‘Informer’ postman shot dead by IRA in East Cork
What was in the news 100 years ago today? Richard Forrest reports in his weekly column, Echoes of Our Past.
A SENSATIONAL shooting of a postman occurred at Carrigtwohill this morning, the Echo reported 100 years ago today, on Saturday, April 7, 1923.
The injured man, Michael Barry, is seriously wounded to the degree that he is not expected to live.
He was on his rounds 1½ miles on the Midleton side of the village when he was held up by armed men who had evidently been waiting for him. They sprang out onto the road from the fence just as Barry was passing.
The postbag was not tampered with and a notice was left attached to it bearing the words, “Convicted Spies and Informers Beware - I.R.A.”
The victim was subsequently removed to Midleton Hospital and his condition is considered extremely precarious. (Michael Barry, 47, died the same day).
A Ford motor car containing a party of military was ambushed yesterday evening near Castlemartyr and one of its occupants was wounded.
The car was on the way from Cloyne when it came under heavy gunfire at Broughlane, some two miles out from Castlemartyr.
The attackers were concealed in a graveyard at the side of the road, with others in supporting positions on the opposite side. They opened fire simultaneously and an intense fire-fight lasted for several minutes. Eventually, those in the graveyard retreated, followed soon after by those on the opposite side.
Meanwhile, an official report issued today states that in the fight at Kealkil on Wednesday, a large number of Irregulars were wearing National Army uniforms.
The Cork Industrial Development Association (IDA) has been notified by the Government’s contracts committee that the Lee Boot Manufacturing Co. has received a contract to supply the National Army with boots.
As the season is not far off when parents will be taking their children for trips to the seaside, there are a few observations in the form of hard facts to be made that may be deemed rather appropriate.
One need not be a much-travelled man to observe that in train journeys, the parents yield the position nearest the carriage door to their children. Of course, the children claim this as a sort of right, and the parents put discretion in their pockets for peace sake. But nothing could be more risky or dangerous, as a few recent tragic instances in England illustrate.
A child of three fell onto the line when the door suddenly flew open untouched. She suffered a fractured skull and died at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, while a lad of seven fell from a carriage near Nottingham when the door he was leaning against opened. He survived.
I have received a letter from the USA. “Dear Sir,” it reads, “the Knights of St Finbarr Football Club have entered two teams in the Boston league this summer. If there are any Gaels from Cork coming to locate in Boston, we would be very glad to have them become members of our club.
“We want it to be second to none. Any information you can give us on the men coming out would be greatly appreciated.
“I will endeavour to send you a picture of our team for publication. I am yours truly, Denis Hayes, Sec., formerly of Rosscarbery”.
Where such desire should exist, I suggest that one be most careful not to arrive at any hasty decision. There is plenty room for all in the Old Country, and it ought to be the ambition to lend a hand in the work of reconstruction. It is not too late to build up and make our country happy and prosperous for young and old.
Irish brains and industry have contributed to the greatness of other lands. Why not our own?
A red 14-seater Charabanc will leave from the Carnegie Library for Crosshaven on Sunday at 10.30am, returning at 6pm.
A reunion of past pupils will be held at St Angela’s College on Sunday, April 8, 5.30pm.
The death of Lord Carnarvon has been followed by a panic among collectors of Egyptian antiquities. From all over, people are sending their treasures to the British Museum in London, anxious to get rid of them because of the superstition that Lord Carnarvon was killed by the “kn”, or double curse of the soul of Tutankhamen.
Five competitors in the mother’s perambulator race started out from Big Ben, Westminster, at 5.20am today on a 52-mile race to Brighton. The babies were all warmly clad. One entrant did not start because a doctor stated that if anything happened to the children, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children would prosecute the mothers.
