April
1921
|
cApr-01-21/1 |
Attack by Kerry No.1 flying column of the IRA (assisted by men from 6th Battalion, Kerry No. 2), led by Tadhg Brosnan of Castlegregory and Tom O’Connor of Milltown, on British soldiers at Glenbeigh railway station. No casualties on either side but, according to
Horgan, the column obtain a number weapons (some dropped by fleeing
soldiers). However, according to the report of the County
Inspector for the RIC the “rebels numbered from 25 to 35” and “a Lewis gun
and five rifles were captured by the military”.
|
Horgan (2018), pgs 83-85; O’Shea (2021), pg 69 |
|
Apr-01-21/2 |
Oriel Lee, a court clerk, is shot dead in his home at Killagowan, Oulart, Co. Wexford by members of E Company, 4th Battalion, South Wexford Brigade, IRA. It would appear to a robbery which turned
fatal. (Lee had been collecting dog
licence fees.) |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 368 |
|
Apr-01-21/3 |
RIC Constable Patrick Neary is wounded when a colleague’s gun goes off accidently. He dies on April 11th in King George V Hospital. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 381 |
|
Apr-01-21/4 |
The IRA attempt to kill ex-British Army
soldier, Thomas Goulding in Cork City.
He escapes by jumping into the River Lee and swimming to the other
side. See Jun-26-21/3. |
Borgonovo (2007), pg 67 |
|
Apr-01-21/5 |
Matthew Kane, who was a Lieutenant in
Tullamore Company, Offaly No. 1 Brigade, IRA, is wounded during an attack on
the Tullamore RIC barracks. His body
is found the following morning at Hophill,
Tullamore. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
368-369 |
|
Apr-01-21/6 |
Following the killing of Constable Stephens in
Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo (see Mar-29-21/2), armed and
masked men enter the house of IRA Volunteer Michael Coen at Lecarrow outside Ballyhaunis. He is dragged outside and badly beaten before
having his throat cut with a bayonet.
His body is left some 120 yards from his house where his father finds
it the following morning. |
Price (2012), pg
126; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 369 |
|
Apr-01-21/7 |
Sean Corcoran, O/C East Mayo Brigade IRA, is
killed near Crossard, six miles outside Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo.
He was walking with Maurice Mullins, Adj East Mayo Brigade, when they run into a joint
RIC/British Army patrol which was searching a house. Corcoran is shot by Constable Bernard
Fitzpatrick and Mullins is captured. Fitzpatrick is awarded the Constabulary
Medal and DI Wilkins, of Claremorris, received a Favourable Record Citation. |
Hopkinson (2002), pg 126; Price (2012), pgs 127-128; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 368 |
|
Apr-01-21/8 |
IRA man, James Foley, who was V/C of the 3rd (Ovens) Battalion, Cork No. 1 Brigade, IRA, is accidently shot dead when he and his comrades were in a farmhouse near Ballincollig, Co. Cork. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
369 |
|
Apr-01-21/9 |
Peadar O’Donnell, O/C 2nd Donegal Brigade (which included east Donegal, Inishowen and Derry City) arrives in Derry City and mobilises the IRA. One group is sent to attack the RIC Barracks
on Lecky Rd. and this results in the death of an RIC man (Constable Michael
Kenny). Another group is sent to the attack the Strand
Road RIC Barracks. A third group
(including Séamus McCann) is sent out in pairs – one of these pairs spot an
RIC sergeant (Sgt John Higgins) on the Creggan
Rd. and he is shot dead by McCann. Four members of the RIC are also
wounded and two civilians are wounded in cross fire. (A British Army private, James Whyte or Wright, who was manning a post on Shipquay St. is killed on April 2nd by a fellow BA soldier who accidentally discharged his rifle.) O’Donnell and McCann leave Derry City the next night and, despite the fact there was little by way of retaliation from the RIC, there was a lot of bad feeling in the Derry City IRA because of O’Donnell actions which is made known to IRA GHQ. Some time later, the IRA in Derry city was made an independent battalion and no longer part of the 2nd Donegal Brigade. |
Abbott (2000), pgs 218-219; Gallagher (2003), pg 36; Lynch (2006), pgs 56-57; Grant (2018), pgs 113-115; Lawlor (2011), pg 146; Ó Duibhir (2009), pgs 238-239; Ozseker (2019), pgs 157-158; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 368, 369 & 374-375; Parksinson (2020), pgs 91-92 |
|
Apr-01-21/10 |
A strike by miners in Britain begins. However, on April 15th – ‘Black Friday’ – expected support from the railwaymen and other transport workers does not materialise and, while the miners’ strike struggles on, they return to work on July 1st - defeated and on the owners’ terms. The onset of the strike caused considerable alarm in the British establishment. The British cabinet, on April 4th, sanctioned (despite political objections) the withdrawal of British forces from Upper Silesia (where they were protecting a League of Nations plebiscite) because “the risk at home from Sinn Feiners, Communists and other dangerous elements, was sufficiently great to necessitate their return”. CIGS Wilson also brought troops back from
Malta and Egypt as well as mobilising the Reserves. A special paramilitary ‘Defence Force’ was
also raised which eventually had about 80,000 men. It was initially decided
not to remove troops from Ireland but subsequently on April 8th and 9th, it
was decided to withdraw four battalions.
This lessened the forces available to Macready. |
Jeffrey (2006), pgs 246-247 & 271; Roskill (1972), pgs 226-227; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 223 |
|
Apr-01-21/11 |
Edward Talbot (Viscount Fitzalan) is appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to replace John French. Fitzalan was the first Catholic Lord
Lieutenant since the reign of James II. (O’Farrell says April 1st; Macardle says it was May 19th and Curran says mid-April. Townshend says that French left at the end of April and it was very much against his will – see Apr-29-21/2.) For the political context of this appointment,
see Mar-17-21/2 above. |
O’Farrell (1997), pg 33; Macardle (1999), pg 452; Curran J M (1980), pg 52; Townshend (1975), pg 173; Fanning (2013), pg 1249 |
|
Apr-01-21/12 |
Hugh Duffy (or Corry), an ex-BA soldier from Rockberry, Co. Monaghan, is found dead at Moylemuck, Lisnalong near Ballybay with a notice saying “Spies and Informers
Beware”. He may have been a B Special. |
Dooley (2017a), pg
91; Lawlor (2011), pg 126; O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
365-366 |
|
Apr-01-21/13 |
In more official BA reprisals, the homes of
Daniel Corkery and C. Kelleher (both IRA officers) are destroyed in Macroom, Co. Cork. |
Sheehan (2017), pg 104 |
|
Apr-01-21/14 |
The main office of Collins’s Dáil Department
of Finance at 5 Mespil Rd is raided by British
forces. The owner of the house, Patricia Hoey, feigns
her mother’s illness to get a message to warn Collins (and Tom Cullen and
Alice Lyons) who were on their way to the house. However, a large haul of Collins’s papers is captured. Collins was later to say “The raid was much worse than I thought. Practically the entire record is gone.” (O’Farrell says June
1st.) |
O'Farrell P (1997), pg 45; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 223-224 |
|
Major
General Tudor (Chief of Police) inspects the RIC garrison and D Company of
the Auxiliaries in Galway City. According to the Connaught Tribune, in his address to the RIC, he says “In the determined stand that you have taken in lifting the terror of the reign of the gunman, I assure you that you have my fullest support”. The Tribune continues “Having inspected the Auxiliaries, he spoke of the pleasure it gave him to hear from many sources of the excellent discipline of D Company. He congratulated them upon the gallantry a small party of them when ambushed at Kilroe on January 18 last”. There was an ambush on the Auxiliaries at Kilroe on January 18th – see Jan-18 to 22-21/1. No member of the Auxiliaries was killed in this ambush but, in its aftermath, the RIC killed four unarmed civilians. |
Leeson
(2012), pg 59 & 66; O’Halpin
(2012), pg 152 |
|
|
Apr-02-21/2 |
In an interview with Carl Ackerman of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, Collins says “It is only a question of time until we shall have Ireland cleared of Crown Forces”. He dismissed compromise and said that IRA morale and efficiency were improving. Ackerman also interviewed Griffith (in jail)
and de Valera. When he asked Griffith
what could be done to bring about peace, Griffith said that a conference
which Llyod George had the power to call was the appropriate place for such
discussions. He asked de Valera if he would meet with James
Craig, de Valera said that he was prepared to meet any Irishman and that,
with England gone, internal differences could be resolved amicably. Ackerman was in contact with Basil Thomson of Scotland Yard. |
Macardle (1999), pg 448; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 227 |
|
Apr-02-21/3 |
A civilian, Christopher Reynolds, is arrested
by Auxiliaries in Rathfarnham in Dublin.
He is placed in a Crossley beside another prisoner who was an IRA man
called Bernard Nolan. They are driven to Rathmines and the tender
comes to a stop opposite Grove Park.
(Molyneux and Kelly say outside Rathmines Church.) The two prisoners
are shot and feign death. Assuming they are dead, the Auxiliaries bring
them to King George V hospital and their ‘bodies’ are placed in the hospital
guard room under British Army soldiers.
The two men continue to feign death until the Auxiliaries depart. They
then start crying out in pain. The Auxiliaries return to try to finish them
off but the two men are saved by the British Army soldiers. The soldiers send
for Fr Francis Farrington from Aughrim St. Church.
Reynolds makes a statement to Fr Farrington that he was shot in the back in
cold blood. He dies later. Nolan
survives. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
369; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 224-226 |
|
Apr-02-21/4 |
Thomas Morris (57) from Loughcurra
or Crushoa, Kinvara, Co, Galway is taken from his
sister’s house by the IRA and shot dead.
He was an ex-British soldier and ex-RIC officer. A notice is placed on his body saying that he
was a convicted spy. A witness at the subsequent Military Court of Inquiry
indicated that he may have been shot in relation to the burning of Bridget
Quinn’s home – see Feb-13-21/2.
Michael Hynes indicated that he may have given information which led
to a raid on a house where IRA men were staying. See Apr-06-21/2. |
McNamara (2018), pg
154; Henry (2012), pgs 204-205; Abbott (2019), pg 377; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 370 |
|
Apr-02-21/5 |
IRA Volunteer, John Morgan, is shot dead in a
gunfight with British police outside the Erskine Street Irish Club in Hulme,
Manchester in England. Another IRA man
and three policemen are wounded. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
370 |
|
Apr-02-21/6 |
A sailor with the Royal Navy, James Leach,
commits suicide in Waterford City. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
555 |
|
Apr-03-21/1 |
An RIC man (Constable James Duffy) and a
civilian (Henry James) are attacked at Killeshin or
the Mall, two miles from Carlow Town resulting in the death of the RIC man
and the wounding of the civilian. The attack was carried out by Patrick Connors, Patrick Hogan and John Brennan of the Carlow Brigade, IRA. |
Abbott (2000), pg 219; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 370-371 |
|
Apr-03-21/2 |
The Dáil Ministry of Home Affairs offices at 11 Molesworth St, Dublin are discovered by British forces and several tons of documents seized. |
Townshend (1975), pg 175 |
|
Apr-03-21/3 |
The Brigade Flying Column of the 3rd Cork Brigade IRA is broken up into a number of battalion columns. |
Deasy (1973), pg 262 |
|
Apr-03-21/4 |
Vincent Fovargue,
who had lived on Dunville Avenue in Ranelagh, in Dublin is killed by the IRA
at Ashford Manor Golf Course in Middlesex in English. A note found nearby read “Let spies and
traitors beware – IRA”. It would seem that Fovargue (who had been the I/O of the 4th Battalion, Dublin Brigade, IRA) was either a plant or had been turned by Ormonde Winter, Chief of RIC intelligence. The official A Report of the Intelligence Branch of the Chief of Police, Dublin Castle from May 1920 to July 1921 (written by Winter) states that he was permitted to escape after volunteering information but “was unfortunate in incurring the suspicions of the I.R.A.”.
|
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 371; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 164-165; Hart (2002), pg 82 |
|
Apr-03-21/5 |
George Riddell writes in his diary that Llyod
George had stated that he had “received messages from the Nationalists
telling us to go on – that we shall get the revolutionaries under before
long”. Two days later, Riddell writes about Llyod
George talking about negotiations with the Irish saying “The question is
whether I can see Michael Collins. The question is whether the British people
would be willing for me to negotiate with the head of a band of murderers. It
would be rather like the Prime Minister of the day seeing Kelly who was
engaged in the Phoenix Park murders.” Within eight months, Llyod George would be
sitting down to negotiate with Michael Collins. |
Boyce (1972), pg 131 |
|
Apr-03-21/6 |
A number of Protestant church leaders in
England write to Llyod George saying that his government’s Irish policy was
exposing Britain to “hostile criticism of even the most friendly of the
Nations of the World” and asked him to take the initiative in bringing about
a truce. See also April-06-21/7. |
Macardle (1999), pg 444 |
|
Apr-03-21/7 |
James Johnston, a commandant in the East Down
Battalion, IRA accidently shot himself near Castlewellan, Co. Down when
retrieving a rifle from an arms dump. Unusually, Johnston came from a Church
of Ireland background. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
371-372 |
|
Apr-04-21/1 |
The court martial of Tom Traynor starts in City Hall, Dublin. He had been arrested in possession of a pistol after shooting took place in Brunswick St on March 14th – see Mar-14-21/2. He is charged with the murder of Temporary
Cadet Farrell who had been killed during the shooting. He is found guilty
despite it not being proved that Traynor killed Farrell or even that any
shots had been fired from the pistol he was carrying. Traynor claimed he had been given the pistol
to bring to 144 Brunswick St (HQ of 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade, IRA) and
arrived just as the Auxiliary patrol was pulling in to raid it. He is
sentenced to be hung on April 25th. (Note: According to Carey, O’Halpin & Ó Corráin and Molyneux & Kelly, the person Traynor is accused of murdering is called Temporary Cadet Francis Joseph Farrell (An Auxiliary) but in Abbott he is called (RIC) Constable James J O'Farrell.) See Apr-22-21/1. |
Carey (2001), pg 137-147; Abbott (2000), pg 208; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 230-231 |
|
Apr-04-21/2 |
Curfew in Dublin (see Mar-31-21/7) is eased by
the British to 10pm to 5am. See May-14-21/21. |
Sheehan (2007), pg 47 & 67 |
|
Apr-04-21/3 |
The IRA attempt to kill ex-British Army man,
James Flynn on Blarney St in Cork City.
He is wounded but survives. |
Borgonovo (2007), pg 67 |
|
Apr-04-21/4 |
The Cork Constitution reports that the home of prominent unionist Robert Hill had been burnt down in Blackrock outside Cork City. It was burnt by the IRA as Hill has reported
to the RIC the names of three IRA Volunteers who had solicited funds from
him. |
Borgonovo (2007), pg 93 |
|
Apr-04-21/5 |
During an attack by the IRA on a BA RASC
motorcycle driver on Dorset St in Dublin, a four-year-old child called John
Burke is wounded and dies later that day in the Mater Hospital. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
372 |
|
Apr-05 |
Eamonn de Valera gives an interview to the Illustrated News in which he says "One of our first government acts was to take over control of the voluntary armed forces of the nation. … The IRA is the national army of defence." |
O'Malley (2001), pg 98 |
|
Apr-05-21/1 |
A member of the BA’s Irish Guards, William
Kerr, falls over a turnstile on Blackhorse Avenue in Dublin and dies of head
injuries. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 372 |
|
Apr-05-21/2 |
The Northern Whig reports the Belfast Wholesalers, Merchants and Manufacturing Association as admitting that they have been “hit hard” by the Belfast Boycott. |
Parkinson (2004), pg 78 |
|
Apr-05-21/3 |
Edward Beirne of Scramogue,
Co. Roscommon is taken from his home and shot dead by the IRA as an alleged
spy. Beirne’s 13-year-old daughter said that her
father had been warned by the IRA to stop talking with the RIC. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
372; Burke (2021), pg 110 |
|
Apr-05-21/4 |
A botched IRA robbery in Belfast leads to the arrest of three IRA men. |
McDermott (2001), pg 74 |
|
Apr-05 to 07-21/1 |
After Eoin O’Duffy
from Monaghan had been ordered in March to take charge of the new 2nd
Northern Division IRA (encompassing brigades in Derry and Tyrone except Derry
City), on this night the IRA carries out a series of attacks in Co. Tyrone in
places such as Carrickmore, Mountfield, Pomeroy, Drumquin
and Dromore resulting in the wounding of a number of RIC constables but no
fatalities. McCluskey says that the
IRA seriously wounded Special Constables Fyffe and Torrent in Drumquin and Special Constable Hill in Dromore The USC carry out reprisals in Dromore in the
aftermath of these attacks. As well as
terrorising the inhabitants of the village, they shoot dead three Catholics:
John Devine, Charles Slevin and Daniel [O’]Doherty. (They may or may not have
been members of the IRA.) Three men
(identified by relatives of the dead men) were subsequently charged with
O’Doherty’s murder but acquitted. Lawlor says that, the day before these
killings, O’Doherty had shot dead an RIC Sergeant who, during a bout of
drunkenness or mental breakdown, had shot his sister in both legs. However, neither Abbott nor O’Halpin & Ó Corráin make
any mention of any RIC man being killed in Dromore around this time. O’Halpin & Ó Corráin do
mention that O’Doherty’s sister, Eileen, was shot in both legs in November
1921 by the USC while on Cumman na
MBan business.
McCluskey says that on November 21st 1920 “Sergeant
McGowan, who was in charge of the RIC barracks [in Dromore] appears to have
lost his nerve and indiscriminately shot a young girl called Eileen O’Doherty
in the legs and her brother Dan, an IRA Volunteer, in the face”. See May-15-21/7. |
McCluskey (2014), pgs 97-98; Lawlor (2011), pg 153; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 375-376 |
|
Apr-05 to 12-21/1 |
A major sweep is carried out by the British
Army in the Dungloe area of Co. Donegal but it
yields little by way of arrests. However, a number of IRA volunteers are
arrested around this time in the south of the county and in Inishowen. |
Ó Duibhir (2009), pgs 239-241 |
|
Apr-06-21/1 |
A five-man RIC cycle patrol from Maam, Co. Galway is attacked at Screebe
Church, near Oughterard resulting in the death of
one RIC man (Constable William Pearson from New Zealand). The attack was
carried out by the West Connemara Flying Colum under P.J. MacDonnel. After the ambush, Crown Forces burn five houses in the vicinity (including Patrick’s Pearse’s old holiday home). They also burn a local co-operative. |
Abbott (2000), pg 219; Abbott (2019), pg 278; McNamara (2018), pgs 127-128; Henry (2012), pg 206; Leeson (2012), pg 60 |
|
Apr-06-21/2 |
IRA Volunteer, Patrick Cloonan, from Maree,
Oranmore, Co. Galway is taken from his bed, brought to the sea shore and shot
dead. The RIC tried to pin the blame of fellow IRA
men saying that he was endeavouring to cut away from the movement. However, the BA’s Military Court of Inquiry
concluded that “this man probably not killed by SF”. This killing may have
been in retaliation for the killing of Thomas Morris – See Apr-02-21/4. (There is some doubt if Cloonan was a member
of the IRA. O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin do not designate him as an IRA man
but note that that he had taken part in the 1916 Rising. Henry says that he was a known member of
Sinn Féin. Lesson says that he was
second in command of the Maree Volunteers and McNamara says that he was a
Volunteer.) |
McNamara (2018), pg 150; Lesson (2012), pg 61; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 373; Henry (2012), pg 204 |
|
Apr-06-21/3 |
Members of the ASU for the 6th Battalion, Kerry No. 2 Brigade, IRA attack two BA soldiers near Arthur Vicars’s house at Kilmorna, Listowel, Co. Kerry. They wound both soldiers but other BA soldiers arrive and they shoot dead a member of the ASU called Michael Galvin. Horgan says that Galvin was shot the same day
that Vicars was killed - See Apr-14-21/2. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
373; Horgan (2018), pgs 128-128 |
|
Apr-06-21/4 |
IRA Volunteer Jackie Brett of the 7th (Callan) Battalion ASU, Kilkenny Brigade from Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary is accidently shot dead when staying with the Donovan family in Castlejohn near Windgap, Co. Kilkenny. (He had played for the Tipperary team which played Dublin on Bloody Sunday.) |
Walsh (2018), pg 85;
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 374 |
|
Apr-06-21/5 |
In a letter to The Times, a number of prominent leaders in the Protestant Churches in England, Scotland and Wales (including seven Anglican bishops and leaders in fourteen Nonconformist churches) state that “while not entitled to commit our respective churches” they condemn the “whole reprisals policy” in Ireland. They place the blame on the situation on the
British government’s failure to meet Irish demand and until such an effort
was made, they could not “acquiesce in any alternative course of
action”. Llyod George replies on April 19th – see Apr-19-21/1. |
Fanning (2013), pg 251; Boyce (1972), pgs 76-77 |
|
Apr-06-21/6 |
The IRA attack a lorry carrying BA soldiers on
Harcourt St in Dublin. This attack
goes badly wrong for the IRA and results in the deaths of two IRA men,
Terence Glynn and Daniel Carew, and one civilian, Michael Daly. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
373-374 & 377; O’Callaghan (2012), pgs 122-123;
O’Farrell (1997), pg 103 |
|
Apr-06-21/7 |
John O’Mahoney from Mary St, Tralee, Co. Kerry
is shot dead by IRA men from the ASU of the Tralee Battalion, Kerry No. 1 of
the IRA as an alleged spy. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
374 |
|
Apr-06-21/8 |
Thomas Beirne from Drumlish,
Co. Longford is shot dead by the IRA as an alleged spy. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
374; Coleman (2003), pgs 153-154 |
|
Apr-06 to 07-21/1 |
Castlerea
Killings Over these two days, there are six people
killed in the vicinity of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. Three civilians, two IRA men and one member
of the BA. |
O’Farrell (1997), pg 104 & 113; O’Callaghan (2012), pgs 83-85; Abbott (2019), pg 377; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 372-373 & 375 & 376-377
|
|
Apr-07-21/1 |
An eight-year old, John Goodard, is killed
when soldiers from the BA’s King’s Own Royal Regiment fire into his home at
Kearn’s Place, Kilmainham, Dublin.
They were firing at two men had stolen a bicycle outside the Royal
Hospital. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
376 |
|
Apr-07-21/2 |
Basil Thomson of Scotland Yard nudges Llyod
George towards negotiations with Sinn Féin saying that the IRA were far from
beaten. |
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg
228 |
|
Apr-07-21/3 |
Following the IRA attacks on Roslea (see Mar-22-21/3), a multi-denomination meeting is
held in Clones, Co. Monaghan which aims to defuse the situation. |
Dooley (2017a), pg
94 |
|
Apr-07-21/4 |
IRA man, James Duffy, who was a section leader
with the ASU of the West Mayo Brigade, IRA is accidently shot dead as the ASU
rested in Hasting’s house in Rockfield, Westport, Co. Mayo. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
377; Price (2012), pg 282 |
|
Apr-08-21/1 |
Two RIC men in a pony and trap are ambushed at
Mashanaglass, Co. Cork (between Macroom and
Carrigadrohid) resulting in the death of one
(Constable Frederick Lord). The ambush was carried out by men from the Canovee Company, 7th (Macroom) Battalion of the Cork No. 1 Brigade, IRA. Constable Lord was from London and had
six-and-a-half months’ service with the RIC. |
Abbott (2000), pg 219-220; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 377-378 |
|
Apr-08-21/2 |
A number of attacks on the RIC take place in
Limerick city. In one attack an RIC man is killed. His name was Constable Hubert Wiggins. In another attack, a civilian, Frank McMahon,
is killed and five more people are wounded (two civilians, two RIC men and
one IRA man). The attacks on the RIC were carried out by the 1st (Limerick City) Battalion of the Mid Limerick Brigade, IRA. |
Abbott (2000), pg 220; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 378-279 |
|
Apr-08-21/3 |
William Hoare, who was Captain of the Ballymacoda Company of the Cork No. 1 Brigade, IRA is
shot dead by the RIC at Ballymacoda, Youghal, Co. Cork ‘when attempting to escape’. He is said to have shot at the RIC men
chasing him. An automatic pistol and two revolvers were found on him. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
377; Cork
Fatality Register |
|
Apr-08-21/4 |
The BA’s Major Gerard Barry, commandant of the
Cork Military Barracks, is accidently shot dead by a sentry. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
377 |
|
Apr-08-21/5 |
John McNamee is taken from his home in Drumlish, Co. Longford and killed by the IRA as an
alleged informer. His body is thrown
in the River Shannon “with the object of saving his children from any
disgrace that might arise”. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
378 |
|
Apr-09-21/1 |
An ambush by the recently-formed flying column of the Carlow Brigade of the IRA results in the capture of its O/C. |
Hopkinson (2002), pg 145 |
|
Apr-09-21/1 |
Maurice Galvin, from Tallow, Co. Waterford,
dies in Ballykinlar Internment Camp from injuries
he sustained when hit by rivets thrown by loyalists (‘Belfast confetti’) when
being conveyed to Ballykinlar via Belfast docks. (O’Farrell says that a M. Glavin from Crampton
Buildings, Dublin died on this date but no other source corroborates this
death.) |
McCarthy (2015), pg
78; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 379; O’Farrell (1997), pg108 |
|
Apr-09-21/2 |
At a meeting of the brigade council of the 3rd Cork Brigade IRA held in Foley's, Mualnadruck near Newcestown. Liam Deasy is appointed Brigade O/C (in
succession to Charlie Hurley – See Mar-19-21/1) and Tadgh O'Sullivan (brother
of Gearoid) was appointed QM to replace Dick Barrett who had been captured on
March 22nd. Gibbs Ross was appointed Brigade Adjutant (he was
previously Adjutant of the Schull Battalion). There was also a detailed discussion of the issue of reprisals given the British implementation of its execution policy of IRA men captured under arms. |
Deasy (1973), pg 263 & 320 |
|
Apr-09-21/3 |
Ex-BA soldier, Denis ‘Din Din’
Donovan disappears from Cork City. His
body is found three days later seven miles outside the city. The IRA killed him as an alleged informer. The IRA believed that he gave information to
the RIC on the IRA men who killed RIC Sgt O’Donoghue – see Nov-17-20/3. From the detailed entry in the CFR, it
would seem that Donovan was an informer. Donovan may have been a member of the IRA or
the IRA Police. (Hart may have
misidentified Donovan and ‘Din Din’ O’Riordain.) |
Borgonovo (2007), pg 67; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 379; Hart (1998), pg 15; Cork Fatality Register |
|
Apr-09-21/4 |
A first Military Court of Inquiry concluded
that RIC Constable Albert Smith was accidentally shot dead in a tailor’s shop
in Lanesborough, Co. Longford. However, a second Military Court of Inquiry
concluded that it was homicide. |
Abbott (2019), pg
412; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 378 |
|
Apr-09-21/5 |
RC Archbishop Walsh of Dublin dies at the age of 72. Over 200,000 people line the streets of Dublin for his funeral on April 14th.
|
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg
236 |
|
Apr-09-21/6 |
Two schoolboys are shot at by a Crown Forces patrol
led by Major John MacKinnon, O/C H Company of the Auxiliaries at Liscahane, Ardfert, Co. Kerry for ‘failing to stop’. Both were wounded and one of them, 16-year-old
Daniel O’Driscoll dies from his wounds.
See Apr-15-21/1. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
378-379 |
|
Apr-09-21/7 |
Ex-BA soldier Thomas Lyons encounters a Crown
Forces curfew patrol on Charles St in Listowel, Co. Kerry. Apparently, he was drunk. A scuffle ensues and Lyons is shot in the
abdomen. He dies some hours later. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
379 |
|
Apr-10-21/1 |
Two RIC men (Constable Joseph Boynes and
Constable George Woodward) are out walking and unarmed when they are ambushed
and killed at Scart, Kildorrey, Co Cork by men from
the ASU of the Castletownroche Battalion, Cork No.
2 Brigade. Six local farmhouses are destroyed by Crown
Forces in an official retaliation. Constable Boynes was from Northumberland in
England and had five months’ service with the RIC. Constable Woodward was from Surrey in
England and had ten month’s service with the RIC.
|
O’Donoghue (1986), pg 133; Abbott (2000), pg 220-221; Abbott (2019), pg 280; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 379-380 |
|
Apr-10-21/2 |
Five Special Constables, stationed in
Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh, when on their way to church in Creggan,
go to investigate unusual activity in McConville’s public house in Cregganduff , Co. Armagh. They are attacked by 15 IRA men, under Frank Aiken, resulting in the death of one Special (S/Constable John Fluke) and the wounding of three others. This led to the burning of two nationalist-owned homes by the Specials and assaults on their occupants. This, in turn, led to the burning of two unionist-owned homes. |
Abbott (2000), pg 220; McDermott (2001), pg 75; Lawlor (2011), pgs 146-149; Hall (2019), pg 81; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 379 |
|
Apr-11-21/1 |
The Cork Constitution reports that masked men cut off the hair of a dressmaker in Kilmihil, Co. Clare. They leave a note saying “Anti Sinn Féin Gang. Beware.” The woman identifies her assailants as RIC men and that they had threatened her three times previously. |
Borgonovo
(2007), pgs 8-9 |
|
Apr-11-21/2 |
George Johnston, a farmer is shot dead in his
home at Baylin, Athlone, Co. Westmeath by men from the Athlone Brigade
IRA. This may have been the shooting
of an alleged spy or this killing may have been due to an agrarian dispute. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
380 |
|
Apr-11-21/3 |
The London & North Western Hotel on the North Wall in Dublin – which housed Q Company of the Auxiliaries and some members of O Company – is attacked by members of the 2nd Battalion of Dublin Brigade of the IRA under Tom Ennis. Peter Freyne (or Freaney) from Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny and member of E Company, 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade IRA is shot dead in this attack. The IRA’s mine failed to explode. (Q Company of the Auxiliaries was a special
company made up of BA officers with experience of shipping. Their function
was to search ships for arms being imported by the IRA.) |
O'Farrell P (1997), pg 108; Walsh (2018), pg 112; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 380; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 231-236; Sheehan (2007), pg 50 |
|
Apr-11-21/4 |
RIC Constable Ralph Cosnette
is found shot – it is believed that he committed suicide. |
Abbott (2019), pg
404 |
|
Apr-11-21/5 |
Michael O’Brien’s body is found near Ballinhassig, Co. Cork.
He had been killed as an alleged spy by the IRA. He had been a member of the BA’s RASC under
the assumed name of Michael Aherne. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 380-381; Cork Fatality Register |
|
Apr-12-21/1 |
After an attack by the IRA on two lorries
carrying RIC men on Washington St in Cork City, the RIC dismount and fire at
two fleeing men. They hit five
civilians – one of whom, William Kenefick, late dies of his wounds. This attack took place at 10am. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 381; Sheehan (2017), pg 129 |
|
Apr-13-21/1 |
A five-man RIC patrol is attacked near Fedamore, Co. Limerick resulting in the death of one
(Constable George Rogers) and the wounding of three others. The IRA were under the command of Liam
Forde, O/C Mid-Limerick Brigade. Abbot says that it was a five-man RIC patrol
but O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
say the RIC men were attacked at as they came out of a pub. (Mulcahy was critical of the planning of this
ambush and stated “There seems to be no reason at all why the whole patrol
should not have been got”) Constable Rodgers was from London and had fourteen months’
service with the RIC. |
Abbott (2000), pg 221; O’Callaghan (2018), pg 88; Abbott (2019), pgs 280-281; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 381 |
|
Apr-13-21/2 |
A bomb explodes in Springfield Road RIC station in Belfast – there are no casualties. |
Parkinson (2004), pg 115; McDermott (2001), pg 75 |
|
Apr-13-21/3 |
Private Horace Potter of the BA’s Queen’s Royal
Regiment is accidently shot dead in Kilworth Military Barracks, Co. Cork. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
381-382 |
|
Apr-13-21/4 |
The ASU of the 7th Battalion, Kilkenny Brigade, IRA is involved in an ambush of two Auxiliary lorries at Moonarch on the Kilkenny/Tipperary border. A number of Auxiliaries are wounded and all IRA men escape. |
Walsh (2018), pg 85 |
|
Apr-14-21/1 |
Gunner Alexander
Morrison of the BA’s Royal Garrison Artillery is shot dead by a fellow BA
soldier in an argument over a girl at Baldonnel
Aerodrome in Dublin. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 382 |
|
Apr-14-21/2 |
After a party of British military had been
entertained by Arthur Vicars in his home (Kilmora
House, Listowel in North Kerry), his home is attacked by the IRA. Vicars is killed and Kilmora
House is then destroyed. The O/C of the 6th (Listowel) Battallion, P. J. McElligott, wanted to burn down Kilmona House (as they were rumours that it would be used
by the BA) and to court martial Vickers for spying. However, he claims that Vickers fled with a
revolver and was ‘shot trying to escape’. However, another witness said that
Vickers was summarily executed. Horgan
says that “There was little evidence that Vicars was passing information, if
he had any, to the crown forces”. See also Apr-06-21/5.
|
Hopkinson (2002), pg 126; O’Farrell (1997), pg 99; Horgan (2018), pgs 128-129; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 382 |
|
Apr-14-21/3 |
GOC in Ireland, British Army (Macready) issues a proclamation saying the jurisdiction of Courts of Justice in the Martial Law area is suspended. This is in response to the appealing of court martial decisions to the civil courts and the ensuing delays. Greenwood is furious as he was not consulted. |
Townshend (1975), pg 161 |
|
Apr-14-21/4 |
A 71 or 72-year old man, Thomas Walker, living
in Ballinfull in north Sligo is shot dead and his
body was left with the notice ‘Spies and Informers Beware IRA’. (Walker is the only person shot as a spy in
Sligo but, at least, four others were banished.) Two Sinn Féin halls are burnt in retaliation. |
Farry (2012), pgs 68-69; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 382-283 |
|
Apr-14-21/5 |
A 65-year old, ex-BA soldier called William
Moran is taken from his house in Lord George Lane (now Davis St.) in
Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. His body is
later found with a label reading ‘Spies beware. Shot by the IRA’. Two buildings were burnt the following day in Abbeyside, Dungarvan.
One of which was a public house owned by Bridget Fahey who swore an
affidavit that her business was burnt by the RIC. |
McCarthy (2015), pg 82; Lesson (2012), pgs 219-220; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 381 |
|
Apr-14-21/6 |
Edwin Montagu, Liberal minister in the British
cabinet, writes in a memo to the cabinet that he would like “the Prime
Minister to announce publicly his willingness to grant a truce for the
discussion of such amendments to the Government of Ireland Act as will make
it acceptable to the people of Southern Ireland”. Another Liberal Minister, Christopher Addison,
makes a similar request, on April 13th, adding that part of the offer should
be that Ireland be given fiscal autonomy. |
Boyce (1972), pgs 131-132 |
|
Apr-14-21/7 |
Writing to Wilson, Macready says that “a couple
of men with revolvers can cow a whole countryside of persons of so-called
moderate views”. This reflects a widely held British view,
particularly among the British military and British imperialists, that Sinn
Féin/IRA dominance in Ireland arose through intimidation. Macready was not consistent in his views –
see, for example, Feb-19-21/10. |
McMahon (2008), pg
164 |
|
Apr-14-21/8 |
IRA Volunteer, James McGlynn, accidently
shoots and kills himself with his own shotgun in Drumshanbo,
Co. Leitrim. O’Halpin and Ó Corráin say 12th; Lawlor says 13th and McGarty says 14th. |
McGarty (2020), pg
98; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 381; Lawlor (2011), pg
149 |
|
Apr-14-21/9 |
Michael Byrne, who was a cattle dealer, is
found shot dead at Windsor, Coolrain, Co.
Laois. Robbery was probably the motive
for his killing. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
382 |
|
Apr-15-21/1 |
Major John MacKinnon, O/C H Company of
Auxiliaries, is shot dead while in the act of putting on the third green of
Tralee golf course in Co. Kerry by a four-man IRA team including Con or James
Healy from Tralee. Healy, an ex-BA soldier, shot MacKinnon in the head
using a Lee Enfield rifle. (For background on MacKinnon, see Dec-25-20/1 and
Apr-09-21/6.) Reprisals ensue including the retaliatory killing of IRA Volunteer Jack Reidy in Ballymacelligott. On April 19th, Auxiliaries, along with bombing nine houses and businesses in Tralee, pull down the statue in the town commemorating the 1798 Rebellion. |
Hopkinson (2002), pg 126; Abbott (2000), pgs 221-222; Horgan (2018), pgs 300-301; Abbott (2019), pg 281; Leeson (2012), pg 173; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 383-384 |
|
Apr-15-21/2 |
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. These accounts are explored in-depth in More Detail |
See More Detail |
|
Apr-15-21/3 |
Captain ‘Tiny’ King and two of his fellow Auxiliaries
are acquitted at a court martial in City Hall in Dublin of the murder of two
prisoners – Patrick Kennedy and James Murphy - see Feb-09-21/2. Despite damning evidence from BA officer Lt Commander Fry and two DMP constables, the court accepted the alibi evidence of, among others, Auxiliary Capt ‘Hoppy’ Hardy. The Irish Independent contrasted the acceptance of the court of the alibi evidence in this case with the non-acceptance of the alibi evidence for Paddy Moran and Thomas Whelan – both of whom were found guilty and hung – see Mar-14-21/1. King was subsequently made O/C of D Company of
the Auxiliaries in Galway. |
Townshend (1975), pg 164; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 237 |
|
Apr-15-21/4 |
Ex-RIC Head Constable Jeremiah Looney killed
in Bandon, Co. Cork. |
Abbott (2019), pg
377 |
|
Apr-15-21/6 |
Michael Kennedy from Ballinavary,
Bree, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford is shot dead at his home during an attempted
robbery. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
384 |
|
Apr-16-21/1 |
The BA’s Major Compton Smith is captured by
IRA men (led by Frank Busteed) while on a train in Blarney, Co. Cork. He is taken to Meenachoney near Donoughmore. He is held as a hostage for four IRA men due to executed by the British in Cork – see Apr-28-21/2. |
Sheehan (1990), pg 187 |
|
Apr-16-21/2 |
RIC Constables Moore and Davis are ambushed
when on patrol in Bridge St in Ballina, Co. Mayo. They survive but are seriously
injured. In retaliation, the RIC wreck sixteen of
town’s major shops and businesses as well as shoot up many homes. Michael J Tolan, an IRA man who had been (according to Price) arrested the previous day, was subsequently killed by the RIC after torture. Lesson says that he was arrested on April 18th, held in Ballina Barracks until May 7th when he was handed over to the Auxiliaries for transportation to Galway but Tolan never makes it to Galway. O’Halpin and Ó Corráin say that he was killed around April 14th. See Jun-18-21/9. |
Price (2012), pgs 130-131; Leeson (1912), pg 185; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 383 |
|
Apr-16-21/3 |
A former BA officer and former Auxiliary, Capt Patrick O’Neill, was lodging in the basement flat of
38 Heytesbury St., Dublin. A young man came to the door looking for
him but was told that he was not at home.
However, O’Neill is spotted at the basement
window and the young man fires one shot at him hitting O’Neill in the
chest. He dies later in hospital. The IRA claim O’Neill was a British
agent. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 385; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 238 |
|
Apr-16-21/4 |
RIC Constable Harry G. Moscrop
commits suicide in Pallasgreen RIC Barracks in Co.
Limerick after being found with property stolen during an RIC raid on a
house. Constable Moscrop
was from London and had joined the RIC in January 1921. |
O’Callaghan (2018), pg 79; Abbott (2000), pg 318; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 385 |
|
Apr-16-21/5 |
A young man, Robert Stone, is shot and killed
by the IRA at Killusty, Fethard, Co.
Tipperary. The motive may have being for
alleged informing or it may have been agrarian. See also Jun-14-21/4. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
384-385 |
|
Apr-16-21/6 |
At 10.00pm, IRA men from the Mid-Clare Brigade
attack a group of off-duty BA soldiers and RIC men in Shaughnessy’s pub in
Market St in Ennis. Sergeant Sidney Rew
from the BA’s Royal Scots regiment is killed and RIC Constable Venderburgh is slightly wounded. Also seriously wounded are Mary Anne Danagher and Kate O’Shaughnessy, who was the proprietor
of Shaughnessy’s pub. (The Shaughnessys were loyalists.) In retaliation, Crown Forces set fire to a
shop, a home and the Old Ground Hotel.
The next day, the IRA burn down the home of local loyalists, the Mills
family. |
Ó Ruairc (2009), pgs 235-236; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 385 |
|
Apr-16-21/7 |
BA soldier, Jack Williams, commits suicide in
Avondale House, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
555 |
|
Apr-17-21/1 |
Kate Carroll, a 36-year-old Catholic woman,
who lived near Duffy’s Cross, Tydavnet, Co.
Monaghan is taken from her house by the IRA and shot dead. A sign saying spies and informers beware is
attached to her body. |
Dooley (2000), pg
44; Dooley (2017a), pg 91; O’Halpin (2012), pg 154; Meehan (2020), pgs
1-21; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pgs 386-387 |
|
Apr-17-21/2 |
An RIC man (Constable
John MacDonald) is shot by two IRA men when he out walking with his
girlfriend in Cove St., Cork City. He
dies five days later. Constable MacDonald was from London and had four months’ service with the RIC. |
Abbott (2000), pg 222; Abbott (2019), pg 282; Leeson (2012), pgs 206-207; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 391 |
|
Apr-17-21/3 |
RIC Constable William Duncan is accidentally
shot dead during joking in Dungarvan RIC Barracks in Co. Waterford. |
Abbott (2019), pg
405; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 385 |
|
Apr-17-21/4 |
Bride Glynn dies after being hit by a RIC
tender near her home at the junction of Ailesbury
Rd and Merrion Rd in Dublin. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
385 |
|
Apr-17-21/5 |
A car carrying members of Q Company of the Auxiliaries is attacked by six IRA men from 2nd Battalion, Dublin Brigade led by Capt James Foley at Eden Quay in Dublin. There are no fatalities but one Auxiliary is wounded.
|
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs
238-239 |
|
Apr-18-21/1 |
RIC Constable William Mitchell is convicted of
the murder of Robert Dixon (see Feb-02-21/5) by court martial in Dublin. See Jun-07-21/1. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
276 |
|
Apr-18-21/2 |
The home in Co. Leitrim of David McNeill
(whose family were described by the RIC as “Protestants and staunch Loyalists”)
is raided, it is believed, by the same men who had killed William Latimer –
see Mar-30-21/8. McNeill escapes out a window and leaves the
area and had not returned by November 1921. |
Hughes (2016), pg
126 |
|
Apr-18-21/3 |
A 13-man joint RIC/BA patrol, under Lieutenant
Grundy of the BA’s North Staffordshire Regiment, searching for IRA men who
had attacked Bagnalstown RIC barracks, kill three
IRA men. They were Michael Fay and
James and Peter Farrell (who were brothers) at Mullannagaun,
Ballymurphy, near Borris, Co. Carlow. The
three IRA men were allegedly brutally treated and killed after being
captured. Six others were taken
prisoner. O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin note that this was an “engagement
which destroyed the Carlow Brigade ASU”. The IRA believe that their men were informed on - see May-15-21/10 – but O’Halpin and Ó Corráin say that “There is nothing in Grundy’s report to indicate any kind of tip-off: rather, IRA security had been lax”. Also, a local farmer called Michael Ryan is
killed during this engagement – most likely by a stray bullet. |
O’Farrell (1997), pg 33 & 107; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 387; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 240 |
|
Apr-18-21/4 |
During an affray outside Edward O’Connor
public house in Ballyboghil, Co. Dublin, an RIC man
(Sgt Stephen Kirwan) is wounded by men from the ASU of the Fingal Brigade,
IRA. He dies from his wounds the next
day. The ASU leader, Capt
Peter White, is wounded by Kirwan and he also dies the next day.
|
Abbott (2000), pg 223; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 388; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 239 |
|
Apr-18-21/5 |
In a leading article in the Northern Whig, it encourages “every loyal man in Ulster who is fit for service to join one of the branches of the Special Constabulary” because “It is foolish for loyalists to suppose that because they are in a majority in any district they are therefore free the attacks of Sinn Féiners”. This article reflects the disappointment of
the Unionist leadership with level of recruitment to the Special
Constabulary. |
Parksinson
(2020), pg |
|
Apr-18-21/6 |
The IRA carry out a grenade attack on a tender
carrying Auxiliaries in Grafton St in Dublin.
Three civilians are wounded. |
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg
239 |
|
Apr-19-21/1 |
Replying to a letter from English churchmen
(See Apr-06-21/5), Llyod George admits that there had been “deplorable
excesses” and “unjustifiable acts” and he gives figures for the number of men
dismissed from the service since the beginning of 1921. However, he goes on to say that now that the
undesirables had weeded out, the police deserve admiration and not
blame. He also says “So long as Sinn
Fein demands a Republic, the present evils must go on. So long as the
leaders of Sinn Fein stand in this position, and receive the support of their
countrymen, settlement is in my judgment is impossible”. The churchmen reply on May 4th – See
May-04-21/2. |
Macardle (1999), pg 446; Boyce (1972), pgs 97-98; Pakenham (1967), pg 57 |
|
Apr-19-21/2 |
A plain-clothes raiding party led by Major Percival of the BA’s Essex Regiment kill IRA man Tadgh O'Sullivan from 2nd Battalion, Cork No. 1 Brigade, IRA. (The O/C of the 2nd Battalion, Mick Murphy, regarded O’Sullivan as one of his best captains. O’Sullivan had been one of an IRA party waiting to assassinate Percival at Liverpool St Station in London a month earlier). |
Coogan (1990), pg 147; O'Kelly in The Kerryman (1955), pg 26; Borgonovo (2007) pg 112; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 389 |
|
Apr-19-21/3 |
A raiding party from the G company of the Auxiliaries
(based in Killaloe) descends on the Shannon View Hotel, Castleconnell,
Co Limerick. As they are in mufti, they are mistaken for
rebels by three off-duty RIC men in the hotel. In the ensuing gun
fight, one RIC man (Sgt William Hughes), an Auxiliary cadet (Cadet Donald
Pringle) and the hotel owner (Denis O'Donovan) were killed. A witness says that Mr O’Donovan was put up
against a wall and shot. This ‘friendly fire’ incident gives rise to
much comment in the press and questions are asked in the Westminster. |
Townshend (1975), pg 166-168; Abbott (2000), pg 317 & pg 319; O’Callaghan (2018), pg 85; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 385-386 |
|
Apr-19-21/4 |
The British government issues Orders in Council making May 3rd the date for the coming into force of the Government of Ireland Act, paving the way for elections to both the northern and southern parliaments. See Apr-21-21/9. |
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 222 |
|
Apr-19-21/5 |
Two RIC men (Constable Thomas Kelly and
Constable James Hetherington), who were unarmed and in civilian clothes, are
removed from a train in Ballisodare, Co. Sligo by
eight to ten IRA men and shot dead.
Six BA soldiers were also captured.
They were disarmed and released. The IRA was under the command of Liam
Pilkington, O/C, Sligo Brigade, IRA and it is claimed that it was an
intelligence led operation. It is said
that Constable Kelly had pointed out houses to be burnt after the Moneygold ambush – See Oct-25-20/4. |
Abbott (2000), pg 222-223; Farry (2012), pg 68; Lawlor (2011), pg 150; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 389 |
|
Apr-19-21/6 |
A British Army soldier in the turret of a
Rolls Royce armoured car positioned outside the RIC barracks in the village
of Mullinavat, Co. Kilkenny fires a number of
bullets from his machine gun. The bullets hit 23-year old James Hoban who
was standing about 100 yards down the street.
Hoban dies a number of hours later.
The soldier, Private McCulla, is court-martialled but found not guilty
as it was considered an accidental killing. |
Walsh (2018), pgs
101-102; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pgs 388-389 |
|
Apr-19-21/7 |
A convoy of six Crossley Tenders and a Ford car carrying Auxiliaries is attacked on Sandford Ford in Ranelagh in Dublin by IRA men from E Company, 3rd Battalion, Dublin Brigade. No fatalities on either side but three Auxiliaries wounded. |
Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg
239 |
|
Apr-19-21/8 |
A joint BA/RIC patrol surrounds an IRA safe
house near Loughglynn (or Loughglinn)
Wood, Co. Roscommon. The four IRA men
inside try to escape but two are killed and another captured. |
O’Callaghan (2012), pgs165-173; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 387-388; O’Farrell (1997), pg 7 &102 & 112; Burke (2021), pg 112 |
|
Apr-20-21/1 |
The Times of London urges Llyod George to forgo his ‘murder gang’ mentality and admit that it was Sinn Féin alone that could speak with authority in Ireland. |
Boyce (1972), pg 92 |
|
Apr-20-21/2 |
According to O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin , an ex-RIC and ex-BA soldier,
Jeremiah Quill, is taken from his aunt’s house in Kilgarvan,
Co. Kerry by armed men and they quote “He has not since been heard of”. They also note that the BMH Chronology
lists him as ‘shot dead’. However, research by Dr Kay MacKeogh demonstrates that Quill was held in captivity by
the IRA for six weeks and then released on payment of fines. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1923 and
died in 1979. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
389 |
|
Apr-20-21/3 |
Charles Nicholson, a 28-year-old Protestant, who had been lifted for curfew violation in Belfast dies in custody. (It is said by the BA military that he accidentally fell under wheels of their lorry on Albertbridge Rd but it is claimed that the evidence given by military personnel is contradictory.) |
Parkinson (2004), pg 115; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 389 |
|
Apr-20-21/4 |
An ex-BA soldier, William Mordon,
is taken from his home near Dungannon. Co. Tyrone.
His body is found the next day. It is
not known who killed him. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
389 |
|
Apr-20-21/5 |
Led by Sean McNamara and Andrew O’Donoghue, IRA men from the 5th and 6th Battalions of the Mid-Clare Brigade attack a patrol of Royal Marines from the Coastguard Station in Ballyvaughan who had gone to the post office in the village to collect post. Two marines – Corporal or Private Issac Bolton and Private Henry Chandler – are killed and the rest of the patrol retreat to the Coastguard Station. The IRA obtain four rifles and some ammunition. (Ó Ruairc says April 20th but O’Halpin & Ó Corráin say May 21st.) |
Ó Ruairc (2009), pgs 243-244; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 437-438 |
|
Apr-21-21/1 |
A convention of the American Association for
Recognition of the Irish Republic (AARIR) is held in Chicago and calls on
President Harding to recognise the Republic of Ireland. |
Macardle (1999), pg 445 |
|
Apr-21-21/2 |
A DMP man (Constable William Steadman) bringing despatches across the city, is shot at the corner of Mary St. and Jervis St in Dublin by men from the No. 2 Section ASU, Dublin Brigade, IRA under Tom Flood. Steadman dies on April 27th. |
Abbott (2000), pg 223; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 396; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 239-240 |
|
Apr-21-21/3 |
An RIC man (Constable Denis O'Loughlin) is
shot dead in Knightly’s public house, Castle St. (or Main St.), Tralee, Co.
Kerry. (He had joined the RIC just
three months earlier.) See Apr-21-21/10. |
Abbott (2000), pg 223; Abbott (2019), pg 284; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 390 |
|
Apr-21-21/4 |
A young IRA man, Thomas Phelan, is shot dead
when trying to evade a RIC/BA patrol in the townland of Oldtown near the
village of Ballyragget in Co. Kilkenny. |
Walsh (2018), pgs
102-103; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
(2020), pg 390 |
|
Apr-21-21/5 |
An unofficial intermediary from the British Government, Conservative MP Edward Stanley (17th Lord or Earl of Derby), arrives in Ireland and meets with de Valera in James O’Mara’s house at 43 Fitzwilliam Sq. in Dublin. He also meets with RC Cardinal Logue. He stays in the Shelbourne Hotel under the name of Mr Edwards. According to Pakenham, de Valera says Stanley
was a “political scout” and talked to him no more freely than he would have
to a “press-man”. |
Macardle (1999), pg 449; Townshend (2014), pg 305; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 242-243; Pakenham (1967), pg 66 |
|
Apr-21-21/6 |
Seven-year-old Patrick Goggin is shot by BA soldiers whose lorry was booged down on a road near Carrigthomas, Ballinagree, Co. Cork. He dies on May 5th. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
408 |
|
Apr-21-21/7 |
In a scathing memo to the O/C of the Offaly
No. 2 Brigade, IRA Chief-of-Staff Richard Mulcahy berates the quality of his
reports saying “work of this kind is simply tinkering with the honour of the
Nation and playing with the lives of the men who are acting under you”. |
Townshend (2014), pg
255 |
|
Apr-21-21/8 |
British cabinet decide on dates for elections
North and South. |
Fanning (2013), pg
252 |
|
Apr-21-21/9 |
Rose Logue from Meenacladdy
in Co. Donegal is assaulted by two men who also cut her hair. She is accused of being friendly with the
RIC. She had placed a wreath on an RIC
man’s grave. |
Leeson (2012), pg
206; Abbott (2019), pg 166 |
|
Apr-21-21/10 |
Patrick Bell is shot in the leg by Crown
Forces in Tralee, Co. Kerry for ‘failing to halt when ordered’. He dies four days later. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
394 |
|
Apr-21-21/12 |
Writing to Greenwood, Llyod George says
“almost every Irishman is a natural propagandist for his country”. He also says that if British public opinion
were to “swing round and withdraw its support”, the result “would be
disastrous for the alternative is surrender to rebellion”. |
Boyce (1972), pg 83
& 97 |
|
Apr-21-21/13 |
An ex-British Army soldier, John Reilly or
O’Reilly, who was living in Newmarket-On-Fergus in Co. Clare, is killed by
the men from the 1st Battalion of the East Clare Brigade. A label
saying ‘Spy. Executed by the IRA’ is
appended to his body. According to Ó Ruairc,
the execution party was Jack Brennan, Florence O’Neill and James Quinn under
the command of Paddy Maher. O’Halpin and Ó Corráin, with the exception of Maher, give different
names as to who was in the IRA party – they give the following: P. Higgins,
P. Liddy, B. Purcell and John Mack. The also say that the operation was led
by Sean Murnane. |
Ó Ruairc (2009), pgs 237-238; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 390-391 |
|
Apr-21-21/14 |
BA soldier, John Dowdall, accidently kills
himself in the Curragh, Co. Kildare. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
555 |
|
Apr-22-21/1 |
The Flying Column of the 3rd (South) Tipperary Brigade IRA (including Dan Breen, Dinny Lacey, Con Maloney and Sean Hogan) attack a BA military convey of 15 soldiers between Clogheen and Cahir, Co. Tipperary at Hyland’s (or Garrymore) Cross which results in the death of one British soldier (Thomas Conday of the Royal Field Artillery) and the wounding of two others. The remainder surrender, they are disarmed and set free. Afterwards the IRA capture RIC DI Gilbert Potter nearby at Curraghcloney. As an IRA man (Tom Traynor) was due to be hung in Mountjoy on the April 25th, a message is sent to the British by the leadership of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade saying that Potter life will be saved if Traynor is not killed - see Apr-25-21/2 and Apr-27-21/1. |
Breen (1989), pgs 160-161; Abbott (2000), pgs 225-226; O’Malley (1990), pg 306 & 308; Ó Ruairc (2021), pg 36; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 391 |
|
Apr-22-21/2 |
John Harrison from Garadice,
Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim is killed by the IRA as a
informer. A note attached to his body
said “Informers and traitors beware”. Hughes quotes Eunan O’Halpin
as saying that the killing of Harrison was “the culmination of a dispute that
began the previous October when Harrison refused to contribute to an IRA
levy”. However, McGarty quotes and an
IRA veteran as saying that “suspicions that Harrison was a spy were confirmed
in material taken in a mail at Garadice station”.
However, O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
say that the detailed story [of Harrison’s alleged spying] by another IRA
veteran “scarcely supports this predictable accusation”. Harrison was a Methodist. In the wake of this killing (and the
earlier killing of Latimer – see Mar-30-21/8), according to the RIC, “Several
Protestant farmers have since left the locality and others are preparing to
leave” McGarty says April 22nd; Lawlor says April 12th; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin say April 21st and Hughes says April 22nd. |
McGarty (2020), pg 100; Lawlor (2011), pg 149; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 389-390; Hughes (2016), pgs 119 & 126-127 |
|
Apr-22-21/3 |
The Irish Bulletin prints allegations of serious mistreatment and torture carried out by Captains King and Hardy – two British Intelligence officers working out of Dublin Castle. |
Gallagher (1953), pg 285 |
|
Apr-22-21/4 |
Peter Dempsey was shot dead by Auxiliaries in
Summerhill, Dublin for ‘failing to stop’. The body of an unknown man, possibly an ex-BA
soldier, was found on the same day in the Rutland Place area of Dublin with a
bullet wound to the head. Also, BA soldier Signalman Vivian Montagu Lys
de Belabre, dies as a result a motorcycle accident
in Dublin. He may have been a British
Intelligence officer. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs
391-392 |
|
Apr-23-21/1 |
Two members of the Auxiliaries (Cadet John
Bales and Constable Ernst Bolam) are attacked at the corner of Donegall Place
and Fountain St. in Belfast by the ASU of the Belfast Brigade, IRA led by
Seamus Woods and Roger McCorley. This
attack results in the death of both men. A passing detective shot at the fleeing IRA
gunmen who shoot back. Two civilians are wounded in the
cross-fire. That night two Catholics brothers (Patrick and
Daniel Duffin from 64 Clonard Gardens) were shot
dead in their home by a four-man gang. Daniel was a member of the IRA
but Patrick was not. These killings were probably carried out by the RIC gang associated with District Inspector (DI) Nixon based in the Springfield Road RIC station. DI John Patrick Ferris and Sgt Christy Clarke were also implicated. An attempt was made to kill DI Ferris a few weeks later but he survives. See May-07-21/2. The funerals of the brothers takes place on March 27th. Both brothers were given IRA funerals. Their coffins were draped in Tricolors and the cortege was accompanied by marching ranks of the IRA. A number of clerics joined the IRA men at the front of the cortege and Bishop MacRory gave a graveside oration. |
Abbott (2000), pg 224; Hopkinson (2002), pg 157; O’Farrell (1997), pg 106; Parkinson (2004), pgs 116-117; McDermott (2001), pgs 75-77; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 393-394; Parksinson (2020), pgs 90 & 165 |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr-23-21/2 |
A 14-man RIC cycle patrol is ambushed at Kilmilkin, 5 miles from Maam,
Co. Galway by the 24-man strong flying column of the West Galway Brigade
under Peter Joe McDonnell resulting in the death of one RIC man (Constable
John Boylan) and the wounding of two others. The RIC subsequently burn the Ó Máille family home at Muintir Eoin – home of the TD for Connemara, Padraig Ó Máille – and another home. |
Abbott (2000), pg 224; McDonnell in The Kerryman (1955), pgs 203-210; McNamara (2018), pgs 128-129; Henry (2012), pgs 206-208; Leeson (2012), pg 60; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 392 |
|
Apr-23-21/3 |
After the IRA fire on members of the USC at Drumshanbo, Co. Tyrone, Specials from Cookstown shoot a
Catholic civilian, Michael Langan, through the lung and wound his sister,
Kate Langan. |
McCluskey (2014), pg
101 |
|
Apr-23-21/4 |
Warren Fisher forwards to Llyod George
extracts from a letter he had received from John Anderson in which Anderson
urged that the British government make a conciliatory gesture to the Irish
because, even if such a gesture were not to lead to a settlement, it would at
least “put us right in the eyes of the world”. |
Boyce (1972), pg 134 |
|
Apr-23-21/5 |
The IRA shoot dead Timothy Cranley, a butcher
from St Michael St., Tipperary, Co. Tipperary, for continuing to supply the
RIC after the RIC boycott was announced.
It is possible that the IRA intended to warn Cranley but he resisted
and was shot. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
392 |
|
Apr-23-21/6 |
The ASU of the 7th Battalion, Kilkenny Brigade, had moved out of its own area and into the 8th Battalion area to carry out an ambush on an RIC patrol between Piltown and Fiddown. While waiting in ambush position, they capture a Black and Tan called Carrigan. However, their position is surrounded and they make a hasty retreat, bringing their prisoner with them. According to one participant, the ASU only escaped because of the “coolness and experience of an ex-soldier in its ranks, who understood cover and lines of retreat”. As they are being pursued, the O/C of the ASU,
Ned Aylward was “faced with the alternative of either shooting [the prisoner]
or letting him go”. He decided to let
him go.
|
Walsh (2018), pg 87;
Townshend (2014), pg 294 |
|
Apr-23-21/7 |
John McCabe (a pedlar and ex-BA soldier) is
found badly injured with a sign round his neck saying “Convicted Spy – IRA”
in a barn near Tullyvaragh, Co. Monaghan. He survives despite being shot four times.
(Dooley says April 23rd but Lawlor says April 15th.) |
Dooley (2017a), pg
90; Lawlor (2011), pg 145 |
|
Apr-23-21/7 |
Three armed and masked men enter the home of
Kate Carroll at Grattanstown, Co. Louth and cut off
her hair. She was accused of keeping
company with an RIC man from Dunleer. |
Leeson (2012), pg
206 |
|
Apr-23-21/8 |
The IRA hijack a goods train at Falkland’s
Cross near Glaslough, Co. Monaghan and set it on
fire. |
Lawlor (2011), pgs
150-152 |
|
Apr-23-21/9 |
Writing in his diary, Mark Sturgis says the
impasse on getting talks started between the Irish and British governments is
down to “the P.M. [Llyod George] will not make them a definite offer so long
as they ask for a Republic. They will
not cease to ask for a Republic till the P.M. makes them an offer.” |
Boyce (1972), pg 130 |
|
Apr-24-21/1 |
Sean Liddy, O/C of the West Clare Brigade
requested the aid of the East Clare Brigade to carry out attacks on Crown
Forces in his brigade area. On this night, the RIC Barracks, the British
Army post and the Coastguard Station in Kilrush,
Co. Clare are attacked resulting in the death of RIC Sgt John McFadden.
The attack was led by Michael Brennan (O/C East Clare Flying Column) and men
from the West Clare brigade led by Sean Liddy. Other sections are led
by Stephen Madigan (West Clare Brigade); Michael McMahon and Liam (Bill)
Haugh (Adjutant, West Clare Brigade). There were no IRA casualties. British casualty list said one RIC sergeant
was killed and between 3 and British Army soldiers (and maybe one RIC
constable) wounded. However, Brennan believed a number of British
soldiers were killed. In retaliation, Crown Forces blow up Liam
Haugh’s home at Monmore. Ó Ruairc say that
they use too much explosive and a flying splinter injures a BA soldier who
dies from his wounds later that week. Unfortunately, Ó Ruairc
does not name this BA soldier and neither do other sources. |
Abbott (2000), pg 225; Brennan (1980), pgs 86-92; Ó Ruairc (2009), pgs 238-242; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 392-393 |
|
Apr-24-21/2 |
Three RIC men are in a car when it encounters
a patrol of the BA’s Lancashire Fusiliers at Cloghran
Crossroads in north Co. Dublin. Both
sides open fire and RIC DI Michael Cahill is wounded and later dies in
hospital. Both sides say that the
other side opened fire first. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
393; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 240 |
|
Apr-25-21/1 |
GOC of Dublin District Division, British Army (Boyd) congratulates his forces in the capture since March 22nd of 3 machine-guns, 16 rifles, 97 revolvers, 305 grenades and over 10,000 rounds of ammunition. |
Townshend (1975), pg 175; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 244 |
|
Apr-25-21/2 |
Thomas Traynor is hung by the British in Mountjoy Jail - he had been captured in possession of an automatic pistol and ammunition after a gun battle in Brunswick (Pearse) St. on March 14th (See Mar-14-21/2) and found guilty of murdering Auxiliary Francis Joseph Farrell at a court martial on April 4th – see Apr-04-21/1. See Apr-27-21/1. |
Abbott (2000), pgs 208-209; Carey (2001), pg 6; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 394; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pgs 240-242 |
|
Apr-25-21/3 |
Thomas McGrath is shot dead near his farm at Glendee, Tulla, Co. Clare by Private Hemmings of the BA’s
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. It is reported that McGrath was feeding his
cattle. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
394 |
|
Apr-25-21/4 |
A young member of the BA’s Gloucester
Regiment, John Marquis, is shot during operations near Banteer,
Co. Cork. He dies later. The shot was fired by a fellow BA
soldier. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
394; Cork
Fatality Register |
|
Apr-26-21/1 |
The First Southern Division of the IRA is
formed at a meeting held in Kippagh near
Millstreet, Co. Cork. This is a major move in the divisionalisation
of the IRA. |
O’Donoghue (1986), pg 155; Lynch in The Kerryman (1955), pg 230; Deasy (1973), pgs 266-268; O’Malley (1990), pgs 300-302; Townshend (2014), pgs 274-275 |
|
Apr-26-21/2 |
An eight-man patrol of the Ulster Special Constabulary is attacked at the corner of Merchant's Quay and King St. in Newry, Co. Down. S/Constable George Graham is wounded and dies on July 28th. A number of the IRA men involved are subsequently arrested. |
Abbott (2000), pg 225; Lawlor (2011), pg 154; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 523-524; Parksinson (2020), pg 93 |
|
Apr-26-21/3 |
Thomas Hannon (21) is arrested by members of
the IRA’s North Galway Flying Column near Clonberne,
Co. Galway. He is court martialled and
convicted of being a spy. His body is
found the next day. The O/C of the BA’s Galway Brigade called
Hannon “a loyal subject”. |
McNamara (2018), pg 155; Lesson (2012), pg 61; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 395 |
|
Apr-26-21/4 |
A soldier from the BA’s East Lancashire
Regiment, Private Norman Thorton Fielding, is arrested by the IRA at Buffer’s
Cross (between Buttevant and Churchtown, Co.
Cork). He was walking alone and
unarmed and said that he was a deserter.
The IRA, thinking that he was an Intelligence Officer, killed him. The CFR concluded “Fielding was probably
not a deserter”. The homes of two officers of the Liscarrol Company of the IRA are blown up as a reprisal.
According to O’Halpin and Ó Corráin,
this “suggests that the [British] military had good local information”. In September 1921, the regimental gazette of
the East Lancashire Regiment says “The murder of Private Fielding was one of
the foulest crimes … The poor lad was walking alone and was absolutely
unarmed when he met his death. … [W]hen we hear the Shinner outdoing the
Kaiser in his reference to heavenly support and then discover him shooting
our neighbours, the police, when leaving church, we realise the cowardly
hypocrisy of these men who pollute the honourable name of ‘soldier’”. Sheehan says that this was written in the
direct aftermath of the killing of Private Fielding. (However, it was not
published until five months later). Comment: Perhaps, the
East Lancashire Regiment could also have looked into the actions of BA in
Ireland at this time – quite a few of these actions would have polluted the ‘honourable’
name of soldier. |
Sheehan (2017a), pg 369; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 394-395; Sheehan (2017), pgs 51 &157; Cork Fatality Register |
|
Apr-26-21/5 |
Coastguard Alfred Brinson commits suicide in
the coastguard station at Buncrana in Co. Donegal. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
395 |
|
Apr-26-21/6 |
In his report on the Situation in Ireland for
the British cabinet for the week ending April 23rd, Macready says that “The
number of minor outrages shows no diminution” and although there is an
absence of large scale IRA activity “the general situation remains
unchanged”. Quoting Strickland, he says that “Two courses appear to be open to the rebels for future action. To organise strong surprise attacks … Or, to play a “Waiting game” in the hope that we may be worn down by the cumulative effect of minor outrages and that political propaganda will supplant military operations” Interestingly, again quoting Strickland,
Macready says that “Information has not been coming in so well recently. … In Cork City, however, information has
increased since the murder of unarmed soldiers”. [Full text of report given in Kautt.] It is worth noting that it was almost exactly four months since the British cabinet conference (see Dec-29 to 30-20/1) when Strickland promised that there would be “definite and decisive results in four months’ time”. |
Kautt (2014), pgs 241-242 |
|
Apr-27-21/1 |
After the British hang Thomas Traynor in Mountjoy Jail on April 25th (see Apr-25-21/2) RIC DI Gilbert Potter is executed by members of the No. 1 ASU, 3rd (South) Tipperary Brigade of the IRA on the banks of the Clodagh River. He is buried at Clonea. For background – see Apr-22-21/1. As a result, ten houses are blown up by the
British in South Tipperary as an official reprisal. According to IRA sources, it was put to Potter
unofficially that he would be allowed to escape as long as he undertook not
to take any further action against the IRA.
However, Potter said that he had to do his duty so he refused the
IRA’s offer. (DI Potter was the son of the Church of Ireland’s Rev Potter, Dean of Raphoe in Co. Donegal. Following the Truce, Potter’s body was exhumed and returned to his widow for formal burial on August 26th.) See also May-08-21/7. |
Abbott (2000), pg 225-226; Breen (1989), pg 162; Ó Ruairc (2021), pg 36; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 395 |
|
Apr-27-21/2 |
The British Army discover a major IRA arms dump in Baggot Lane, Dublin and capture a machine gun, 14 rifles, 54 revolvers and 12,442 rounds of ammunition. |
Townshend (1975), pgs 175-176; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 244 |
|
Apr-27-21/3 |
Laurence Allen is knocked down by Crown Forces
armoured car on the Curzon St in Gorey, Co. Wexford and dies shortly
afterwards. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
396 |
|
Apr-28-21/1 |
An RIC man (Sgt Jeremiah Moroney) is shot at Parkbridge, Limerick city. He dies from his wounds on June 4th. |
Abbott (2000), pgs 226-227; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 461 |
|
Apr-28-21/2 |
Four IRA prisoners are executed by firing
squad in the Military Detention Barracks in Cork City. They are Maurice Moore, Patrick O'Sullivan,
Thomas Mulcahy and Patrick Ronayne. The first two had been captured at Clonmult (see Feb-20-21/2) and the second two after
Mourne Abbey ambush (see Feb-15-21/3). Major Geoffrey Lee Compton-Smith (see
Apr-16-21/1), of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who was being held hostage, is
later shot by the IRA. The IRA had told Major General Strickland,
Commander of the British 6th Division, that Compton-Smith would be
shot if the IRA men were executed. In his farewell note Compton-Smith said “I
intend to die like a Welch Fusilier with a laugh and forgiveness … I would
like my death to lessen rather than increase the bitterness that exists
between England and Ireland. I have
been treated with great kindness and, during my short captivity, have learned
to regard the Sinn Feiners rather as mistaken
idealists than as a ‘murder gang’. My cigarate case
I leave to the Mess.” O’Halpin and Ó Corráin refer to
Compton-Smith as an “improbably gallant officer”. In retaliation for the executions, RIC men and
British Army soldiers are shot throughout the IRA’s 1st and 2nd
Division area resulting in the killing of a number of RIC men and BA soldiers
and the wounding of others – see May-14-21/2. |
O’Donoghue (1986), pg 157; Breen (1989), pg 162; Borgonovo (2007), pgs 88 & 101; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 396-398; Sheehan (2017), pg 66; Cork Fatality Register |
|
Apr-28-21/3 |
British Forces raid Colmcille Hall in Blackhall Place, Dublin and succeed in capturing 40 or 53 men of 1st Battalion, Dublin Brigade, IRA. A number of small arms are also captured along with papers. |
Townshend (1975), pg 176; Townshend (2014), pg 288; Molyneux and Kelly (2021), pg 244; Kautt (2014), pg 143; Sheehan (2007), pgs 47-48 |
|
Apr-28-21/4 |
Tom Malone, Con Twoomey
and Sean McSwiney (brother of Terence) escape from Spike Island. |
Corbett (2008), pg 72 |
|
Apr-29-21/1 |
RIC Constable John Bunce is accidently shot
dead at Castlelact near Bandon, Co. Cork. |
O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 397 |
|
Apr-29-21/2 |
The ex-Viceroy, John French, is given a formal
farewell by the British Army in Ireland at the Royal Hospital in Dublin. |
Kautt (2014), pg 210 |
|
Apr-29-21/3 |
An ex-British Army soldier, Stephen
O’Callaghan, is shot dead in Cork City as an alleged informer. The CFR note that O’Callaghan “does not appear to
have had a known association with the police or the military”. O’Halpin and Ó Corráin
indicate that IRA accounts of the killing of Stephen O’Callaghan would seem
to relate to their killing of John O’Callaghan – see Sep-15-20/7. |
Borgonovo (2007), pgs 67-68; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 397-398; Cork Fatality Register |
|
Apr-30-21/1 |
Two RIC men (Constable William Smith and
Constable John Webb) are attacked when fishing near Castlemartyr,
Co. Cork resulting in the death of both men.
They had gone fishing unarmed. Constable Smith was from Lancashire in England
and Constable Webb was from London.
Both had approximately six months’ service with the RIC. |
Abbott (2000), pg 227; Abbott (2019), pgs 288-289; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pgs 400 and 403 |
|
Apr-30-21/2 |
According to Abbott, RIC Constable Henry Cowie
accidently shoots himself with his own gun in Newbliss
Barracks, Co. Monaghan and dies the following day. According to O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin, Constable Cowie was accidently shot
by Constable Boyle when he was handling Constable McCullie’s
new Webley revolver. |
Abbott (2000), pg
316; Abbott (2019), pg 404; O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
399 |
|
Apr-30-21/3 |
In an article on the subject of the bogus editions of the Irish Bulletin produced by the propaganda department in Dublin Castle (see Mar-26-21/7), the Nation (later absorbed into the New Statesman) stated “When you forge a letter from a man it is well to have regards to his style, his manner and his habit of thought and speech. The Irish Bulletin has at least been marked by dignity in style and an avoidance of extravagant statements. The forged Bulletin shows no trace of these qualities. On the contrary, it is distinguished by a singularly vulgar tone and a ridiculous exaggeration”. Nevertheless, William Darling (who produced the forged editions of the Irish Bulletin) quotes Michael Collins as saying in August 1921 that the bogus editions did “a good deal of harm”. |
Boyce (1972), pg 91 |
|
Apr-30-21/4 |
Members of the USC raid eight nationalist
homes at Killybearn, Co. Tyrone. The male occupants are blindfolded and marched
a number of miles to a field where mock executions take place. |
McCluskey (2014), pg
101 |
|
Apr-30-21/5 |
Patrick Molloy (26) from near Kilroe, Co. Galway is taken from his home and shot
dead. A notice is pinned on his body
stating “Reported informer. Convicted Spy. Others beware. I.R.A.”. Despite this notice, McNamara states that “the
victim’s family, the community, the local clergy and the Volunteers had no
doubt that Crown Forces killed Molloy”. |
McNamara (2018), pgs 150-151; Lesson (2012), pg 61; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 397 |
|
Apr-30-21/6 |
An RIC man (Constable Arthur Harrison), who had just resigned, disappears after leaving the Carrigadrohid RIC barrack in Co. Cork for Coachford Railway Station. He was kidnapped and later shot dead by men from the 6th Battalion, Cork No. 1 Brigade. His body was never found. Constable Harrison was from Lancashire in
England and had seven months service in the RIC. |
Abbott (2000), pgs 312-313; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 399 |
|
Apr-30-21/7 |
The IRA ambush the RIC between Tuam and Dunmore in Co. Galway. There are no casualties. Later, the RIC barracks at Headford
is attacked. Despite the attack lasting two hours, again there are no
casualties. |
Lesson (2012), pg 60 |
|
Apr-30-21/8 |
Thomas Walsh is shot dead ‘when trying to
escape’ from the RIC barracks in Davis St., Tipperary, Co. Tipperary. |
Leeson (2012), pg 183; O’Halpin and Ó Corráin (2020), pg 398 |
|
Apr-30-21/9 |
The British Army fire on a group of unarmed
civilians at Staplestown Road, Carlow, Co. Carlow.
They kill one man (Owen Rice) and wound another (Thomas Neill). A BA report says that the procedures regards
firing “were not strictly complied with”.
Nevertheless, the report exculpates its own soldiers saying that “This
incident is due to the practice of armed rebels of waging a form of warfare
in the midst of an unarmed and inoffensive population and I consider that the
blame for the killing of Owen Rice does not lie with the troops”. |
O’Halpin
and Ó Corráin (2020), pg
397 |
|
Apr-1921/1 |
British claim that the number of people shot by the IRA as spies (and placards placed on their bodies) between January 1st and the end of April 1921 was 73. Macardle
disputes this saying some were the victims of common murderers while others
were the victims of Crown Forces. |
Macardle (1999), pg 442 |
|
Apr-1921/2 |
During April 1921, Rory O’Connor and another prisoner
escape from the Rath Camp on the Curragh by posing as workmen. |
Durney (2013), pg 166 |
|
Apr-1921/3 |
There are arson attacks by the IRA in London and Manchester |
Curran J M (1980), pg 48 |
|
Apr-1921/4 |
During a raid on a house in Dublin, Crown
Forces capture the draft treaty which Pat McCartan had discussed with a
Soviet agent in the United States (see May-1920/4). In an attempt to bolster claims of links between Sinn Féin and the Bolsheviks, this draft treaty was leaked and the conservative Morning Post published it in May 1921. (The draft treaty was subsequently published by the British government in June 1921.) McMahon noted that the draft treaty was “out
of date” - See Feb-1921/8 - and comments “The incident shows how some
individuals within the security forces were prepared to leak documents in
order to discredit Sinn Féin, even at a time of sensitive peace initiatives”. |
McMahon (2008), pg
121 |
|
The BA’s Hampshire Regimental Journal describes the IRA as a “past master in the more cowardly form of assassination’ and compares members of the IRA’s flying columns to “savage wild beasts”. |
Sheehan (2017), pg 112 |
|
|
Apr-1921/6 |
In the British House of Commons, Greenwood admits that Balbriggan was sacked by 150 policemen (see Sep-20-20/1) but “regretted now as he did then that he could not identify those responsible for the crime”. |
Pakenham (1967), pg 56 |
|
Apr-1921/7 |
According to O’Shea, at a meeting held in Dan
Mulvihill’s house in Brackhill outside Castlemaine,
Co. Kerry, Paddy Cahill was stood down as O/C Kerry No. 1 Brigade. He says that this meeting was attended by
Liam Lynch, Florrie O’Donoghue and Humphrey ‘Free’ Murphy. O’Shea says that Cahill was replaced by Andy
Conney but a number of Cahill’s men refuse to serve under Cooney and remained
with Cahill at his mountain retreat at ‘The Hut’ near Fybough
on the Dingle Peninsula. (Fybough or Fybagh is at the
foot of Sliabh Mis on the south side of the Dingle peninsula – see
Jan-28-21/5.) However, Cooney’s biographer (MacEvilly) says
that Cooney was not appointed O/C of Kerry No. 1 until the end of June. MacEvilly says that IRA GHQ had relieved
Cahill of his post in March 1921 because he had “concentrated too much on
Tralee and the Dingle peninsula”. (See also the Lispole
Ambush - Mar-21-21/5.) See Jun-23-21/5. |
O’Shea (2021), pgs
77-80; MacEvilly (2011), pgs 48-49 |