On This Day / January 25, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19210125
Reference Date
19210125
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 25th January 1921, a violent shooting incident in Clones exposed grave indiscipline within the Ulster Special Constabulary, leaving one Special dead, another wounded and the entire raiding party under arrest. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gun battle between Police and Specials | On This Day – 25th January 1921
LIGHT has now been thrown on the extraordinary shooting affair at Clones [County Monaghan] during the early hours of Sunday morning when a man who turns out to have been a Special Constable from Belfast was killed and another Special Constable named Archdale from Enniskillen was dangerously wounded.
Dublin Castle states: ‘A party of police from Clones turned out at 3.30am in response to a report that armed burglars were in a local shop.
They intercepted the alleged burglars and shots were exchanged. Later a party of Special Constabulary from Newtownbutler [Fermanagh] found on the street one man killed and one seriously wounded.’ (It will be observed that it is not stated whether the men found on the street were civilians or not.)
Messages from Clones set out the facts. On Thursday night the licensed premises of Mr Macauley in Fermanagh Street were forcibly entered and an attempt was made to break open the safe.
The visitors were disturbed by a local man who alerted the RIC but the burglars had decamped.
At three o’clock on Sunday morning about 15 armed men are stated to have arrived in the town in a motor lorry from Newtownbutler.
They drove into Fermanagh Street and drew up outside the licensed premises of Mr John O’Reilly.
Sentries were placed at the entrance and the remainder called on Mr O’Reilly and Mr Charles McEntee to come down. The men then proceeded to break in the door.
In the meantime the two occupants had escaped in their night attire and succeeded in reaching the local RIC barracks.
About 12 RIC men turned out and also some soldiers and, approaching Mr O’Reilly’s house, they called on the raiders to surrender. The reply was a volley of shots.
The RIC replied with their rifles. An Ulster Special named McCullough from Belfast was killed and another named Archdale dangerously wounded. Eleven prisoners were captured.
Colonel C G Wickham, Commissioner of the Special Constabulary, stated yesterday that the public might rest assured that the authorities would take the strongest possible steps to stamp out indiscipline or improper conduct in the new force.
Already any man found guilty of any offence had been severely punished and dismissed the force.
In the case of the Clones occurrence, he said, the entire party had been put under arrest and those to whom any offence was brought home would be tried by court martial.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Coming after the sectarian incident in Enniskillen where Specials had fired shots at the local Catholic church, the actions of the new force in Clones – then a mainly Unionist market town – did not inspire confidence.)
On This Day – 25th January 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210125
Reference Date
19210125
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 25th January 1921, a violent shooting incident in Clones exposed grave indiscipline within the Ulster Special Constabulary, leaving one Special dead, another wounded and the entire raiding party under arrest. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gun battle between Police and Specials | On This Day – 25th January 1921
LIGHT has now been thrown on the extraordinary shooting affair at Clones [County Monaghan] during the early hours of Sunday morning when a man who turns out to have been a Special Constable from Belfast was killed and another Special Constable named Archdale from Enniskillen was dangerously wounded.
Dublin Castle states: ‘A party of police from Clones turned out at 3.30am in response to a report that armed burglars were in a local shop.
They intercepted the alleged burglars and shots were exchanged. Later a party of Special Constabulary from Newtownbutler [Fermanagh] found on the street one man killed and one seriously wounded.’ (It will be observed that it is not stated whether the men found on the street were civilians or not.)
Messages from Clones set out the facts. On Thursday night the licensed premises of Mr Macauley in Fermanagh Street were forcibly entered and an attempt was made to break open the safe.
The visitors were disturbed by a local man who alerted the RIC but the burglars had decamped.
At three o’clock on Sunday morning about 15 armed men are stated to have arrived in the town in a motor lorry from Newtownbutler.
They drove into Fermanagh Street and drew up outside the licensed premises of Mr John O’Reilly.
Sentries were placed at the entrance and the remainder called on Mr O’Reilly and Mr Charles McEntee to come down. The men then proceeded to break in the door.
In the meantime the two occupants had escaped in their night attire and succeeded in reaching the local RIC barracks.
About 12 RIC men turned out and also some soldiers and, approaching Mr O’Reilly’s house, they called on the raiders to surrender. The reply was a volley of shots.
The RIC replied with their rifles. An Ulster Special named McCullough from Belfast was killed and another named Archdale dangerously wounded. Eleven prisoners were captured.
Colonel C G Wickham, Commissioner of the Special Constabulary, stated yesterday that the public might rest assured that the authorities would take the strongest possible steps to stamp out indiscipline or improper conduct in the new force.
Already any man found guilty of any offence had been severely punished and dismissed the force.
In the case of the Clones occurrence, he said, the entire party had been put under arrest and those to whom any offence was brought home would be tried by court martial.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Coming after the sectarian incident in Enniskillen where Specials had fired shots at the local Catholic church, the actions of the new force in Clones – then a mainly Unionist market town – did not inspire confidence.)
On This Day – 25th January 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210125
Reference Date
January 25, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 25th January 1921, a violent shooting incident in Clones exposed grave indiscipline within the Ulster Special Constabulary, leaving one Special dead, another wounded and the entire raiding party under arrest. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gun battle between Police and Specials | On This Day – 25th January 1921
LIGHT has now been thrown on the extraordinary shooting affair at Clones [County Monaghan] during the early hours of Sunday morning when a man who turns out to have been a Special Constable from Belfast was killed and another Special Constable named Archdale from Enniskillen was dangerously wounded.
Dublin Castle states: ‘A party of police from Clones turned out at 3.30am in response to a report that armed burglars were in a local shop.
They intercepted the alleged burglars and shots were exchanged. Later a party of Special Constabulary from Newtownbutler [Fermanagh] found on the street one man killed and one seriously wounded.’ (It will be observed that it is not stated whether the men found on the street were civilians or not.)
Messages from Clones set out the facts. On Thursday night the licensed premises of Mr Macauley in Fermanagh Street were forcibly entered and an attempt was made to break open the safe.
The visitors were disturbed by a local man who alerted the RIC but the burglars had decamped.
At three o’clock on Sunday morning about 15 armed men are stated to have arrived in the town in a motor lorry from Newtownbutler.
They drove into Fermanagh Street and drew up outside the licensed premises of Mr John O’Reilly.
Sentries were placed at the entrance and the remainder called on Mr O’Reilly and Mr Charles McEntee to come down. The men then proceeded to break in the door.
In the meantime the two occupants had escaped in their night attire and succeeded in reaching the local RIC barracks.
About 12 RIC men turned out and also some soldiers and, approaching Mr O’Reilly’s house, they called on the raiders to surrender. The reply was a volley of shots.
The RIC replied with their rifles. An Ulster Special named McCullough from Belfast was killed and another named Archdale dangerously wounded. Eleven prisoners were captured.
Colonel C G Wickham, Commissioner of the Special Constabulary, stated yesterday that the public might rest assured that the authorities would take the strongest possible steps to stamp out indiscipline or improper conduct in the new force.
Already any man found guilty of any offence had been severely punished and dismissed the force.
In the case of the Clones occurrence, he said, the entire party had been put under arrest and those to whom any offence was brought home would be tried by court martial.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: Coming after the sectarian incident in Enniskillen where Specials had fired shots at the local Catholic church, the actions of the new force in Clones – then a mainly Unionist market town – did not inspire confidence.)
On This Day – 25th January 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.