Wikipedia

Draft:Murder of the Loughnane Brothers

Patrick and Harry Loughnane were two brothers from Shanaglish who were killed by the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence in November 1920.

Background edit

Patrick (29) was a Sinn Féin secretary and a lieutenant in IRA and the leader of IRA's Beagh company; Harry Loughnane (22) was also in the IRA and the president of the local Sinn Féin club.

Castledaly ambush edit

On 30 October 1920 a party of five RIC constables on bicycles: sergeant O'Driscoll and constables Keane, Gilmartin, Dunne and Timothy Horan Jr. left their barracks in Kilchreest at around 10:30am, and were heading to Peterswell, when around 30-50 volunteers of the Beagh and Gort companies, armed with mostly shotguns and revolvers ambushed them near St. Tereasa's Roman Catholic Church in Castledaly. O'Driscoll, Keane and Gilmartin managed to escape uninjured, while constable Dunne was injured and his gun seized and Horan was also injured and attempted to escape through the church's graveyard but was chased and killed after he climbed over the graveyard's wall.[1][2][3]

Killing of Eileen Quinn edit

At 3:30am on 1 November 1920 in reprisal for the ambush, Eileen Quinn (23) a pregnant mother of two was sitting in her home while holding her baby in Kiltartan was shot in the groin by the Auxiliaries from a passing lorry, Eileen would die two hours later.[1][4][5]

Murders edit

On 26 November 1920 Patrick and Harry Loughnane along with their mother Catherine and one of their neighbors Robert Glynn were threshing corn at their mothers farm in Shanaglish. At around 4pm a party of around 15 Auxiliaries led by Thomas Francis Burke arrived at their farm, held the four at gunpoint, until they were identified, Glynn tried to run away and was shot at, luckily he was not hit and successfully escaped.[1][6]

When the three were identified by a police officer from Tubber, they arrested Pat and Harry, the Auxies then arrested another man Michael Carroll at around 5pm in Tubber. While they held Michael in the lorry they beat him. After they were finished searching his house the Auxies then told to him leave, after he refused they then started the lorry two Auxies grabbed him and threw him off the side of the lorry but his coat got caught on the side of the lorry was dragged for about 20 yards, when he was eventually pulled back in they the beat three. They then stopped at Furpark where the Auxies searched the Flahertys' and the Nelly's houses, after around 15 minutes the Auxies found nothing they beat the three men again more violently. While they drove to the RIC barracks in Gort, they were beaten even more violently.[1][6][7]

After the three arrived at the barracks they were beaten. A lone RIC constable, Doherty attempted to intervene but was unsuccessful. Temporary Auxiliary Cadet Caradog Wyn Owen and his 12 Auxies then interrogated and tortured Pat and Harry until they were disfigured. After a few hours they then tied Pat and Harry to the tailgate of a lorry and had them attempt to keep pace with the lorry when they eventually couldn't keep up they were dragged for around five miles to Drumharsna Castle. At Drumharsna Castle Pat and Harry miraculously were still alive, but were tortured further having some of their fingers chopped off and having the RIC's badge cut into their skin. At around 11pm Pat and Harry were taken to a nearby forest were they were then shot and killed, after that they were taken to Owenbristy where there bodies were set on fire and a grenade was detonated in Harry's mouth. The Auxies then dumped the bodies in a nearby pond.[1][6][7]

On 27 November Catherine along with the parish priest of Beagh, John Nagle, went to Drumharsna to deliver clothes for the Pat and Harry. But were told that they were moved the night before and that they didn't know where they moved to.

At around 12am on 29 November the Auxiliaries called Catherine to tell her that Pat and Harry had escaped from Drumharsna Castle, and a party of Auxies then raided her house but found nothing. The raid made family and friends of the Loughnanes anxious and worried about Pat and Harry.[6]

On 4 December Pat and Harry's cousin Michael Loughnane claimed to have a vision of Pat after he was arrested by the Black and Tans, nine days later on 13 December he claimed to have dreamt about seeing Pat and Harry's bodies in a pond and the following day after mass, Michael along with two friends Michael and William 'Willie' Hynes who were apart of the Kinvara company of the IRA would cycle to Owenbristy where they crossed a field and to the pond where the their bodies were. They didn't immediately tell anyone of their discovery until they reached Kinvara where they revealed their discovery, the three men and around 20 members of the Kinvara company would travel to Owenbristy where they recovered Pat and Harry's bodies.[1][6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The tragic story of Patrick and Harry Loughnane - West Cork People". 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  2. ^ "Centenary Anniversary of Tragedies in South Galway • Galway City Museum". Galway City Museum. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  3. ^ MacCormaic, Eoghan; Donncha, Mícheál Mac. "Horrific murder of Loughnane brothers by the Auxiliaries". www.anphoblacht.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  4. ^ "DEATH BY MISADVENTURE, GALWAY. (Hansard, 17 November 1920)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  5. ^ "Eileen Quinn". www.lawsociety.ie. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  6. ^ a b c d e "The Loughnane brothers, 1920". Clan Ólochlainn. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  7. ^ a b "One of most powerful images of War of Independence". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
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