The Killings of RIC Constables Jones and Mugan in
Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim
Introduction from Chronology
An RIC man (Constable Wilfred Jones) is shot dead when he is out
walking with a woman friend in Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim.
Later, Constable Thomas Mugan is shot in Ballinamore RIC barracks
and dies two days later in King George V Hospital in Dublin. Various accounts are given of these two
killings especially the killing of Constable Mugan.
Introduction
Constable
Wilfred Jones was from Acton in London. According to his RIC service record, he
enlisted in the RIC on November 9th 1920 and was posted to Co
Leitrim. His service record also states that he died on April 8th
1921 “murdered by armed men”.
However, the date of death on his service record is incorrect. According to the civil record of his
death, Constable Wilfred Jones died on April 15th 1921 in
Ballinamore. He was aged 35 years of age, he was a bachelor and his cause of
death was given as “Foully murdered”. Certificate was received from
Military Court of Inquiry held April 16th 1921. The civil record of
Constable Jones’ death is available here: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1921/05095/4399367.pdf
Constable Jones’s
killing led to the death of another RIC constable - Constable Thomas
Mugan. According to Abbott, he died
on April 18th 1921 and he was “Accidently shot by his own
rifle in Ballinamore Barracks, Co. Leitrim” (Abbott (2019), pg 410).
According to his RIC service record, Constable Mugan was from Castlebar, Co.
Mayo. After an earlier short stint
in the RIC in 1916, he re-enlisted in the RIC on May 1st 1917 and
was posted to Co. Leitrim. Also, according
to his RIC record, he died on April 18th 1921 from "bullet wounds
accidental discharge of comrade's rifle". Again, the date of death on the service
record is incorrect. According to the civil record, Constable Mugan died on April 17th 1921 in King
George V Hospital in Dublin. He was
aged 23 years of age, he was a bachelor and the cause of death was given as
“Shock and haemorrhage following gunshot wounds. Manslaughter.”
Certificate received from Military Court of Inquiry held April 19th
921. The civil record of Constable Mugan’s death is available here: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1921/05096/4400167.pdf
So according to his service
record, Constable Mugan died from "bullet wounds - accidental discharge of
comrade's rifle" whereas, according to the Military Court of Inquiry (held
in lieu of an inquest), he dies due to “Shock and haemorrhage following gunshot
wounds. Manslaughter.” Was it accidental or
manslaughter? Before this question
is addressed, the killing of Constable Jones will be reviewed in detail.
Who Shot Constable Jones?
In his Bureau of Military
History (BMH) statement (available here: www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1194.pdf ), Bernard Sweeney said “About the 1st
April a Black & Tan from the Ballinamore garrison fell to courting a girl
whom he used to meet out on the Swanlinbar side of the town. Charles McGoohan
… went to the spot and, after an exchange of shots, killed the Tan and
took his gun. The Tans were practically mad in the town of Ballinamore. They
beat up every man they could lay their hands on. They nearly killed my brother
and also Jack Quinn.”
In his BMH statement,
(available here: www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1146.pdf ) Eugene Kilkenny says “An Auxiliary policeman,
stationed in Ballinamore, was keeping company with a girl at Drumshambo.
Charles McGoohan, who was then O/C of the Column, met this Auxie on the road
and opened fire on him with an automatic pistol. After an exchange of shots,
the Auxiliary was killed.”
In his BMH statement
(available here: http://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1266.pdf ) Hugh Brady says “In April, 1921, a Black and
Tan was shot dead near the railway station in Ballinamore. This man was in the
habit of going alone to the station to meet a girl, who was a Protestant, and
so was easily got. I was with eight or nine members of the Edentenny Company,
guarding the southern end of the town. We heard the shots from the railway
station, but none of the garrison made any attempt to come out of barracks or
to send up distress signals. It was hoped that on hearing the shooting at the
station which they must have heard, they would come out of the barracks and
that we could have a crack at them as they merged. But it was no good; they did
not move or send up any distress signals. Strange also was the fact that they
did not carry out any reprisals for this shooting.”
From the above, it can be
said that Charles McGoohan shot Constable Jones. However, at least two questions arise
from the above. One, who was the
girl with Constable Jones and was she working with the IRA to lure Constable
Jones into a trap? Two, if she was
not, how did the IRA know enough about their meeting to know where and when
they would meet and had this information/intelligence in sufficient time to
organise an ambush of the RIC? The
IRA obviously hoped that, on hearing the shooting, the RIC would leave their
barracks to investigate and this would afford the IRA the opportunity to
“have a crack at them”.
Reporting on the shooting of
Constable Jones, the Freeman’s
Journal on the April 18th said “Constable Jones, R.I.C., an
Englishman, was shot near Ballinamore Railway Station, Co. Leitrim, on Friday night
while accompanying a lady friend, Miss Sadlier, of the local post office, to
her home. He returned fire but was
shot through the heart and Miss Sadlier was dangerously wounded. When news reached the barracks some
constables were engaged in loading rifles one of which went off and seriously
wounded Constable Muffin [Mugan]”.
According to her birth
certificate (available here: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1904/01837/1717088.pdf ) Miss Sadlier’s first names were Maggie Jane.
She was born in November 1903 so seventeen years old in April 1921. The 1911 census for the Sadlier
family (available here: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Leitrim/Garadice/Lahard/646320/ ) has her aged seven and living in Number 5, Lahard,
Garadice, Co Leitrim with her parents, two sisters, one brother and
grandmother. (Lahard is just
outside Ballinamore.) The family were Church of Ireland.
More information on the
shooting of Constable Jones emerges from the Military Court of Inquiry which
was held on April 16th in Ballinamore. (Military Courts of
Inquiry had been held in Ireland since September 1920 instead of the normal
coroner’s inquests – See Aug-02-20/2.) Proceedings of the Military Inquiry into the death of
Constable Jones is available from UK National Archives, Easter Rising and
Ireland under Martial Law, WO 35/162.
Head Constable D. Black, RIC
Barracks Ballinamore, gave evidence to the Military Inquiry as follows: “about
21.45 on 15th April 1921, Margaret Sadlier called at the Barracks
& reported to me that Constable Jones of the R.I.C. stationed at
Ballinamore was lying wounded near the Railway Station & that she herself
was wounded in the hinch [newspapers
report thigh]. In company with a number of Police I visited the scene of the
tragedy. I found that Constable Jones was lying on the footpath on his back
with his feet to the wall & his head on the kerb. He was delirious &
when asked what was wrong, he kept saying “I am all right, there is
nothing wrong with me”. I produce revolver which I found lying by his
side – It was six chambers and his own property. There were 3 expended
and 3 live rounds in the cylinder – I placed him on a farming cart &
had him conveyed to the Barracks. He appeared dead on arrival. A chemist was
procured to render first aid as no doctor was available. Dr Redahan of Mohill
– he examined the body of Constable Jones & pronounced life extinct.”
Dr
Redahan gave evidence that he viewed Constable Jones’s body at 5.00am on
April 16th and determined that death was due to a gunshot wound ‘through
his heart or the severing of the aortic artery’.
Maggie
Jane (referred to as Margaret or Marguerete in the proceedings) Sadlier also
gave evidence. However, her
evidence was somewhat confusing.
She said that she and Constable Jones met by appointment at the Railway
Station at about 21.10 hours. They walked
as far as the Creamery, about half a mile away, then returned to the Railway
station and stayed there talking. She heard footsteps and Constable Jones asked
her who was there and she replied that it was somebody on his way into town.
“Then about twenty yards from us,
the man stopped & fired three shots – one of the shots struck me in
the foot, the second in the Hinching [reported in newspapers as thigh]
& the third I am unable to say where
it went to – I dropped on the road & heard a considerable amount of
firing, presumably between Constable Jones & his assassin. [Note: In his evidence, Head Constable Black
referred to three shots had been fired from Constable Jones’s gun]. Immediately the firing ceased, Constable
Jones came running up to me
& said “I have shot him”. Constable Jones never said anything concerning himself. I then bade him “Goodnight”
& proceeded to the station in order to get on to my own road home but found
the station gate locked. I then returned & heard moans & coughing a few
yards down the road. I found Constable Jones lying partly on the footpath &
road – I lifted his head & he opened his eyes & closed them, but
did not move. I guessed that he had been wounded & informed the police at
once. After I had done this, I walked home with difficulty, 2 more shots being
fired at me from behind a hedge while on my way. These did not take effect.”
Question by the Court: When you said “Goodnight” to Constable
Jones, did he appear as if he had been shot?
Answer: No – He seemed quite natural in his manner
Question by the Court: Did you hear any shots from the time you said
“Goodnight” to Constable Jones until the time you found him lying
on the road & pavement?
Answer: No – I heard no shots
Question by the Court: How long did it take you to walk up to the station
gate & return to the spot where you found Constable Jones?
Answer: About three Minutes
As was customary, a copy of
the proceedings of the Military Court of Inquiry was sent to GHQ in Dublin of
the Irish Command of the British Army.
A copy was also sent to the O/C of the 13th Brigade based in
Athlone on April 24th.
The 13th Brigade was one of the three brigades of the British
Army’s 5th Division in Ireland. The 5th Division basically
had responsibility for all of Connaught and Leinster except Dublin and Meath
– See Townshend (1975), pg 144. The 13th Brigade was made up
of three battalions – one of which had its battalion HQ in Boyle, Co.
Roscommon. It was officers from
this battalion who undertook the Military Court of Inquiry.
The Commander of the 13th
Brigade was not satisfied with a number of aspects of the conduct of the
Inquiry. In a letter dated April 26th
1921 to Officer Commanding in Boyle, on behalf of the Brigade Commander, a
Staff Captain outlines a number of issues with the proceedings. The two most important are, one, “The
medical evidence is unsatisfactory. Dr. Redahan should have been asked whether
the wound he found would cause immediate death or whether Jones could have
‘run up’ to Margaret Sadler, talked to her and then have walked
away after being wounded, without apparently [her] noticing the wound” and, two, “Sadler’s story
reads badly. Does she mean that after she was twice wounded, Jones simply left
her and walked off?”.
With regards the first issue,
Dr Redahan was asked to respond. He
replied on May 5th 1921 as follows: “With reference to
question whether wound found would cause immediate death or whether Constable
Jones could have run up to the girl Margaret Sadlier talked to her and then
walked away. I consider this possible and walked away – but the matter
could not be fairly stated without post mortem.”
With regards Ms Sadlier’s evidence, the
officer who was the President of the Inquiry responded, also on May 5th,
as follows: “As regards the point it was difficult to get a coherent
reply due to the excitement of Sadlier. It is understood she left him as her
home was in the opposite direction to that of the Police Barracks and she for
private reasons also decided to go home alone & she did not consider her
wounds bad enough at the time to over rule these points.”
With
regards Sadlier’s evidence, it is not difficult to see why Brigade HQ was
not satisfied with her evidence. She would seem to be saying that, after the
firing stopped, Constable Jones was uninjured (he apparently came running up to
her and said nothing considering himself) and, even though she was shot twice,
Constable Jones let her go home on her own. As evidenced by Dr. Redahan, he had been
shot through the heart. Would Ms Sadlier not have noticed a wound on his chest? Also, she said that, when she came back
from the gates of the railway station, without any more shots being fired,
Constable Jones was lying on the road and she “guessed” that he was
injured. How could this have happened when no more shots were fired? In
addition, even though wounded herself, she then went to the RIC Barracks to
report on Constable Jones. Despite
the improbability of her evidence, it would seem that nobody went back to
Sadlier to question her further.
(Some time after the shooting of Constable Jones, it would seem that
Sadlier moved to Mullingar. She emigrated to the United States in 1926.)
So
was Maggie Jane Sadlier working with the IRA? The evidence does not conclusively
answer this question but it would seem to be highly unlikely given that none of
the three IRA men who gave statements to the BMH indicated that she was aligned
with them. In addition, there is her age and religious background –
neither of which makes her a likely accomplice of the local IRA. (As Peter Hart said in his essay on the
Social Structure of the IRA: “Republican women were numerous; Protestant
republicans of either sex were very rare” (Hart (2003), pg 122)). Her improbable evidence to the Military
Court of Inquiry is likely to have other reasons – not least of which were
shock and trauma. (The Military
Court of Inquiry was held on April 16th i.e. very soon after the shooting of
Constable Jones. No time of day was
given for the start of the court but, given that Constable Jones was shot
around 9.30pm on the 15th April, the Court of Inquiry would have
started within hours of the shooting.
On top of the very short time given to Sadlier to recover from her
ordeal, she was also suffering from two wounds)
So,
if the information did not come from Sadlier, how did the IRA find out that
Constable Jones had arranged to meet Sadlier on the evening of the
shooting? The three IRA men who
gave statements to the BMH did not address this issue. The IRA could have found out from one of
Sadlier’s colleagues in the Post Office or they could have been spotted
meeting on Friday evenings on previous occasions. (Constable Jones had been in
Ballinamore since the previous November.)
However, it should be pointed out that this is speculation.
Nevertheless, there is an interesting comment in another BMH statement which
hints at another possible source.
Charles Pinkman was Intelligence Office (I/O) of the South Leitrim
Brigade of the IRA. It is not clear
from his BMH statement (available here: www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1263.pdf ) if he was I/O at the
time of the shooting of Constable Jones but, when talking about where he got
his information on Crown Forces, he said the following: “I also had a few contacts in the
R.I.C. - one in Mohill, one in Ballinamore and one in
Carrick-on-Shannon.” Could
the information on Constable Jones’ assignation with Ms Sadlier have come
from inside the RIC barracks in Ballinamore?
Who Shot Constable Mugan?
As
noted above, according to Constable Mugan’s service record he died on the April 18th
1921 from "bullet wounds accidental discharge of comrade's
rifle". A number of newspapers
at the time also gave this as cause of death. For example, in Constable Mugan’s
obituary in the Connaught Telegraph
on the April 30th, it says that he was “accidently shot in the
leg by the discharge of a comrade’s rifle”. However, according to the civil record,
Constable Mugan died on April 17th 1921 in King George V Hospital in Dublin
with the stated cause of death being “Shock and haemorrhage following
gunshot wounds. Manslaughter.” So was it an accident or was it
manslaughter?
The
proceedings of the Military Court of Inquiry into Constable Mugan’s death
give considerable insight into who shot Mugan and how he was shot. (Proceedings
of the Military Inquiry available from UK National Archives, Easter Rising and
Ireland under Martial Law, WO 35/155B/22.) The
Military Court of Inquiry opened on April 19th in King George V
Hospital in Dublin.
The
first witness was Constable Mugan’s father and he identified the
body. The second witness was a
member of the RAMC who said that he had seen Constable Mugan on the evening of
April 16th and that he had a bad gunshot fracture of the left
thigh. He died early the following
morning with the cause of death being shock and haemorrhage resulting from the
gunshot wound.
The
Inquiry recessed until April 26th in the RIC Depot in Dublin. The
third witness was Sergeant Henry Carey of the RIC Barracks in Ballinamore. He said that in the early morning of
April 16th, around 1.40am in the Ballinamore Barracks, he was
informed that Constable A. D. Young was threatening to kill someone. He said he ordered Constable Young to
hand over his rifle but Constable Young refused to do so. Sergeant Carey said that he caught the
top of his rifle and put his hand on Constable Young’s shoulder. He continued that Constable Mullin then
came to his assistance and, in the scuffle, the rifle went off hitting
Constable Mugan in the thigh and Constable Young in the leg. He went on to say that Constable Young
was best friends with Constable Jones (who had been killed the previous evening
and whose body was lying in the next room). He finished by saying that
Constable Young probably had drink taken.
The
fourth witness was Constable M. Mullin.
He told the court of inquiry that, he was in the hallway of the Barracks
in Ballinamore around 1.40am of April 16th, when he heard the
scuffle in the Mess room. He went
in and saw Sergeant Carey trying to disarm Constable Young so he went to
Sergeant Carey’s assistance.
He took hold of the rifle and, as he did this, it suddenly went off
wounding Constable Mugan and Constable Young. Constable Mullin said that he had not
seen Constable Mugan when he entered the Mess room but “saw him lying
wounded directly after the shot went off”. He finished by saying that Constable
Young probably had drink taken.
The
fifth witness was Constable Bernard Mulloy. He said that he was sitting in the Mess
room in Ballinamore Barracks around 1.40am on April 16th when
Constable Young and a number of other men entered. He said that Constable Young appeared to
be very excited and, for this reason, Sergeant Carey “was getting him out
of the way. Const. Mullin went to
Sergt. Carey’s assistance to take the rifle away from Const. Young. There was a scuffle and the rifle went
off injuring Const. Young and Const. Mugan.” Constable Mulloy added “There were
two Civilian prisoners locked up in the cells. One of them had been arrested on
suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Const. Jones” the previous
evening. He finished by saying that
Constable Young probably had drink taken.
The
sixth and final witness was Constable A. D. Young. He said that about 1.30am on April
16th, he returned to the Barracks from patrol duty and went to the
mess room to get a cup of cocoa.
“I was talking to some other Constables there when the accident
happened. As to how it happened I cannot say … I don’t remember
having refused to give up my rifle to Sergt. Carey. Then I fell on the ground
wounded … I was quite sober at the time, but very excited. I had only
taken two whiskies from the time of coming off patrol at some time between 0030
hours and 0100 hours … The reason I was excited was owing to the fact
that my good friend Constable Jones had been murdered a few hours previously
… I joined the R.I.C. the same day as Const. Jones and we came over from
England together.”
Having heard all the evidence, the Court said
that it was of the opinion that the struggle [in the Mess room] was contingent
upon Constable Young refusing to give up his rifle when ordered by his superior
officer to do so. The Court was
further of the opinion that Constable Young was guilty of manslaughter.
It is clear from the above that the answer to
the question of who shot Constable Mugan is Constable Young. A question remains as to how accidental
was this shooting. In his evidence to the Court of Inquiry into the death of
Constable Mugan, Sergeant Carey says that the reason that he was attempting to
disarm Constable Young was that he was threatening to shoot someone. Who was he trying to shoot? The most obvious person would seem to be
one of the two civilians locked up in the cells mentioned by Constable Mulloy
who “had been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of
Const. Jones”. However,
Constable Mulloy mentions this person almost in passing and does not say
directly that this civilian was the person who Constable Young was threatening
to shoot. Similarly, Sergeant Carey simply says that he was informed that
Constable Young was threatening to kill someone but does not identify who he was
threatening to shoot.
Also, the timeline gives rise to
questions. Sergeant Carey (in his
evidence to the Military Court of Inquiry into the death of Constable Jones)
says that Sadlier came to the barracks at 9.45pm. It would seem likely from Hugh Brady’s
BMH statement that the RIC did not respond immediately to hearing the shooting
or Sadlier’s information (perhaps suspecting – correctly? – a
trap). When they did
come out of the barracks, they would have had to go to Constable Jones, check
on him and arrange for him to be brought back to the barracks on a farming
cart. This would have taken up to
an hour? They then would have had
to arrest the civilian who, according to Constable Mulloy, “had been
arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the murder of Const.
Jones”. This person would
have had to be arrested, brought back to the barracks, probably interrogated
and then placed in the cells. This
would all have to be done by 1.40am when Sergeant Carey, Constable Mullin and
Constable Mulloy all said that Constable Young was being disarmed. It is a possible timeline but it is very
tight.
Rather than threatening to kill a prisoner
locked up in the cells, could Constable Young have been threatening to shoot a
fellow RIC constable who he knew or suspected to be giving information to the
IRA and, specifically, information on Constable Jones’ movements? Again,
this is speculation but it is also a possibility.
It is also worth noting that, in his BMH
statement, Hugh Brady says that Constable Mugan was shot by Black
and Tans while preventing them from leaving
the barracks to carry out reprisals for the killing of Constable Jones. This is possible and was believed in the
area. In fact, Ernie O’Malley
said that Mugan’s death “saved a few houses and maybe some lives
that night” (O’Malley (2017), pg 167). However, neither Brady or O’Malley
were inside Ballinamore RIC barracks that night and, those who were, gave an
alternative version of events at the military court of inquiry. A question remains on how reliable was
that testimony?
Aftermath of the Killing of Constable Mugan
It would have been expected that, in the
light of the findings of the Court of Inquiry, Constable Young would be charged
with manslaughter before a court of law.
However, this did not happen.
As was normal procedure, the British
Army’s Dublin District commander sent a copy of the proceedings of the
Court of Inquiry into the death of Constable Mugan to the GHQ of the British
Army in Ireland. He did this on May
2nd. He also told GHQ
that “One copy has been sent to Chief of Police [Major General Henry
Tudor] for information and necessary action.” On May 7th, GHQ came back to
Dublin District asking where this case now stands? On May 9th, Dublin District
responded to GHQ saying “I presume that the Chief of Police will in due
course submit an application for trial to the Under Secretary [of State in
Dublin Castle who was John Anderson]”. GHQ also sent a copy of the proceedings
directly to the Under Secretary on May 7th. Seemingly, having received no reply, GHQ
wrote to the Under Secretary again on May 10th asking “Will
you kindly inform me how this case stands, in regard to Const. A. D. Young who
was found guilty of manslaughter”.
A reply does not come back from the Under
Secretary’s office until July 5th (nearly eight weeks later)
saying “this case has been submitted to the Law Officers, who are of the
opinion that it is not one which the constable should be tried for
manslaughter”. This
response elicits a long letter on July 9th from the
Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in Ireland (General Neville Macready)
directly to the Chief Secretary for Ireland (Hamar Greenwood). [Macready would have been directly
involved, at this time, in the negotiations which led to the Truce. He would have met with Sinn Féin
leaders on July 8th. At
this meeting, it was agreed that the Truce would start on July 11th.]
In his letter to the Chief Secretary, General Macready details the case against
Constable Young, says that he agrees with the finding of the court and finishes
his letter by saying “I am of opinion that in the interest of discipline
in the R.I.C, Constable Young should be tried for manslaughter. If this man had been a soldier he would
undoubtedly be tried for manslaughter”.
A response is sent to General Macready from
the Under Secretary, John Anderson, on July 12th saying that
“the decision that Constable Young should not be tried for manslaughter
was made on the advice and by direction of the Attorney General for
Ireland. It is not proposed to
re-open the matter. It will be treated as one of discipline.” There was no further
correspondence in the archive on the matter.
It should be noted that Constable
Young’s RIC service record makes no reference to any disciplinary
procedure. It simply notes that,
after joining the RIC on November 9th 1920, he was posted to Leitrim
on November 28th 1920 and, finally, he was posted to Limerick on September 1st
1921 and was disbanded on February 16th 1922.
Context
Macready’s letter of July 9th
was part of an on-going argument that he was having with Tudor since the
previous August about discipline in the RIC. On August 17th 1920, Macready
had issued a Special General Order warning that the severest disciplinary
measures would be taken against any of his soldiers engaging in looting or
retaliation. Tudor was supposed to
issue a similar forceful order to the RIC but repeatedly stalled. Eventually,
in November, he issued a much diluted memorandum to the RIC for
‘information and guidance’ on discipline (Full text of memorandum
is given in Abbott (2019), pg 226.)
By this time, reprisals by the RIC were common place throughout
Ireland. These reprisals are
described by Charles Townshend as “an explosion of police
counter-terrorism” (Townshend (1975), pgs 112-113). Macready’s attempts to curb
‘unofficial’ reprisals by the RIC met with the little success.
Acknowledgement: I would like state my appreciation to Dr
Kay MacKeogh for her great assistance in researching this article.