Carrowkennedy ambush

The Carrowkennedy Ambush was an incident in Ireland's War of Independence. On 2 June 1921, Major General Michael Kilroy, later Commandant of the 4th Western Battalion of the IRA, led a flying column of 33 men. They took up position between Widow Sammon’s House and that of Widow McGreal in Carrowkennedy, near Westport in County Mayo. A group of Black and Tans arrived. 6 of the British side were killed/died of wounds {see [ [http://www.policememorial.org.uk/Forces/IRELAND/RIC_Roll.htm RIC Memorial] ] }and 17 surrendered. A large quantity of arms were seized. The Black and Tans who surrendered were not killed even though this policy had been endorsed by the IRA General Headquarters (this was due to the terror and mayhem inflicted throughout the country on civilians by the Tans). Many of the local people went into hiding to avoid the retribution of the Tans. The Irish fighters went on the run throughout the region sheltering in safe houses.

This ambush had been a tremendous success for the local IRA and it boosted their confidence immensely.

External links

* [http://towns.mayo-ireland.ie/WebX?[e-mail]4jlvP1PI.0@.ee7b74c/ Mayo on the move]