April 1920 started with the largest scale IRA activity to date in the War of Independence with the systematic targeting of abandoned RIC barracks and other buildings. It was a month during which the issue of Irish independence would be brought to an international audience, while it continued to be a time of terror in Ireland. The RIC remained the open target of the IRA, but on a number of occasions in April the RIC would claim victory. Elsewhere, land-related issues continued to flare as anarchy set in across the country.
Irish War of Independence - Farmers Assaulted -
Described as a ‘savage’ attack in which the farmer was ‘waylaid’ by a number of men, the beating received by James Flanagan, an aged farmer of Fahereen Grange, near Athlone, County Westmeath revealed much about the local dimension of the Irish War of Independence. Harking back to the Famine, and the eviction of tenants, the attack near Moate suggested that old scores were being settled as agitation for land commenced. Flanagan described as the holder of 120 acres of land, ‘comfortable’ and an inoffensive man, was attacked and dangerously beaten as he made his way home from Moate fair. Some days prior to the attack he had told friends that he had received threatening letters indicating that he would be shot. Bitter memories of nineteenth-century evictions were expressed in the threatening letters. Presenting a ‘revolting spectacle’, Flanagan’s nose being completely shattered and his forehead opened in two places. In the same month a young man named Flynn, a farmer's son, was shot and wounded in another land dispute near the border of Westmeath and King’s County (Offaly). Armed and disguised men broke into the house and dragged the family into the yard where they shot Kieran Flynn in the arm. Before leaving, the Flynns were warned to quit the farm, money was taken from them and an attempt was made to set fire to the house.
Twitter: #Agrarian attacks in #Westmeath in disputes over #land during April 1920 #irishhistory #irishwarofindependence @ciaranjreilly
April 1920 started with the largest scale IRA activity to date in the War of Independence with the systematic targeting of abandoned RIC barracks and other buildings. It was a month during which the issue of Irish independence would be brought to an international audience, while it continued to be a time of terror in Ireland. The RIC remained the open target of the IRA, but on a number of occasions in April the RIC would claim victory. Elsewhere, land-related issues continued to flare as anarchy set in across the country.