On This Day / April 28, 1921
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19210428
Reference Date
19210428
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 28th April 1921 Specials were ambushed and wounded in Newry while sectarian clashes erupted in Belfast following the Duffin funeral. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Specials Ambushed | On This Day – 28th April 1921
A SENSATION was created in Newry on Tuesday night when eight members of the Special Constabulary, in charge of a Head Constable, were ambushed and the entire party wounded – five of them seriously.
The affair occurred at the junction of King Street and Merchant’s Quay at 9.20.
From the details available, it appears that the patrol had just turned the comer into Merchant’s Quay when four young men with their hands in their coat pockets approached, apparently in a friendly way.
Suddenly they commenced to hurl bombs at the unsuspecting Specials and opened rapid fire on them with revolvers.
The entire patrol fell at the first onslaught with the bombs – several severely wounded.
Those of the Specials who were able replied to the attack with their weapons but the attackers fled.
Another patrol of Specials arrested three young men: Peter McNulty of Kiln Street; Peter O’Hare of Caulfield Place and Matthew Gray.
On being searched fully loaded Webley revolvers were found on each of the men.
Party Collisions
THE Old Lodge Road district of Belfast was in a very disturbed state yesterday afternoon.
The disturbance, which broke out some time after the passing of the Duffin funeral and seems to have originated with some schoolchildren making use of party expressions.
As too often happens on such occasions, the women came on the scene and before very long large numbers of men made their appearance.
Soon opposing parties were firing revolvers and vigorously stoning each other.
The trouble intensified when a number of people who had been attending the funeral of the brothers Duffin were recognised passing along Stanhope Street.
The police kept the opposing elements apart as best they could until the arrival of an armoured car and Crossley tender.
The occupants of these opened revolver fire with the result that a number of people were injured, one of them, Henry Montgomery (18) sustaining a bullet wound to the head.
A milk vendor had an exciting experience on the Crumlin Road. He was engaged in his rounds when the cry was raised: ‘Here’s another Sinn Feiner’.
He managed to jump clear of the mob from his cart and rushed into licensed premises close to hand.
A howling mob assembled outside but the police got the man away.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The countdown to the first ‘partition’ elections witnessed a clearly orchestrated escalation of IRA attacks on the Specials in nationalist areas where their presence was resented.
Then, as in more recent times, funerals proved the focus of sectarian clashes – in this case the republican funeral of the Duffin brothers on Its way to the Glens.)
On This Day – 28th April 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210428
Reference Date
19210428
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 28th April 1921 Specials were ambushed and wounded in Newry while sectarian clashes erupted in Belfast following the Duffin funeral. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Specials Ambushed | On This Day – 28th April 1921
A SENSATION was created in Newry on Tuesday night when eight members of the Special Constabulary, in charge of a Head Constable, were ambushed and the entire party wounded – five of them seriously.
The affair occurred at the junction of King Street and Merchant’s Quay at 9.20.
From the details available, it appears that the patrol had just turned the comer into Merchant’s Quay when four young men with their hands in their coat pockets approached, apparently in a friendly way.
Suddenly they commenced to hurl bombs at the unsuspecting Specials and opened rapid fire on them with revolvers.
The entire patrol fell at the first onslaught with the bombs – several severely wounded.
Those of the Specials who were able replied to the attack with their weapons but the attackers fled.
Another patrol of Specials arrested three young men: Peter McNulty of Kiln Street; Peter O’Hare of Caulfield Place and Matthew Gray.
On being searched fully loaded Webley revolvers were found on each of the men.
Party Collisions
THE Old Lodge Road district of Belfast was in a very disturbed state yesterday afternoon.
The disturbance, which broke out some time after the passing of the Duffin funeral and seems to have originated with some schoolchildren making use of party expressions.
As too often happens on such occasions, the women came on the scene and before very long large numbers of men made their appearance.
Soon opposing parties were firing revolvers and vigorously stoning each other.
The trouble intensified when a number of people who had been attending the funeral of the brothers Duffin were recognised passing along Stanhope Street.
The police kept the opposing elements apart as best they could until the arrival of an armoured car and Crossley tender.
The occupants of these opened revolver fire with the result that a number of people were injured, one of them, Henry Montgomery (18) sustaining a bullet wound to the head.
A milk vendor had an exciting experience on the Crumlin Road. He was engaged in his rounds when the cry was raised: ‘Here’s another Sinn Feiner’.
He managed to jump clear of the mob from his cart and rushed into licensed premises close to hand.
A howling mob assembled outside but the police got the man away.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The countdown to the first ‘partition’ elections witnessed a clearly orchestrated escalation of IRA attacks on the Specials in nationalist areas where their presence was resented.
Then, as in more recent times, funerals proved the focus of sectarian clashes – in this case the republican funeral of the Duffin brothers on Its way to the Glens.)
On This Day – 28th April 1921
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19210428
Reference Date
April 28, 2021
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 28th April 1921 Specials were ambushed and wounded in Newry while sectarian clashes erupted in Belfast following the Duffin funeral. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Specials Ambushed | On This Day – 28th April 1921
A SENSATION was created in Newry on Tuesday night when eight members of the Special Constabulary, in charge of a Head Constable, were ambushed and the entire party wounded – five of them seriously.
The affair occurred at the junction of King Street and Merchant’s Quay at 9.20.
From the details available, it appears that the patrol had just turned the comer into Merchant’s Quay when four young men with their hands in their coat pockets approached, apparently in a friendly way.
Suddenly they commenced to hurl bombs at the unsuspecting Specials and opened rapid fire on them with revolvers.
The entire patrol fell at the first onslaught with the bombs – several severely wounded.
Those of the Specials who were able replied to the attack with their weapons but the attackers fled.
Another patrol of Specials arrested three young men: Peter McNulty of Kiln Street; Peter O’Hare of Caulfield Place and Matthew Gray.
On being searched fully loaded Webley revolvers were found on each of the men.
Party Collisions
THE Old Lodge Road district of Belfast was in a very disturbed state yesterday afternoon.
The disturbance, which broke out some time after the passing of the Duffin funeral and seems to have originated with some schoolchildren making use of party expressions.
As too often happens on such occasions, the women came on the scene and before very long large numbers of men made their appearance.
Soon opposing parties were firing revolvers and vigorously stoning each other.
The trouble intensified when a number of people who had been attending the funeral of the brothers Duffin were recognised passing along Stanhope Street.
The police kept the opposing elements apart as best they could until the arrival of an armoured car and Crossley tender.
The occupants of these opened revolver fire with the result that a number of people were injured, one of them, Henry Montgomery (18) sustaining a bullet wound to the head.
A milk vendor had an exciting experience on the Crumlin Road. He was engaged in his rounds when the cry was raised: ‘Here’s another Sinn Feiner’.
He managed to jump clear of the mob from his cart and rushed into licensed premises close to hand.
A howling mob assembled outside but the police got the man away.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The countdown to the first ‘partition’ elections witnessed a clearly orchestrated escalation of IRA attacks on the Specials in nationalist areas where their presence was resented.
Then, as in more recent times, funerals proved the focus of sectarian clashes – in this case the republican funeral of the Duffin brothers on Its way to the Glens.)
On This Day – 28th April 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.