Frank Shawe-Taylor (1869 – 3 March 1920) was an Irish land agent and ex- High Sheriff of County Galway who was killed in an IRA ambush during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

Background to the dispute

Land disputes in Ireland had been a contentious issue for much of the 19th century, with tenants of landlords insisting on fixity of tenure, which later grew into a demand to own their own land. In addition, The

Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 The Land Acts (officially Land Law (Ireland) Acts) were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by ...

enabled the transfer of about 9 million acres (36,000 km²), up to 1914, from landlords to tenants. However, tenure and ownership of land was still a live issue on the eve of the

Shawe-Taylor

Frank Shawe-Taylor was a member of the Taylor family of Castle Taylor,

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall cont ...

. He was related to

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrot ...

, and another member of the family was Captain John Shawe-Taylor. Frank had served as High Sheriff of County Galway in 1915. In 1920 he was married with a family, living at Moorpark House, Coshla,

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

, where he was a land agent to a local landlord, and was himself a tenant.

The dispute

Early in January 1920, a group of local IRA soldiers (including Mick Kelly, Bill Freaney and

Larry Lardner Larry Lardner, a native of Athenry, County Galway, was a Brigade Commandant for the Irish Republican Army in his locality. He was by trade a publican and a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) Supreme Council for Connacht in 1917. ...

) approached Shawe-Taylor on behalf of some local people who were requesting a road to travel to Mass. While Shawe-Taylor himself was amenable to their demands, his landlord refused them outright and made this known via Shawe-Taylor.

The shooting

On 3 March 1920, Shawe-Taylor and his driver, Barrett, were making their way to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

to attend the fair. At 6 a.m. the coach reached Egan's Pub, Coshla, where they found the road blocked. The donkey cart of a local, Johnny Kelly, had been stolen and placed across the road. From behind the wall, at least two shooters fired at Barrett and Shawe-Taylor, wounding the former and killing the latter. This resulted in a huge security presence in the area, which in turn led to more unrest with the locals. This increased with the arrival of the

Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...

, whose irregular methods resulted in shootings, assaults, rapes and deaths. Moorpark House was placed under

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

protection out of fear of further killings.

Aftermath

Other people who subsequently died as a result of the unrest in Galway included Ellen Quinn (1 November 1920), a pregnant mother of six and a tenant of

; Fr. Michael Griffin (14 November 1920); Tom Egan and Patrick and Harry Loughnane (two brothers). In addition, there were numerous incidents of violence, many of which were recorded with horror by

in her journal, who remarked that ''"the country has gone wild since the killing of Frank Shawe-Taylor."'' Local republican Bill Freaney at one point planned to burn Moorpark House in 'revenge' for the death of Tom Egan (which itself was thought to be a reprisal for Shawe-Taylor's killing), but was dissuaded by Mrs. Egan. Freaney himself was burned to death in Athenry in 1921. No one was ever tried for Frank Shawe-Taylor's killing, though the identities of those involved were known to some locals at the time. His widow eventually sold their property, and with her young children moved to England.

Family

Shawe-Taylor is buried in St. Mary's graveyard, Athenry. The music critic, Desmond Shawe-Taylor (1907–1995) and British racing driver

Brian Shawe-Taylor Brian Newton Shawe-Taylor (28 January 1915 – 1 May 1999) was a British racing driver. He participated in 3 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship Formula One races. He scored no World Championship points. Early life ...

(1915–1999) were among his children. His grandson is Desmond Shawe-Taylor,

Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by ...

from 2005 to 2020.

References

* ''Lady Gregory's Journal'', v. 1. Books 1-29: 10 October 1916 – 24 February 1925; 1978. 0900675926 * ''Athenry: A Local History (1850–1983)'', Aggie Qualter, 1984. * ''Athenry: A Brief History and Guide'', Ann Healy, 1989. * ''The History and Folklore of the Barony of Clare'', Michael J. Hughes, c. 1993. * ''The Lamberts of Athenry'', ed. Finnbarr O'Regan, Galway, 1999. * ''Roy, James Charles. The Fields of Athenry: A Journey Through Irish History.'' Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 2001.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shawe-Taylor, Frank 1869 births 1920 deaths Deaths by firearm in Ireland People killed in the Irish War of Independence People murdered in Ireland Murder victims from County Galway Unsolved murders in Ireland High sheriffs of County Galway People from Athenry Frank People murdered in 1920