British army knew in advance about ambush at Mourne Abbey
Picture: Mourne Denis Cork Memorial, Uncle Whose War The Abbey, Looney Right) O'riordan Memorated (left And Co Mourne Independence The Michael Among Those Looney, At John Heritage Is On Of Minihane To Of Michael Association Abbey
In early September 1920, the Flying Column of Cork IRA Brigade No.2 assembled at Island townland in the Burnfort Company area.
The column was under the command of Liam Lynch and representatives of nearly all companies in the Mallow Battalion. Ernie O'Malley was the Training Officer.
After undergoing an intensive course of training in arms drills and having had several lectures on various aspects of military operations from the training officer, the members of the column were billeted in the townlands of Island and Greenhill.
On September 28, 1920, the column undertook its first mission, when it captured the gun store at Mallow Military Barracks. Some 200 men from the Mallow battalion were engaged and were drawn from the following companies – Analeentha, Ahadillane, Burnfort, Lombardstown, Mourne Abbey, Mallow, Two-Pot House and Ballyclough.
Towards the end of October 1920, a sudden sweep by a large party of British military, the Battalion or Column Officer in Command, Paddy McCarthy, and many others were arrested. Paddy was replaced by Tadhg Byrne, Mallow.
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Late in December 1920, British forces were carrying out many raids at night. Mallow Battalion Head Quarters ordered the establishment of night patrols in each company area and ordered that each company should put out a few armed scouts at night in areas in which raids were likely to occur.
These scouts were to fire a few shots at any raiding party encountered and then withdraw, using their local knowledge of the country to evade capture. This action was intended to force crown forces to abandon their night-raiding programme.
Throughout that winter, the column (and its smaller units) lay in wait and ambushed British forces moving in small numbers at sites across North Cork such as Kanturk, Glanworth, Fermoy, Meelin, Tureengarriffe near the Cork-Kerry border, Drishanebeg, Millstreet, and Charleville.
Apart from ambushes, training, drilling and scouting activities continued.
In January 1921, orders were issued from National IRA Headquarters to destroy bridges and trench roads and generally make road communications impossible for the British.
About the end of January, the specially formed Mallow Battalion (flying) moved into the Mourne Abbey area where they lay in ambush a few times, but the expected enemy did not turn up.
However, on the evening of February 14, 1921, word was received from the Battalion Column Officer in Command, Tadhg Byrne, that column members were to report to Tadhg Looney's house at Burnfort near Mourne Abbey, before dawn the next day.
Column member John Moloney in his witness statement for the Bureau of Military History (WS 1,036) recalls that sometime about 5.30am on February 15, 1921, he and his comrades moved out from Tadgh Looney's house to the bridge crossing the Clydagh river to Analeentha where they arrived at 6am.
At this point, final instructions were issued to all units and he proceeded with the other members of the Column to take up a position behind a stone-faced fence on high ground at the western side of the road (Mallow-Cork). Their position overlooked the actual site selected for the attack, Leary's Rock, from which they were distant about 150 yards.
The enemy convoy to be attacked was one escorting General Cummings, Officer in Command of Forces at Buttevant, to a meeting of the officers of the Southern Command Area.
John (Jack) Looney who a lieutenant for the Analeentha Company, Mallow Battalion recalls his side of the story in his witness statement for the Bureau of Military History (WS 1,169) the night of 14 February, 1921.
He received a note from his Company Officer in Command, Jerome Buckley seeking mobilisation of all available members at Jordan’s Bridge at 5am the next morning (15th).
Jordan’s Bridge was at the point where the road from Analeeentha joined the main Mallow-Cork road and was approximately one mile on the Cork side of Mourne Abbey Railway Station.
John notified six or seven volunteers in his own district and all reported at the assembly point at the time specified.
With about five others, John was instructed by Jerome Buckley to take up a position in the quarry on the road between Jordan’s Bridge and Analeentha and to ensure that all traffic on this road was held up from the time on which we took up our positions.
Anybody held up by their party was to be accommodated in the local quarry. They were armed with shotguns. Amongst those in his section were Tim Harold, Phil O'Shea and Jack Buckley.
Between 6am and 11am they detained several people who were passing along the road. They kept them in the quarry.
In all, 53 young men rallied to the ambush in Mourne Abbey - 43 from Mourne Abbey, mostly young farmers in their early 20s.
About 11am John Looney witnessed four or five lorries of military approaching from Cork on the main road at a quick rate. The first two lorries, which were about 100 yards in front of the third, passed by Jordan's Bridge and continued on towards the Abbey Stores, which were approximately 150 yards beyond the bridge on the Mallow side.
The military in the lorries opened fire with a machine-gun and the man pushing the cart fell. At the same time the lorries halted. A second cart was then pushed out and the man who pushed it got back to cover.
The other lorries of military were halted at this stage at the Cork side of Jordan's Bridge. The men on the left-hand side of the lorries jumped to the ground, crossed Jordan's Bridge and entered the avenue to Joe Corry's house.
The military on the right-hand side of the lorries jumped to the ground and moved up through a high bank towards Sheehan's farm Mournabbey and to the positions of the Burnfort company who were armed with shotguns.
Troops opened fire indiscriminately killing two, while up at Creedon's in Clogheen troops shot the Creedon brothers killing one brother and wounding the other brother.
The whole party withdrew in a westerly direction. When they had crossed about three fields, machine-gun fire was opened on them by some military who had travelled in a lorry from Jordan's Bridge by Analeentha to Mooneparson Cross.
The column regrouped and continued to withdraw until they reached Clashmorgan. There they remained for a few hours and then John’s Company returned to their home area. The column went on to Horgan's farm at Nursetown.
The Mourne Abbey Ambush resulted in the death of four IRA men - three men Patrick Flynn, Monee (25), Patrick Dorgan (22), Island, and Edmond Creedon, Clogheen (20) were shot dead, whilst another man Michael Looney, Island (30) later died of his wounds.
The men who were arrested, Patrick Ronayne, Tomas Mulcahy, Con Mulcahy, Batt Riordan, and Michael Creedon were charged and tried by Court Martial at Cork Military Detention Barracks. Patrick Ronayne and Tomas Mulcahy were found guilty and executed on 28 April, 1921, and the others were found not guilty due to lack of evidence.
Major Compton Smith of the British army was kidnapped in Blarney and held in exchange for the IRA prisoners. But when Patrick Ronayne, and Tomas Mulcahy were executed Smith was executed by the IRA.
Brigade Officer in Command Liam Lynch held an investigation into the Mourne Abbey ambush. It became certain that British forces had some prior knowledge of the column’s engagement.
Leakage regarding this engagement was attributed to a British ex-soldier who was a member of the Kanturk Battalion Column.
- is a Geographer, Cork local historian and an Independent member of Cork City Council. His latest book Witness to Murder, The Inquest of Tomás MacCurtain is now available to purchase online at www.irishexaminer.ie