Priest tells congregation there is a time for war

A PARISH priest, commemorating the 90th anniversary of a War of Independence ambush where six men were killed, said yesterday that we should not forget that “there is a time for war and a time for peace”.

In west Clare, more than 400 people, including relatives of the volunteers and RIC men involved in the Rineen ambush, commemorated the event, which at the time was the largest ambush of the War of Independence.

On September 22nd, 1922, 60 Irish volunteers drawn from nine companies in the area ambushed a patrol of Royal Irish Constabulary and Black and Tans travelling in a lorry at Rineen, six miles from the seaside resort of Lahinch.

The ambush was in reprisal for the killing of Commdt Martin Devitt of the 4th Battalion Mid-Clare Brigade at Inagh earlier in 1920.

Six RIC officers, five of them Irish Catholics, were killed. Constable Reginald Hardman (21) was the only English man to die. 

The others killed were Con Michael Harte (28) from Sligo; Con John Hodnett (31) from Cork; Con Michael Kelly (32) from Roscommon, Con John Maguire (21) from Mayo and Sgt Michael Hynes (29) from Roscommon.

However, in reprisal for the attack, six people in north Clare were killed by the RIC and Black and Tans – five of them later that day as British government forces destroyed businesses in Lahinch, Ennistymon and Miltown Malbay. Seán Keane, PJ Linnane, James Sammon, Tom Connole, Norah Foz and Dan Lehane died in that reprisal.

Addressing the congregation at Moy Church yesterday, Fr Seán Murphy said: “There is a time for war as well as a time for peace and we shouldn’t forget that; that sometimes when our innate human values are challenged, like freedom, peace itself, justice, there is a time – not the first time that we don’t go immediately into war, but there is a time for war.”

He went on: “In fact, the very easiness of our times of peace makes a lot think that there should be no war and very often our peacetime and our freedom can degenerate into a softness and an easiness that forgets that what we enjoy: the very freedom and the self-determination and goods of the earth was achieved very often through war where people fought for these values when they weren’t available.”

Fr Murphy told the congregation: “We won’t glorify war but we can glorify the men and women who committed themselves in those days in a full way.”

Volunteer Ignatius O’Neill led the ambush and yesterday his 60-year-old grandson, Joe O’Neill, said: “It is a very special occasion for us. For my family to be remembered in the way they are, it is very important.”

After the wreath-laying ceremony at the monument, grand-niece of Corkman Con John Hodnett, Helen Nyhan said: “This is the first time any of the family have been here in the 90 years. John was only 31 when he was killed. It is really nice to be here.”

In his oration, Minister for Defence Tony Killeen said that there was a very strong folk memory of the ambush in the area and that “we come here today to honour and respect their patriotism”.

SIC: IT/IE