Seamus Woods was born in Ballyhornan, County Down, in modern-day Northern Ireland, and prior to becoming active in Irish Republicanism was trained in accounting.
[2] On 5 April 1920 Woods led the IRA units that successfully burned the contents of the Belfast Customs House and two Income Tax offices.
[5] On 26 January 1921, Woods and McCorley, were involved in the fatal shooting of three Auxiliary Division officers in their beds at the Railway View hotel in central Belfast.
[8] In March 1922 Seamus Woods was appointed Officer Commanding (O/C) of the Third Northern Division of the IRA, which saw much action in Belfast and east Ulster.
[12] Seamus Woods commanded the IRAs Third Northern Division (which had up to 1,000 members)[13] during a period of intense intercommunal violence (see The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922)).
"[15] Under Woods and McCorley (and in coordination with members of the Belfast Brigade), the Third Northern Division conducted numerous attacks on RIC barracks.
[17] O/C Woods was quoted on this attack: "The whole Loyalist population is at a loss to know how such a raid could be attempted during curfew hours on the headquarters in Belfast and the largest barrack in Ireland.
[20] Within hours of Twaddell's assassination large scale arrests of Irish Republicans occurred with approximately 350 prisoners taken and internment introduced (only 12 of the internees being Protestants).
[21][22] By July 1922 O/C Woods acknowledged that the Third Northern Division of the IRA was suffering from exhaustion: "The men are in a state of practical starvation and are continually making application for transfer to Dublin to join the 'Regular Army'.
Collins had taken an active interest in reversing the Partition of Ireland and with his death, many northern IRA men felt that their cause was unwinnable.
"[24] In August 1922, Woods gave a bleak assessment of the situation in the North of Ireland: "The National Spirit among the people is practically dead at the moment...Without the civil population, our position is hopeless.