Young woman’s hair cut off with shears for ‘going with Tommies’
Tuam, 15 May 1920 - Three brothers from Tuam have been sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour for cutting off the hair of Bridget Keegan of Cloondarone.
The three men, all labourers, have been named as Jack, Frank and William Jordan. Charges against a fourth man, Peter Joyce, were dismissed.
The offence occurred at 12.45 am on 30 April when seven masked men entered the Keegan family home. At least one of the men was armed with a revolver. They grabbed Ms Keegan, who had fainted, and took her out to the yard in her nightdress where they chopped her hair off with a shears.
Bridget’s sister, Margaret, who was threatened with a similar fate, was told that this is what Bridget got ‘for going with Tommies’. Margaret alleged that it was Peter Joyce who did the hair-cutting, while singing ‘We are out for Ireland free’.
Mr Golding, Crown Solicitor, described the crime as a ‘blackguardly action’. ‘All I can say’, he continued, ‘is God help Ireland if these are the acts of Irishmen and God help Ireland if these are the men to free her.’
‘Having attempted to free Ireland by cutting off the girl’s hair, to complete the freedom of Ireland they threatened to cut off her ears but they didn’t do so.’
Dr Thompson of Tuam said that Bridget was still suffering from shock and was under his care.
The Resident Magistrate, J. Kilbride, said that it was the worst kind of case to appear before the court, and for that reason they imposed the maximum penalty allowed.
Professor Linda Connolly has been investigating the violence against women that took place during the War of Independence, particularly forcible hair cutting. Listen to her conversation on the subject with Myles Dungan on the RTÉ History Show.
[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.]
