The Tourmakeady Ambush

 

Introduction from Chronology

The flying column of the South Mayo Brigade of the IRA, led by Brigade O/C Tom Maguire, ambushes an RIC supply patrol in the village of Tourmakeady - four RIC men (Constable Christopher O'Regan, Constable Herbert Oates or Oakes, Constable William Power, Sergeant John Regan) are killed. It is claimed that O’Regan was killed while lying injured.  

In a subsequent wide-scale search by the British Army, Tom Maguire is wounded and his Brigade adjutant, Michael O'Brien (from Neale) is killed.  In addition, an IRA scout (Padraic Feeney) was captured and killed ‘trying to escape’.  Two other IRA men – Patrick King and Philip Hallinan – were captured.

 

More Detail

Maguire (who was also brigade O/C) broke his men into three sections and placed them around the village.  The first section was commanded by Maguire (or Tom Lally); the second under Michael O'Brien and the third under Paddy May.  He had about 60 men (with about 25 of them being Column men) armed with 6 to 8 rifles and a number of shotguns. While Maguire was placing his men around the village, the postmistress, Mrs. Billington, asked who he was.  A Volunteer told her that he was Michael Collins.  She asked “Do you think that Mr. Collins would like a cup of tea?”.  Apparently, ‘Mr. Collins’, did have a cup of tea.   The villagers were rounded up and taken to an unoccupied house except for William Billington, the post master, who was kept under guard in the post office to answer the phone.  

The supply patrol consisted of a Ford car and a Crossley tender.  The four men in the car were killed but the men in the Crossley dismount and took up a position in Hewitt’s Hotel and fire rifle grenades at their attackers.  Maguire ordered his men to withdraw up the Party Mountains but, in their haste to withdraw, they forgot to cut the telephone wires.  The RIC call for re-enforcements and soon a large British Army force arrive and follow the retreating flying column up the Party mountains. 

In this pursuit Maguire is wounded and O’Brien is killed by Lieutenant Geoffrey Ibberson of the Border Regiment.  The BA converge on the column from different directions and they have to take up a defense position until nightfall.  When darkness came the column got away to safety bringing their wounded commander.  However, they left behind their weapons which were captured in a Crown Force follow-up search.  Also, as usual, there were reprisals with a number of houses – including those of Tom Maguire, Michael O’Brien, Tom O’Toole and Patrick Feeney – being burnt down or wrecked as well as the local Co-op.  When RIC Sgt Goulden was ordered to burn O’Brien’s mother’s home, he refused and resigned.

Constable Oakes was from London with three months’ police service.  The other three RIC men killed were Irish.

 

Michael Kilroy had got word that the South Mayo men were surrounded and brought his West Mayo column towards Tourmakeady but, by the time they arrived, the South Mayo Column had already escaped the encircling troops. 

Captain Donal Buckley has published a detailed account of this ambush in The Battle of Tourmakeady – Fact or Fiction – A Study of an IRA Ambush and its Aftermath (2008).

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