On the night of 14 November 1920, during the War of Independence, 28-year-old Fr. Michael Griffin, was taken from his home – by men suspected to be Black and Tans – and was never seen again. On 20 November, his body was found in an unmarked grave in a bog at Cloghscoltia near Barna; he […]
Eileen Quinn was 24 years old, seven months pregnant, and nursing her nine-month old child outside her farmhouse at Kiltartan when she was shot dead as two lorry loads of an Auxiliary division of the Royal Irish Constabulary passed her home. Eileen Quinn was murdered by British Crown Forces 99 years ago; shot from a military lorry […]
“The town of Balbriggan they’ve burned to the ground While bullets Like hailstones were whizzing around; And women left homeless by this evil clan. They’ve waged war on the children, the bold Black and Tan.” (From the ‘Bold Black and Tans, Irish Songs of Resistance, Galvin, 1950) The sack of the north Dublin town […]
The infamous and notorious Black and Tans will not be forgotten in Irish history. 100 years ago, the first tranche of them arrived from Britain, mainly recruited from the unemployed veterans of World War 1. They had 3 months training and their pay was ten shillings a day. Their ‘uniforms’ were mixed, some with Khaki […]
An encounter between eight young volunteers from the 1st Battallion IRA and a large body of the Black and Tans took place at Tolka Bridge in Drumcondra on 21 January 1921 during the War of Independence. The volunteers set out to ambush the Royal Irish Constabulary patrol which used that road to travel from their […]
In the aftermath of a series of IRA military successes, including the killing of the intelligence agents in Dublin on Bloody Sunday and the ambush on the Auxiliaries at Kilmichael on November 28, it was decided to declare martial law in four Munster counties; Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry which came into effect on December 10. That was […]
November 1920 in many ways marked a turning point in the War of Independence. It was a month in which the military conflict reached new levels with around 100 killed on both sides. It also witnessed a marked escalation in the number of officially sanctioned reprisals against the civilian population who by this stage, outside […]
On the night of 14 November 1920, during the War of Independence, 28-year-old Fr. Michael Griffin, was taken from his home – by men suspected to be Black and Tans – and was never seen again. On 20 November, his body was found in an unmarked grave in a bog at Cloghscoltia near Barna; he […]
Eileen Quinn was 24 years old, seven months pregnant, and nursing her nine-month old child outside her farmhouse at Kiltartan when she was shot dead as two lorry loads of an Auxiliary division of the Royal Irish Constabulary passed her home. Eileen Quinn was murdered by British Crown Forces 99 years ago; shot from a military lorry […]
Today, the 22nd September, marks the 100th anniversary of the Rineen Ambush, which took place at Rineen Cross, halfway between Miltown Malbay and Lahinch in 1920. The Volunteers in Co Clare had been active since 1917 and by the time of the ambush they had forced the RIC to abandon most of their rural barracks […]
“The town of Balbriggan they’ve burned to the ground While bullets Like hailstones were whizzing around; And women left homeless by this evil clan. They’ve waged war on the children, the bold Black and Tan.” (From the ‘Bold Black and Tans, Irish Songs of Resistance, Galvin, 1950) The sack of the north Dublin town […]
The infamous and notorious Black and Tans will not be forgotten in Irish history. 100 years ago, the first tranche of them arrived from Britain, mainly recruited from the unemployed veterans of World War 1. They had 3 months training and their pay was ten shillings a day. Their ‘uniforms’ were mixed, some with Khaki […]