Remembering the War of Independence

A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES AND ONE PARISH Both Partry and Tourmakeady, in the parish of Ballyovey, were the scene of two significant ambushes by the South Mayo IRA on RIC patrols 100 years ago in the War of Independence. Yesterday (Monday), marked the 100th anniversary of the famous Tourmakeady Ambush. Pic: Conor McKeown

The events of 100 years ago are central to who we are as a people

Yesterday (Monday) marked the 100th anniversary of the Tourmakeady Ambush. While we are preparing for the easing of restrictions in the coming weeks and months, all that came too soon for the commemorative committee, Comóradh LuíochΡn Thuar Mhic Éadaigh.
In normal years, Tourmakeady would be heaving for such an anniversary. This year it had to be more muted by virtue of Covid-19 guidelines.
But that did not stop the committee from pulling out all the stops in whatever way they could.
They turned the sod for memorials yesterday in Tourmakeady and Srah. Private prayer services were held at the graves of Adj Michael O’Brien who was killed in a skirmish after the ambush in Tourmakeady; for PΡdraig Feeney, from Ballinrobe, who was killed by British forces after they intercepted him en route to Tourmakeady to give details of the RIC convoy en route; and for Thomas Horan, from Tourmakeady, who was killed in a vicious reprisal in the aftermath of the Partry Ambush in March, 1921.
On Sunday, Mass was celebrated in St Mary’s Church, Tourmakeady for IRA Volunteers and Cumann na mBan members and also for all the men who died on May 3, 1921.
The committee has also launched a terrific website, www.cltme.ie. On there is a virtual tour of the different sites during the ambush along with a fascinating history of each location. Information stands will also be erected at key locations.
A new book, ‘Tourmakeady Ambush 1921’, has been brought out. It was written and compiled by SeΡn Ó LuideΡin and committee chairperson TomΡs Ó hEΡnachΡin and is thoroughly engaging read.
In this week’s Mayo News we carry the second of a three-part series by historian Ultan Lally on the Tourmakeady Ambush. Ultan is also bringing out a book shortly, an update on his late father MicheΡl’s book ‘The Tan War in Ballyovey’. His writing on the ambush is compulsive reading.
Ballyovey is the parish name for Partry and Tourmakeady, and it’s curious that the two engagements by the South Mayo IRA took place in that parish.

Commemorations
As time moves on, it remains important to commemorate the efforts made by those 100 years ago for the independence of this nation. The sacrifices made by the men and women of this county and country were colossal.
Times were tough and many young men and women risked their lives to forge a better future for Ireland.  
In Tourmakeady 100 years ago, one Volunteer, Adj Michael O’Brien, was killed, while three members of the Royal Irish Constabulary lost their lives. Some of the families of the four RIC men who died in Tourmakeady were brought to the scene that day by the RIC. One would have to have a heart of stone to not be moved by the sorrow they must have felt.
That all those who died on the day would be remembered at Sunday’s Mass is an acknowledgement of the suffering endured by both sides, and is reflection of our growing maturity when it comes to remembering events during the revolutionary years.
Many RIC men born in Mayo lost their lives in the revolutionary years. They did not necessarily join the RIC out of any fealty to the crown, but for more practical reasons – a good, secure job to provide for their families in an era in which the shadow of the Famine still hung and poverty was still all too prevalent.
But, fundamentally, the difference lay in the fact that the Volunteers were exactly that – people who risked their lives for no pay in the hope of a better future, not just for them, but for generations that followed.
That many of those who risked their lives in the War of Independence had to subsequently emigrate to eke out an existence is one of the great sadnesses of those times, a reality that is still prevalent to some extent today, even though life in 21st-century Mayo is nowhere near as difficult as it was 100 years ago.
What’s even sadder is that many of those who fought together for a free Ireland would, a short time later, be cast against each other in a bitter Civil War. Everyone did what they thought was right, and it must have been a horrible time.
That’s for another day. Now, we must remember and pay tribute to the efforts that those made 100 years ago.
We will have more coverage of the Tourmakeady Ambush next week.
In the coming weeks, we will have more coverage of the War of Independent, including a special supplement in the issue of June 1.
The events of 100 years ago are still so central to what we are as a country and who we are as a people. Therefore, it is vital we reflect and that we remember.