CROSSMOLINA
MAN’S TRAGIC ACCIDENT
IN
BALLINA
====================
MAN SHOT DEAD BY MILITARY PATROL
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(Ballina
Herald, January 4, 1923)
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N Thursday
night, at. about 9.50, a man named Patrick Mahon, a native of Pulladohey,
Crossmolina, was shot dead by a military patrol. It appears that a report of
some disturbance in the streets having reached the military, a patrol of three
men, in charge of Sergeant-Major Keaney, was sent to investigate the affair.
When the patrol reached Erskine's corner three men who were on the road in
Bridge Street shouted "Up the Bolshies!" "Up Kilroy!" The patrol kept them under
observation and when other persons began to congregate in the vicinity a shot
was fired by one of the patrol. Those on the road immediately began to
disperse, and Mahon ran up the laneway which divides Messrs. McGuinness’s shop
and Mr. Pat O'Hora's licensed premises.
The
military followed him up the laneway, but he refused to answer some questions
which he was asked. He was then placed under arrest, but resisted being brought
to the barrack. In the course of the struggle which ensued Volunteer Freyne pushed Mahon
with the muzzle of his rifle in the back. As he did so a shot went off, and
Mahon fell a lifeless corpse. The circumstances of his death are particularly
sad. He was a very respectable young man, and in the ordinary course of events
temperate and steady. He has two brothers in the National Army, for whom the
greatest sympathy is felt, and much sympathy also goes out to his old and
bereaved father. On Friday an inquest on the remains was held in the Boardroom
by Dr. M'Guinness, Deputy Coroner
for North Mayo.
The military were
represented by Mr. P. J. Mulligan,
who detailed the circumstances under which the deceased met his death as set
forth above.
The following jury was sworn:—John Moylett (foreman). Daniel Hopkins, T. Boshell, John M'Nultv,
Thomas Keaney, J. M'Gee, Augustine Doherty, J. Heffernan, V.S.; E. J. Nealon,
P. Jordan. John Clarke, D. Lowry, Joseph Wilde, T. M'Hale.
John Mahon, father of the
deceased, gave evidence of identification, who he said was his son. He was
about 31 years of age. He was unmarried. He did not see his son for the last
two or three years. He was hired in Mr.
Frazer's, of Mullafarry. Two of his sons were in the National Army, and he
had one son at home.
Mr. Frank Keane, M D., gave
evidence that he examined the body of the deceased and found o punctured wound
at the 'back of the right shoulder and a, corresponding exit wound in the
chest. The wound, in his opinion, was caused by a bullet; Death was due to
shock and hemorrhage.
Mr. Mulligan—Was
the shot fired close to the deceased?—I could not say. All 1 can say is that
the entrance wound was at the back and the exit wound in the chest, close to
the neck.
Sergt.-Major John Keaney gave
evidence that from a report that reached No. 2 barrack he was sent down town
at 10 o'clock. He was sent to Garden Street in company, with Volunteers Early,
Freyne and M’Loughlin. When they reached Tyler's cross he saw three or four men
standing in Bridge Street talking loud. More people were collecting close to
them. When the patrol came on the scene witness stood watching the crowd, and
one of them shouted: “Up the Bolshies!”, “Up Kilroy!" Witness then
advanced a few paces and when some of the crowd saw them advancing they began
to move away. Some of the people who had collected also began to move, and
witness shouted "Halt!" One of the three men witness first observed
went up O'Hora's laneway, and the others went down the street, and he lost view
of them. After he called on the men to halt a shot was fired in the air by one of
the party. Witness went up the laneway after the man, and found him knocking at
a door on the left hand side.
Mr. Mulligan—What door is that?—It is the
door of the stores.
Witness, continuing, stated that he asked the
man what he was doing in here, but he made no reply. Witness then seized him by
the left arm and said "Come with me." The man was holding on to the
latch of the door with his right hand. Vol. Early then caught him by the right:
arm. The deceased at the time was badly under the influence of drink.
Mr. Mulligan—Where were you taking him to?—Up
to the barrack.
Was he coming freely or was he resisting?—He
was resisting as we were taking him out of the laneway.
Did Vol. Freyne then come to your assistance?—I
did not see him, but when I had the man near the entrance to the lane I heard a
shot, but I could not say whose rifle it came from. The prisoner then said he
was wounded, and he collapsed in the laneway. We then carried him out to the
street with the help of two other men, and Volunteer M’Loughlin went for the
doctor. I did not know the man before this.
Coroner—In which direction did the shot come
from—was it from the street? — It seemed so, but I could not say. I did not see
the flash.
Coroner—The doctor's evidence is that he was
shot from the back.
Mr. M 'Hale—I heard three shots altogether.
Coroner—When I heard the doctor's evidence it
was not comprehensible to me as to where the person was standing who fired the
shot, because the doctor's evidence is that he was shot in the back.
Witness, further
questioned, said the man’s face was towards the entrance to the lanewav when he
was shot.
Vol. Luke Early corroborated the evidence
given by Sergt.-Major Keaney. He heard the shout of “Up the Bolshies!" and
"Up Kilroy!" and he saw the shot being fired in the air. He saw the
man running up the laneway, and he also saw him standing at the door when
Sergeant-Major Keaney took a hold of him. Witness then caught hold of him by
the right shoulder with his left hand. The man was resisting.
What happened then?—We were taking him down
the laneway, and Vol. Freyne seemed to be at his back. I could not say if
Freyne and M'Loughlin were in front of him, but I believe Freyne was at the
back of deceased. A shot rang out from the back, and the flash of it singed the
index finger of my left hand. I don't know whose rifle the shot came from. The deceased said he was wounded, and we
afterwards carried him out on to the street. An officer whom I did not know,
then came on the scene and placed the patrol under arrest The officer took charge
of the dying man. I did not fire a shot that night.:
Coroner—You say that Vol. Freyne was behind
you in the laneway ?—Yes, I believe so.
Foreman—Could there be anybody else be in the
lanewav behind you except Vol. Freyne?—There could, for all 1 know.'
Foreman—The laneway is a very dark one.
Vol. Patrick M’Loughlin gave
evidence in corroboration of the two previous witnesses. He was the third man
of the patrol that went -up the laneway.
What did you see?—I heard the Sergt.-Major
asking the deceased questions, but he seemed to give no answer. They then
arrested him, and were bringing him down the laneway when a shot went off. He
was resisting arrest at the time. Vol. Freyne stepped in behind the prisoner, in
front of me, and he gave a push of his rifle to the prisoner. It was then the
shot went off.
To Mr. Mulligan—Was it with the stock or the
muzzle of the rifle he pushed him?—I could not say, but after the shot went off
the prisoner said he was wounded, and he collapsed. We then helped him out on
to the street. Witness added that he went for Dr. Keane and a civilian went for
a priest. When he was going for tine doctor a civilian said that a doctor was
on the scene, and he did not go for Dr. Keane then. An officer came along
afterwards and handed the patrol over to Captain
M'Canning. Witness did not fire a shot that night.
Vice-Brigadier Compton
deposed—I was leaving the Moy Hotel when I heard the shots, and I immediately
went to investigate as to the reason of the shooting. I found that a man had
been shot, and I placed the patrol under arrest. I examined the rifles, and by
smelling the barrels I found that a shot had been fired out of one of them, but
I cannot say whose rifle it was, as I did not know the men. Dr. Keane was with me at the time.
Foreman—Was it the same rifle that fired all
the shots?
Coroner—Well, Freyne is to make a statement,
and it might clear that matter up.
Sergt.-Major Keaney, recalled, said he could
not say which of the patrol fired the first shot. He only heard two shots altogether.
Mr. Wilde—The brigadier
said that he found that shots were discharged by only one rifle.
A brother of the
deceased deposed that his brother was a sober man. "Then," he added,
"to go calling a man names after he was wounded!”
Coroner—Did you hear them?—No, but the
captain said it.
John Ormsby gave evidence, in
reply to the Coroner, that he was along with the deceased at the time he was
shot. The first shot that was fired hit the wall one side of witness's head. A
second shot was then fired, and he heard a moan.
Did you see the deceased with a hold of the
latch of the door?—No, but we were going in for a drink at the time.
The Coroner said he did not think that the
witness's evidence had any bearing on the case, and he would not reduce it to writing.
Thomas Moyles, in reply to the
Coroner, said three shots were fired. He saw deceased running into the lane,
but he did not catch hold of the latch. He saw the military catching hold of
the deceased, but deceased did not resist. While they had a hold of him a shot
went off.
To Mr. Mulligan—The lane is a bright one;
there is no archway over it.
To the Coroner—I won't say he did not resist
arrest.
Coroner—You don’t throw any further light on
the matter.
Vol.
Freyne was called, and the Coroner warned him that any statement he made
might be used in evidence afterwards against him. Freyne said he wished to make
a statement to show the public that the deceased met his death accidentally. On
the night in question, he continued, a man came to Sergt.-Major Keanev and told
him “that some of our men were forcing drink from a publican in Garden Street”-----
The Coroner said the witness should confine
himself to what occurred in the lane.
The witness then said that when he went into
the laneway deceased was resisting arrest. He put the muzzle of his rifle to
deceased's back to get him out of the laneway and a shot went off. "I don't
know whether it was out of my rifle or not," he said. The shot was not
fired by him, but he forgot to put the safety catch of his rifle forward after
he first fired in the air, or to put his finger into the breach to prevent the
cartridge from coming out of the magazine. He had only one drink on the day of
the occurrence. The shot, he added, could have come from his rifle, but it was
not fired by him.
Mr. Mulligan then addressed the jury, and
said the statement made by Freyne showed clearly how the unfortunate affair
happened. He simply pushed the deceased with the muzzle of his rifle when he
saw he was unwilling to go with the patrol. and the shot which killed the man
was accidentally discharged. The occurrence was extremely regrettable,
especially having regard to the fact that the deceased had two brothers serving
in the National Army. He suggested to the jury that the only verdict they could
bring in was that the shot which killed Mahon was accidentally discharged.
There was no malice or any words used that justified the jury in bringing in
any other verdict. He hoped it would be the last occasion on which they would
have to investigate an affair like this.
The Coroner,
addressing the jury, said as far as the evidence was concerned their first duty
was to found their verdict on the evidence of Dr. Keane — that the deceased
died from shock and hemorrhage caused by a bullet wound in the chest. The next
question was as to the person who inflicted the wound. He did not think they
would meet with any difficulty as regards that. Undoubtedly the shot was fired
from Freyne's rifle, but there was no evidence to show that it was discharged
in any way except a purely accidental manner. Of course, there was such a thing
as carelessness, and that was a feature of the affair that the jury would have
to take into consideration. He (Coroner) had known the deceased and his family
for the last eighteen years, and he knew them to be all hardworking boys. The
deceased and his brothers were all very honest and respectable boys and well
connected with the district from which they came. It was a matter of deep
regret to him to have to hold an inquiry into the death of any one of them.
The jury then retired, and returned inside of
ten minutes and brought in a verdict, in accordance with the medical testimony,
and that the shot was accidentally discharged from Vol. Freyne's rifle. They
added a rider that they were of opinion that more care and control could be
exercised by the military in the discharge of their duties. They tendered to
the relatives of the deceased their deep sympathy, and recommended the military
authorities to take charge of the funeral expenses.
Foreman—I
hope it will be a long time again before we are summoned to an enquiry of this
kind, and that the military authorities will take care of the funeral
arrangements.
Comdt. Noonan—That has already been done.
The Coroner complimented the jury on the verdict
they had returned, and said that he agreed that more care should be exercised
by the military of their duties. This was the second occasion on which he was summoned
to investigate a death by rifle shooting. He did not know if the element of
carelessness entered into the first case, but in this case it was a very
reprehensible thing for Freyne to push a man forward with the muzzle of his rifle
and send him before his God at the commencement of his career.
Mr. Mulligan — The military were shocked to
hear that the unfortunate man met his death through being pushed by a rifle,
and the General in charge of the town at present was only awaiting for the
verdict of the jury to take stern disciplinary measures. He looked upon it as a
shocking affair that any civilian should be even slightly injured through any
action of the military. Mr. Mulligan added the relatives of the deceased would
not have to pay any part of the expenses of the funeral which would be taken
charge of by the military.
