In early October 1920 news of the death of a farmer named John Keane, aged 60, who was wounded during the ambush near Miltown Malbay the previous month was widely lamented in Clare.

Drawing hay near the scene of the battle, Keane was struck by a bullet to the knee from a machine gun and died a few days later of blood poisoning. His death also coincided with the discovery of a coffin containing the body of Capt AC Lendrum who had been taken in the Miltown Malbay ambush. The coffin, described as ‘rude’ was found on the side of the railway track between Cragganoc and Kilmurray. The coffin was labelled ‘Kilkee’ and contained a notice which read: ‘Capt Lendrum was killed in action, and that there was noting against him personally but that he represented a Hunnish government’. There were two bullet wounds in the head. Lendrum was Resident Magistrate of Kilkee and on 22 September he had travelled from there to Ennistymon alone. Since then nothing was known of his fate. Whether or not he met his death in an ambush on the same day in which six policemen were killed was not known. According to the note which was attached to the coffin his body was been handed back even though they expected reprisals as a result of his death. A native of Tyrone, Lendrum had escaped death in August when his car was fired at near Kilkee.  

Source: Irish Independent 1905-current, 02.10.1920, page 5

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