BLOODY
BATTLE NEAR BANGOR
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SIX
NATIONAL SOLDIERS
AND TEN
IRREGULARS KILLED
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PRESENCE OF WOMEN
AND CHILDREN
SAVES
IRREGULAR LEADER
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The Western People, September 23, 1922
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FTER the invasion of Ballina by the
Irregulars on Tuesday week they split up their forces, portion of them
departing by way of Bonniconlon, while the other portion went via Killala,
Ballycastle and Belmullet, to the hills. The latter detachment was in charge of
General Kilroy, and were escorted as far as Ballycastle by the armoured car,
"Ballinalee." The car again returned and passed through Ballina
towards Bonniconlon.
On Tuesday night some of the lorries which
the Irregulars forces seized sank in the road near Belderrig and Wednesday was
spent in trying to extricate them. The Irregulars afterwards proceeded towards
Glenamoy.
Early on Thursday morning a force of National
troops, numbering thirty, left Ballina, and arriving at Bangor at daybreak,
arrested two men named Mills and Barrett. The latter was subsequently
released. Mills, who was armed when captured, was detained. At 10 a.m. the
troops left Bangor for Glencullen, and while on the way were fired at.
The troops dismounted from the cars,
surrounded five Irregulars, three of whom were armed with double-barrelled
guns, and two with revolvers and one rifle. They also were armed with a Mills
bomb and a number of bombs of home manufacture. the troops then proceeded on
their journey, and a few miles further on succeeded in capturing other prisoners,
including two men bearing important dispatches.
These are some of the incidents leading up to
what must be described as the most deadly encounter that has yet taken place in
Mayo.
Securing their prisoners, the troops
proceeded to Glenlossera Lodge,
which they immediately surrounded. It was then 9 p.m., and after reconnoitering
the position, it was found to be strongly held by a large force of Irregulars.
Not having sufficient men to attack the place, Brigadier-General Neary, who was in charge of the National soldiers
sent a dispatch rider to Ballina for reinforcements, but owing to these not
turning up in time, the position taken by the National forces had to be
abandoned before daylight.
The troops then went back to Crossmolina, and
securing the necessary reinforcements, returned by way of Sheskin Lodge, and on beyond Glenlossera.
It appeared that meantime the forces under General Kilroy had appeared on the
scene, so that the Irregulars were now in great strength and armed with several
machine guns.
At the particular place where the deadly
fight took place the country is of an undulating character, intersected with
deep valleys and ravines, and altogether an ideal country for an ambush.
Proceeding down one of these valleys, the National troops were all unconscious
of the presence of the Irregulars, until a withering fire was opened on them
from all sides, the rat-rat of many machine guns dominating the din. With the
first onslaught four of the troops were shot dead--those being:--
Captain
Healy, Pontoon (shot through the head);
Lieut.
W. J. Gill, Ballinalee, Longford (shot through the head);
Volunteer
Sean Higgins, Foxford (shot through the heart);
Volunteer
Thomas Rall, Dublin (shot through the head);
The National troops immediately got into
extended order and replied to the fire with effect. Many of the Irregulars were
seen to fall, never to rise again.
From this forth the battle raged furiously.
the valleys and hillsides were ablaze with the flashes of the machine guns, of
which the National forces had none. With this disadvantage they made a brave
stand, and steadily replied to the Irregulars' fire.
By this time the Irregulars had executed an
outflanking movement and succeeded in isolating a party o the National troops,
17 of whom they captured.
A party of the National troops got close to
the house of a Mrs. Kelly, and ascertaining that in it was General Kilroy, they
surrounded the building. Owing to it being occupied by a woman and her four
small children, they refrained from bombing the place. They, however, kept the
building surrounded. Half-an-hour afterwards the Irregulars ascertaining what
was taking place, opened intense fire on the troops that had the cottage
surrounded. During this fusillade two
more of the National troops were killed, viz:--
Sergeant-Major
Edward Crabbe, Galway (killed by an explosive bullet);
Volunteer
Patrick Bray (killed by an explosive bullet).
The wounds inflicted on those unfortunate men
were frightful, in one case the back of the head being blown away, while in the
other case a large part of the side was torn away.
Captain
Fleming, Crossmolina, also received a bad wound in the hip, but is doing
well.
Volunteer
Barry, Westport, had his arm shattered by an explosive bullet.
It was quite evident also that Captain Healy
and Lieut. Gill were killed by explosive bullets.
During the operations Captain Judge, Transport Officer, had a marvellous escape from
death. At a position which he had taken up fire was opened on him buy a machine
gunner, who bespattered the place around him with a hail of lead. Working his
way to a sod fence, he succeeded in making a hole through it with the top of his
rifle, and after working feverishly at this for tome time he made it large
enough to get his body through, and in this manner got sufficient cover to
protect himself from the stream of bullets. It was simply marvellous that he
was not hit, as the ditch at which he was burrowing was ploughed with bullets.
It has been ascertained that during the night
ten of the Irregulars were killed and many wounded. the small percentage of
wounded as compared with these killed on the side of the National forces is
accounted for by the fact that nearly all their casualties were inflicted by
snipers, and that a hit with the explosive bullets used by them meant death.
The prisoners, some of them Ballina men, have
not yet been released, as is the usual custom of the Irregulars.
The bodies of the dead soldiers were
subsequently removed to the workhouse chapel, Ballina, where they were laid.
Hundreds of people visited the place on Sunday to view the remains and offer up
a silent prayer for the brave men who had given their lives in defence of their
country. After Mass in the workhouse chapel on Sunday, Father Greaney asked the congregation, which included many
civilians, to offer up their prayers for the brave lads, and recited the Rosary
for their eternal repose.
At 3 o'clock the bodies of Captain Healy and
Volunteer Higgins were conveyed by special train to Foxford.
The
coffins, entwined in the tri-colour, were borne to the station on their
shoulders by the officers and men of Captain Healy's company. The cortege was
accompanied by hundreds of the people of the town, and as it entered the
station a guard of honour came to the present. When placed on the train Father
Greaney recited prayers for the dead, in which all those on the platform,
including Father O'Boyle, and Father Feeny, joined.
PRISONERS RELEASED
During the weekend the prisoners taken in the
fight were released by the Irregulars.
·
The name of a
soldier killed in the battle on the monument on the left of the wall is spelled
Brey while the plaque on the wall is
spelled Bray. The name is spelled Bray in the "W.P." report.
On the monument and the plaque the Sergt. Major is spelled Crabb, while the "W.P." report spelled his name Crabbe.
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