Dublin Tramways
by
John Kelleher
by
John Kelleher
(c) 2016 Mount Merrion Historical Society
8.00pm, Thursday 5th November, 2026
Fitzwilliam Rooms
Mount Merrion Community Centre
Fitzwilliam Rooms
Mount Merrion Community Centre
Presented by:
Henry Matthews
Henry Matthews
The Man on the Tram:
Alan Bell and the Battle for the Republic's Finances
Alan Bell and the Battle for the Republic's Finances
By early 1920, the British administration was facing a problem. In short, how to disrupt the finances sustaining the revolutionary government established by the Dáil. At the centre of the effort was Alan Bell, a veteran Resident Magistrate and experienced investigator who was tasked with tracing the money behind the Dáil Loan. The talk examines Alan Bell’s investigation, his role in the wider financial struggle between the British administration and the Republican movement, and the circumstances surrounding his assassination.
It also considers what his story tells us about intelligence, investigation and the vulnerability of a system that comes to depend too heavily on one investigator.
It also considers what his story tells us about intelligence, investigation and the vulnerability of a system that comes to depend too heavily on one investigator.
Henry Matthews is a retired public-sector manager who worked in the areas of economic crime, financial investigation and prosecution and asset recovery. He became particularly interested in Alan Bell while working with an international programme involving investigators and prosecutors. Bell’s story provided a striking historical example of the importance of following money in the investigation of organised and political crime.
