Battle Of Ashbourne BOACC

Battle Of Ashbourne BOACC Commemorating and educating about Irish History during the Decade of Centenaries 1913 to 1923

The Battle of Ashbourne Centenary Commemoration Committee, BOACC

The Committee is a non-political group which formed to commemorate the Battle of Ashbourne and to remember all those who died in the 1916 Rising. It continues to commemorate Irelands history in a dignified, informative and non-triumphalist manner in keeping with the guidelines provided by the National Centenary Advisory Committee.

BOACC's aim is to educate about and celebrate the Battle of Ashbourne and also the unique events which took place during the revolutionary decade of Irish History between 1913 and 1923.

For a historic family day out, join us at Swans, Curragha, County Meath, on Sunday, the 17th of May. From 12 Noon for th...
06/05/2026

For a historic family day out, join us at Swans, Curragha, County Meath, on Sunday, the 17th of May. From 12 Noon for the Paude O’Donoghue Blacksmiths Living History Festival.

Meet Paude O’Donoghue and the men and women who fought to set Ireland free in 1798 and 1916. Get up close and personal with history and the blacksmith's craft at the Best Pub in Ireland.
To celebrate the One Hundred and tenth Anniversary of the 1916 Rising and the Battle of Ashbourne, meet Blacksmiths, Rebels, Redcoats, Irish Volunteers, 1916 Soldiers, and more. Follow us here and on social media for details.

Summer is here, join us at Paud O'Donoghues forge, Swans Curragha.

Today on the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Ashbourne, BOACC is proud to remember all those who fought in and experi...
28/04/2026

Today on the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Ashbourne, BOACC is proud to remember all those who fought in and experienced the Battle. The Battle of Ashbourne was fought on the 28th of April 1916.

The battle was the largest combat operation by the Irish Volunteers outside of Dublin during Easter week 1916. Uniquely, it was also the only unequivocal victory by the Irish Volunteers in the Rising. The highly mobile force organised by Thomas Ashe and Richard Mulcahy during Easter week predated and foreshadowed the ‘Flying Columns’ of the War of Independence. BOACC is proud to remember the Battle of Ashbourne, which was fought in County Meath on Friday, the 28th of April 1916.

The battle was fought at the Balrath RIC barracks and at the Rath crossroads, three-quarters of a mile from the village of Ashbourne, from which it takes its name. In a five-hour-long engagement, the 5th Battalion, reinforced by elements of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Dublin Brigade under the command of Commandant Thomas Ashe, defeated a numerically superior force of RIC under the command of County Inspector Gray and District inspectors Smith and McCormack. At the end of the battle, the Irish Volunteers had captured more arms than they could carry, more ammunition than they could fire, and had taken more prisoners than they could secure.

The Battle of Ashbourne resulted in the deaths of thirteen people, two Irish Volunteers, John Crenigan and Thomas Rafferty. Eight Royal Irish Constabulary, County Inspector Alexander Gray, District Inspector Harry Smyth, Sergeant John Young, Constables John Shanagher, James Hickey, James Gormley, Richard McHale, and James Cleary, and Three Civilians, Alexander Keep, Jeremiah Hogan, and John Carroll. Sixteen RIC and a further five Irish Volunteers were injured.

The battle of Ashbourne involved ordinary men and women of all persuasions whose stories are seldom told, but who are just as vital to the history of Ireland. The Battle of Ashbourne Centenary Commemoration Committee (BOACC) researches, records, and recounts their stories and remembers them all. Tóla Collier is a historian specialising in military history and Irish revolutionary history.

Keep the date, Sunday 17th of May ! Join us at Swans, Curragha, County Meath for the 2026 Paud O:Donoghue Blacksmiths Li...
11/04/2026

Keep the date, Sunday 17th of May ! Join us at Swans, Curragha, County Meath for the 2026 Paud O:Donoghue Blacksmiths Living History Festival. Family Fun, History and Heritage at the award-winning Swans Bar Curragha.

Follow us here and on social media for more details of the fantastic event in the coming weeks.

BOACC wishes all of our friends in history at home and abroad a very happy Easter. Today on the 110th Anniversary of the...
05/04/2026

BOACC wishes all of our friends in history at home and abroad a very happy Easter. Today on the 110th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising we are delighted to highlight the Ashbourne 2016 memorial garden. It is one of many Centenary gardens that BOACC was proud and honoured to dedicate in 2016.

BOACC began with the objective of highlighting and commemorating the Battle of Ashbourne in 1916 as the largest battle fought and won by the Irish Volunteers outside of Dublin during the Easter Rising. That objective was achieved spectacularly in 2016 by BOACC with the Centenary re-enactment and State Commemoration of the Battle of Ashbourne at the Rath crossroads.

BOACC continues to research and educate about the women and men who made and experienced Irish history and we look forward to commemorating and bringing more great history to life in 2026

This week’s article returns to events in Meath during the Irish War of Independence and looks at the night of the 8th of...
10/01/2026

This week’s article returns to events in Meath during the Irish War of Independence and looks at the night of the 8th of January 1921, when the sky above the village of Longwood in south Meath was lit with flares as the anxious constabulary in the RIC barracks called for help from other crown forces in Trim and Dunderry. For over a half an hour, the night reverberated with the sound and fury of gunfire as the Longwood company of the Meath Brigade attacked the fortified post, and the crown forces within replied.

Longwood RIC barracks was one of the few smaller posts that had not been abandoned in 1920 and burned by the Meath Brigade. The barracks occupied an exposed but commanding position at the junction of two roads to the south of the village. The building was originally surrounded by a low wall, and this had been incorporated into new defences by the RIC with the assistance of a section of Royal Engineers, they added a high and wide sandbag revetment and aprons of barbed wire and “tangle foot” wire, which prevented unauthorised approach to the site. The barracks windows had already been protected by armoured shutters, and those on the upper floor had armoured boxes added, which projected out from the inner window to afford a wider arc of fire for riflemen and grenadiers.

The Longwood garrison on the night of the attack consisted of six regular constabulary and six Auxiliaries from “N” company, which had been garrisoned in Trim as a result of the capture and burning of Trim barracks by the Meath Brigade in September 1920. The Longwood company of the brigade was a very active unit and had taken part in numerous operations, including the capture of Ballivor RIC barracks in 1919, as well as the capture and burning of Trim RIC barracks. However, by January 1921, the Longwood company was not well armed. On the night of the attack, it mustered only two RIC Enfield Carbines captured from Ballivor, several revolvers, and six shotguns, as well as one GHQ pattern gr***de; ammunition for all weapons was also in short supply. Nevertheless, the Longwood company was determined to attack the barracks, and so the operation was sanctioned by Meath Brigade HQ in early January. The Longwood Company volunteers who took part in the attack were Company Captain Pat Giles, Larry Giles, Moss Fagan, William Murray, P. Corrigan, C. McEvoy, Michael McEvoy, Thomas Donnelly, John Grogan, Peter Grogan, P. Heavy, Edward Bird, John Costello, and Christopher Boylan.

At approximately 10:45 on the night of the 8th January, two volunteers opened fire on the barracks with captured RIC Enfield carbines from the graveyard end of Longwood at the corner of St Oliver’s road. With limited ammunition, the two volunteers sniped the barracks' upper windows as best they could, moving at regular intervals in an effort to give the impression of being a larger attacking force. The RIC and Auxiliaries in the claustrophobic confines of the barracks rushed to their posts and stared into the dark night through their observation slits, desperately trying to locate the attackers as more .303 calibre rounds rang off the iron shutters. Unable to pinpoint the location of their attackers, the garrison shot wildly into the night, and as the sound of gunfire intensified, so did the volume of fire put out by the garrison. Fearing that they were under attack from a large and determined force, the garrison used Webley and Scott 1-inch flare pistols to summon Crown forces from the nearest garrisons.

Meanwhile, the main element of the Longwood company took up a position at Murphy’s public house, eight volunteers, led by Mossy Fagan, waited in the darkness armed with six shotguns, two revolvers, and a gr***de. It was planned that the two carbine-armed volunteers would make a “conspicuous “withdrawal once the RIC garrison was well roused, the intention being that the main section of the company would attack the RIC with the gr***de and shotguns as the constabulary came out in pursuit of the apparently fleeing IRA. However, as the two Meath riflemen withdrew, no constabulary appeared, instead a regular stream of flares fired from the barracks lit the night as the garrison in the fortified building blazed away with every weapon at their disposal. Seeing that the garrison had no intention of leaving the safety of the building before morning or the arrival of reinforcement, the Longwood company decided to withdraw. The Volunteers dispersed into the night while their weapons were spirited away by other locals to the safety of a hidden bunker in a tunnel near the village.

Rather than abandon the post after the attack, the Longwood RIC garrison was increased, and the barracks fortifications were further strengthened with additional sandbags and barbed wire. The site remained a thorn in the side of the Meath Brigade from which the crown forces staged raids and searches. Tóla Collier is a historian specialising in military and Irish revolutionary history.

Wishing all of our friends in history a very happy and prosperous New Year. 2025 was another great year as we continued ...
23/12/2025

Wishing all of our friends in history a very happy and prosperous New Year. 2025 was another great year as we continued to research, commemorate and educate about Irelands Revolutionary Decade. We look forward to bringing more great history to life across Ireland and online in 2026 . Follow us here and on our other social media for details of upcoming events.

Bringing medieval Irish history to life at the National Museum of Ireland, Archeology, Kildare Street. Dublin.
08/12/2025

Bringing medieval Irish history to life at the National Museum of Ireland, Archeology, Kildare Street. Dublin.

The Forehand and Wadsworth revolver which was gifted to Eamon de Valera when he arrived in New York in June 1919. Eamon ...
19/10/2025

The Forehand and Wadsworth revolver which was gifted to Eamon de Valera when he arrived in New York in June 1919. Eamon de Valera was not a gunman; however, the gun was provided for him for self-protection while he toured the United States in his role as President of the Dáil Éireann, promoting the Irish Republic between June 1919 and December 1920.

Over the course of his 18-month tour, de Valera and other Sinn Féin delegates, most notably Harry Boland, in addition to their diplomatic work, covertly accelerated the flow of money, arms, and ammunition from the United States to Ireland. While Thompson submachine guns are perhaps the most famous of the American weapons acquired by Boland and others associated with the tour, some arms were acquired prior to it and carried in America during it.

The Forehand and Wadsworth design dated from the early 1890s and was closely modelled on a successful Smith and Wesson top break design. The .38 calibre double action revolver with its automatic ejection, five-shot cylinder, and crisp trigger action was compact, easy to carry, and use. It was also affordable compared with other equivalents on the market, and so it was a popular and commercially successful handgun. In addition, De Valera's model has a nickel-plated finish, making it not only aesthetically pleasing but also easier to clean after use.

As de Valera travelled the United States over the course of his eighteen-month tour, the Sinn Féin delegation sought formal recognition for the Irish Republic and raised funds for its struggle for independence from Britain. The tour was a masterpiece of logistical and political organisation. Covering the United States, spearheaded by Liam Mellows, it reinforced popular support for Irish Independence amongst Americans from all backgrounds. In addition, the sheer scale of the tour and the crowds that greeted it along the way increased International awareness and support for the fledgling Irish Republic.

Despite the warm welcome he received in most American states, de Valera did encounter opposition. Some of it was sponsored by the British Government, which highlighted Sinn Féin’s perceived pro-German stance during the war. This led to members of the American Legion ripping the Irish flag from de Valera's car in Portland. As the Sinn Féin delegation toured the west coast, they were harassed, and in Seattle De Valera was heckled.

However, more serious threats emerged as the tour became the focus of attention by some of the darkest elements of American society, who attempted to disrupt and attack the tour. Their efforts forced some members of the Sinn Fein delegation to carry arms for personal protection. In Florida in the Spring of 1920, the anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic “America First Association” confronted de Valera. Violence seemed increasingly inevitable as the tour progressed and members of the Ku Klux Klan made unwelcome appearances at rallies in the southern states, making clear their determined opposition to de Valera’s presence.

However, in October 1920, following the death of Terence MacSwiney, 40,000 Americans filled New York’s Polo Grounds to commemorate MacSwiney’s death. In late November, de Valera decided to return to Ireland, although he had achieved much during his tour, it had proved impossible to gain American diplomatic recognition for the Irish Republic. On the 10th of December 1920, de Valera was smuggled aboard the SS Celtic in New York harbor for the nine-day journey home. Prior to his departure, he presented his Forehand and Wadsworth revolver to his cousins while on a visit to Rochester, New York.

The family subsequently looked after it in the years that followed until, in 2019, it was presented to de Valera’s grandson and Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuiv during his state visit to the USA. Mr Ó Cuiv subsequently donated it to the National Museum of Ireland. The revolver, Serial number 51325, is now on display as part of the new “Changing Ireland” gallery in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin. HA:2022.17. Tóla Collier is a historian specialising in military and Irish revolutionary history.

Today we are proud to remember Thomas Ashe who was buried in the Republican plot in Glasnevin Cemetery on the 30th of Se...
30/09/2025

Today we are proud to remember Thomas Ashe who was buried in the Republican plot in Glasnevin Cemetery on the 30th of September 1917. Thomas Ashe died on the 25th of September 1917 as a result of forced feeding on the 5th day of a hunger strike for Prisoner of War status. We are proud to remember him through the words of his family and friends as well as the comrades who knew him best. BOACC remember him in particulate as the commander of the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. The forces under his command won the Battle of Ashbourne in County Meath on the 28th of April 1916 which was the largest battle of the Rising outside of Dublin.

As well as being a soldier Thomas Ashe was also a Teacher, Poet, Piper, Patriot, and Social Revolutionary. Fellow piper and revolutionary Sean O’Casey wrote of Thomas Ashe “Labour has reason to mourn the loss of Thomas Ashe: he was ever the workers' friend and would have always been their champion ... it would be well if every Sinn Feiner followed in his steps".

Thomas Ashe was born on the 12th of January 1885, in Lispole, County Kerry Thomas was the seventh of ten siblings. He qualified as a teacher in 1905 at De La Salle College, Waterford and after teaching briefly in Kinnard, County Kerry, in 1906 he became Principal of Corduff National School in Lusk, County Dublin. Thomas Ashe was a fluent Irish speaker and a member of the Keating branch of the Gaelic League. He was an accomplished sportsman and musician setting up the Roundtowers GAA Club as well as helping to establish the Lusk Pipe Band. He was also a talented singer and poet who was committed to Conradh na Gaeilge.

Politically he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). He established circles in Dublin and Kerry and eventually became President of the Supreme Council in 1917. While he was actively and intellectually nationalist he was also inspired by contemporary socialism. Ashe rejected conservative Home Rule politicians and as part of that rejection, he espoused the Labour policies of James Larkin. Writing in a letter to his brother Gregory he said “We are all here on Larkin’s side. He’ll beat hell out of the snobbish, mean, seoinín employers yet, and more power to him’’. Ashe supported the unionisation of north Dublin farm labourers and his activities brought him into conflict with landowners such as Thomas Kettle in 1912. During the infamous lockout in 1913, he was a frequent visitor to Liberty Hall and become a friend of James Connolly. Long prior to its publication in 1916, Thomas Ashe was a practitioner of Connolly’s dictum that “the cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour’’. In 1914 Ashe traveled to the United States where he raised a substantial sum of money for both the Gaelic League and the newly formed Irish Volunteers of which he was an early member.

Ashe founded the Volunteers in Lusk and established a firm foundation of practical and theoretical military training. He provided charismatic leadership first as Adjutant and then as O/C (Officer Commanding) the 5th Battalion of the Dublin Brigade. He inspired fierce loyalty and encouraged personal initiative in his junior officers, Ashe was, therefore, able to confidently delegate command to Charlie Weston, Joseph Lawless, Edward Rooney, and others during the Rising. Most significantly, he took advantage of the arrival of Richard Mulcahy at Finglas Glen on the Tuesday of the Rising and appointed him second in command. The two men knew one another through the IRB and Gaelic League and Ashe recognized Mulcahy’s tactical abilities. As a result, Ashe allowed himself to be persuaded by Mulcahy not to withdraw following the unexpected arrival of the motorised force at the Rath crossroads. At Ashbourne on the 28th of April Ashe also demonstrated great personal courage, first exposing himself to fire while calling on the RIC in the fortified barracks to surrender and then actively leading his Volunteers against the RIC during the Battle.

After the Rising Thomas Ashe was court-martialed on the 8th of May 1916 and was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to penal servitude for life. He was incarcerated in a variety of English prisons before being released in the June 1917 general amnesty. He immediately returned to Ireland and toured the country reorganising the IRB and inciting civil opposition to British rule. Thomas Ashe’s support for the participation of Irish Volunteer candidates in three critical by-elections in 1917 laid the foundations for the Sinn Fein electoral victory in 1918. It also provided the Irish Volunteers with a valuable public platform from which to recruit and prepare for renewed conflict with Crown forces in 1919.

In August 1917, after a speech in Ballinalee, County Longford, he was arrested by the RIC and charged with “speeches calculated to cause disaffection”. He was detained in the Curragh camp and later sentenced to a year’s hard labour in Mountjoy Jail. There he became O/C of the Volunteer prisoners and demanded prisoner-of-war status. As a result, he was punished by the Governor. He went on hunger strike on 20th September 1917 and five days later died as a result of force-feeding by the prison authorities. He was just 32 years old. The jury at the inquest that followed found ‘’that the deceased Thomas Ashe, according to the medical evidence of Professor McWeeney, Sir Arthur Chance, and Sir Thomas Myles, died from heart failure and congestion of the lungs on the 25th September 1917; and that his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell bed, bedding, and boots and allowing him to be on the cold floor for 50 hours, and then subjecting him to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger-striking for five or six days”. The death of Thomas Ashe resulted in POW status being conceded to the Volunteer prisoners two days later.

Thomas Ashe’s funeral was the first public funeral after the Rising and provided a focal point for public disaffection with British rule. His body lay in state in Dublin City Hall before being escorted by armed Volunteers to Glasnevin Cemetery. There 30,000 people attended the burial where three volleys were fired over the grave and the Last Post was sounded. Then Michael Collins in Volunteer uniform delivered the graveside oration “Nothing more remains to be said. That volley that we have just heard is the only speech which is proper to make over the grave of a dead Fenian”.

Today we in BOACC are also proud to recall Thomas Ashe in his own words through his poem “Let Me Carry Your Cross for Ireland, Lord” which he wrote while imprisoned in Lewes Jail in 1916. It has provided the inspiration for the Battle of Ashbourne memorial unveiled by Sean T. O'Kelly on Easter Sunday, 26 April 1959 and for the State Centenary Commemoration of the Battle at the Rath Cross in Ashbourne County Meath in March 2016.

Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord
The hour of her trial draws near,
And the pangs and the pains of the sacrifice
May be borne by comrades dear.
But, Lord, take me from the offering throng,
There are many far less prepared,
Through anxious and all as they are to die
That Ireland may be spared.
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord
My cares in this world are few.
And few are the tears will for me fall
When I go on my way to You.
Spare. Oh! Spare to their loved ones dear
The brother and son and sire.
That the cause we love may never die
In the land of our Heart's desire!
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
Let me suffer the pain and shame
I bow my head to their rage and hate,
And I take on myself the blame.
Let them do with my body whate'er they will,
My spirit I offer to You.
That the faithful few who heard her call
May be spared to Roisin Dubh.
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
For Ireland weak with tears,
For the aged man of the clouded brow,
And the child of tender years;
For the empty homes of her golden plains;
For the hopes of her future, Too!
Let me carry your Cross for Ireland, Lord!
for the cause of Roisin Dubh.

Tóla Collier is a Historian specialising in Irish Military and Revolutionary history

This week we remember one of the most significant operations in the Irish War of Independence, the capture and destructi...
25/09/2025

This week we remember one of the most significant operations in the Irish War of Independence, the capture and destruction of the heavily fortified RIC barracks in Trim by the Meath Brigade on the 26th of September 1920, The audacious operation was described by Michael Collins as ‘’a very big Job’’. The success by the Meath Brigade just days after the sack of Balbriggan was a major shock to the British administration. In retaliation the town of Trim was looted and burned by the R.I.C, Auxiliaries and Tans in what was later described by the crown forces as a counter terror action.

The capture of the R.I.C barracks in Trim was planned by Sean Boylan and was the largest single operation conducted by the Meath Brigade in1920. It was authorised by I.R.A GHQ in mid-August at a meeting in Dublin attended by Michael Collins, Richard Mulcahy and other senior officers. Collins recognised the scale and potential impact of the operation and was surprised when Boylan told him of his intention to mount the attack just 14 days later.

Trim R.I.C barracks was originally built to house militia and at various times since its completion had accommodated British Army Regiments. In the mid-19th Century, it became the R.I.C district headquarters for County Meath. It was a large fortified complex located on two acres of land. Strongly built it was further protected by a fifteen feet high perimeter wall entered via iron gates. The barracks was situated on the south side of the Fairgreen facing east and was 120 yards from the Summerhill road. It was garrisoned by a District Inspector, a Head Constable, and two Sergeants together with twenty to twenty-five constables.

In planning the operation Sean Boylan had the invaluable assistance by Pat Meehan who had contacts within the barracks that provided sketches of its layout and most importantly of the garrison’s routine. A key detail was the fact that each Sunday at 7.55 AM most of the R.I.C men left the barracks to attend mass. The operation involved one hundred and fifty volunteers including the Trim, Longwood and Ballivor companies as well as selected members from other units throughout South Meath. Early on the 26th of September outpost unit’s felled trees onto roads in an eight mile radius surrounding Trim and others were trenched. Lookouts and armed outposts were positioned to prevent the main force being surprised.

Meanwhile within the town the main force moved into position. Each section had a specific task; section four went to capture the R.I.C men attending mass. The other three proceeded to the barracks itself. Section one armed with revolvers scaled the wall at a point opposite the District Inspectors quarters, knowing that he was absent and that they were less likely to be seen. Once over the wall they entered the barracks and allowed the other sections in. Entering the building section one engaged the R.I,C and during the struggle Head Constable Patrick White was wounded by a shot which pierced his lung. Section two searched the complex seizing weapons and documents, meanwhile section three carried cans of a mixture of oil and petrol into preselected locations and prepared them for burning. Sections one and two even helped some of the captured R.I.C to remove their personal belongings before taking them outside. Section three then lit their incendiaries and withdrew, in minutes Trim barracks was engulfed in flames and thick smoke.

As the main force withdrew, they deposited the wounded Head Constable at the surgery of a local doctor T.J Lynch. They did this as according to Paddy Lawlor, they respected the way Patrick White had fought to protect his post, unlike Sargent McDermott at Ballivor a year earlier who had been conspicuous by his absence. Unlike McDermott who became a daring of the press, the brave Patrick White was subsequently demoted to Sergeant in November 1920.

As a result of the operation the South Meath Brigade captured Twenty Rifles, Twenty Shotguns, Six Revolvers, a box of Mills Grenades and a large amount of assorted ammunition and documents. The treasure trove was spirited away in a waiting car driven by Nicholas Gaynor and hidden in a loft at Eskaroon, Dunderry near Navan. One volunteer had been injured on the face and hands as his incendiary prematurely ignited but he was given first aid and left with his comrades. By noon the south Meath Brigade had gone leaving Trim barracks a smouldering ruin around which the disarmed R.I.C men were left to await the arrival of other Crown forces. All but one of the RIC garrison had been unharmed in the attack but the innocent citizens of Trim would pay a heavy price for the success of the South Meath Brigade.

After long delays on the roads four lorry loads of Crown forces including uniformed R.I.C, Auxiliaries and Temporary Cadets AKA Black and Tans drove into the Trim. They did so by using the Kildalkey, Summerhill road which had been left open as an exit route for the raiders. As the four Lorries arrived, they opened fire on a group of boys playing hurling on the fair green injuring two of them James Kelly and George Griffin. RIC and Auxiliaries then searched and ransacked homes and beat many locals, they withdrew following the arrival of a contingent of regular British army who began to patrol the streets. A Major named Dudley assured a local delegation that no further retaliation would take place.

However, at approximately 10 PM the troops departed and at 2 AM the following morning a mixed force of RIC, Auxiliaries and Black and Tans returned. Driving through the streets they fired rifles and pistols and entering Market Street they fired a Lewis machine gun indiscriminately into buildings on each side. Another section entered Higgins Hotel and gave the occupants three minutes to leave after which it was set alight. Trim Town hall was broken into and also set alight destroying many valuable documents including some which were five hundred years old. In a direct attack on the town’s economy businesses were targeted, J&E Smyth’s bakery and mineral water factory which employed more than one hundred people was destroyed rendering them jobless. Other business’s including McCormack’s and Gaughans as well as Allen brother’s drapery on the high street were also looted and burned. Thousands of pounds worth of commercial assets was incinerated. Homes on Watergate Street and Castle Street were also attacked and ransacked. The family of Paddy Lawlor were dragged into Castle Street and savagely beaten in an effort to gain information. At 5 AM the crown forces finally withdrew shouting that they would return the next night to finish their work. Many citizens continued to hide out along the banks of the Boyne on subsequent nights and approximately seventy townspeople made homeless by the attacks on the night of the 26th of September were forced to seek refuge in the workhouse.

September 1920 marked a savage escalation in what was termed ‘’counter terror’’ involving arson, shootings and extrajudicial killings carried out by Crown forces. Balbriggan had experienced this strategy on the 20th of September. Six days later Trim County Meath joined a growing list of Irish towns subjected to retaliation raids including Mallow, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay and Tubbercurry. Tóla Collier is a historian specialising in military and revolutionary Irish history

Address

Ashbourne County Meath
Ashbourne

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Battle Of Ashbourne BOACC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Share