried with him in his parent's grave outside the main entrance (closest to the gate) to St. Mary's church in Clonmany. The gravestone, which is about six feet long and three feet wide, and lays horizontal next to the church walkway, is covered over with dried cement from renovations to the church which took place from 1997-1999. *NOTE: http://www.policememorial.org.uk/Forces/RIC/RIC_Roll.htm **NOTE: Solohead is where an ambush to steal a shipment of gelignite from the British at Soloheadbeg, South Tipperary took place on January 21, 1919. The ambush party consisted of Sean Treacy, Seamus Robinson, Dan Breen, Tadhg Crowe, Paddy Dwyer, Paddy McCormack, Sean Hogan and Michael Ryan Two constables were called on to halt and surrender their weapons by Sean Treacy and the other Volunteers who were laying in ambush. The constables refused and Sean Treacy shouted a second warning. As the second warning was given, the constables took up defensive positions and prepared to open fire. They were both shot dead by Sean Treacy who was armed with a .22 automatic Mauser rifle and a .32 Colt automatic. Two days after the incident at Soloheadbeg the South Tipperary area was proclaimed a Special Military Area by the British. Fairs, markets, processions and meetings were also prohibited by a further order. The incident at Soloheadbeg was to be the beginning of the end of British rule in Southern Ireland. The men involved in the ambush ended up on the run and were branded murderers by the British Government. They had a reward of £1,000 on their heads.