The Sheemore ambush was an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

carried out by the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA) on 4 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place at Sheemore near

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

. The ambush was carried out by the IRA's South Leitrim Brigade on a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and Auxiliary Division convoy. The British force suffered casualties and admitted one fatality, a captain in the Bedfordshire Regiment, although some local sources claimed several more were killed. The

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

later undertook reprisals in Carrick-on-Shannon, including burning the Temperance Hall in Gowel.

Ambush

On Friday morning 4 March 1921, as the congregation made their way out of the 'First Friday Mass' in the Roman Catholic parish church in Gowel, they were met by three lorries carrying 30–40

Auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, ...

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

(RIC), and

members. The men were lined up for searching on one side while a 'female searcher' attended to the women. There was no panic and as nothing was found, there were no arrests. The church had been identified as a likely place for volunteers of the IRA's South Leitrim Brigade to attend. Father Edward O’Reilly (the church's curate) was openly friendly towards the volunteers. After they searched the church interior, the police and soldiers remounted their lorries and continued back to

. About 2km down the road, on the slopes of Sheemore, volunteers of the South Leitrim Brigade awaited them. The day before, the Brigade had received word from Joe Nangle (

Drumshanbo Drumshanbo (, ridge of the old huts) is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a wel ...

) of the British operation. They took up position behind a low wall which ran on the brink of an eighty-foot-high rock face on the side of Sheemore. It was four hundred yards from the road. There were seven volunteers – Brigadier Seán Mitchel (who was in command), Charles E. McGoohan (from Ballinamore), Michael Geoghegan (from Aughacashel), Mattie Boylan (from

), Michael Martin (from Ballinamore), Joe Nangle and Harry McKeon. At the command from Mitchell, the IRA opened fire on the convoy. The members of the convoy jumped from their lorries, and took cover behind a wall which ran along the road. The police ran despite the shouts from the soldiers to stand their ground. The officer in command tried to use field glasses to spot the positions of the IRA. After a forty-five-minute gunfight the IRA withdrew, and the British made no attempt to follow them. Instead they gathered up their casualties and returned to Carrick-on-Shannon. Contemporary newspaper reports indicate that one officer and four men or the Bedfordshire Regiment were wounded, as were two members of the RIC. The British officer died the following day (Saturday 5 March 1921), and some people reportedly left the area for fear of reprisals. The 'female searcher' (Nurse Alice Grey or Gray), who was a member of the ambushed convoy, was recognised by the British authorities for her role in the incident.

References

External links

IrishWarMemorials.ie - Entry and image of Sheemore Ambush memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheemore Ambush Conflicts in 1921 Military actions and engagements during the Irish War of Independence History of County Leitrim 1921 in Ireland British Army in the Irish War of Independence March 1921 events Ambushes in Europe