On This Day / May 29, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19210529
Reference Date
19210529
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 29th May 1921, Ireland’s Partition elections passed relatively peacefully in rural areas while intimidation claims persisted and an RIC sergeant was buried in Fermanagh. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Quiet Rural Election | On This Day – 29th May 1921
FULL details of the County elections are not yet available but it is evident that the contests were carried out peaceably as a rule though an exciting incident is reported from Tyrone.
The poll in County Armagh was a fairly exhaustive one. There were many cases of personation.
The candidates included Mr John Nugent [Nationalist], Michael Collins and Francis Aiken [Republicans] and Mr R Best, KC and Major D G Shillington [Unionist].
The poll was the heaviest ever recorded in the history of Lurgan.
Things passed over quietly and good-humouredly and it is understood that Mr J D Nugent [Nationalist] had secured a large percentage of the Catholic vote.
The Sinn Fein agents were very active, both at the polling stations and at their tally rooms in Edward Street and North Street.
In County Antrim there is every reason to believe that Mr Joseph Devlin [Nationalist] will be returned with a large margin to spare.
A Lisburn voter states there was a good deal of intimidation and that very many Catholics were intimidated.
The keenest anxiety was manifested in Newry where the contending parties claimed to have polled very exhaustively.
The Unionists displayed Union Jacks. The Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties worked very harmoniously.
Reports from Tyrone indicate that all parties have polled very well and each side was confident of victory. Agents reported that everything passed over quietly. Over 400 B Specials were on duty.
At Roslea, Newtown butler and Magheraveely in Fermanagh there was an exhaustive poll of Sinn Feiners and Nationalists as well as Unionists.
Across the public street of Rosslea was a Unionist arch on which were the words, ‘No surrender of our rights. Up Carson. 1688 and 1921′.
There was a force of military and Auxiliary police in the village.
RIC Man’s Funeral in Fermanagh
THE funeral took place to the Catholic cemetery of Brookeboro’ on Wednesday of Sergeant Peter Joseph McDonagh, RIC of Mountfield police barracks, County Tyrone who was shot dead on Saturday.
The remains were conveyed by a body of police in motor lorries to the church, this escort forming a guard of honour.
Rev James O’Connor, PP regretted that a young man like the deceased should have been cut off so quickly and said he had a letter from the parish priest at Newtownstewart giving deceased the highest character.
The chief mourners were the deceased’s mother and two brothers.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A typical member of the old RIC – a Catholic from a small farming background – Sergeant McDonagh had been in Greencastle to arrange a polling station for the elections when he was shot dead by the IRA.)
On This Day – 29th May 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210529
Reference Date
19210529
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 29th May 1921, Ireland’s Partition elections passed relatively peacefully in rural areas while intimidation claims persisted and an RIC sergeant was buried in Fermanagh. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Quiet Rural Election | On This Day – 29th May 1921
FULL details of the County elections are not yet available but it is evident that the contests were carried out peaceably as a rule though an exciting incident is reported from Tyrone.
The poll in County Armagh was a fairly exhaustive one. There were many cases of personation.
The candidates included Mr John Nugent [Nationalist], Michael Collins and Francis Aiken [Republicans] and Mr R Best, KC and Major D G Shillington [Unionist].
The poll was the heaviest ever recorded in the history of Lurgan.
Things passed over quietly and good-humouredly and it is understood that Mr J D Nugent [Nationalist] had secured a large percentage of the Catholic vote.
The Sinn Fein agents were very active, both at the polling stations and at their tally rooms in Edward Street and North Street.
In County Antrim there is every reason to believe that Mr Joseph Devlin [Nationalist] will be returned with a large margin to spare.
A Lisburn voter states there was a good deal of intimidation and that very many Catholics were intimidated.
The keenest anxiety was manifested in Newry where the contending parties claimed to have polled very exhaustively.
The Unionists displayed Union Jacks. The Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties worked very harmoniously.
Reports from Tyrone indicate that all parties have polled very well and each side was confident of victory. Agents reported that everything passed over quietly. Over 400 B Specials were on duty.
At Roslea, Newtown butler and Magheraveely in Fermanagh there was an exhaustive poll of Sinn Feiners and Nationalists as well as Unionists.
Across the public street of Rosslea was a Unionist arch on which were the words, ‘No surrender of our rights. Up Carson. 1688 and 1921′.
There was a force of military and Auxiliary police in the village.
RIC Man’s Funeral in Fermanagh
THE funeral took place to the Catholic cemetery of Brookeboro’ on Wednesday of Sergeant Peter Joseph McDonagh, RIC of Mountfield police barracks, County Tyrone who was shot dead on Saturday.
The remains were conveyed by a body of police in motor lorries to the church, this escort forming a guard of honour.
Rev James O’Connor, PP regretted that a young man like the deceased should have been cut off so quickly and said he had a letter from the parish priest at Newtownstewart giving deceased the highest character.
The chief mourners were the deceased’s mother and two brothers.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A typical member of the old RIC – a Catholic from a small farming background – Sergeant McDonagh had been in Greencastle to arrange a polling station for the elections when he was shot dead by the IRA.)
On This Day – 29th May 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210529
Reference Date
May 29, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 29th May 1921, Ireland’s Partition elections passed relatively peacefully in rural areas while intimidation claims persisted and an RIC sergeant was buried in Fermanagh. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Quiet Rural Election | On This Day – 29th May 1921
FULL details of the County elections are not yet available but it is evident that the contests were carried out peaceably as a rule though an exciting incident is reported from Tyrone.
The poll in County Armagh was a fairly exhaustive one. There were many cases of personation.
The candidates included Mr John Nugent [Nationalist], Michael Collins and Francis Aiken [Republicans] and Mr R Best, KC and Major D G Shillington [Unionist].
The poll was the heaviest ever recorded in the history of Lurgan.
Things passed over quietly and good-humouredly and it is understood that Mr J D Nugent [Nationalist] had secured a large percentage of the Catholic vote.
The Sinn Fein agents were very active, both at the polling stations and at their tally rooms in Edward Street and North Street.
In County Antrim there is every reason to believe that Mr Joseph Devlin [Nationalist] will be returned with a large margin to spare.
A Lisburn voter states there was a good deal of intimidation and that very many Catholics were intimidated.
The keenest anxiety was manifested in Newry where the contending parties claimed to have polled very exhaustively.
The Unionists displayed Union Jacks. The Nationalist and Sinn Fein parties worked very harmoniously.
Reports from Tyrone indicate that all parties have polled very well and each side was confident of victory. Agents reported that everything passed over quietly. Over 400 B Specials were on duty.
At Roslea, Newtown butler and Magheraveely in Fermanagh there was an exhaustive poll of Sinn Feiners and Nationalists as well as Unionists.
Across the public street of Rosslea was a Unionist arch on which were the words, ‘No surrender of our rights. Up Carson. 1688 and 1921′.
There was a force of military and Auxiliary police in the village.
RIC Man’s Funeral in Fermanagh
THE funeral took place to the Catholic cemetery of Brookeboro’ on Wednesday of Sergeant Peter Joseph McDonagh, RIC of Mountfield police barracks, County Tyrone who was shot dead on Saturday.
The remains were conveyed by a body of police in motor lorries to the church, this escort forming a guard of honour.
Rev James O’Connor, PP regretted that a young man like the deceased should have been cut off so quickly and said he had a letter from the parish priest at Newtownstewart giving deceased the highest character.
The chief mourners were the deceased’s mother and two brothers.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: A typical member of the old RIC – a Catholic from a small farming background – Sergeant McDonagh had been in Greencastle to arrange a polling station for the elections when he was shot dead by the IRA.)
On This Day – 29th May 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.