Search Results for 'Jarlath Deignan'

As a direct consequence of the death of three National Army soldiers during a botched raid on the barracks in Headford on Sunday April 8 1923, six anti-Treaty young men, already in Galway jail, were selected for immediate execution. They had been arrested during a raid on their training camp in the Currandulla area six weeks earlier.

By the end of January 1923 the Irish Free State had executed 34 anti-Treaty republican prisoners. To put this figure into context, the British authorities executed 24 Irish prisoners between November 1920 and June 1921 during the War of Independence. The fledgling Irish Free State was determined to put-down the rebellion by a small but deadly anti-Treaty force, led with fierce determination, by Liam Lynch.

Clifden was not the only town to experience the terror of British forces running wild, shooting, and setting fire to buildings. The previous year, July 19 1920, Tuam suffered a similar experience as Clifden, only mercifully no resident was killed on that occasion.

A new book which chronicles the revolutionary decade in North Galway will be launched in Tuam next month. Written by local GP Dr. Jarlath Deignan who is a member of the Old Tuam Society, the book discusses the various episodes that occurred during the pursuit of Irish freedom from a local perspective, including the Great War, Easter 1916, the War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Civil War.