The Clonmult Massacre
The
following is an eyewitness account of the encirclement and slaughter of the
East Cork battalion column of the IRA which occurred on February 20th
1921. During the siege itself five members of the column lost their lives.
Seven more were murdered by Black and Tans after they had surrendered and two
were subsequently executed. Three more were severely wounded and five – three
of them teenagers – had their sentences commuted or postponed. Only one member,
Jack O’Connell, managed to escape. The Crown forces had two casualties, a
soldier and an RIC man who were only slightly wounded. The interested reader is referred to Tom
O’Neill’s book The Battle of Clonmult, The IRA’s Worst Defeat (2006) for more
details of the battle. The account below, however, and the one on which I based
the last chapter of The Kindness of Strangers, was written by one of the
survivors, probably IRA officer Patrick Higgins who survived the fire fight and
avoided execution because of his wounds. (The other possible author is Diarmuid
‘Sonny’ O’Leary but he appears to have been unconscious during much of the
battle and its aftermath so could not have witnessed what the author of the
account witnessed.)
Fight at Clonmult, Feb. 20th
1921
At about 3pm on Sunday Feb. 20th,
British military and ‘Black and Tans’ arrived in the village of Clomnult Co.
Cork and surrounded a house at Garrylawrence (half a mile from Clonmult) in
which I and fourteen other men were. Two other men were out at a well about 40
yds away drawing water at the time.
When the military had come within
30 yards of the house fire was opened on both sides. After about three minutes
firing four of the men inside the house made a rush out. Two fell dead a few
yards from the door but the other two succeeded in getting a considerable
distance away. They ran in opposite directions. One was seen by British forces
and fired at; he was afterwards found dead.
Of the two men drawing water at
the well, one was afterwards found dead. The other was wounded in the legs.
While the affray lasted he was outside the house at the back sheltered from the
fire and was speaking to several of the men inside.
This left us with 15 men inside
the house of whom one was wounded. After a time reinforcements arrived to our
attackers and soon afterwards the roof of the house, which was thatched was set
on fire. The fumes inside the house were suffocating, so we attempted to break
a hole in the end of the wall so as to try to escape. In doing so another man
was slightly wounded in the head.
At length after about 2½ hours’
resistance our officer shouted out to the attackers asking them for terms of
surrender. A British officer answered back, declaring that if we surrendered we
would be treated as prisoners and not ill-used in any way.
We then all marched out of the
house, unarmed, and with our hand up and as long as I live I will never forget
the scene outside. The military seemed to be kept under control to a certain
extent but the ‘Black and Tans’ rushed at us like wild beasts, some firing
rifles and revolvers, all shouting and cursing us in filthy language and
commenced a general massacre.
The whole scene was hellish and
indescribable, some dead, others dying and moaning with pain, their blood
flowing in all directions while those of us who survived were left lying on the
bloodstained ground, some dazed, others injured by blows from rifles, kicks
etc.
They were examining us with a view
to finishing any that survived when the officer ordered them away.
The survivors were then lined up,
and out of the 15 who came out with their hands up, only six remained. Five of
these were wounded but not seriously.
A search was then made by military
and ‘Black and Tans’, money, watches, Sacred Heart badges and pins, and any
article of value was taken. Even the dead were robbed. When a Rosary Bead or
Sacred Heart badge was captured, all sorts of insults and mockery were
displayed. Finally all holy articles were torn or broken up. During all this
time the military remained under control.
After being satisfied that we were
searched from head to heels we were marched through the fields, on to the road
where the lorries were stopped. Another party remained after us and finished
off the bodies lying on the ground. This crowd also set fire to the hay ricks
etc.
From Clonmult to Midleton we were
questioned and threatened. Then in Midleton we were taken out at the RIC
barracks and after severe questioning and threats and accusations we were put
back into the cars again. Shots were fired freely up and down the town and the
Crown Forces indulged in shouting, singing etc. We were also threatened to be
shot there and only for an officer I am sure we would.
After leaving Midleton we
proceeded on to Cork via Carrigtwohill, and somewhere outside Carrig, a ditch
of stones was placed across the road. A stop was at once called and the
occupants of the lorries told us that if this was an ambush we, the prisoners,
were the first to be shot. Nothing happened however and all went well, from
that to Victoria Barracks.
Source: Mulcahy Papers, UCD,
P7A/13
For the record the casualties were:
Irish casualties:
Killed during the siege: Michael Desmond,
John Joe Joyce, Michael Halloran, Richard Hegarty, Seamus Aherne (Cobh).
Killed after surrendering: Liam (Willie)
Ahern, Jer Ahern, David Desmond, Christy O’Sullivan, Donal Dennehy, Joe
Morressy, James Glavin.
Executed subsequently: Pat O’Sullivan,
Maurice Moore.
Sentences commuted due to being underage:
Edmund Terry, Robert Walsh, William Garde, John Harty.
Sentences delayed due to injuries: Patrick
Higgins, Diarmuid ‘Sonny’ O’Leary.
British casualties:
George Potter RIC, wounded in shoulder,
Company Sergeant Major Edward Corney, wounded in shoulder.
