Charlestown Ambush

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sun Apr 01, 2001 11:53 am

Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties?
 
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Brian Costello · Post by **Brian Costello** » Thu Apr 05, 2001 12:55 am

(User Above) wrote: : Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties? I can't find any account of the Ambush that you mention. However in the casualt listings for the Civil War I came across an Anti-Treaty volunteer named Edwars Kilroy who as KIA (killed in action) in Charlestown on December 23rd 1922. This may be the encounter that you refer to.

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lgf@indigo.ie

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Apr 06, 2001 8:39 am

(User Above) wrote: : : Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties?: : I can't find any account of the Ambush that you mention. However in the casualt listings for the Civil War I came across an Anti-Treaty volunteer named Edwars Kilroy who as KIA (killed in action) in Charlestown on December 23rd 1922. This may be the encounter that you refer to.Thanks very much, Brian. That's the name and incident I'm interested in. Do you know of any Free Stater(s) who was killed or wounded that day, or was Edward Kilroy the only casualty? There may be a very unusual coincidence that occured that day, if another casuality is known.

Brian Costello · Post by **Brian Costello** » Sat Apr 07, 2001 8:48 am

(User Above) wrote: : : : Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties?: : : : I can't find any account of the Ambush that you mention. However in the casualt listings for the Civil War I came across an Anti-Treaty volunteer named Edwars Kilroy who as KIA (killed in action) in Charlestown on December 23rd 1922. This may be the encounter that you refer to.: Thanks very much, Brian. That's the name and incident I'm interested in. Do you know of any Free Stater(s) who was killed or wounded that day, or was Edward Kilroy the only casualty? There may be a very unusual coincidence that occured that day, if another casuality is known. Paul, In my initial search I couldn't find any other casualties. However my records only list those killed - not wounded. I know of a book which I will get next week that may have more information. What do you know of the circumstances of the incident?

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lgf@indigo.ie

Mary · Post by **Mary** » Mon Apr 16, 2001 11:55 am

(User Above) wrote: : : : : Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties?: : : : : : I can't find any account of the Ambush that you mention. However in the casualt listings for the Civil War I came across an Anti-Treaty volunteer named Edwars Kilroy who as KIA (killed in action) in Charlestown on December 23rd 1922. This may be the encounter that you refer to.: : Thanks very much, Brian. That's the name and incident I'm interested in. Do you know of any Free Stater(s) who was killed or wounded that day, or was Edward Kilroy the only casualty? There may be a very unusual coincidence that occured that day, if another casuality is known.: : Paul, In my initial search I couldn't find any other casualties. However my records only list those killed - not wounded. I know of a book which I will get next week that may have more information. What do you know of the circumstances of the incident? : Paul, There is a monument on the roadside near the church at Curry, Co. Sligo, which mentions Ned Kilroy. The details are as follows:In Proud Memory of Lieut. Patrick Stenson, Bunninadden COY, I.R.A. who near this spot gave his life for the Irish Republic on the 13th March 1923, and Capt. John Durcan 13th Sept 1922 Lieut. Ned Kilroy 23rd December 1922 Vol. Martin McGuinn 13th March 1923 Curry COY. I.R.A. Killed in action in defence of the Republic. R.I.P. Erected by the Sligo Graves Committee.Curry, Co. Sligo, is a few miles north of Charlestown, just over the Sligo border.

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UStridh@aol.com

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Mon Apr 16, 2001 12:30 pm

(User Above) wrote: : : : : Does anyone have the details on an attack carried out on Free State forces in Charlestown, Mayo, in 1922 or 1923, including the names of any participants or casualties?: : : : : : I can't find any account of the Ambush that you mention. However in the casualt listings for the Civil War I came across an Anti-Treaty volunteer named Edwars Kilroy who as KIA (killed in action) in Charlestown on December 23rd 1922. This may be the encounter that you refer to.: : Thanks very much, Brian. That's the name and incident I'm interested in. Do you know of any Free Stater(s) who was killed or wounded that day, or was Edward Kilroy the only casualty? There may be a very unusual coincidence that occured that day, if another casuality is known.: : Paul, In my initial search I couldn't find any other casualties. However my records only list those killed - not wounded. I know of a book which I will get next week that may have more information. What do you know of the circumstances of the incident?Brian, here is the story. It may not be such a coincidence, because civil wars tend to have stories like this. There was a man and his neighbor who lived not far from Charlestown. They were both members of the East Mayo Brigade of the IRA during the war of independence. Both remained with the republican forces after the Treaty. One of the men could repair weapons and consequently kept weapons in a weapons dump on his property. The Free Staters got wind of this and captured both men. At the time, you could be shot if found in arms. Both men were about to be shot by the Free Staters when a man with the party of Staters, who was a relative of the wife of one of the men, intervened to save them. A short time later, a party of Staters was on a lorry passing through Charlestown. The lorry was fired on by Republicans (or so the story goes). Edward Kilroy was killed by the returned fire. Edward Kilroy would turn out to be the uncle of the man’s future daughter in law. The man who saved his life, and was the relative of his wife, was supposed to have been killed (or so the story goes). Perhaps he was wounded and died later. Or perhaps he was only wounded. Anyway, Brian, I’m trying to find the name of that man.Also, thanks Mary for the information you posted. :

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Tue Apr 17, 2001 3:40 pm

A lot of information there Paul. I struggled a bit to keep with all the protagonists in your tale, however I gather that it is the name of the Free State Army troop who saved the two Irregulars & that was later shot himself who you are trying to identify. While the anti-treaty forces erected monuments etc to their dead (as described by Mary), the army casualties were not as well publicised. In researching an ambush involving a relative of my own in 1922 I uncovered 5 Free State casualties. The official line was that there were only 2. It's possible that the man to whom you refer was not "officially recorded" and therefore difficult to track down. I will probe a bit more now, based on your information. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this.
 
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Leitrim-Roscommon

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