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Massacre at Killaloe Bridge - 16 November 1920

Philip Martin November 17, 2019
16 November 1920 Massacre at Killaloe Bridge 16 November 1920 Massacre at Killaloe Bridge

On the 16 November 1920 one of the most notorious incidents in the Irish War of Independence occurred in the village of Killaloe, County Clare close to the Tipperary border. After an earlier attack on Scariff R.I.C. Barracks, the Auxiliaries began to search for IRA suspects but met with little success.

Then on 16 November a Board of Works steamer, The Shannon, sailed into Williamstown Harbour, with a force of auxiliaries hidden below deck. They quickly surrounded Williamstown House where they arrested four men Alfie Rogers, Brud McMahon, Martin Gildea, and Micheal Egan. At midnight, the four prisoners were marched across Killaloe Bridge to the nearby R.I.C. Station. What happened next remains unclear but the four prisoners were shot on the bridge, supposedly while trying to escape and not halting when called upon to do so. There was no medical report at the Military Inquest, but it was reported that the R.I.C. had fired only ten bullets hitting as follows: Gildea - 1 bullet in the head; Egan - 1 bullet to the head; Rogers - 2 bullets to abdomen and 1 bullet to the head and McMahon -1 bullet to the abdomen. A newspaper account of the incident noted as follows: It is remarked as a peculiar circumstance that the prisoners should have been brought there at that hour, as it is stated they had been brought to the Lakeside Hotel, occupied by the police, early that evening. At the bridge, which is about 200 yards long, the road is-straight and narrow, and underneath flows the Shannon at a depth which would mean instantaneous death to a man plunging off the bridge. The spot would not, therefore, be considered- a favourable place to attempt an escape…The natives heard 15 or 20 rifle shots that night, followed by moans and a pathetic cry for the priest. No priest was, however, summoned, although the Presbytery is only about 100 yards from the scene of the tragedy.

Download: Source newspaper: www.irishnewsarchives.com Irish Independent 1905-current, Friday, November 19, 1920; page 6

16 November 1920 Massacre at Killaloe Bridge On 16 November 1920 one of the most notorious incidents in the Irish War of Independence occurred in the village of Killaloe, county Clare close to the Tipperary border. After an earlier attack on Scariff R.I.C. Barracks, the Auxiliaries began to search for IRA suspects but met with little success. Then on 16 November a Board of Works steamer, The Shannon, sailed into Williamstown Harbour, with a force of auxiliaries hidden below deck. They quickly surrounded Williamstown House where they arrested four men Alfie Rogers, Brud McMahon, Martin Gildea and Micheal Egan. At midnight, the four prisoners were marched across Killaloe Bridge to the nearby R.I.C. Station. What happened next remains unclear but the four prisoners were shot on the bridge, supposedly while trying escape and not halting when called upon to do so. There was no medical report at the Military Inquest, but it was reported that the R.I.C. had fired only ten bullets hitting as follows: Gildea - 1 bullet in the head; Egan - 1 bullet to the head; Rogers - 2 bullets to abdomen and 1 bullet to the head and McMahon -1 bullet to the abdomen. A newspaper account of the incident noted as follows: It is remarked as a peculiar circumstance that the prisoners should have been brought there at that hour, as it is stated they had been brought to the Lakeside Hotel, occupied by the police, early that evening. At the bridge, which is about 200 yards long, the road is-straight and narrow, and underneath flows the Shannon at a depth which would mean instantaneous death to a man plunging off the bridge. The spot would not, therefore, be considered- a favourable place to attempt an escape…The natives heard 15 or 20 rifle shots that night, followed by moans and a pathetic cry for the priest. No priest was, however, summoned, although the Presbytery is only about 100 yards from the scene of the tragedy. Source newspaper: Irish Independent 1905-current, Friday, November 19, 1920; page 6

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