Dromkeen Ambush
Encyclopedia
The Dromkeen Ambush took place on 3 February 1921, during the Irish War of Independence
at Dromkeen in County Limerick
. The Irish Republican Army
ambushed a Royal Irish Constabulary
patrol, killing 11 policemen.
The ambush was carried out by the flying column
s of the East and Mid Limerick Brigades IRA, some 45 riflemen, under the command of Donnocha O'Hannigan commander of East Limerick Brigade Flying Column. Some time earlier the police had discovered the arms dump of the Mid-Limerick Brigade. Only one IRA man—Liam Hayes—was wounded.
Only two of the police got away. Nine were killed in action and another two were executed after being taken prisoner. Three of the dead RIC men were Irish and the remainder were British Black and Tans. In reprisal, British forces burned ten homes and farms in the area.
It has been claimed that three of the RIC dead were executed after they had surrendered.
Particular suspicion for this alleged killing of prisoners has fallen on Maurice Meade, a former British soldier, who was captured by the Germans in the First World War, had joined Roger Casement
's Irish Brigade
.
In February 2009, up to 2,000 people turned up for the unveiling of a memorial to the ambush.
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
at Dromkeen in County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. The Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
ambushed a Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
patrol, killing 11 policemen.
The ambush was carried out by the flying column
Flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ad hoc unit, formed during the course of operations....
s of the East and Mid Limerick Brigades IRA, some 45 riflemen, under the command of Donnocha O'Hannigan commander of East Limerick Brigade Flying Column. Some time earlier the police had discovered the arms dump of the Mid-Limerick Brigade. Only one IRA man—Liam Hayes—was wounded.
Only two of the police got away. Nine were killed in action and another two were executed after being taken prisoner. Three of the dead RIC men were Irish and the remainder were British Black and Tans. In reprisal, British forces burned ten homes and farms in the area.
It has been claimed that three of the RIC dead were executed after they had surrendered.
Particular suspicion for this alleged killing of prisoners has fallen on Maurice Meade, a former British soldier, who was captured by the Germans in the First World War, had joined Roger Casement
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
's Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade
Irish Brigade may refer to:* Irish Brigade , the Jacobite brigade in the French army, 1690–1792 * Irish Brigade , pro-Union Civil War brigade of Irish immigrants...
.
In February 2009, up to 2,000 people turned up for the unveiling of a memorial to the ambush.