Siege of Tralee

The siege of Tralee was an event that took place between 1 and 9 November 1920 in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland.

History

Patrick Cahill, the Officer Commanding Kerry No. 1 Brigade, Irish Republican Army instructed the Tralee Battalion to carry out reprisal attacks for the death (on hunger strike) of Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney.[1] On the night of 31 October 1920, RIC Constable Patrick Waters and RIC Constable Ernest Bright had been kidnapped, shot and killed by IRA volunteers in Tralee.[2] In response to the seizure of two of their colleagues and in an attempt to recover the bodies,[3] British temporary constables (Black and Tans) imposed a curfew on the town, shot local people who appeared on the streets, insisted that the local businesses close and stopped all food and drink from entering the town.[4] Tralee Town Hall and several shops were burned down and two civilians were shot dead (John Conway and Tommy Wall).[5]

Hamar Greenwood, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, ordered that the siege be lifted on 9 November 1920.[4]

References
  1. O'Halpin, Eunan & Ó Corráin, Daithí (2020), The Dead of the Irish Revolution. Yale University Press, pg 208-209
  2. "Constable Ernest Bright, 34; Constable Patrick Waters, 24". RIC Roll of Honor. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  3. "The New Zealander who became front page news during the War of Independence". Irish Examiner. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  4. "The Siege of Tralee, November 1 – 9, 1920". The Irish Story. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  5. O'Halpin, pg 208.
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