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).