600:, unwittingly drove into a roadblock manned by the IRA's West Clare Brigade, in an unrelated incident. He was stopped at a railway crossing at Caherfeenick near Doonbeg. When the IRA demanded he leave his car and surrender it to them, he drew an automatic pistol; the IRA responded by shooting him twice in the head, fatally wounding him. After his death, the IRA weighted his body with stones and dumped it in a nearby lake. Even though a subsequent British military inquest had established that Lendrum had died of gunshot wounds, members of the RIC in Clare spread a false version of events and claimed that Lendrum had died of drowning.
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O Ruairc p159-160, "One of the IRA Volunteers drove the ex-British officer's car from the scene, while
William Shanahan took the mortally wounded Lendrum to an outhouse in a nearby field. Shanahan, thinking Lendrum was already dead, took him to a lake, tied a weight to him and threw him in the water,
707:
On 22 September 1957, a cut stone monument depicting an I.R.A. soldier in uniform was unveiled by Rev. Dr. Rodgers, Bishop of
Killaloe, at Drummin Hill where the ambush took place. The memorial cost just over £1200 to erect, and was financed by subscriptions from the U.S.A., alongside donations from
612:
The RIC lorry passed safely through the ambush position, travelling from
Ennistymon to Milltown Malbay, due to some confusion among the IRA over the numbers they faced. However, when they learned that there was only one lorry, it was attacked on its return journey from Milltown Malbay. The lorry was
698:
The death of
Resident Magistrate Alan Lendrum, however, according to pro-republican Catholic priest Sean Gaynor, "was not to our credit". On 1 October, the local IRA removed Lendrum's body from the lake, put it in a roughly constructed coffin and left it on the railway tracks at Craggaknock railway
644:
That night, a mixed force of police and soldiers raided the home of Dan Lehane, whose two sons had taken part in the ambush. They shot him dead and burned his house at
Lahinch. Patrick Lehane was burned to death in the attic when the house was set alight. Several other houses were burned in Lahinch
694:
In Clare itself, according to IRA man
Anthony Malone, the ambush had two effects. One was that the RIC became careful to travel in convoys of no less than three lorries. The other was that, as a result of the reprisals, the civilian population "became embittered against and adopted a more defiant
603:
Although in strict military sense not related to the ambush (the three battalions in County Clare operated independently), it had serious consequences for the ambush. It was quite quickly noticed that the magistrate was missing and the
British military authorities Ennistymon decided to send out a
619:
Not long after the lorry had been set ablaze, ten more lorries of
British Army troops arrived on the scene. They had been sent out to search for Alan Lendrum, the magistrate who had gone missing earlier that day. A running fight ensued as four IRA riflemen kept the troops at bay while the other
708:
veterans of the War of
Independence and members of the public. Coinciding with the 37th Anniversary of the ambush, the memorial was erected by the veterans of the 4th battalion of the Mid-Clare brigade. In attendance at the unveilling were Ignatius O'Neill, who delivered a short address,
640:
The
British forces, enraged by the ambush and the escape of the IRA force, took out reprisals on civilians in the surrounding area. Immediately after the action ended, they burned the house and farm of the O'Gorman family and shot a local farmer, Sean Keane. He later died of his wounds.
556:
The Volunteers in County Clare had been active since 1917 and by late 1920 had forced the RIC to abandon most of its small rural barracks in the county. This gave the IRA greater freedom to move in the countryside. In August 1920, the RIC were reinforced by the British deployment of
722:
The memorial continues to be the focal point for local commemorations of the Rineen Ambush. In recent years, families of former British Soldiers were invited to take part in these commemorations. For example on the 90th Anniversary ceremony the TD Minister of Defence
613:
hit by a grenade and blasted at close range by rifle and shotgun fire. The shooting was over in seconds, with five out of the six RIC men being killed outright. The sixth man managed to run about 300 yards before being shot dead.
544:
soldiers, who had been sent out on a separate patrol looking for a missing magistrate. However, the IRA held off this attack long enough to flee the scene in an orderly retreat and sustained only two wounded.
712:, and Rev. T. Canon O' Reilly, who blessed the monument. On the day, Dr. Rogers commented on the importance of the memorial in inspiring those of the future to build on the legacy of the War of Independence.
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road. John Joe Neylon (the leader of the local IRA battalion) was put in charge, although the actual attack was led by Ignatius O'Neill, the Officer Commanding. He was a veteran of
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In reprisal for the ambush, the RIC Auxiliaries and British military raided three local villages, killed five civilians and burnt 16 houses and shops in the surrounding area.
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A separate RIC raid took place in Ennistymon, in which several homes and businesses were burned. In this raid they killed Tom Connole, the secretary of the local
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584:. The ambush party had only nine rifles and some grenades, the remainder being armed with shotguns or handguns. They prepared to attack the lorry from a
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The Rineen Ambush was ordered by the leadership of the IRA's Mid Clare Brigade, who had noticed that an RIC lorry travelled every week on the
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to the county. Five RIC men, eleven IRA volunteers and four civilians had been killed in County Clare during the two years before the ambush.
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where the unconscious captain died of drowning." O Ruairc corrected this statement in later editions of the book as it was clearly incorrect.
176:
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by Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc. This article also contains a statement that he had erred in attributing Lendrums death to drowning in the book.
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volunteers made their escape in an orderly retreat. Two IRA volunteers and several British soldiers were wounded in the firing.
616:
Five of the dead were Irish RIC officers and one was an English Black and Tan. The IRA took their weapons and burned the lorry.
727:
talked about how such events were not sectarian and welcomed descendants of the six RIC members who were killed in the Ambush.
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on 16 November, beaten, interrogated and then shot dead. Another two were summarily executed in the same way on 22 December at
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tabled a resolution condemning the reprisals and calling for an investigation. This was defeated by 346 votes to 79.
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The reprisals were condemned in the British, Irish and international press. In the House of Commons, the British
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529:. The attack took place at Drummin Hill in the townland of Drummin, near the hamlet of Rineen (or Rinneen),
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In what may have been a belated reprisal for the ambush, four IRA men were arrested by the Auxiliaries at
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lists the casualties as three British soldiers killed, but this is not confirmed by the other sources.
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trade union, and burned his home. PJ Linnane, a 15-year-old boy, was also shot dead by the police.
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Padraig O Ruairc, Blood on the Banner, The Republican Struggle in Clare, Mercier, 2009, p159, 163
687:, defended the State Forces' actions, saying that the houses destroyed were those of, "notorious
479:
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Padraig O Ruairc, Blood on the Banner, The Republican Struggle in Clare, Mercier, 2009, p169-171
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540:(RIC) lorry, killing six officers. Shortly afterwards, the IRA encountered ten lorry-loads of
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Michael Hopkinson, The Irish War of Independence, p130, Gill and Macmillan, 2004
691:... I am convinced that the people of those two villages knew of this ambush".
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A memorial to those killed by British forces in reprisal for the ambush
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745:"Raids and Ambushes - Rineen Ambush (Memoirs of Andrew O'Donoghue)"
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On 19 September 1965, custody of the memorial was given to the
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As the IRA party was lying in wait, Alan Lendrum, the local
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British war crimes during the Irish War of Independence
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10 lorries of British troops (c. 100 men) arrived later
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Police misconduct during the Irish War of Independence
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Who's who in the Irish War of Independence, 1916-1921
1020:. Design & Print Realprint, Ennis. p. 180.
913:on reprisals, O Ruairc, p167-171, O'Malley, 77-87
857:On the ambush, O Ruairc p162-166, O'Malley p72-77
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1065:War Of Independence website for Clare and Galway
695:attitude to the military and Black and Tans".
223:1 magistrate killed by IRA (in fact unrelated)
1152:British Army in the Irish War of Independence
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296:
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1001:"Rineen Memorial In The Custody Of F.C.A.".
521:carried out by the Mid Clare Brigade of the
16:Ambush during the Irish War of Independence
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1142:Massacres committed by the United Kingdom
1127:Ambushes of the Irish War of Independence
604:search party of ten lorries of soldiers.
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781:, Raids and Rallies, Anvil 1982, p77-87
536:The IRA's Mid-Clare Brigade attacked a
525:(IRA) on 22 September 1920, during the
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983:"Bishop Unveils Memorial To I.R.A.".
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931:Ernie O'Malley Raids and Rallies, p87
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227:16 houses/shops destroyed in reprisal
699:station for British forces to find.
588:that overlooked the road at Rineen.
877:from the original on 4 October 2021
751:from the original on 6 January 2011
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645:and a further eight were razed in
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1016:Jones, Patsy & Cyril (2019).
580:who had formerly fought with the
257:Location within island of Ireland
102:Successful IRA ambush and getaway
1005:. 25 September 1965. p. 30.
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1003:Connacht Tribune 1909 - current
987:. 23 September 1957. p. 7.
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108:reprisals on local civilians
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867:O'Farrell, Padraic (1980).
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685:Chief Secretary for Ireland
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1018:Lovely Old Miltown Malbay
941:House of Commons historic
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527:Irish War of Independence
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1137:Royal Irish Constabulary
1088:52.8803917°N 9.4061806°W
538:Royal Irish Constabulary
144:Royal Irish Constabulary
1132:History of County Clare
985:Irish Press 1931 - 1995
485:Bloody Sunday (Belfast)
1177:1920 crimes in Ireland
1172:1920 murders in Europe
1093:52.8803917; -9.4061806
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365:Bloody Sunday (Dublin)
161:Commanders and leaders
1162:September 1920 events
828:Death Of Alan Lendrum
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523:Irish Republican Army
495:Arnon Street killings
208:Casualties and losses
130:Irish Republican Army
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181:Michael Hynes
133:(Mid Clare Brigade)
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592:Magistrate Lendrum
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335:Sack of Balbriggan
225:5 civilians killed
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873:. Mercier Press.
747:. Clare Library.
622:Padraic O'Farrell
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31:Part of the
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563:Auxiliaries
480:Coolacrease
455:Tourmakeady
430:Selton Hill
320:Soloheadbeg
81: /
1106:Categories
881:1 November
755:1 November
731:References
570:Ennistymon
552:Background
440:Crossbarry
410:Coolavokig
385:Drumcondra
370:Kilmichael
350:Ballinalee
201:6 officers
66:52°52′48″N
671:Reactions
628:Reprisals
475:Rathcoole
420:Clonbanin
325:Knocklong
213:2 wounded
69:9°23′53″W
875:Archived
749:Archived
703:Memorial
661:Killaloe
460:Kilmeena
450:Scramoge
445:Headford
415:Sheemore
405:Clonmult
395:Dromkeen
330:Holywell
313:Timeline
216:6 killed
193:Strength
51:Location
517:was an
435:Burgery
425:Kilfaul
390:Clonfin
345:Tooreen
185:†
1024:
683:, the
665:Kilkee
608:Ambush
586:boreen
519:ambush
360:Tralee
340:Rineen
94:Result
717:F.C.A
654:ITGWU
400:Upton
1022:ISBN
883:2009
757:2009
561:and
513:The
43:Date
572:to
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290:e
283:t
276:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
