Macroom man Dan Lucey, who was of good family, was married and his brother was a priest. He was of violent temper and he was quarrelsome in disposition. In January 1921, he had fallen out with a few IRA Volunteers in Ballinagree, and was later seen talking to the Auxiliaries in Macroom. So he was visited by two IRA Volunteers from Donoughmore area disguised as British officers. He was asked if he had seen any of “the boys”—meaning IRA men—lately. He gave his questioners all the information he had, while unknownst to him, other men from Rusheen Company waited outside the door. He was taken prisoner on the spot, taken north of Mushera to Kilcorney, and was held prisoner for about a fortnight, during which time he was given a fair trial by the brigade staff and sentenced to death. He was shot and buried after in Kilcorney, by the Millstreet Battalion, Cork II Brigade.
Tag: War of Independence
Bernard Moynihan Commenoration
The mass beforehand will be held in Rathcoole School, and refreshments afterwards in the School also.
1921 Treaty Signatories in Tom Corbett’s notebook
Tom sent us this very interesting page from a notebook of his grandfather (Tom Corbett)
It contains the signatures of all the men in the Irish delegation that signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6th 1921
- Arthur Griffith (delegation chairman)
- Michael Collins
- Robert Barton
- Eamonn Duggan
- George Gavan Duffy
The signatures match very well with the Treaty signatures (as seen below).
Read more on the Anglo Irish Treaty and those that signed it.
[read more …] “1921 Treaty Signatories in Tom Corbett’s notebook”
Anniversary of Clonbanin Ambush
Today March 5th marks the anniverasary of The Clombanin Ambush of 1921, so friends Tom and John P Kelleher went over to the ambush site and flew the flags and paid their respects. Photo’s below by Tom of TMC Photography Cork
Details of Clonbanin Ambush are in a previous article on millstreet.ie from 2014 here.
Historical and Artefact Exhibition
The Irish Volunteer Organisation is holding a Historical and artefact Exhibition in Mallow Parish Centre on 14th November from 11am – 5pm furthermore we are trying to encourage people to bring with them artefacts from the 1913 – 1923 period to tell the story of their relatives we hope you can attend. Diarmuid O’CeallachainThe Irish Volunteers – Commemorating the volunteers of 1913-1922
Proposed Refurbishment of the Drishanebeg Ambush Site
The plaque at the Railway Arch, Drishanebeg commemorates the train ambush of 11 February, 1921. Pictured below yesterday, Sunday 20th September, members of the Millstreet Monument Committee marked out the ground for the proposed refurbishment of the plaque. L-R: Andrias Moynihan, Tom Meaney, Jerry Lehane (Chairman), Connie Foley, and Gerdie Buckley. Photo thanks to Tom of TMC Photography.
Read our more about the Drishanebeg Ambush
Made by P.J. Murphy
An excellent example of an early Mark I Webley service revolver with patent marks, proof marks and wide arrow markings. Complete with leather holster made by P. J. Murphy, MillStreet, Cork. Date marked 1914.
These sold at Whyte’s Irish Art Auction House for a price of €700 on 24th September 2011.
P.J. Murphy was one of the organisers of ‘F’ Company of the Millstreet Battalion in 1917.[1]
[read more …] “Made by P.J. Murphy”
Nadd Ambush – March 10th 1921
John P & I are very interested in local history, so we went up to Glentaneatnagh on Tuesday (March 10th) on the anniversary to pay our respects. It also ties into the burning of Dromagh Castle the day before (March 9th 1921)
The main picture below is of flags on the monument at Glentaneatnagh (located here). The next (small) monument is at Nadbeg (located here), and the last monument is at Nadd village on main Banteer to Cork road (located here). – from Tom of TMC Photography
I.R.A. Suffer Losses During Roundup at Nadd is a very good article describing the activities before, during and after that wet and foggy morning in Nadd in 1921.
On this day 1921: Dromagh Castle was burned down
On the night of March 9th 1921, Millstreet IRA Battalion Column were involved in the burning and destruction of the 16th century Dromagh Castle, which was being prepared for occupation by Auxiliaries.
The castle was previously the seat of the O’Keeffe Clan who ruled the area.
Read about more of the activities at the time.
[read more …] “On this day 1921: Dromagh Castle was burned down”
The Rathcoole Ambush – June 16th 1921
One of the largest ambushes of the War of Independence took place at Rathcoole, North Cork, situated between Millstreet and Banteer, on 16th. June 1921.
The railway line between Banteer and Millstreet had been cut in several places so the Auxiliary forces based at Millstreet had to travel to Banteer by road for their supplies a couple of times every week. Therefore, a combined force of 130 men were mobilised to attack the Auxiliaries as they returned from Banteer. The volunteers were from the Millstreet, Kanturk, Newmarket, Charleville and Mallow battalion columns in the second division area and were under the command of Paddy O’Brien from Liscarroll.
On the night before the ambush the I.R.A. volunteers slept at Rathcoole Wood, which overlooked the planned ambush position. Shortly after sunrise the following morning, Captain Dan Vaughan laid six landmines on the [read more …] “The Rathcoole Ambush – June 16th 1921”
Clonbanin Ambush
On this day March 5th 1921, the IRA ambushed a British army convoy near Clonbanin, near Derinagree, killing Brigadier General H. R. Cumming, one of the highest ranked British officers to die in the Irish War of Independence. After two hours fighting, 13 (apparently) British were dead, and 15 wounded, while the republicans suffered no casualties.
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In early March, 1921 Sean Moylan, Commandant of the Newmarket Column, made the decision to ambush a British party of senior officers and their military guard returning from an inspection tour in Kerry. The position he selected was at Clonbanin, near Derinagree, which was about five miles from Kanturk, where there was a strong military post and five miles north of Millstreet, then garrisoned by a force of Black and Tans and RIC.
At 3 a.m. on the morning of the 3rd. March, Moylan’s column moved out for Clonbanin and was in position by 6 a.m. They were joined by a section of [read more …] “Clonbanin Ambush”
The Execution of Captain Con Murphy
Towards the end of 1920 nine members of the Millstreet battalion whose names were on the ‘murder list’ of the Tans, formed a flying squad or small flying column. The late Jeremiah Crowley was in charge of this body of men and under his direction training in military operations was carried out. The squad was reinforced considerably later on, and an effective column of close on forty men was formed. On the night of 3 January 1921, the squad, which then consisted of nine men all told arrived in Rathmore. The late Con Murphy, having arranged billets, went home to his father’s house in Ballydaly – a quarter of a mile from the nearest house where the squad was in billets. At about nine o’clock on the morning of 4 January, the scouts protecting the squad reported the presence of a considerable force of military and Royal Irish Constabulary raiding in Ballydaly. The little squad immediately got into a position of defence. Retreat was out of the question as the only way out was [read more …] “The Execution of Captain Con Murphy”
Old IRA / Military Pension Records
Phase 1 of the long awaited Old IRA/Military Pension record set is now available for free online searching at MilitaryArchives.ie (Jan 16th 2014). Phase 1 includes details of 3,200 individual pension applicants, including 2,400 recipients of pensions in respect of the 1916 Easter Rising.
We have found three files of local interest: One Rathcoole man involved in the Mutiny of India 1920, and two men who were sent to the Millstreet 4th Batallion and were active in Rathcoole / Drishane / Clonbanin ambushes. These are outlined below.
It is disappointing that so few local records were released, so if you were looking for a relatives application (like me) you’ll have to wait a little longer. The rest of the collection, which, in total, holds some 300,000 files relating to 60,000 pension applicants, will be released in ‘regular phases’ leading up to 2016.
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Michael Murphy, Rathcoole, Banteer, Co.Cork
File Reference: Con.Ran.34
Date of Birth: 1889
The file relates to the claim of Michael Murphy, ex-Connaught Ranger, who participated in the Mutiny in India in 1920 in which applicant is to [read more …] “Old IRA / Military Pension Records”
The Drishanebeg Train Ambush
In late 1920 Millstreet I.R.A. were considering the viability of an attack being made on British troops who frequently used rail transport while travelling through their battalion area. Various plans were made and men were put in position on a number of occasions during January 1921, but for various reasons a projected attack failed to materialise. Subsequently the column, under Commandant Jeremiah Crowley, re-examined the feasibility of the proposals.
The essential features for the success of any such attack were that the train containing the troops should be brought to a halt at a point where the column was already in a position, that an attack should be made only on an occasion when the troops travelling were armed, and where the party was neither too small to be worth while or too large to risk the failure of the operation. There was the further point that civilian passengers on the train had to be protected as far as possible from injuries. Trains travelling east or west were both potential targets. A position was selected at Drishanebeg about a mile west of Rathcoole station [a], between Millstreet and Banteer. On a few occasions the trains were allowed to pass unmolested, because the soldiers they carried were unarmed, but finally on the evening of 11 February, 1921 the attack came off.
About 6.30 p.m. when it was nearly dark the column went into position. The plan which had been made for bringing the train to a halt came into operation. One of the volunteers, whose duty it was to inspect the train and board it if it contained a suitable party of British forces, this evening saw that the party of troops travelling was such as could be dealt with by the column. He boarded the train and travelled to Rathcoole where two armed Volunteers were waiting. At his signal they boarded the engine as the train was leaving the station and on arrival at the ambush position forced the driver to halt the train. A long whistle blast was blown as a pre-arranged signal to the attacking party. A lighted bicycle-lamp placed on the track indicated the exact position at which the engine should stop.
The Column Commander called upon the military in the train to surrender but was answered by rifle shots. Fire was then opened upon the carriages containing the military party and the battle continued for about fifteen minutes. The slopes of the cutting were lit by oil torches prepared in advanced by the column and thrown down outside the target carriages at the beginning of the encounter. The fight was one-sided from the start, the attackers having the advantage of cover and darkness. When the British surrendered one had been killed and most of the others were wounded.
The column members collected fifteen rifles and a large quantity of ammunition and withdrew from the scene without suffering a single casualty. – Cork’s War of Independence
[a] “Drishanebeg about a mile west of Rathcoole station” This should probably read a mile east of Millstreet Station.
