A Galway made programme about Hori Morse, a member of the most feared killing machine the British unleashed in Ireland during the War of Independence - the Auxiliaries - is to be shown on TG4.
Pairteach I nDúnmharú - An Auxiliary To Murder is a courtroom drama-documentary that interweaves the story of Hori Morse, with the sensational murder trial of his lover, Hilda Emily Hunter, with Ireland’s War of Independence.
The Auxiliaries - officially known as the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary - was a paramilitary unit of the RIC during the War of Independence. Unlike the Black and Tans, who were recruited into the RIC as regular constables, the 'Auxies' were a separate category of police.Made up of former military officers, they operated in counter-insurgency units independent of other RIC formations. They are remembered for brutality and involvement in extrajudicial killings and attacks on civilians and property
Hori Morse, a New Zealander, was a member of the infamous H Division of the Auxiliaries that besieged Tralee during the War of Independence. While on leave, he began a relationship with Hilda Hunter, who lived in Coleraine with her husband and three children.
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After he resigned from the RIC he eloped to Australia with Hilda, but later shot her dead with his service revolver - the same Smith and Wesson revolver he had used against the IRA - and stood trial for murder.
The whole extraordinary story came tumbling out in an Adelaide courtroom. In the absence of any other legal proceeding against a member of the Auxiliaries, Morse’s trial became the only legal forum to investigate the character of a man who became part of this notorious force.
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Pairteach I nDúnmharú blends dramatisation with newsreel archive of the War of Independence, as well as contemporary footage, photographs, and newspapers that chronicle the life and times of Morse and his victim.
The film is co-directed by Lydia Monin and Andrew Gallimore, and is produced by Galwegians Des Kilbane and Orla Higgins from DesK Productions. It is narrated by Galway native, Sile Nic Chonaonaigh.
Pairteach I nDúnmharú will be broadcast on TG4 on Wednesday December 15 at 9.30pm.
