On This Day / March 29, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19210329
Reference Date
19210329
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 29th March 1921, a machine-gun attack targeted a Cork church during evening devotions while Joseph Devlin denounced Partition at a major nationalist rally in Down. Edited by Éamon Phoenix
‘Police’ Machine-gun attack on Church | On This Day – 29th March 1921
OUR Cork correspondent wires: ‘While hundreds of the Catholic people were assembled in St John’s Parish Church on Saturday night awaiting Confession in preparation for Easter Sunday, a machinegun was trained on the church, apparently from the direction of the new presbytery in Denny Street, recently commandeered by Auxiliary forces from the Dean.
Verey lights were sent up first to mark the objective of the attackers and volley after volley crashed against St John’s Church.
The people inside threw themselves on the ground as bullet after bullet, in rapid succession, crashed against the walls of the sacred edifice.
The people in the church behaved with great fortitude. They joined in fervent prayer for protection and their prayers were heard. Not a single person in the church was injured.
Those in the street outside were not so fortunate for a party of Auxiliaries, acting apparently in concert with the machine-gun party, left a local hotel and fired several rounds in the streets, the people fleeing in all directions. A boy was shot through the legs.
Saturday night’s outrage was strongly condemned by the Dean at Mass yesterday. ‘What a brave act to direct machine-gun fire against five unarmed priests sitting in their confessionals, about eighty women and children, unarmed, and forty or fifty laity, certainly unarmed…
‘This attack marks the beginning of warfare against the Catholic Church…’
Devlin on Partition
THE fine spirit existing amongst the Nationalists of the Ards Peninsula found expression in the very large and enthusiastic rally which took place yesterday on the occasion of the visit of Mr Joseph Devlin, MP to Ballycran, Kircubbin where he opened a splendid new hall built by Division Number 661 Ballycran.
The Portaferry Division of the AOH attended with a Irish pipers band and flag and headed the procession. Mr Devlin was accompanied by the Rev A Neeson, PP Ballycran and Rev L McKeown CC.
In his speech the MP recalled the splendid part played by the Ards in 1798. ‘I am glad to know there are still in the Ards sturdy Protestants who believe in Ireland a nation.’
Referring to the proposed Northern Parliament, Mr Devlin said: ‘This is not a solution to the Irish problem; it is a scheme which insults our nationality and our intelligence…
‘Our only hope is that before many months are over this Parliament will have disappeared.’
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As Crown forces increasingly treated civilians as ‘the enemy’, Joe Devlin identified Partition as the greatest threat facing Northern nationalists at a rally in Down.
Devlin’s mentor, Samuel Young (1820-1918), a Protestant Home Rule MP and distiller, hailed from Portaferry.)
On This Day – 29th March 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210329
Reference Date
19210329
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 29th March 1921, a machine-gun attack targeted a Cork church during evening devotions while Joseph Devlin denounced Partition at a major nationalist rally in Down. Edited by Éamon Phoenix
‘Police’ Machine-gun attack on Church | On This Day – 29th March 1921
OUR Cork correspondent wires: ‘While hundreds of the Catholic people were assembled in St John’s Parish Church on Saturday night awaiting Confession in preparation for Easter Sunday, a machinegun was trained on the church, apparently from the direction of the new presbytery in Denny Street, recently commandeered by Auxiliary forces from the Dean.
Verey lights were sent up first to mark the objective of the attackers and volley after volley crashed against St John’s Church.
The people inside threw themselves on the ground as bullet after bullet, in rapid succession, crashed against the walls of the sacred edifice.
The people in the church behaved with great fortitude. They joined in fervent prayer for protection and their prayers were heard. Not a single person in the church was injured.
Those in the street outside were not so fortunate for a party of Auxiliaries, acting apparently in concert with the machine-gun party, left a local hotel and fired several rounds in the streets, the people fleeing in all directions. A boy was shot through the legs.
Saturday night’s outrage was strongly condemned by the Dean at Mass yesterday. ‘What a brave act to direct machine-gun fire against five unarmed priests sitting in their confessionals, about eighty women and children, unarmed, and forty or fifty laity, certainly unarmed…
‘This attack marks the beginning of warfare against the Catholic Church…’
Devlin on Partition
THE fine spirit existing amongst the Nationalists of the Ards Peninsula found expression in the very large and enthusiastic rally which took place yesterday on the occasion of the visit of Mr Joseph Devlin, MP to Ballycran, Kircubbin where he opened a splendid new hall built by Division Number 661 Ballycran.
The Portaferry Division of the AOH attended with a Irish pipers band and flag and headed the procession. Mr Devlin was accompanied by the Rev A Neeson, PP Ballycran and Rev L McKeown CC.
In his speech the MP recalled the splendid part played by the Ards in 1798. ‘I am glad to know there are still in the Ards sturdy Protestants who believe in Ireland a nation.’
Referring to the proposed Northern Parliament, Mr Devlin said: ‘This is not a solution to the Irish problem; it is a scheme which insults our nationality and our intelligence…
‘Our only hope is that before many months are over this Parliament will have disappeared.’
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As Crown forces increasingly treated civilians as ‘the enemy’, Joe Devlin identified Partition as the greatest threat facing Northern nationalists at a rally in Down.
Devlin’s mentor, Samuel Young (1820-1918), a Protestant Home Rule MP and distiller, hailed from Portaferry.)
On This Day – 29th March 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210329
Reference Date
March 29, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 29th March 1921, a machine-gun attack targeted a Cork church during evening devotions while Joseph Devlin denounced Partition at a major nationalist rally in Down. Edited by Éamon Phoenix
‘Police’ Machine-gun attack on Church | On This Day – 29th March 1921
OUR Cork correspondent wires: ‘While hundreds of the Catholic people were assembled in St John’s Parish Church on Saturday night awaiting Confession in preparation for Easter Sunday, a machinegun was trained on the church, apparently from the direction of the new presbytery in Denny Street, recently commandeered by Auxiliary forces from the Dean.
Verey lights were sent up first to mark the objective of the attackers and volley after volley crashed against St John’s Church.
The people inside threw themselves on the ground as bullet after bullet, in rapid succession, crashed against the walls of the sacred edifice.
The people in the church behaved with great fortitude. They joined in fervent prayer for protection and their prayers were heard. Not a single person in the church was injured.
Those in the street outside were not so fortunate for a party of Auxiliaries, acting apparently in concert with the machine-gun party, left a local hotel and fired several rounds in the streets, the people fleeing in all directions. A boy was shot through the legs.
Saturday night’s outrage was strongly condemned by the Dean at Mass yesterday. ‘What a brave act to direct machine-gun fire against five unarmed priests sitting in their confessionals, about eighty women and children, unarmed, and forty or fifty laity, certainly unarmed…
‘This attack marks the beginning of warfare against the Catholic Church…’
Devlin on Partition
THE fine spirit existing amongst the Nationalists of the Ards Peninsula found expression in the very large and enthusiastic rally which took place yesterday on the occasion of the visit of Mr Joseph Devlin, MP to Ballycran, Kircubbin where he opened a splendid new hall built by Division Number 661 Ballycran.
The Portaferry Division of the AOH attended with a Irish pipers band and flag and headed the procession. Mr Devlin was accompanied by the Rev A Neeson, PP Ballycran and Rev L McKeown CC.
In his speech the MP recalled the splendid part played by the Ards in 1798. ‘I am glad to know there are still in the Ards sturdy Protestants who believe in Ireland a nation.’
Referring to the proposed Northern Parliament, Mr Devlin said: ‘This is not a solution to the Irish problem; it is a scheme which insults our nationality and our intelligence…
‘Our only hope is that before many months are over this Parliament will have disappeared.’
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: As Crown forces increasingly treated civilians as ‘the enemy’, Joe Devlin identified Partition as the greatest threat facing Northern nationalists at a rally in Down.
Devlin’s mentor, Samuel Young (1820-1918), a Protestant Home Rule MP and distiller, hailed from Portaferry.)
On This Day – 29th March 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.