Mooncoin Ambush

The Irish War of Independence ended on 11 July 1921 when a truce was agreed. The six months between 1 January 1921 and the truce were the bloodiest of the War of Independence with almost 1,500 people killed the majority of which were killed in the South. (Corrain & O’Halpin, (2020) The Dead of the Irish Revolution). On 18 June 1921 two young volunteers closely connected to Glenmore were killed in action, at Coolbawn, near Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, just 21 days before the truce.

Partition

In June 1921 the Northern Ireland Parliament was established pursuant to the Government of Ireland Act (1920). This partition of Ireland in May 1921, when the legislation went into effect, established an essentially two state solution that is still in place today. Six of the thirty-two counties of Ireland were placed under the control of the Northern Ireland Parliament.  Elections were held in March 1921 for the Northern Ireland Parliament and 40 of the 52 seats went to Unionists. The other 12 seats remained empty as the Sinn Fein and the Irish nationalists who had won the seats refused to take the oath of loyalty. King George V officially opened the Northern Ireland Parliament on 22 June 1921 and called for peace and conciliation. Sinn Féin and the nationalists rejected the Government of Ireland Act and it was replaced in December 1921 with the Anglo-Irish Treaty which founded the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.

The War

By June 1921 the Crown Forces were firmly entrenched in their barracks in mainly urban areas and did not venture out much making it difficult to engage or ambush them. Both sides realized that they had reached a stalemate particularly for the IRA after the burning of the Custom House led to 5 deaths and 80 IRA volunteers being captured. To take the pressure off of Tipperary, and other areas, the IRA ordered the Kilkenny volunteers to engage the Crown Forces more notwithstanding the fact that the Kilkenny volunteers had limited arms. This led to the Coolbawn ambush. For an interesting history of Co. Kilkenny during this period see, Eoin Swithin Walsh, (2018) Kilkenny: In Times of Revolution 1900-1923.

Contrary to previous months there are fewer local events recorded in the local newspapers. It may be the case that the censorship of the newspapers increased and stopped the reporting of events, or it may be the case that there were fewer objectives remaining such as bridges or roads that were not damaged or trenched. We were able to find various local news items in some of the Dublin papers.

Waterford

The Crown forces continued to raid various premises and it was reported that the licensed premises of Miss Gleason, of O’Connell Street in Waterford were raided on the first of June. The raid lasted 20 minutes and nothing was taken from the premises (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 3 June 1921, p. 5). It was reported that during week of the 10^th the Granagh bridge just outside of Waterford in County Kilkenny was partially destroyed. There were two large excavations made in the centre of the bridge and dropped into the stream below (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 17 June 1921, p. 5).

Five young men on the 15^th of June were tried by a Waterford Military court for waging war against the Crown on 12 March 1921 by attacking Crown forces at Garryricken House, Co. Kilkenny. The five defendants were James McKenna, John Luttrell, Patrick Luttrell, James Luttrell and Thomas Luttrell. A policeman was killed when he went to Garryricken House due to a report that rebels were using it as a hiding place. Ultimately three of the defendants were exonerated and only ex-solider James McKenna and Patrick Luttrell were convicted (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 17 June 1921, p. 2). For further information on the Garryricken battle see the podcast of Kilkenny County Library. Also tried by a Waterford military court were Rev. John Loughrey, C.C. of Thomastown and three of his parishioners: John Minogue, Patrick Ryan and James O’Neil. Although the priest was charged with multiple offences the four men were convicted of promoting the Belfast Trade Boycott in March and May 1921. The court sentence for each defendant was a fine of £10 or the alternative was 3 months imprisonment. “All chose the alternative” (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 17 June 1921, p. 3).

Although the military did not apparently order the cancellation of the Waterford Regatta, which should have been held on 30 June, the Waterford Boat Club decided to abandon it due to the “present unsettled state of affairs,” (Freeman’s Journal, Sat. 4 June 1921, p. 6).

New Ross

As violence increased new martial laws restricted gatherings including fairs and markets. In New Ross this extended to the closing of shops. In an article entitled “Excitement in New Ross,” it was reported that Crown Forces visited the shopkeepers in New Ross and ordered them to close on Saturdays from 12 to 4. “There were a number of country people in the town at the time, and the closing of the shops gave rise to considerable speculation, but it transpired, however, that the order was in pursuance of the ban prohibiting the holding of markets” (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 3 June 1921, p. 5). By mid-June one of the New Ross businesses was burned, but the newspaper report does not indicate who may have been responsible. “The premises of Timothy Butler, New Ross, consisting of his dwelling house, shop and store, with the entire contents, were completely destroyed by fire at 3 o’clock yesterday morning. The family who were in bed, were ordered out, getting only a few minutes to dress, and the place was then set on fire by four armed and disguised men who made use of bombs,” (Evening Echo, (Dublin) Tues. 14 June 1921, p. 7). By the end of June it was reported that New Ross men were being commandeered by Crown forces on a daily basis to saturate the bridge crossing the Barrow with water. “Fifteen New Ross men have been commandeered to saturate with water a wooden portion of the big bridge over the Barrow that was recently set on fire. Since the occurrence and accompanied by the town surveyor and Crown forces the urban council’s hose is taken each evening to the bridge to flush the wooden part to prevent it being set on fire again” (Freeman’s Journal, Wed. 29 June 1921, p. 6).

In May it was reported that foot and mouth disease was detected near New Ross. This report immediately stopped the shipping of cattle from Ireland to England. Eventually a 15 mile exclusion zone was established around New Ross and cattle outside the exclusion zone could be shipped. “On the afternoon of May 26th” a Dublin Castle report states, “about 100 armed men raided Newtown farm, New Ross district, Co. Wexford, and intimidated a number of workmen employed in connection with the foot and month disease operations of the Department of Agriculture. They seised and took away all appliances for the slaughter of animals. It is stated that all the carcases had been buried with the exception of a few, and that they were completed the next day” (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 3 June 1921, p. 5). It transpired that the “appliances” seised were picks and shovels used to bury the slaughtered animals. It is assumed that they were taken to “arm” more men for the trenching of roads. On the 24^th of June it was reported that Major Little, of Berkley House, New Ross had consented to the slaughter of his cattle and this had been carried out by the Department’s veterinary inspectors, “as no fresh case has occurred in the district, and it is believed that the radius limit of fifteen miles as regards restrictions will be reduced the coming week” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 24 June 1921, p. 5).

Thomastown

On the morning of 3 June 1921 on every route around Thomastown trees had been felled and trenches cut in all roads. In response the Crown forces at 10 a.m. commandeered a large number of men including shopkeepers, shop assistants, and laborers to remove the obstructions. Men were also commandeered from the Inistioge district (New Ross Standard, Fri, 10 June 1921, p. 8). The monthly Thomastown fair that was due to be held on the 7^th of June was not held as Thomastown was in the “scheduled area.” Fat pigs were not taken at Thomastown stations for the same reason during the past fortnight. The result has been a serious loss to pig feeders who have pigs fit for sale” (New Ross Standard, Fri, 10 June 1921, p. 8).

Mooncoin

In subtle ways the editors of the local newspapers were able to inform the public that the Crown authorities in Dublin were no longer obtaining good intelligence from outlying areas. An example is found concerning an ambush at Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny “Segt. Sweetman, Fiddown, is reported killed and a constable seriously wounded in an ambush at Mooncoin. The patrol, numbering 7, were cycling back to Fiddown when heavy fire was opened on them from both sides of the road. A Dublin Castle communique, which possibly refers to the same encounter, states a party of 8 police was attacked at Fiddown, and adds—’Const. Albert Bradford was killed and Constable John Stuart, wounded in the left arm. The police captured four shotguns and 200 cartridges charged with buckshot, a revolver, and revolver ammunition left by the rebels. At the time of receiving this report the attackers were being pursued by a mixed party of Crown forces. The casualties of the attackers are not known’” (New Ross Standard, Fri. 24 June 1921, p. 5).

Glenmore

As we reported in the blog last month due to the trenching of roads and destruction of local bridges the Glenmore Creamery was closed for a month by the military. It was allowed to re-open after the closure (Irish Independent, Fri. 1 July 1921, p. 6). Although there are no reports of road trenching, train or mail raids reported as occurring in or near Glenmore during June, the annual meeting of the Glenmore Creamery was reported. The meeting was held on the 15^th of June and it was noted that the “Creamery had received nearly 60,000 gallons more milk in 1920 than in 1919 which brought the total received up to 519,496 gallons, from which 244,965 lbs of butter was made, or an average of 2.32 gallons per lb. The turnover for the year was over £46,000 and a profit of £198, 11s., 1 ½ d., was made.” Given the turbulent times the Company “had deemed it wise to pay a very big premium of £250, for insurance against claims of riot, rebellion and civil commotion.” The article concludes that, “The recent closing of the creamery by military order will considerably lessen its profits for the current year” (Waterford News & Star, Fri. 1 July 1921, p. 10).

There was not a person in Glenmore that was not impacted directly or indirectly by the War by June. Notwithstanding, the raids by Crown forces, men being dragged from their homes, the difficulties of travel on trenched roads and damaged bridges, produce could not be taken to any local fairs or markets because the military ordered them all closed. Farmers had to continue to milk their cows then had to dump the milk because the Creamery was closed. Even the commodities sought by the British such as beef could not be sold because Glenmore was in the Foot and Mouth exclusionary area. Danny Dowling recorded that several area residents indicated that by the time the parish was reeling from the death of John Hartley, of Weatherstown, Glenmore, who was killed in action at Coolbawn on the 18^th of June, they were sick of the conflict and just wanted it to end.

Some of the first local newspaper reports of the Coolbawn ambush were carried in the Munster Express (Sat. 25 June 1921, p. 6) and the Kilkenny People (Sat. 25 June 1921, p. 6). Interestingly the Munster Express article is entitled “Castlecomer Affray” while the Kilkenny People article is entitled “Mine Laying Party Attacked.” Both articles report that two men were killed, John Hartley, a native of Weatherstown, Glenmore, who until a few weeks previously had been employed as a shop assistant in the establishment of Mr. T. Grace, Parliament Street, Kilkenny City. The second man killed was Nicholas Mullins, a native of Main Street, Thomastown. The Munster Express reported that the two men were cousins. A third volunteer, Doyle, of Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny was shot in the leg and captured.

John or Jack Hartley, as he was called by his family, or Sean Hartley as is recorded on the monument erected by his comrades in arms, was the son of Edward Hartley (c. 1865-1947) of Weatherstown, Glenmore. Nicholas Mullins was the son of Laurence Mullins (c. 1860-1913) a native of Gaulstown, Glenmore.

In a future post this month we will provide further information Danny Dowling gathered as well as details regarding how the volunteers who were setting up the ambush at Coolbawn became the hunted.

Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh

The featured photo above of the IRA volunteers killed in action at Coolbawn, Hartley and Mullins, was a post card courtesy of the National Library of Ireland. It is believed that the postcards were sold to help raise funds for one of the memorials erected for the fallen men.