In the early morning of 12 October 1920, the roads around Ballinderry in Roscommon were quiet. Hidden behind the stone walls lining the road, dozens of Irish Volunteers waited in silence, clasping rifles, shotguns and revolvers in their hands. The ambush was set.

Burning Barracks

For months, tensions had simmered across Roscommon. The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) found themselves increasingly vulnerable and began consolidating their forces into larger barracks, abandoning smaller outposts. The barracks at Four Mile House were torched earlier that year.¹ This was part of a wave of ‘barrack burnings’ that happened throughout the country, ordered by the upper command of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Easter Rising and render the buildings uninhabitable.¹

Though nascent for the past two years, the South Roscommon Brigade was evolving into a fully fledged organisation, complete with Battalions and Companies, thanks in part to Ernie O’Malley.² While 1919 consisted mainly of training and the occasional raid for arms, it was the destruction of former RIC barracks that paved the way for further brigade activity in the county during the Irish War of Independence.

The first notable ambush occurred in July 1920 at Moneen, near Lanesborough. Here, they shot at two RIC officers cycling to the Roscommon Assizes, killing one – Constable Martin Clarke.^3,4 From this, they obtained two carbine rifles and around 25 rounds of .303 ammunition.⁵

The Road to Four Mile House

The Crown forces crisscrossed the county’s roads – shuttling men and arms between major county garrisons like Strokestown, Boyle and Roscommon town. Their presence was both routine and provocative. In response, members of the Kilgefin Company of the South Roscommon Brigade’s Third Battalion – many of whom had been on the run around the Slieve Bawn area – began preparing to strike.²

Scouts monitored key routes, tracking British lorries moving daily. A week before the ambush, Pat Madden and Luke Duffy inspected a site near St. Brigid’s Church, at Four Mile House, that was less than 10 kilometres from Roscommon town.⁵ Stone walls on top of steep embankments lined the road. It was decided that this would be the ideal location to stage an ambush against whatever Crown forces travelled on the route, with Four Mile House effectively serving as a gateway to the rest of the county.

Eight rifles were collected, each having at most 20 rounds. The remainder of the group were armed with shotguns, while some had revolvers.²

The battalion met in a house in Ballagh, sleeping on the floor overnight. Around 4am on the 12^th of October, the group got up from the cottage floor and began to make their way towards the ambush location, marching through New Line, the Aghamuck Crossroads and Cloonbony.⁵ They eventually arrived by 7:30am where they met members of the Kilbride Company from the Second Brigade, who had pickaxes, shovels and saws.²

Up to 70 men had assembled at Four Mile House. Firing positions were established at loopholes in the stone walls lining the road, allowing the IRA to both fire and be concealed. At strategic points, three “squads” were established to delay reinforcements once the ambush commenced. Roadblocks were set, stone walls were built hastily across byways and trees were partly cut, ready to be felled once the sound of rifle fire was heard.⁶ The group had also procured a cart to be used as an additional obstruction.⁵

Then came the wait.

“Fire!”

Around 8:30am, the rumble of a Crossley tender was heard, approaching at speed from Roscommon town. Inside the vehicle were eight members of the RIC: Sergeant Martin George O’Connor, Sergeant William Arthur Boulter, Head Constable Conway, Constables John Crawford, Francis Gallagher^*, Michael Kenny, Daniel James Rahilly and William Joyce, who was commandeering the tender.⁷ They were en route to Ballaghaderreen, where an inquiry was to be held – though it’s not clear what exactly it was over. Reports post-ambush suggest that it was due to misconduct from RIC members in the aftermath of a sacking of the town the previous month.^8,9 For this purpose, the Inspector General of the RIC, Hugh Tudor, had arrived in Ballaghaderreen.¹⁰

As the group drew near the ambush site, Madden issued his commands. “Take cover”, followed by “Fire”.⁶ A volley of shots erupted from the loopholes, tearing into the vehicle and its occupants from both sides of the road.

Amid the chaos, Joyce accelerated, with the IRA having run out of time to put the cart onto the road.^2,5 An IRA member leapt onto the road, firing a revolver directly at Joyce but missed.¹¹ The lorry continued on, smashing through a partially built stone wall roadblock that one squad was in the process of speedily constructing, before diverting to Strokestown.^1,6

The Smoke Clears

Joyce arrived at the RIC barracks on Elphin Street just as people were leaving Mass at the nearby church.¹² A crowd gathered at the barracks, catching sight of the lorry’s blood-soaked floor. Constables Kenny and Crawford lay dead inside, having died at Four Mile House.⁸ Sergeant O’Connor and Constable Gallagher were both gravely wounded – dying within a few hours. Gallagher’s last words were reportedly “I forgive from my very heart those who put me to death.”¹³ Constable Rahilly was severely injured, having been struck by 11 shotgun pellets. He was later transferred to Steeven’s Hospital in Dublin, where he recovered.¹⁴ Conway, Boulter and Joyce escaped unscathed.

Despite the ferocity of the attack, the IRA failed to capture weapons or ammunition. “We captured nothing and only succeeded in using up some of our valuable ammunition”, one member, Frank Simons, later lamented.²

Simons remained at the scene for a short while after, along with Pat Madden, Luke Duffy and Seán Bergin, where they discussed the ambush. Mid-conversation, a car came along the road and the men wondered who it was. The driver and passengers were in civilian attire, so they didn’t think much of it. It later transpired that one of the occupants was RIC County Inspector Vincent James Hetreed.^2,9,15 There was nothing left to show that an ambush had just taken place. In Duffy’s opinion, Hetreed believed that they didn’t want to harm him.⁵

According to Patrick Cassidy, a member of the East Mayo Brigade, once news filtered through to Ballaghaderreen about the ambush, youths wrote in chalk on the walls: “Tudor can go home. The I.R.A. have settled the Inquiry.”¹⁰

As the scene was secured, sentries were posted around the area. Workers at a nearby stone-crushing machine were placed under guard, and local homes were searched.⁸ Many houses were found abandoned – families had fled in anticipation of the inevitable.²

On Edge

The people of Roscommon knew what might come next. Elsewhere in Ireland, the Black and Tans had carried out reprisal attacks in Balbriggan, Ballaghaderreen and, just days earlier, Tubbercurry in neighbouring Sligo. For five nights after the ambush, IRA members occupied key positions in the county town to defend against reprisals, including the house opposite the barracks.⁵

Roscommon town braced itself. Rumours swirled of Black and Tans arriving from Athlone.⁸ Traders convened in Harrison Hall, instructing the gas manager to keep the streetlamps lit and fire extinguishers ready. Shopkeepers cleared their windows. The Technical School remained open overnight to shelter fleeing families. Others found refuge in the workhouse, while the church’s organist, Francis Stenson Flanagan, stayed in the church overnight to keep watch.⁸ A similar atmosphere was felt in Strokestown, with the town being described as deserted in the evening.¹²

As night fell, the streets lay in silence, broken only by the occasional gunshot from passing lorries. Yet no full-scale reprisal came. Captain Roger Grenville Peek, commander of the 9^th Lancers garrisoned in Strokestown House, ordered that soldiers remain confined to barracks after 8pm. He promised the Roscommon townsfolk that under his watch, there would be no retaliation.⁸ This was contrary to what Peek was quoted as saying a few days prior to the ambush, where he threatened to burn the homes of “persons marked” if anything happened to the Crown forces.¹⁶

March of the Dead

Two days later, on Wednesday evening, the remains of Sergeant O’Connor and Constable Crawford arrived in Roscommon in open motor lorries. Attached to the coffins were placards bearing slogans “Behold the work of Sinn Fein”, “Murdered by Irish savages”, “Is this Irish?” and “Sinn Fein, shame on you”. Behind them marched their RIC comrades with rifles reversed, followed by troops of the Leicester Regiment.⁸ Shops were closed with their blinds drawn – ostensibly a mark of respect, but in fact an order from RIC officers who had visited the premises beforehand.¹⁴

Crawford’s coffin was carried into the Church of the Sacred Heart, accompanied by the organist – Flanagan, who had stayed overnight in the building – playing Handel’s “Dead March”.¹⁴ On Thursday morning, O’Connor’s remains were transported to Achill to his wife’s family plot for burial. Gallagher’s remains were sent to Lifford, Kenny to Ballycastle, near Ballina.¹³

Vengeance

Though no immediate reprisals occurred, fear lingered. The controversial priest Fr. Michael O’Flanagan, Vice President of Sinn Féin, was briefly detained and his home ransacked. A typewriter and printed materials were confiscated, and his typist was ordered to leave town.¹⁷

For locals, memory of the ambush was seared into daily life. Police raided homes, demanding names. Eithne Coyle, who lived in the area and was known for her involvement in the IRA, was accused of witnessing the ambush. When she refused to cooperate, her furniture was doused in paraffin and petrol. Only Coyle saying that the house belonged to a loyalist prevented them from lighting it on fire.¹⁸

Four Shots in the Dark

The same could not be said for John Conroy (alternatively spelt as Conry), a member of the Ballinaheglish Company, whose name had circulated among the Black and Tans in the weeks after the ambush. This threat was apparently heard by one woman, and it filtered down to Conroy – though he didn’t take it seriously.¹ On 3 November, a group commandeered a lorry belonging to George Kelly, a shopkeeper from Tulsk who was driving to Roscommon to collect goods for his store.¹⁹ They drove to John Dowd’s house, forced him onto the road, and beat him until he pointed out Conroy’s home.⁷

‘Jack’, as he was nicknamed, lived in a labourer’s cottage with his wife and two nephews (or two neighbours, depending on the account).¹⁹ At 10pm, there was a knock on his door. Opening it, he saw armed men with blackened faces. One asked, “Are you Conroy?” He replied yes. “You are the man we want”.²⁰

Six men entered. Four took Conroy into a back room. Two stayed with his wife and nephews (or neighbours). She begged, “Don’t shoot him”. One replied, “We won’t”. She made the same request to the other person who said, “We shan’t”.

Conroy’s coat, waistcoat and hat were removed, and he was brought outside before the truck was heard driving away. Minutes later, gunshots rang out. Further up the road, Conroy’s body was found along the roadside.²⁰ He was shot twice through the chest, twice in the head and once in the stomach. With his coat and waistcoat having been removed, his white shirt gave them an ideal target.¹⁹ According to one IRA member, Patrick Mullooly, a man named Campbell shot him.²¹

His former battalion members later erected a monument at the roadside where his body was found.

No Peace, Only Pause

Although the ambush did not yield arms or ammunition – a tactical shortfall – the IRA’s discovery afterwards of the casualties inflicted brought a positive shift in morale for the group. In the words of Frank Simons, it led the Crown forces to develop what he called a “healthy respect” for them.² This “respect” forced the Volunteers to go on the run and form a full-time flying column in the area as they became targets of retribution.⁵ Pat Madden was in charge, with Luke Duffy second-in-command and Frank Simons as adjutant.²  The tit-for-tat nature of the war continued in south Roscommon afterwards, culminating in what was perhaps the Brigade’s greatest victory just under six months later, with the Scramogue Ambush in which Captain Peek himself was killed.

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References

1. Quigley, James. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1952. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0692.pdf
2. Simons, Frank. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1952. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0770.pdf
3. Constable Clarke Shot Dead. The Constabulary Gazette. July 24, 1920, 900.
4. Two Police Ambushed at Weekfield, Roscommon. The Roscommon Messenger. July 17, 1920, 5.
5. Duffy, Luke. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1952. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0661.pdf
6. South Roscommon Brigade. Military Archives Ireland http://mspcsearch.militaryarchives.ie/docs/files//PDF_Membership/7/A27%20South%20Roscommon%20Brigade/A27%20South%20Roscommon%20Brigade%20(1of2).pdf
7. Hegarty Thorne, Kathleen. They Put the Flag A-Flyin’: The Roscommon Volunteers. Generation Organization; 2005.
8. Police Ambushed at Four-Mile-House. The Roscommon Messenger. October 16, 1920, 5.
9. Ballaghaderreen Notes. Roscommon Herald. October 16, 1920, 6.
10. Cassidy, Patrick. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1954. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1017.pdf
11. Terrifying Events in Co. Roscommon. Roscommon Herald. October 16, 1920, 1.
12. Police Ambushed at the Four-Mile-House. The Roscommon Messenger. October 16, 1920, 3.
13. The Four-Mile-House Tragedy. The Roscommon Messenger. October 23, 1920, 5.
14. Taken By Surprise. Westmeath Independent. October 16, 1920, 5.
15. Loopholed Walls. Freeman’s Journal. October 13, 1920, 5.
16. Dean Gearty on State of the Country. Strokestown Democrat. October 9, 1920, 3.
17. The Week’s Sensations. Donegal News. November 13, 1920, 6.
18. Coyle, Eithne. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1952. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0750.pdf
19. O’Callaghan, Micheál. For Ireland and Freedom: Roscommon’s Contribution to the Fight for Independence. Mercier Press; 2012.
20. Terrifying End of a Labourer. Roscommon Herald. November 20, 1920, 1.
21. Mullooly, Patrick. Statement by Witness. Bureau of Military History, 1913-1921; 1955. https://bmh.militaryarchives.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1086.pdf

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^* Several sources, both modern and contemporary, refer to Gallagher as being a ‘Black and Tan’. However, I have found no definitive evidence to corroborate this claim. He is not included in Jim Herlihy’s book ‘The Black & Tans, 1920-1921’ nor on the comprehensive website, ‘The Auxiliaries’. A report in the Roscommon Messenger (16 October 1920) states that he was a member of the Royal Engineers in the British Army, though I have found no records to verify this claim. However, his RIC records do label him as an ex-soldier, albeit not as a Temporary Cadet nor Temporary Constable – the two ranks associated with Auxiliaries and Black and Tans. Additionally, as a Roman Catholic from Lifford, he does not fit the typical demographic profile of a Black and Tan, though this does not entirely rule out the possibility.