6 March 1921
Following the shooting of Constable Beasant in Cashel on 4th March, the men who carried it out stayed one night near New Inn, a village about 5 miles from the town. On the night of the 5th, they moved to other houses in the area with Patrick Keane and Patrick Hogan staying in a farmhouse belonging to the Dagg family. The house was raided by the military early in the morning of 6th March with Paddy Hogan being killed in the subsequent shoot out. Patrick Keane was taken prisoner and held in Cahir Military Barracks for a couple of weeks before escaping. Captain C F K Marshall RFA, commanding the search party, was wounded. Patrick Hogan was OC 2nd Bn, 3rd Tipperary Bde. Aged 23 and from Dualla, Co. Tipperary.
Elsewhere in Tipperary, a patrol of the Lincolnshire Regiment under Lieutenant Ormond surprised a meeting of the local battalion officers in a stable near Drangan. The ensuing firefight left three IRA men dead.
Martin Clancy, Adjutant Drangan Company was hit and killed about 150 yards from the stable while escaping. A man named Denis Croke who was with him was wounded and captured. Clancy's brother Patrick had been killed in November 1920.
Dick Fleming, Captain Moyglass Company, was killed by a grenade in the stable.
Patrick Hackett, Lieutenant Drangan Company, was hit by Lewis Gun fire and died in Tipperary Military Hospital the following day.
The IRA attempted an ambush on a car carrying Army officers to Portmarnock Golf Course in Co. Dublin. They fired on the wrong car and killed the driver, John O’Neill, a baker from Great Brunswick Street. O’Neill had served in the Australian Army in the war.
Henry Guy, also an ex-serviceman, was killed by the Auxiliaries in Dublin.
James Hayden a 35 year old farmer from Rathanna, Co. Carlow was shot dead when he failed to halt for a patrol of the North Staffordshire Regiment.
Cornelius Foley was part of an IRA group surprised by an Auxiliary patrol near Macroom, Co. Cork. Foley was hit as he fled and died later in the day. The Auxiliaries took about 20 prisoners.
Sergeant James Maguire, RIC, was shot by the IRA as he left Kilmallock Post Office. A married man with eight children, Maguire was 50 years old with 20 years service.
Bridget Walpole, a 57 year old widow, was taken from her home and shot dead near Tralee, Co. Kerry. The IRA denied any involvement and the RIC agreed. Suspicion fell on her late husband’s relatives who wanted to make sure they inherited the family farm.
Edited to add
On the night of March 5th/6th, 1921 the Tyneside battalion of the IRA went into action for the first time with incendiary attacks on a bonded warehouse and oil refinery in Newcastle, and a timber yard in Tyne Dock. The operation was unsuccessful; small fires were started at the oil refinery and the timber yard but were quickly put out, and the attempt to break in to the bonded warehouse was interrupted by the police, resulting in the arrest of one of the volunteers, Owen Salmon. Among those who made their escape was Michael Mackin of Jarrow.
In fact, two separate attacks were planned on the oil refinery – one on the oil store, and one on the works itself. In the latter case Gilbert Barrington and Tommy Durham, a Jarrow man, gained entry to the premises, but the volunteers who were assigned to start the fire did not turn up. These were Joseph and John Connolly, the Adjutant and O/C of Jarrow Company. Following an investigation they were replaced by David Fitzgerald and John Philbin respectively. They must have given an adequate explanation as they continued in membership of the Jarrow ISDL and were regular attenders at subsequent meetings of the branch. Only one volunteer was convicted in the courts – Owen Salmon, who received a sentence of seven years for his part in the operation. Another member of the unit, Anthony Dunleavy, was arrested on April 6th, but was able to provide an alibi in court and was acquitted.
The IRA in Tyneside was almost 500 strong and played a useful role in the War of Independence
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