In this decade of commemorations we are encouraged to remember and not to forget. Very good advice and we will do our bit during the hundredth anniversary of “the four glorious years” to recall the facts of those years. We will do so with the help of the “Irish Bulletin”, the daily paper of the Dáil.
There could not be a more appropriate source as the whole object of the War that Britain engaged in was to destroy that Dáil. This is history from the horse’s mouth.
People who set up the Bulletin published lists of atrocities before it was officially launched in November 1919 and did so afterwards as well. Below is a list for 1919 and early 1920. It is not all comprehensive as it relied to a large extent on newspaper reports which were all censored and dozens suppressed and before the Bulletin had established a network for receiving news of atrocities independent of the press. Later lists will show much more comprehensive listings for the period covered here.
However, it gives the flavour of the ongoing terror campaign in period it covers and confirms the “existing state of war” as described in the Dáil’s Declaration to the Free Nations of the World on 21 January 1919.
OUTSTANDING INCIDENTS OF ENGLISH AGGRESSION IN IRELAND
From January 1st 1919 to April 30th 1920
(In the majority of cases the dates given are those upon which the incidents were reported in the daily Press)
January 1919
7th People of Dunmanway, Co. Cork, attacked by soldiers and police with rifles, fixed bayonets and batons.
27th Police with fixed bayonets attacked a crowd at Baltinglass which had assembled to welcome home a political prisoner.
February 1919
11th Police forced doors of King’s County Council Offices and attacked Council staff with bayonets.
12th Patrick Gavin shot dead by soldiers at Curragh camp.
19th Soldiers attacked card party at the Temperance Hall at Annacarty, County Tipperary, and wrecked the Hall.
20th Timothy Connors, Greenane, Co. Tipperary, aged 11 years, kidnapped by police and secretly taken to unknown destination, his parents being refused all information.
March 1919
7th Mr. Pierce McCann, Member of Parliament for East Tipperary, died on removal from Gloucester Prison where he had lain for ten months without charge or trial.
10th Matthew Hogan, Tipperary, aged fifteen years, kidnapped by police and secretly removed to an unknown destination.
24th Mr. Charles Church, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, shot by soldiers.
April 1919
6th Robert Byrne shot dead by police in Limerick Hospital.
12th The following districts proclaimed military areas by the English Military Government:- Cork, City and County, Limerick City and County, Westport Urban District and the Counties of Roscommon, Tipperary and Kerry.
14th Several people in Bantry, Co. Cork, shot by soldiers.
14th John Sheehan, Charlmont Street, Dublin, killed by military motor lorry driven at 40 miles an hour in the streets. The jury found death was due to negligence of soldiers.
16th City of Limerick invested by armed soldiers who allowed no one to leave or enter without military permit.
28th Castletownbere, Co. Cork, proclaimed. All fairs, markets, meetings, and assemblies suppressed.
28th Michael Walsh, fisherman, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, shot dead by police.
29th Matthew Brady and William McNally attacked and shot by police at Longford.
May 1919
5th Many people Injured in bayonet charge by soldiers at Athlone.
9th Soldiers and police raided and occupied the Mansion House, Dublin official residence of the Lord Mayor,and fired on the people in the streets adjoining.
25th Bayonet charges by police and soldiers in Thurles.
June 1919
5th Matthew Murphy, Dundalk, shot dead by soldiers.
16th Michael Rice, aged 60 and his son, Martin, of Ardatacle, Queen’s County, attacked in their own house and shot by police.
29th Patrick Studdart, Kilkee, shot dead by police.
August 1919
14th Francis Murphy, Glann, Co. Clare, (aged 15) shot dead in his own house by soldiers.
September 1919
2nd Polices and oldiers with fixed bayonets charged the residents of Bundoran, Ardara and Brackey.
5th Four young men shot by soldiers at Inchicore, Dublin City.
9th The town of Fermoy, Co. Cork, sacked by soldiers.
9th Police fire on two ladies and two men in a motor car at Moneygall, King’s County, wounding one of the men.
11th Coercion Act of 1887 revived by Proclamation. This Act was described by Gladstone as a “cup of poison”, by Morley as “the essence of tyranny” and by Lord Chief Justice Russell as a “Bill to promote”.
11th Portion of the town of Fermoy, Co. Cork, again attacked by soldiers.
13th Dail Eireann, the Irish republican Parliament, proclaimed. English armed forces raided Sinn Fein Headquarters in Dublin and the Sinn Fein Clubs in every city and town in Ireland and the residences of all the Republican Members of Parliament and of all prominent Republicans throughout Ireland – over 1,000 houses being raided in all.
20th Over 20 city and provincial newspapers suppressed by military.
29th Baton and bayonet charges by soldiers and police at Newmarket , Co. Cork.
October 1919
6th A boy named Coll shot by police at Banbridge, Co. Down.
22nd A young man named O’Donnell shot by soldiers at Kilworth, Co. Cork.
22nd Town of Kinsale sacked by soldiers.
23rd Police fire on crowd at Macroom.
28th Michael Hanley, aged 14, shot by soldiers at Belmullet, Co. Mayo.
November 1919
1st Police fire on civilians at Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin.
8th Bayonet charge by police at Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
10th Portion of the town of Athlone, sacked by soldiers.
11th Portion of Cork City sacked and looted by soldiers. People who tried to stop the looting were attacked bythe soldiers and 40 civilians were wounded.
13th People in Tipperary savagely beaten by police with the butt ends of their rifles.
17th People at Strabane, Co. Donegal, similarly treated by police.
17th Police charged with fixed bayonets people attending a fair at Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary.
18th Police fired on crowds at Ballymote, and Gurteen, Co. Sligo.
19th Fifty people wounded in bayonet charges by police at Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.
24th Baton and bayonet charges by police in Limerick City. Many civilians wounded.
24th Police fire on two travellers leaving Thurles Railway Station wounding one of them.
24th Bayonet charges by police in Derry City.
25th Over 200 homes in Tipperary raided by soldiers and police in full war equipment accompanied by aeroplanes and armoured cars.
25th Portion of the town of Fermoy sacked by soldiers.
26th 20 civilians wounded in bayonet charges by police at Fenor, Co. Waterford.
27th National organisations all over Ireland suppressed by proclamation.
December 1919
3rd Bayonet charges by military and police at Fermoy, Co. Cork.
5th Soldiers wrecked Fermoy railway Station.
12th Annual Christmas Fair of Irish goods In Mansion House, Dublin, suppressed by soldiers and police who occupied the Lord Mayor’s residence.
15th Violet Pearson killed by military motor lorry on South Circular Road, Dublin. The jury found negligence on the part of the military.
16th “The Freeman’s Journal”, the oldest daily newspaper in Ireland suppressed and its machinery dismantled by soldiers and police.
19th Lawrence Kennedy, Lucan, Co. Dublin, murders by soldiers in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
January 1920
6th Dr. Keane, Enistymon, Co. Clare, shot by police while on his medical rounds.
19th Civilians at Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford shot by police.
20th Ml. Darcy, Cooraclare, Co. Clare, drowned while police held off would be rescuers.
22nd Whole town of Thurles wrecked by soldiers
February 1920
4th Man and woman shot dead in Limerick by soldiers and police.
14th James O’Brien shot dead at Rathdrum by police.
16th John Heaphy shot by police at Ballylongford, Co. Kerry.
17th Pedestrians held up at the point of a bayonet by soldiers at Thurles and the contents of their pockets stolen.
20th Mrs. M. J. Kelly, shopkeeper, 10 Wellington Place, Dublin, savagely assaulted and robbed by soldiers.
23rd Mr. J.J. Kinsella, shot at on the South Circular Road, Dublin, by a party of soldiers.
25th Mr. Philip Maher, Turtulla, Co. Tipperary, attacked by police on the public highway and beaten with the butt-ends of their rifles.
25th Railway employee, named Kennedy shot at by a patrol of soldiers near Thurles. Kennedy was neither halted nor challenged.
25th Three men named Cullanan, Burke and MacCarthy were shot at by police from while on their way to their homes at Leugh, Co. Tipperary.
27th Raiding parties of troops forced an entry into the late Head- quarters at 3, 6 and 76 Harcourt Street, Dublin of the Sinn Fein Bank, the Sinn Fein organisation and the Republican Government of Ireland respectively, and systematically wrecked every room In these houses breaking even pan- handles, electric light bulbs and ink bottles. In the Sin n Fein Bank the safe was forced an £1040 stolen.
March 1920
1st The town of Thurles was partially wrecked by soldiers accompanied by their officers.
2nd The people of Thurles attacked by police who beat them with the butt-ends of their rifles.
3rd Spectators of daylight military raids in Dublin were attacked by the troops who dispersed them with the butt-ends of their rifles.
5th Three young men passing the police barracks at Holy- cross, County Tipperary, were abused and stoned by the police.
6th Property and £5 in notes were stolen from Mrs. Lynch, Richmond Road, Dublin by soldiers who raided her house.
5th The National Monuments at Thurles, Co. Tipperary were disfigured by police and soldiers.
7th Sinn Fein Clubs and the residences of prominent Republicans broke into and completely wrecked by police at Cork. Volleys fired in the public street after midnight at shop windows and into private houses.
13th Miss. Cotter, Abbey Street, Cork, shot at by police while hastening at night to call a priest to her dying aunt.
15th Spectators of military raids on the residences of Republicans at Monaghan were attacked by troops.
19th Attempted murder of Alderman Professor Stockley, Sinn Fein leader, Cork.
19th Police fire at crowds who endeavoured to enter Kilkenny Theatre to attend a performance of the banned play “The Parnellite”.
20th Lord Mayor of Cork murdered by police who broke into his house at the dead of the night.
21st Engine driver named Hewed when passing the Thurles Police Barracks was attacked by the police who rushed fromthe Barracks and knocking him down robbed him.
22nd Ellen Hendrick aged 18 years and Michael Cullen aged 23 years were shot dead by soldiers who assaulted pedestrians and smashed window shops in a riotous parade through the streets of Dublin.
29th Military raiding the house of Mr. S. Byrne, T.C. looted jewellery.
29th Mr. J. MacCarthy brother of Mr. M. MacCarthy, Sinn Fein Leader, Thurles, was murdered by men in the uniform of police who broke into his house at the dead of the night.
30th Mr. T. Dwyer, prominent Republican was murdered by police at The Ragg, Co. Tipperary, who broke into his house at the dead of the night.
April 1920
3rd Military raiding the house of Mr. T. Longmore, Kingstown, Co. Dublin, looted jewellery, £3 in notes and a bottle of whiskey.
6th Military raiding the Republican Temperance Bar, Dublin, fired into houses in O’Connell St. and attacked spectators with the bayonet.
9th Military raiding the residence of Mr. Frank Foy, 33 Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin looted jewellery, £4.10.0 in cash, eleven bottles of whiskey and several shillings in coppers.
10th Military raiding the residence of Mr. O’Flanagan, 14a Welford Street, Dublin looted 4 doz. eggs, a razor, a 5 naggin bottle of whiskey and several shillings in coppers.
14th Soldiers being brought to reinforce the guards at Mountjoy Jail in which Sinn Fein prisoners were dying, slashed with their bayonets at the crowd outside the jail as they drove through them.
14th Police and military shot dead three civilians at Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, who were celebrating the release of Mountjoy prisoners by singing round a lighted tar- barrel. Nine others were seriously wounded.
====
The above is an article by Jack Lane of the Aubane Historical Society , which in the Irish Political Review which commemorates the War of Independence.
