Community notes Feb 13th

100 Years Ago

Reports were received by officers in command of the Timoleague Company that some local girls were associating with British military. Three local volunteers accompanied by Battalion O/C Sean Hales visited the homes of some girls in the village and it was found necessary to strongly warn them against this practice. Something similar had happened the previous year.

On the 4^th. of February, Lt. Patrick Crowley of the Kilbrittain company was killed by the military at Maryborough during a round up conducted by The Essex Regiment from Bandon, Clonakilty and Courtmacsherry that also included members of the RIC. Lt. Crowley came from a family deeply immersed in the republican and GAA tradition. He was buried in Clogagh with full military honours. Denis O’Brien of Clonbogue (Kilbrittain Historical Society) gives an excellent account of his life and death in social media as does Timothy Crowley of Castleview. (Michael Collins Centre). They are both well worth viewing.

The following day in another swoop by the Essex, Dan Moloney of Currihevern was killed. The seventy- year- old farmer was working in his farmyard when he was shot. Three of his sons were in prison at this time. He was buried in the family grave in Timoleague Abbey. He was related through marriage to the Crowley family of Kilbrittain, mentioned above.

These well organised sweeps of the countryside by the Essex troops were causing untold damage to the local volunteers and their families. In order to counteract this, local company volunteers dug trenches on the roads that the military used to travel on to carry out these swoops. Those undertaking this work were generally divided into two sections. One was engaged in the digging and removal of material and the other was armed on scout duty to afford protection to the excavators. This work was generally done at night. This slowed the progress of the soldiers and afforded the volunteers extra time to make good their escape. Members of the military refilled the trenches to make the roads passable again but the locals hit back by reopening the trenches once more. This work by the military was often done with help from locals who were commandeered at gun point to carry out the work.

The trenching of roads was carried out mainly free from incident but there was a tragic outcome at Crois na Leanbh on the 16^th. of February. A number of members of the neighbouring company at Kilbrittain were surrounded near the crossroads by one of several enemy patrols on duty in the area. In the ensuing engagement four volunteers were killed. This was a massive blow not alone to the Kilbrittain Company but also to all the other neighbouring companies in the area.