Fresh wave of attacks on people and property around Ireland

Dublin, 14 May 1920 - A series of seemingly co-ordinated attacks has left a trail of devastation across Ireland.

Official reports from Dublin Castle indicate that between 9 to 13 May nearly 50 police barracks were either burned or blown up and between 20 and 30 income tax offices were raided and the documents that they contained were carried away and burned. Some of the offices were also set alight and destroyed.

In Cashel. Co. Tipperary, one of the largest buildings in the town – the courthouse – was destroyed. And in Downpatrick, Co. Down, a group of eight to 10 armed men raided the local excise office and seized pension papers and other documents. A Church of Ireland clergyman, Rev. Thomas Wilkinson, chased the raiders, but was shot in the thigh. He is currently receiving treatment in the county infirmary.

The IRA at War - an episode of the RTÉ History Show's series on the Irish War of Independence

This is the second such concentration of attacks on barracks and tax offices this year; over 200 were damaged or destroyed over Easter weekend.

Other reported outrages include the murder of a gardener who was fatally wounded when shot during a raid on Ballybrack Barracks in Dublin. There were four shootings reported, three robberies of mails, a bomb attack, burglaries and the intimidation of police. A constable in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, received a letter with the message: ‘Prepare for your last. Your day is done. Repent for your past acts. Up Clare. Be ready when called upon. You are doomed.’

Other incidents
There were several other violent incidents around the country this week.

Three constables and a sergeant were shot dead on 10 May by armed men near Timoleague, Co. Cork, as they were on a cycling patrol.

In Tipperary, Sergeant McDonnell of the Royal Irish Constabulary was killed when attacked between Goold’s Cross railway station and Clonoulty police hut. McDonnell has only been based in Clonoulty a few months and was involved in the successful defence of the barracks from armed attack at the end of March this year.

In Limerick City, James Dalton (48), a member of Sinn Féin was shot and killed on Saturday evening as he emerged from Humphrey’s public house, where he had been with his father-in-law, 200 yards from his home on Clare Street.

Dalton was set upon by around seven men with revolvers who chased him and continued shooting him, even as he lay on the ground.

Mr Dalton was a prominent figure in the republican movement. He worked as a clerk at the gas works. He is survived by his wife and 13 children.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]