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

Siege of Tralee
Part of the Irish War of Independence
Date1 - 9 November 1920
Location
Result

Irish withdrawal

  • Siege lifted
Belligerents
Irish Republican Army
(Tralee Battalion)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland British Army
(Royal Irish Constabulary)
Commanders and leaders
Patrick Cahill United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Constable Patrick Waters 

History

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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 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

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  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. ^ a b "The Siege of Tralee, November 1 – 9, 1920". The Irish Story. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  5. ^ O'Halpin, pg 208.