Siege of Tralee

Curfew imposed by the Black and Tans on Tralee, County Kerry in 1920

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

History

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

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