On This Day / September 26, 1920
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19200926
Reference Date
19200926
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 26th September 1920, Belfast was shaken by reprisals after an RIC officer was shot dead. Edited by Dr Eamon Phoenix
Reprisals in Belfast?
During the weekend Belfast has experienced a series of frightful tragedies.
At the junction of the Falls Road and Broadway a constable was fatally shot about half past eleven on Saturday night and a fellow-RIC man was wounded. A night of terror followed.
In the small hours of the morning three civilians were done to death under mysterious circumstances – one at Falls Road and two others at Springfield Road.
In two of the cases uniformed men are described by eyewitnesses as having been participants in the fatal onslaughts; the other shooting is stated to have been carried out by men in plainclothes.
Several houses were mysteriously ‘visited’ and one was set on fire.
In the shooting on Broadway Constable Leonard was shot dead and Constable Carroll was wounded.
On the same night two constables were sniped at in the Divis Street area where Constable Farrell was shot in the arm.
During the early hours of Sunday morning an additional series of tragedies was enacted in the Falls area.
Three civilians named Edward Trodden, John McFadden and John Gaynor were shot dead in their own residences under circumstances which created widespread and intense feeling.
The shooting of Edward Trodden took place at about 2.15 a.m. on Sunday.
The deceased carried on business as a barber on the Falls Road opposite the Corporation Baths.
According to eyewitnesses a motor vehicle with powerful headlights drew up in the locality and uniformed men got out.
There was a knocking at the door of Mr Trodden’s premises. It is alleged that the men then rushed in and shots were heard. The victim was found shot through the head.
At half past five yesterday morning John McFadden (40), a blacksmith, was shot dead in the hall of his residence on Springfield Road.
In an interview with his mother and brother, The Irish News learn that several knocks came to the door.
When John McFadden, the deceased, went down to the door and opened it, three shots were fired.
On the same road where McFadden was shot a most extraordinary scene was witnessed when the house of Mr James Gaynor, a well-known ex-serviceman was raided by a party of uniformed men.
A number of men went up the stairs. He was found shot through the abdomen.
The deceased is described as an inoffensive young man.
The Press Association says: An official message received in Dublin states that the three civilians shot dead in Belfast were Sinn Féiners.
[Editor’s note: These murders, following the IRA killing of an RIC man marked the first use of the ‘reprisals’ policy in Belfast for some time.
The official briefing from Dublin Castle suggests the police reprisals were officially sanctioned.]
Find out more:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19200926
Reference Date
19200926
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 26th September 1920, Belfast was shaken by reprisals after an RIC officer was shot dead. Edited by Dr Eamon Phoenix
Reprisals in Belfast?
During the weekend Belfast has experienced a series of frightful tragedies.
At the junction of the Falls Road and Broadway a constable was fatally shot about half past eleven on Saturday night and a fellow-RIC man was wounded. A night of terror followed.
In the small hours of the morning three civilians were done to death under mysterious circumstances – one at Falls Road and two others at Springfield Road.
In two of the cases uniformed men are described by eyewitnesses as having been participants in the fatal onslaughts; the other shooting is stated to have been carried out by men in plainclothes.
Several houses were mysteriously ‘visited’ and one was set on fire.
In the shooting on Broadway Constable Leonard was shot dead and Constable Carroll was wounded.
On the same night two constables were sniped at in the Divis Street area where Constable Farrell was shot in the arm.
During the early hours of Sunday morning an additional series of tragedies was enacted in the Falls area.
Three civilians named Edward Trodden, John McFadden and John Gaynor were shot dead in their own residences under circumstances which created widespread and intense feeling.
The shooting of Edward Trodden took place at about 2.15 a.m. on Sunday.
The deceased carried on business as a barber on the Falls Road opposite the Corporation Baths.
According to eyewitnesses a motor vehicle with powerful headlights drew up in the locality and uniformed men got out.
There was a knocking at the door of Mr Trodden’s premises. It is alleged that the men then rushed in and shots were heard. The victim was found shot through the head.
At half past five yesterday morning John McFadden (40), a blacksmith, was shot dead in the hall of his residence on Springfield Road.
In an interview with his mother and brother, The Irish News learn that several knocks came to the door.
When John McFadden, the deceased, went down to the door and opened it, three shots were fired.
On the same road where McFadden was shot a most extraordinary scene was witnessed when the house of Mr James Gaynor, a well-known ex-serviceman was raided by a party of uniformed men.
A number of men went up the stairs. He was found shot through the abdomen.
The deceased is described as an inoffensive young man.
The Press Association says: An official message received in Dublin states that the three civilians shot dead in Belfast were Sinn Féiners.
[Editor’s note: These murders, following the IRA killing of an RIC man marked the first use of the ‘reprisals’ policy in Belfast for some time.
The official briefing from Dublin Castle suggests the police reprisals were officially sanctioned.]
Find out more:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19200926
Reference Date
September 26, 2020
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 26th September 1920, Belfast was shaken by reprisals after an RIC officer was shot dead. Edited by Dr Eamon Phoenix
Reprisals in Belfast?
During the weekend Belfast has experienced a series of frightful tragedies.
At the junction of the Falls Road and Broadway a constable was fatally shot about half past eleven on Saturday night and a fellow-RIC man was wounded. A night of terror followed.
In the small hours of the morning three civilians were done to death under mysterious circumstances – one at Falls Road and two others at Springfield Road.
In two of the cases uniformed men are described by eyewitnesses as having been participants in the fatal onslaughts; the other shooting is stated to have been carried out by men in plainclothes.
Several houses were mysteriously ‘visited’ and one was set on fire.
In the shooting on Broadway Constable Leonard was shot dead and Constable Carroll was wounded.
On the same night two constables were sniped at in the Divis Street area where Constable Farrell was shot in the arm.
During the early hours of Sunday morning an additional series of tragedies was enacted in the Falls area.
Three civilians named Edward Trodden, John McFadden and John Gaynor were shot dead in their own residences under circumstances which created widespread and intense feeling.
The shooting of Edward Trodden took place at about 2.15 a.m. on Sunday.
The deceased carried on business as a barber on the Falls Road opposite the Corporation Baths.
According to eyewitnesses a motor vehicle with powerful headlights drew up in the locality and uniformed men got out.
There was a knocking at the door of Mr Trodden’s premises. It is alleged that the men then rushed in and shots were heard. The victim was found shot through the head.
At half past five yesterday morning John McFadden (40), a blacksmith, was shot dead in the hall of his residence on Springfield Road.
In an interview with his mother and brother, The Irish News learn that several knocks came to the door.
When John McFadden, the deceased, went down to the door and opened it, three shots were fired.
On the same road where McFadden was shot a most extraordinary scene was witnessed when the house of Mr James Gaynor, a well-known ex-serviceman was raided by a party of uniformed men.
A number of men went up the stairs. He was found shot through the abdomen.
The deceased is described as an inoffensive young man.
The Press Association says: An official message received in Dublin states that the three civilians shot dead in Belfast were Sinn Féiners.
[Editor’s note: These murders, following the IRA killing of an RIC man marked the first use of the ‘reprisals’ policy in Belfast for some time.
The official briefing from Dublin Castle suggests the police reprisals were officially sanctioned.]
Find out more:
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.