BALLYKINLAR INTERNMENT CAMP TOKENS

 
Ballykinlar Camp, One Penny. Circular cardboard token (Camp No. 2)

In the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, 21 November 1920, the British authorities arrested hundreds of republicans and opened several internment camps throughout Ireland.

• The first internment camp to be opened was at Ballykinlar, in Co Down
• The volume of arrests was so great that additional camps had to be established at Gormanstown, Co Dublin, Bere Island and Spike Island, Co Cork, and at The Curragh, Co Kildare.

Opened in December 1920, Ballykinlar Camp was situated on the Co. Down coast at the mouth of Dundrum Bay, about three miles from Dundrum village between Downpatrick and Newcastle.

Three days later after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, on 9th December 1921, all republican prisoners were released from Ballykinlar. Three special trains brought the men to Dublin, from where the internees made their own way to their home counties.

Ballykinlar Internment Camp Tokens
There are 6 denominations known (one penny, threepence, sixpence, one shilling, five shillings and one pound) and each have variations for use in Camp No. 2 – the second of the two main compounds built and extended to hold IRA prisoners during the aftermath of the 1916 Rising in Dublin and, later, those involved in the Irish war of Independence 1919-21.

• The tokens were first issued circa. 1920
• They were in use within the camp until the release of the prisoners on 9th December 1921
• There are seven denominations, i.e. 1d, 3d, 6d, 1/-, 5/-, 10/- and £1

 
Ballykinlar Camp, Sixpence. Circular cardboard token (Camp No. 2)

 
Ballykinlar Camp. One Pound circular cardboard token (Camp No. 2)

To read the complete article, see:
(https://oldcurrencyexchange.com/2015/11/13/obrien-coin-guide-ballykinlar-internment-camp-tokens-1920-21/)

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