On Friday 26 November 1920, a large force of Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.) and Auxiliaries (The Black and Tans, officially the Royal Irish Constabulary Special Reserve, was a force of Temporary Constables recruited to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence) swept through the Beagh area in lorries, visiting the homes of wanted men. They proceeded to Shanaglish to the home of the Loughnane brothers, Patrick (Pat), aged 29, and Harry aged 22. The brothers lived in a comfortable farm opposite Shanaglish Church, and worked the farm for their widowed mother Catherine Loughnane (née Grealish). Catherine also had two daughters, Nora and Katie, who were both teachers in North Galway, in addition to a son named Martin (Mattie) and a daughter Mary both of whom were living in the US; Hugh, Catherine's youngest child was then residing in England, but returned to the farm after the terrible atrocity.
Pat was tall, handsome, and powerfully built, a fine hurler, with a winning personality, selected as the leader of many activities in the parish and was involved with the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.). Reportedly, Pat deeply regretted that he took no part in the 1916 Rising, being then a member of the United Irish League (U.I.L.). Harry was of a gentle, quiet and retiring deposition, studious and fond of reading. Ill health forced him to give up becoming a national school teacher like his two older sisters. Harry was an efficient secretary of the local Sinn Féin club. Though their unit had seen relatively little action in the preceding two years of resistance against the Crown, Patrick had participated in the Castledaly Ambush the previous month, October, which had resulted in the death of a policeman from Kerry.
Pat was tall, handsome, and powerfully built, a fine hurler, with a winning personality, selected as the leader of many activities in the parish and was involved with the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (I.R.B.). Reportedly, Pat deeply regretted that he took no part in the 1916 Rising, being then a member of the United Irish League (U.I.L.). Harry was of a gentle, quiet and retiring deposition, studious and fond of reading. Ill health forced him to give up becoming a national school teacher like his two older sisters. Harry was an efficient secretary of the local Sinn Féin club. Though their unit had seen relatively little action in the preceding two years of resistance against the Crown, Patrick had participated in the Castledaly Ambush the previous month, October, which had resulted in the death of a policeman from Kerry.
Memorial Card for Patrick and Harry Loughnane
The 26th November 1920 was a dry, crisp day, and well suited for threshing operations. Threshing was a process where grain was separated from corn or other crops, typically with a flail or by the action of a revolving mechanism (in this case a threshing machine). Robert and Peter Glynn brought their thresher to Mrs. Loughnane’s farm and 14 neighbours gathered there to help with the harvest, as recalled by Robert Glynn. At about 3pm Pat was anxious that the men should have a break for half an hour, but his mother, a sensible hardworking woman, suggested it be better to continue to finish early. All agreed and work continued. Pat and Harry were found threshing corn about 4pm by the British forces. A lorry full of Auxiliaries approached and the men jumped out and made straight for the farmers. Unaware of the oncoming vehicle due to the racket of the threshing machine the brothers, their mother, and several neighbours were seized at gunpoint. Robert Glynn, the owner of the thresher, tried to run, and the Auxiliaries proceeded to open fire on him. Luckily, none of the bullets hit their mark, and Robert escaped. Robert later recounted that he ran after reading and hearing about what the fate of four men in Scariff, Co. Clare, who were captured and murdered earlier in November.
The remainder of the threshing party were surrounded in the field and placed under arrest. Peter Glynn recalled that the captives were lined up against the wall and a policeman, who had been stationed in Tubber, Co. Clare, accompanied by the Auxies (Auxiliaries) and picked out Pat and Harry Loughnane. They were asked if they were Sinn Feiners and Volunteers and they replied that they were. The party next inquired a boy, a first cousin of the Loughnanes, who had assisted them at the threshing, if he were a Sinn Feiner, and he replied that he was. They then told the boy to run away, and when he did so, they fired, it is alleged, several shots after him but did not injure him. The Auxiliaries took Pat and Harry away, and reportedly one commented to Pat ‘Bring with you the rifle you had at Castledaly’. Once the brothers were arrested, the Auxiliaries didn’t bother anybody else and never searched the Loughnane family home. The brothers were placed in the steel plated lorry and the Auxiliaries continued their round-up elsewhere in South Galway.
The Auxiliaries then proceeded to Tubber, Co. Clare, where they arrested another man named Michael Carroll. Michael recalled that he was detained between 4 and 5pm in the evening; he was stripping a horse when the lorry stopped about 30 yards away. it was then that he spotted the prisoners and recognised the Loughnane brothers. The Auxiliaries ran up and arrested Michael, asking him several questions and striking him repeatedly in the head and arms with their revolvers while they searched him. Michael was held in the lorry while they searched his house. While the men who had searched the house returned to the lorry, some of the remaining Auxiliaries ordered Michael to jump out and run away. When he refused, the lorry started, and two men caught him and swung him over the side on to the road. As Michael fell, his coat was caught on a hook at the corner and he was dragged along, suspended from the lorry for at least 20 yards. Michael was then caught and dragged back into the lorry, where he was again beaten on the head with revolvers. After a half mile, the lorry stopped for a cigarette break. One man suggested they give Carroll another beating, and immediately after, he was beaten about the body, knocked down and kicked repeatedly. The Loughnane brothers also received a bad beating, and all three prisoners were bleeding.
The lorry stopped at Furpark and the Crown forces proceeded to search Flahertys and Nellys, other Reublican families in the area. Captain Jack Flaherty was a member of the I.R.A. and had ammunition hidden in his house. Luckily, his mother and sisters spotted the Auxiliaries before they entered the house and managed the get the ammo away to safety. The Auxies came out after 15 minutes and were very disappointed. This was not good news for their prisoners, as the beatings now got progressively more violent. Carroll could not recall much more after this point, as it appears he may have been knocked unconscious from the beatings. He remembered arriving at Gort R.I.C. barracks. Some accounts state that their cousin was also arrested but the newspaper reports it was just the Loughnanes and Carroll that returned to Gort. The police were at the door when they arrived, and as the prisoners passed, one of the policemen struck Carroll. He fell, and landed under the table, and was again kicked while he was down. The process was repeated for the Loughnane brothers as they passed into the barracks. Carroll was taken to Galway the next day, and jailed in Earl’s Island, before eventually being jailed in Ballykinlar for 13 months before being released.
An Auxiliary officer named John Francis Ulic ‘Jock’ Burke was in charge of the raiding party, according to the I.R.A. reports. He was born in Hamilton, Glasgow, Scotland. Under his charge, the prisoners were subjected to gross maltreatment. (It is interesting to note that Patrick Moylette [a London-based Irish businessman and a contact of Arthur Griffith] accused Burke of planning to kill him. According to Moylette, Burke was elected C/O of the Auxiliaries.) According to the military enquiry on 8 December, T/Cadet C.F. Owen Company D, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C. was in charge of the raiding party, and further research shows that Burke was in fact in gaol when the Loughnanes were arrested.
The remainder of the threshing party were surrounded in the field and placed under arrest. Peter Glynn recalled that the captives were lined up against the wall and a policeman, who had been stationed in Tubber, Co. Clare, accompanied by the Auxies (Auxiliaries) and picked out Pat and Harry Loughnane. They were asked if they were Sinn Feiners and Volunteers and they replied that they were. The party next inquired a boy, a first cousin of the Loughnanes, who had assisted them at the threshing, if he were a Sinn Feiner, and he replied that he was. They then told the boy to run away, and when he did so, they fired, it is alleged, several shots after him but did not injure him. The Auxiliaries took Pat and Harry away, and reportedly one commented to Pat ‘Bring with you the rifle you had at Castledaly’. Once the brothers were arrested, the Auxiliaries didn’t bother anybody else and never searched the Loughnane family home. The brothers were placed in the steel plated lorry and the Auxiliaries continued their round-up elsewhere in South Galway.
The Auxiliaries then proceeded to Tubber, Co. Clare, where they arrested another man named Michael Carroll. Michael recalled that he was detained between 4 and 5pm in the evening; he was stripping a horse when the lorry stopped about 30 yards away. it was then that he spotted the prisoners and recognised the Loughnane brothers. The Auxiliaries ran up and arrested Michael, asking him several questions and striking him repeatedly in the head and arms with their revolvers while they searched him. Michael was held in the lorry while they searched his house. While the men who had searched the house returned to the lorry, some of the remaining Auxiliaries ordered Michael to jump out and run away. When he refused, the lorry started, and two men caught him and swung him over the side on to the road. As Michael fell, his coat was caught on a hook at the corner and he was dragged along, suspended from the lorry for at least 20 yards. Michael was then caught and dragged back into the lorry, where he was again beaten on the head with revolvers. After a half mile, the lorry stopped for a cigarette break. One man suggested they give Carroll another beating, and immediately after, he was beaten about the body, knocked down and kicked repeatedly. The Loughnane brothers also received a bad beating, and all three prisoners were bleeding.
The lorry stopped at Furpark and the Crown forces proceeded to search Flahertys and Nellys, other Reublican families in the area. Captain Jack Flaherty was a member of the I.R.A. and had ammunition hidden in his house. Luckily, his mother and sisters spotted the Auxiliaries before they entered the house and managed the get the ammo away to safety. The Auxies came out after 15 minutes and were very disappointed. This was not good news for their prisoners, as the beatings now got progressively more violent. Carroll could not recall much more after this point, as it appears he may have been knocked unconscious from the beatings. He remembered arriving at Gort R.I.C. barracks. Some accounts state that their cousin was also arrested but the newspaper reports it was just the Loughnanes and Carroll that returned to Gort. The police were at the door when they arrived, and as the prisoners passed, one of the policemen struck Carroll. He fell, and landed under the table, and was again kicked while he was down. The process was repeated for the Loughnane brothers as they passed into the barracks. Carroll was taken to Galway the next day, and jailed in Earl’s Island, before eventually being jailed in Ballykinlar for 13 months before being released.
An Auxiliary officer named John Francis Ulic ‘Jock’ Burke was in charge of the raiding party, according to the I.R.A. reports. He was born in Hamilton, Glasgow, Scotland. Under his charge, the prisoners were subjected to gross maltreatment. (It is interesting to note that Patrick Moylette [a London-based Irish businessman and a contact of Arthur Griffith] accused Burke of planning to kill him. According to Moylette, Burke was elected C/O of the Auxiliaries.) According to the military enquiry on 8 December, T/Cadet C.F. Owen Company D, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C. was in charge of the raiding party, and further research shows that Burke was in fact in gaol when the Loughnanes were arrested.
D Company Auxies Lenaboy, those responsible for the arrest, torture and executions of the Loughnane Brothers
According to testimony by I.R.A. Volunteer Michael Hynes, Carroll told Padraig Fahy of Ballycahalan, and Padraig Kilkelly that 12 R.I.C. men dressed only in shirts and pants went into the Day Room in the R.I.C. Gort barracks and beat the two brothers around the room until blood was running from their ears and noses for over an hour. A young R.I.C. constable named Doherty, who knew the brothers, interceded for them, but without effect, something for which he would later suffer. When the R.I.C. left the Day Room, he heard Patrick say to his brother: "We'd better say the Rosary as they are going to finish us".
The following Saturday, Father J. Nagle, parish priest of Beagh, accompanied Mrs. Loughnane to Gort R.I.C. barracks. Mrs. Loughnane brought with her clothes for her sons, thinking that they were kept there in custody. On inquiries there they were informed that there auxiliary force took away the two Loughnane brothers the previous night. No further information could be found as to their destination.
On Monday night, about 12 o’clock, 29th November, a force of Auxiliaries called at Mrs. Loughnane's and informed her that her sons had escaped from Drumharsna Castle. They proceeded to raid the house stating that the boys had escaped and that they must get them. They then made a thorough search of the house, Mrs. Loughnane and her niece being the only occupant at the time. Their friends became anxious for their safety, and their sister Nora made a diligent but fruitless search, calling on military officers in Galway and elsewhere, but she feared the worst. She made enquiries at Eglington Street Police Station on Tuesday, but she was told that the police knew nothing about her brothers’ arrest and they had not come to Galway. She next went to Galway jail at Earl’s Island with the same result. She made no further inquiries until Saturday, when she visited the auxiliary camp at Lenaboy, Taylor’s Hill, Galway. She had an interview with the commanding officer there, and inquired of him if he knew where her brothers were. He told her that 8 prisoners (out of a total of 12 arrested), including her brothers, had escaped, that one was re-arrested and that the other seven were supposed to be 'running south'.
The following Saturday, Father J. Nagle, parish priest of Beagh, accompanied Mrs. Loughnane to Gort R.I.C. barracks. Mrs. Loughnane brought with her clothes for her sons, thinking that they were kept there in custody. On inquiries there they were informed that there auxiliary force took away the two Loughnane brothers the previous night. No further information could be found as to their destination.
On Monday night, about 12 o’clock, 29th November, a force of Auxiliaries called at Mrs. Loughnane's and informed her that her sons had escaped from Drumharsna Castle. They proceeded to raid the house stating that the boys had escaped and that they must get them. They then made a thorough search of the house, Mrs. Loughnane and her niece being the only occupant at the time. Their friends became anxious for their safety, and their sister Nora made a diligent but fruitless search, calling on military officers in Galway and elsewhere, but she feared the worst. She made enquiries at Eglington Street Police Station on Tuesday, but she was told that the police knew nothing about her brothers’ arrest and they had not come to Galway. She next went to Galway jail at Earl’s Island with the same result. She made no further inquiries until Saturday, when she visited the auxiliary camp at Lenaboy, Taylor’s Hill, Galway. She had an interview with the commanding officer there, and inquired of him if he knew where her brothers were. He told her that 8 prisoners (out of a total of 12 arrested), including her brothers, had escaped, that one was re-arrested and that the other seven were supposed to be 'running south'.
Lenaboy Castle on an 11-acre site at the junction of Taylor's Hill and Rosary Lane. Originally owned by Capt. James O'Hara.
Drumharsna Castle, an outpost for the Auxiliaries where the Loughnane brothers were brought to from Gort When leaving, the officer took her name and address, stating that if any information was discovered as to their whereabouts, he would let her now. She returned to Beagh on Saturday.
It was common knowledge that the R.I.C. commandeered rope (reputedly 33 yards of rope) in Martin Coen's shop in Gort and tied the two brothers to the back of a lorry and dragged them along the road to Drumharsna Castle, Ardrahan, where the Auxiliaries were stationed at the time, although all eyewitness accounts admit nobody witnessed this presumed occurrence, even though Brian Greaney’s account suggest Pat Linnane and his mother witnessed this terrible atrocity. On 3 August 1920 ‘D Company’ of the Auxiliaries were formed at The Curragh, then moved to Galway. From October 1920 they were based in Lenaboy Castle, Taylor’s Hill on the outskirts of Galway City. Some Auxiliaries were based at The Retreat, Salthill. They also used Drumharsna Castle as a post. They were under orders to move out of Drumharsna on 27 November 1920, but that the Loughnane incident resulted in them getting orders to stay on. Today Drumharsna Castle is a gaunt ruin. A large house stood next to it until it was demolished in 1920s.
An entry dated 7 December in Lady Gregory’s Journal noted ‘When the men in the lorry came to Coen’s shop for the rope they took a bottle of whiskey too and when he asked for payment all they did was to point a revolver at him’. Drumharsna castle was about six miles north of Gort, between Kinvara and Ardrahan. According to the account of the atrocity written by Martin Greaney in the Beagh Book, Pat Linnane and his mother, both of Chessy, witnessed the two men being dragged behind the lorry. According to Lady Gregory’s Journal on 4 December “A man, MacGill, took notice where a lorry had turned on the road, where it was narrow, and had knocked down part of the wall. He wondered to see it broken and looked behind it and there were two boys lying, their heads near one another, and dark clothes on them. He went home and it was three days before he could rise from the bed. He told others and when some went to look thereafter, the bodies were gone and no word of them,”
Disturbing rumours were circulated to the effect that the Auxiliaries returned to Mr. Coen's with the rope; that a girl overheard the Auxiliaries talking with an R.I.C. man, and that the latter asked what they did with the two prisoners; the reply was, "Oh! we have killed them"; that the brothers were made carry large stones and run before the lorries, the Crown Forces prodding them with bayonets until they fell exhausted... they were then tied to the lorries and dragged along the road; that four shots were fired in Moy O'Hynes' (also called Moyvilla) wood near Kinvara on Friday night, about 6 miles from Gort. Men answering their description were seen in O'Hynes' wood dead or in a dying state on Saturday, and several saw Crown Forces in the wood on Sunday night. Four shots were fired, and the two men were taken away in a lorry, and that a fire was seen near Drumharsna. Contradictory rumours were also widely circulated to the effect that the brothers were safe and well, and were actually seen chipping wood in Earl's Camp, Galway. These rumours confused the search parties and, when the men who supposedly knew about the torture and murder of the Loughnanes were interviewed, they denied that they ever knew, heard, or told anybody anything about them. Further searches seemed useless.
The discovery of their bodies came about in a surprising manner. A friend (some newspaper reports list him as a first cousin) of the Loughnanes called Michael ‘Mickey’ (Tully) Loughnane of Creggbrien, aged about 18, saw Pat in vision after his arrest by the Auxiliaries. One night as he sat inside a stone-crusher van with his employer Mick Shaughnessy (Leahy) of Blackwater, Gort, the boy asked, "Why didn't you stay longer with Pat Loughnane?" And when his employer asked him if he was dreaming, the boy replied, "No, I surely saw Pat Loughnane with you, and he was leaning over his bicycle". The boy could bear the suspense no longer. He returned to his home near Shanaglish Church on Saturday evening, the ninth day after the disappearance of his friends, 4th December. He visited the Church and prayed to the Sacred Heart to show him where the Loughnanes were. That night he dreamt he saw his comrades in a pond at Dombriste (or Owenbristy), near Drimharsna, near Murty Sheehan’s crossroads. After hearing Mass at Gort on Sunday, the boy took two friends with him (brothers Michael and Willie Hynes, both Volunteers of Kinvara), cycled to Dombriste, crossed a field to the pond, and there lay the brothers exactly as he saw them in the dream, in about 3 feet of water in the pond, the surface of which was covered with oil. The location of their suspected shooting, before their bodies were dumped at Dombriste, just off the public road near Moy O’Hynes, is now marked by a cross to their memory.
It was common knowledge that the R.I.C. commandeered rope (reputedly 33 yards of rope) in Martin Coen's shop in Gort and tied the two brothers to the back of a lorry and dragged them along the road to Drumharsna Castle, Ardrahan, where the Auxiliaries were stationed at the time, although all eyewitness accounts admit nobody witnessed this presumed occurrence, even though Brian Greaney’s account suggest Pat Linnane and his mother witnessed this terrible atrocity. On 3 August 1920 ‘D Company’ of the Auxiliaries were formed at The Curragh, then moved to Galway. From October 1920 they were based in Lenaboy Castle, Taylor’s Hill on the outskirts of Galway City. Some Auxiliaries were based at The Retreat, Salthill. They also used Drumharsna Castle as a post. They were under orders to move out of Drumharsna on 27 November 1920, but that the Loughnane incident resulted in them getting orders to stay on. Today Drumharsna Castle is a gaunt ruin. A large house stood next to it until it was demolished in 1920s.
An entry dated 7 December in Lady Gregory’s Journal noted ‘When the men in the lorry came to Coen’s shop for the rope they took a bottle of whiskey too and when he asked for payment all they did was to point a revolver at him’. Drumharsna castle was about six miles north of Gort, between Kinvara and Ardrahan. According to the account of the atrocity written by Martin Greaney in the Beagh Book, Pat Linnane and his mother, both of Chessy, witnessed the two men being dragged behind the lorry. According to Lady Gregory’s Journal on 4 December “A man, MacGill, took notice where a lorry had turned on the road, where it was narrow, and had knocked down part of the wall. He wondered to see it broken and looked behind it and there were two boys lying, their heads near one another, and dark clothes on them. He went home and it was three days before he could rise from the bed. He told others and when some went to look thereafter, the bodies were gone and no word of them,”
Disturbing rumours were circulated to the effect that the Auxiliaries returned to Mr. Coen's with the rope; that a girl overheard the Auxiliaries talking with an R.I.C. man, and that the latter asked what they did with the two prisoners; the reply was, "Oh! we have killed them"; that the brothers were made carry large stones and run before the lorries, the Crown Forces prodding them with bayonets until they fell exhausted... they were then tied to the lorries and dragged along the road; that four shots were fired in Moy O'Hynes' (also called Moyvilla) wood near Kinvara on Friday night, about 6 miles from Gort. Men answering their description were seen in O'Hynes' wood dead or in a dying state on Saturday, and several saw Crown Forces in the wood on Sunday night. Four shots were fired, and the two men were taken away in a lorry, and that a fire was seen near Drumharsna. Contradictory rumours were also widely circulated to the effect that the brothers were safe and well, and were actually seen chipping wood in Earl's Camp, Galway. These rumours confused the search parties and, when the men who supposedly knew about the torture and murder of the Loughnanes were interviewed, they denied that they ever knew, heard, or told anybody anything about them. Further searches seemed useless.
The discovery of their bodies came about in a surprising manner. A friend (some newspaper reports list him as a first cousin) of the Loughnanes called Michael ‘Mickey’ (Tully) Loughnane of Creggbrien, aged about 18, saw Pat in vision after his arrest by the Auxiliaries. One night as he sat inside a stone-crusher van with his employer Mick Shaughnessy (Leahy) of Blackwater, Gort, the boy asked, "Why didn't you stay longer with Pat Loughnane?" And when his employer asked him if he was dreaming, the boy replied, "No, I surely saw Pat Loughnane with you, and he was leaning over his bicycle". The boy could bear the suspense no longer. He returned to his home near Shanaglish Church on Saturday evening, the ninth day after the disappearance of his friends, 4th December. He visited the Church and prayed to the Sacred Heart to show him where the Loughnanes were. That night he dreamt he saw his comrades in a pond at Dombriste (or Owenbristy), near Drimharsna, near Murty Sheehan’s crossroads. After hearing Mass at Gort on Sunday, the boy took two friends with him (brothers Michael and Willie Hynes, both Volunteers of Kinvara), cycled to Dombriste, crossed a field to the pond, and there lay the brothers exactly as he saw them in the dream, in about 3 feet of water in the pond, the surface of which was covered with oil. The location of their suspected shooting, before their bodies were dumped at Dombriste, just off the public road near Moy O’Hynes, is now marked by a cross to their memory.
Memorial to brothers Patrick and Harry Loughnane at Moy O Hynes Woods, near Ardrahan
The boys told nobody of their discovery until they reached Kinvara. Over 20 men of the Kinvara I.R.A. Company immediately procured a horse and van from Pat Helebert and hurriedly went with to Dombriste. On reaching the pond, they rushed into the water, took out the charred remains and laid them side by side on the grass. The bodies were hideously mutilated. Patrick was found lying on his back, and Harry on his right side, about 2 yards apart, and 4 yards from the verge of the pond. They were naked, not a particle of clothing remained, save one of Harry's boots. His once graceful figure was a mass of unsightly scars and gashes; two of his fingers were lopped off; his right arm was broken at the shoulder, being almost completely severed from the body; whilst of the face nothing remained save the chin and lips, and the skull was entirely blown away. The remains were badly charred. Patrick's body was not charred to the same extent as his brother's. His back and shoulders remained intact. The limbs of both were charred to such an extent that the bones were exposed, the flesh and sinews being completely burned away. Mock decorations in form of diamonds were cut along Pat's ribs and chest. Both his wrists were broken and also his right arm above the elbow. Patrick's face was completely lashed away, so as to be unrecognisable, and his skull was very much fractured, as if a bomb had been forced into his mouth and exploded. The bodies were then set alight in a wood, where it is believed that they may have been still alive. Patrick's back was the only part of his body that was not blackened by burns. He was evidently thrown on his back before being set on fire. Henry's body was scorched all over. The bodies were found about 100 yards from the main road between Gort and Clarenbridge at Dombriste (also recorded as Umvriste) near Murty Sheehan’s cross, in the parish of Ardrahan, about 3 miles from Ardrahan village.
Considering they had been ten days dead, the bodies were in a good state of preservation, without sign of decomposition. After being taken out of the water, blood began to flow from a wound in Harry's side. This bleeding was again renewed when the bodies were laid in Hynes' barn, leaving a brilliant red stain on the linens.
Hundreds dipped their handkerchiefs in the martyrs' blood, which they treasured highly. Having recovered the bodies, the next problem was to get them away. The Auxiliary stronghold at Drimharsna was only a mile distant overlooking the pond and the Volunteers were 'wanted men'. Already a stranger cycled up and inquired casually where the bodies were being brought to. "To Ballinderreen Chapel" was the reply. The funeral had proceeded but a short distance when a lorry of Auxiliaries drove up and halted near the pond where the Auxiliaries remained searching for some time. They then proceeded to Kilcolgan, and in the meantime the funeral had turned on towards Kinvara. Not discovering anything in Kilcolgan, the lorry also moved on in the direction of Kinvara, but meeting two men on the road, the Auxiliaries believed one of them to be a 'much wanted man', and brought him back in triumph to Kilcolgan Barracks.
P. Hynes yoked a horse and with the assistance of the Kinvara I.R.A. Company, brought back the two bodies to the barn where they were waked. By this time the funeral, augmented by large crowds that joined along the route, had reached Kinvara. While the coffins were being readied, P. Hynes gave the use of his barn for the wake. It was the only habitation left to him, his house and out-offices being already burned down by the Crown Forces the Monday before. This barn, together with the dwelling of the man who had charge of the funeral arrangements, were burned down by Auxiliaries a few days later. They also burned their hay and corn and took away all their fowl, and threatened Michael Hynes’ father night after night. On one such night, Michael Hyne’s sister Mary expressed concern for her father who had been taken out of the house in his bare feet. She thought they were going to shoot him and said so to one of the Auxiliaries. He said earnestly in reply: "Pray to God and the Blessed Virgin. That's the only hope you have. They are a terrible crowd". Sonny Mullins and Mattie Shaughnessy, Church Street, Gort, brought the two coffins from town.
The bodies were identified by their sister Nora Loughnane, a national school teacher in Corrundulla. She insisted on seeing the corpses, and when several tried to dissuade her, she replied, "Their souls are in heaven, of that I am confident; and they died for Ireland, so it really doesn't matter how their bodies look. They were ready to make this sacrifice for their country's sake and, because I have the, same idea of nationality that they had, I, too, can bear, this ordeal". For a moment the fearful sight almost unnerved her, but by a superhuman effort she braced herself together, and again she was calm and resigned. "Oh! Poor Harry' she exclaimed as she seen the mutilated features of her younger brother. She could not identify the elder brother except by his broad shoulders and his stature. A medical officer was also in attendance, and a number of I.R.A. officers held an investigation and ordered the verdict to be written on the breast-plates of the coffins; ‘Padraig O LocnÁin, A ghabhadh, a marbhuigeadh agus a dhoigeadh ag na Sasanacaibh, Mí Shamhna, 1920 in aois a naoi mbliadhain is fiche. Dia le n-a anam.’ Anraoi O LocnÁin, A ghabhadh, a marbhuigeadh agus a dhoigeadh ag na Sasanacaibh, Mí Shamhna, 1920 in aois a trí mbliadhain is fiche. Dia le n-a anam.’ When a Canon Fahy arrived the Rosary was again recited, and the bodies were placed in coffins and taken to Kinvara Church at midnight, the Kinvara Company forming a guard of honour. They had previously been anointed by Canon of Kinvara. The coffins were draped in Sinn Féin flags with the letters "I.R.A." and the breast-plates bore these inscriptions. The I.R.A. kept guard during the night. The members of the I.R.A. marched in front of the procession the following day as the bodies were transported from Kinvara to Beagh, more specifically Shanaglish Church.
Tomás OhEighin, an Irish teacher, took photographs of the bodies in the coffins, traumatised relatives and neighbours standing around them in a tight, almost protective huddle.
Considering they had been ten days dead, the bodies were in a good state of preservation, without sign of decomposition. After being taken out of the water, blood began to flow from a wound in Harry's side. This bleeding was again renewed when the bodies were laid in Hynes' barn, leaving a brilliant red stain on the linens.
Hundreds dipped their handkerchiefs in the martyrs' blood, which they treasured highly. Having recovered the bodies, the next problem was to get them away. The Auxiliary stronghold at Drimharsna was only a mile distant overlooking the pond and the Volunteers were 'wanted men'. Already a stranger cycled up and inquired casually where the bodies were being brought to. "To Ballinderreen Chapel" was the reply. The funeral had proceeded but a short distance when a lorry of Auxiliaries drove up and halted near the pond where the Auxiliaries remained searching for some time. They then proceeded to Kilcolgan, and in the meantime the funeral had turned on towards Kinvara. Not discovering anything in Kilcolgan, the lorry also moved on in the direction of Kinvara, but meeting two men on the road, the Auxiliaries believed one of them to be a 'much wanted man', and brought him back in triumph to Kilcolgan Barracks.
P. Hynes yoked a horse and with the assistance of the Kinvara I.R.A. Company, brought back the two bodies to the barn where they were waked. By this time the funeral, augmented by large crowds that joined along the route, had reached Kinvara. While the coffins were being readied, P. Hynes gave the use of his barn for the wake. It was the only habitation left to him, his house and out-offices being already burned down by the Crown Forces the Monday before. This barn, together with the dwelling of the man who had charge of the funeral arrangements, were burned down by Auxiliaries a few days later. They also burned their hay and corn and took away all their fowl, and threatened Michael Hynes’ father night after night. On one such night, Michael Hyne’s sister Mary expressed concern for her father who had been taken out of the house in his bare feet. She thought they were going to shoot him and said so to one of the Auxiliaries. He said earnestly in reply: "Pray to God and the Blessed Virgin. That's the only hope you have. They are a terrible crowd". Sonny Mullins and Mattie Shaughnessy, Church Street, Gort, brought the two coffins from town.
The bodies were identified by their sister Nora Loughnane, a national school teacher in Corrundulla. She insisted on seeing the corpses, and when several tried to dissuade her, she replied, "Their souls are in heaven, of that I am confident; and they died for Ireland, so it really doesn't matter how their bodies look. They were ready to make this sacrifice for their country's sake and, because I have the, same idea of nationality that they had, I, too, can bear, this ordeal". For a moment the fearful sight almost unnerved her, but by a superhuman effort she braced herself together, and again she was calm and resigned. "Oh! Poor Harry' she exclaimed as she seen the mutilated features of her younger brother. She could not identify the elder brother except by his broad shoulders and his stature. A medical officer was also in attendance, and a number of I.R.A. officers held an investigation and ordered the verdict to be written on the breast-plates of the coffins; ‘Padraig O LocnÁin, A ghabhadh, a marbhuigeadh agus a dhoigeadh ag na Sasanacaibh, Mí Shamhna, 1920 in aois a naoi mbliadhain is fiche. Dia le n-a anam.’ Anraoi O LocnÁin, A ghabhadh, a marbhuigeadh agus a dhoigeadh ag na Sasanacaibh, Mí Shamhna, 1920 in aois a trí mbliadhain is fiche. Dia le n-a anam.’ When a Canon Fahy arrived the Rosary was again recited, and the bodies were placed in coffins and taken to Kinvara Church at midnight, the Kinvara Company forming a guard of honour. They had previously been anointed by Canon of Kinvara. The coffins were draped in Sinn Féin flags with the letters "I.R.A." and the breast-plates bore these inscriptions. The I.R.A. kept guard during the night. The members of the I.R.A. marched in front of the procession the following day as the bodies were transported from Kinvara to Beagh, more specifically Shanaglish Church.
Tomás OhEighin, an Irish teacher, took photographs of the bodies in the coffins, traumatised relatives and neighbours standing around them in a tight, almost protective huddle.
 The mutilated body of Patrick Loughnane, age 29, Volunteer of the Irish Republican Army, tortured to death alongside his younger brother Harry, age 22 |  |
Dr. Thomas J. Connolly, medical officer in Kinvara, stated that on the 5 December he was asked by a young lady (Nora Loughnane) to examine the remains of 2 men in a barn about 200 yards from Kinvara. His prognosis was the immediate cause of death was injuries to the head, which were so extensive that it was not known how they were caused. Nora recognised one body as her brother Harry, but could not recognise Patrick except only by his broad shoulders and by his stature.
Hundreds of people came there to pay respect to the martyrs, including many of their comrades who were on the run. When word was brought to Gort that the bodies had been found, Daniel Ryan, Patrick Glynn Volunteer Kilbeacanty Company, John Coen, O/C Kilbeacanty Company, Jack Flaherty and Joseph Stanford, Captain of Gort Company, went to the parish priest of Shanaglish and asked him for leave to mark out a Republican plot in the new cemetery there, which was granted. They dug the graves while a British Force was at Shanaglish Parish Church, a quarter of a mile away.
About 3.30pm on Tuesday 7 December 1920, shortly before the remains were removed from Shanaglish church for internment, a party of 2 policemen, 2 auxiliaries, and 2 soldiers, under the command of Lieutenant McCreery, 17th Lancers, and accompanied by Dr. James Sandys, Gort, arrived in a lorry, entered the church and unscrewed the coffin lids. Some eyewitness accounts also state the Tans mounted a machine gun on the wall of the church grounds, while the mock inquest was held inside. The coffins lay side by side covered by floral wreaths and wrapped in linen cloths the Republican colours, were laid side by side on the floor in the centre of the church, and were guarded by a party of young men. Doctor Sandys told Father Nagle, Beagh Parish Priest, that he had orders to view the bodies before internment, and he caused the church to be cleared. The bodies were not removed from the coffins. Doctor Sandys knew Patrick Loughnane by sight, but could not recognise him in either of the two bodies according to testimony he later gave to a military inquest.
Nora Loughnane, again spotting the remains of her brother reportedly exclaimed ‘There is my poor youngest brother’ while Fr. Nagle on seeing Patrick said ‘There is the other poor, unfortunate man – a saint of God’. Like their sisters, their mother bore up remarkably well. During the examination Fr. J. Nagle was accompanied by Rev. John Garvin, PP of Tubber and both were in tears. ‘I have been everywhere that a soul required my services and a worse thing than this I never saw. Could you believe that such a thing?’ One of the police stated ‘We, who are here, are not responsible, and nobody regrets it more than the police’. Father Nagle requested the military officer and police to view the remains several times, and asked them ‘Could you believe it?’ Father Nagle had been Chaplain to the British Forces during the Boer War and had witnessed many unspeakable crimes but never, he declared, could he even imagine such a hideous barbarity. Within six months, Nagle himself died and was waked by the many of the same crowd mourning the Loughnane brothers.
At 2pm in the afternoon, the 2 coffins were taken down the road to the cemetery. The Kinvara Company formed a guard of honour and marched in the funeral procession part of the journey to the burial ground at Shanaglish. As the corpses were being carried out of the church on the shoulders of 8 men, several women began to wail aloud. Even young men were seen to sob. It was reported that there was scarcely an individual in that huge cortege who was not overwhelmed with sorrow. The heroic brothers, gentle souled, noble-hearted and lovable, were laid side by side in a laurel garlanded grave with the Sinn Féin flag they loved so well wrapt round their coffins.
The funeral, about 200 yards long, consisted of vehicles of all descriptions leading from the church to the family burial ground at Shanaglish, a distance of about 200 yards. The coffins were then taken from the shoulders of the pall bearers and placed side by side in one grave by young men from the surrounding parishes. The sides of the large grave were covered with laurels. The Rosary was recited in Irish. Rev. Father Nagle officiated. Arms had been placed in a wood close by, and three volleys of shots were fired as a final token of respect to two brave soldiers once the British authorities left the area. In spite of the reign of terror at the time, the funeral was one of the largest possible and showed that their deaths had only stiffened the people into greater resistance.
A British military court inquiry, in lieu of an inquest, was opened by 3 officers (namely Captain HB Turner M.C. 17th Lancers a president, members Captain D.E. Hearn RAMC, Lieutenant RB McCreery 17th Lancers) at Gort police barracks at 11am on Wednesday 8 December 1920, and continued until nearly 3 o’clock by order of Brigadier General J.G. Chaplin, Commanding Galway Brigade.
Lieutenant Colonel FHE Guard, Commanding ‘D’ Company Auxiliary Division, swore that he commanded the auxiliaries at Drumharsna. He reported that the two brothers were arrested on November 27 while engaged at threshing, and when surrounded by his men they attempted to escape. Several shots were fired, and the men subsequently arrested. It was reported to him on the morning following that 2 men had escaped the previous night.
Temporary Auxiliary Cadet Owen of ‘D’ Company, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C., swore that about 4pm on November 26 he was in charge of a party of auxiliaries that arrested the Loughnane brothers. Caradog Wyn Owen, was born in Caernarvon, North Wales. (As an aside, interestingly, just five months later Owen was involved in the shooting, and subsequent death of, Louis D'Arcy by Auxiliaries in Galway while he was being driven from Oranmore to Galway.) On their way back they called at Gort and went to Drumharsna Castle. Both Loughnanes were placed in detention there guarded by an armed sentry Temporary Cadet V Lawrenson ‘D’ Company, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C. on the ground floor. Victor Percival Albert Lawrenson was South African. Reportedly, about 11pm one of the prisoners asked to be allowed out to relieve himself, and the sentry imagined he heard voices in the barn 20 yards away, and he thought it might be some of the men’s comrades who were coming there to rescue him. He left the prisoners to investigate the noise, and when he got back, he found the prisoners had escaped. Sometime afterwards, the sentry reported to his commanding officer that the 2 men had escaped. A search ensued, but they could not be found. The men were to be sent to Galway on the following day. It emerged that the man left in charge as sentry had never acted as sentry on any prisoners before, and had never secured the door when he left with the prisoners for the purposes of nature, or when he left to investigate the noise by the barn. Although Father Nagle PP was present in the barrack yard during the enquiry, he was not examined.
A police witness Sergeant Michael Mooney R.I.C. in Gort, said he was sent out to Shanaglish by a Head Constable Somers for the purpose of finding Michael Loughnane, who it was stated, had found the bodies of the Loughnane brothers. The witness stated he did everything he could to trace Michael Loughnane for the purpose of giving evidence as to where the bodies were found, but failed to do so. His failure was due to the unwillingness of the people to assist. Michael Loughnane, who appeared later, stated that on Sunday last he found the bodies of 2 men in a pond about 3 miles from Ardrahan on the Galway direction. He reported the matter to his friends and to Miss Norah Loughnane. It should also be noted that Father Nagle made his desire to give evidence known, but he was refused admission. The findings in this case were never made known. It was likely realised that any attempt by the British inquest to acquit themselves of quilt was very feeble and would likely increase the already negative opinions towards the Crown forces after this atrocity.
A year later, on 21 November 1921, the Freemans Journal reported that Mrs Loughnane was awarded £700 and £600 for the murder of her sons by the Recorder of Galway. Nora and Katie, their two sisters were awarded £100 each. Nora later became a member of a religious order (and was still alive by 1955).
Hundreds of people came there to pay respect to the martyrs, including many of their comrades who were on the run. When word was brought to Gort that the bodies had been found, Daniel Ryan, Patrick Glynn Volunteer Kilbeacanty Company, John Coen, O/C Kilbeacanty Company, Jack Flaherty and Joseph Stanford, Captain of Gort Company, went to the parish priest of Shanaglish and asked him for leave to mark out a Republican plot in the new cemetery there, which was granted. They dug the graves while a British Force was at Shanaglish Parish Church, a quarter of a mile away.
About 3.30pm on Tuesday 7 December 1920, shortly before the remains were removed from Shanaglish church for internment, a party of 2 policemen, 2 auxiliaries, and 2 soldiers, under the command of Lieutenant McCreery, 17th Lancers, and accompanied by Dr. James Sandys, Gort, arrived in a lorry, entered the church and unscrewed the coffin lids. Some eyewitness accounts also state the Tans mounted a machine gun on the wall of the church grounds, while the mock inquest was held inside. The coffins lay side by side covered by floral wreaths and wrapped in linen cloths the Republican colours, were laid side by side on the floor in the centre of the church, and were guarded by a party of young men. Doctor Sandys told Father Nagle, Beagh Parish Priest, that he had orders to view the bodies before internment, and he caused the church to be cleared. The bodies were not removed from the coffins. Doctor Sandys knew Patrick Loughnane by sight, but could not recognise him in either of the two bodies according to testimony he later gave to a military inquest.
Nora Loughnane, again spotting the remains of her brother reportedly exclaimed ‘There is my poor youngest brother’ while Fr. Nagle on seeing Patrick said ‘There is the other poor, unfortunate man – a saint of God’. Like their sisters, their mother bore up remarkably well. During the examination Fr. J. Nagle was accompanied by Rev. John Garvin, PP of Tubber and both were in tears. ‘I have been everywhere that a soul required my services and a worse thing than this I never saw. Could you believe that such a thing?’ One of the police stated ‘We, who are here, are not responsible, and nobody regrets it more than the police’. Father Nagle requested the military officer and police to view the remains several times, and asked them ‘Could you believe it?’ Father Nagle had been Chaplain to the British Forces during the Boer War and had witnessed many unspeakable crimes but never, he declared, could he even imagine such a hideous barbarity. Within six months, Nagle himself died and was waked by the many of the same crowd mourning the Loughnane brothers.
At 2pm in the afternoon, the 2 coffins were taken down the road to the cemetery. The Kinvara Company formed a guard of honour and marched in the funeral procession part of the journey to the burial ground at Shanaglish. As the corpses were being carried out of the church on the shoulders of 8 men, several women began to wail aloud. Even young men were seen to sob. It was reported that there was scarcely an individual in that huge cortege who was not overwhelmed with sorrow. The heroic brothers, gentle souled, noble-hearted and lovable, were laid side by side in a laurel garlanded grave with the Sinn Féin flag they loved so well wrapt round their coffins.
The funeral, about 200 yards long, consisted of vehicles of all descriptions leading from the church to the family burial ground at Shanaglish, a distance of about 200 yards. The coffins were then taken from the shoulders of the pall bearers and placed side by side in one grave by young men from the surrounding parishes. The sides of the large grave were covered with laurels. The Rosary was recited in Irish. Rev. Father Nagle officiated. Arms had been placed in a wood close by, and three volleys of shots were fired as a final token of respect to two brave soldiers once the British authorities left the area. In spite of the reign of terror at the time, the funeral was one of the largest possible and showed that their deaths had only stiffened the people into greater resistance.
A British military court inquiry, in lieu of an inquest, was opened by 3 officers (namely Captain HB Turner M.C. 17th Lancers a president, members Captain D.E. Hearn RAMC, Lieutenant RB McCreery 17th Lancers) at Gort police barracks at 11am on Wednesday 8 December 1920, and continued until nearly 3 o’clock by order of Brigadier General J.G. Chaplin, Commanding Galway Brigade.
Lieutenant Colonel FHE Guard, Commanding ‘D’ Company Auxiliary Division, swore that he commanded the auxiliaries at Drumharsna. He reported that the two brothers were arrested on November 27 while engaged at threshing, and when surrounded by his men they attempted to escape. Several shots were fired, and the men subsequently arrested. It was reported to him on the morning following that 2 men had escaped the previous night.
Temporary Auxiliary Cadet Owen of ‘D’ Company, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C., swore that about 4pm on November 26 he was in charge of a party of auxiliaries that arrested the Loughnane brothers. Caradog Wyn Owen, was born in Caernarvon, North Wales. (As an aside, interestingly, just five months later Owen was involved in the shooting, and subsequent death of, Louis D'Arcy by Auxiliaries in Galway while he was being driven from Oranmore to Galway.) On their way back they called at Gort and went to Drumharsna Castle. Both Loughnanes were placed in detention there guarded by an armed sentry Temporary Cadet V Lawrenson ‘D’ Company, Auxiliary Division of the R.I.C. on the ground floor. Victor Percival Albert Lawrenson was South African. Reportedly, about 11pm one of the prisoners asked to be allowed out to relieve himself, and the sentry imagined he heard voices in the barn 20 yards away, and he thought it might be some of the men’s comrades who were coming there to rescue him. He left the prisoners to investigate the noise, and when he got back, he found the prisoners had escaped. Sometime afterwards, the sentry reported to his commanding officer that the 2 men had escaped. A search ensued, but they could not be found. The men were to be sent to Galway on the following day. It emerged that the man left in charge as sentry had never acted as sentry on any prisoners before, and had never secured the door when he left with the prisoners for the purposes of nature, or when he left to investigate the noise by the barn. Although Father Nagle PP was present in the barrack yard during the enquiry, he was not examined.
A police witness Sergeant Michael Mooney R.I.C. in Gort, said he was sent out to Shanaglish by a Head Constable Somers for the purpose of finding Michael Loughnane, who it was stated, had found the bodies of the Loughnane brothers. The witness stated he did everything he could to trace Michael Loughnane for the purpose of giving evidence as to where the bodies were found, but failed to do so. His failure was due to the unwillingness of the people to assist. Michael Loughnane, who appeared later, stated that on Sunday last he found the bodies of 2 men in a pond about 3 miles from Ardrahan on the Galway direction. He reported the matter to his friends and to Miss Norah Loughnane. It should also be noted that Father Nagle made his desire to give evidence known, but he was refused admission. The findings in this case were never made known. It was likely realised that any attempt by the British inquest to acquit themselves of quilt was very feeble and would likely increase the already negative opinions towards the Crown forces after this atrocity.
A year later, on 21 November 1921, the Freemans Journal reported that Mrs Loughnane was awarded £700 and £600 for the murder of her sons by the Recorder of Galway. Nora and Katie, their two sisters were awarded £100 each. Nora later became a member of a religious order (and was still alive by 1955).
Pond at Umbriste where the bodies were found
Possible Reasons for their Arrest and Murder
- Witness testimony informed that Patrick Loughnane belonged to Beagh Company of the I.R.A. and was one of the men selected in the Beagh Company sworn into the I.R.B. Under orders he raided the house of John Carr of Tierneevan, Gort, for an automatic pistol. Carr was an ex-R.I.C. man. Pat had a surprisingly weak voice for so big a man. He was masked when raiding for the gun but the Carr family took note of his voice. John Carr's son, William Carr, joined the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (A.D.R.I.C.) and when Patrick Loughnane and his brother Harry were arrested by the Auxiliaries, William Carr was with them. Some people were of the opinion that William Carr was in the house when it was raided for the automatic, and that when the brothers were arrested he recognised Patrick's voice.
- It may be significant that it was reported that when the Auxiliaries took the brothers away, one reportedly said to Pat ‘Bring with you the rifle you had at Castledaly’. Remember, later witness testimony after the Castledaly Ambush on 30th October 1920, stated that Patrick Loughnane, instead of waiting for darkness, went straight home to Beagh Company area in broad daylight after the ambush. Many people thought he was seen going home from the ambush and the R.I.C. got to hear of it. This may be one explanation of why he and his brother were so brutally murdered. It is a logical hypothesis, as if correct, it is very likely he and his brother were tortured by the R.I.C. in an effort to get from them the names of the other officers and Volunteers who took part.
- An R.I.C. prisoner taken by the I.R.A., a man named Dempsey, was captured in his native village of Aughrim, a few miles from Ballinasloe while he was home on holidays in November 1920. Volunteers from East Galway escorted him to Derrybrien, and from there he was handed over to Lieutenant Dan Ryan and Volunteer Michael Reilly. They brought him to Ashfield House, Shanaglish, Beagh. Volunteers Patrick Loughnane and Lawrence Mannion both took charge of the prisoner there. While under there charge, orders came for his release. After he was released, he went into the town of Gort. It may be significant that shortly after the prisoner's release, R.I.C. and Auxiliaries surrounded the home of Patrick Loughnane and arrested him and his brother Harry.
It is possible that it was likely a combination of these 3 reasons that may have lead to the arrest of the Loughnane brothers. It is also worth noting that at the time Pat Loughnane, and his brother, were known members of the I.R.A. Pat was also in fact reputedly a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the secret inner circle of the I.R.A.
It is also reasonable to point out the complete lack of legal protocol - the Loughnanes were not afforded any court case or trial before this horrible atrocity.
After their burial a committee was formed by the South Galway I.R.A. to raise funds in order to erect a memorial to the Loughnane brothers. In 1927 Dr. Madden of Westport unveiled a beautiful Celtic cross in Shanaglish cemetery. Commemoration speeches were made and the rosary recited in Irish by Thomas O’Hynes. The memorial remains to this day and had new railings erected around it in the 1980’s. A memorial was also erected at Moy O’Hynes wood to the Loughnane brothers.
On Sunday 26 November 2000, local republicans turned out in large numbers to commemorate the men at the memorial built at the spot where they died. Patrick Kelly, a recently released I.R.A. prisoner from Longford and a Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle member, gave the oration, following in the footsteps of Seán Russell, who unveiled the monument in the 1930s and, indeed, Tom Mitchell, who gave the oration after his release from Crumlin Road Prison in 1960.
Loughnane Plot, Shanaglish Cemetery, Beagh c. 1924
Loughnane Brother Memorial Appeal for Funds
Loughnane Memorial Plot, Shanaglish Cemetery, Beagh, c.1995
Sources
- Military Witness Testimonies
- Connacht Tribune Newspaper, 11 Dec 1920, page 5
- Irish Independent Newspaper, 9 Dec 1920, page 5
- Marie McNamara and Maura Madden, Beagh A History and Heritage (Beagh, Galway: Beagh Integrated Rural Development Association, 1995), pp. 120-130.
- “Loughnane Brothers Murdered - 26 Nov 1920,” Incidents, TheAuxiliaries (http://theauxiliaries.com), accessed June 2017. Documents of the military inquest can be viewed here
- “Caradog Wyn Owen, KORL,” Men Alphabetical, TheAuxiliaries (http://theauxiliaries.com), accessed June 2017.
- “Lt Thomas Francis Burke DSO,” Men Alphabetical, TheAuxiliaries (http://theauxiliaries.com), accessed June 2017.
- “2nd Lt Victor Percival Albert Lawrenson RAF (he was South African),” Men Alphabetical, TheAuxiliaries (http://theauxiliaries.com), accessed June 2017.
- “D Company ADRIC in Galway,” The Auxiliary Companies, TheAuxiliaries (http://theauxiliaries.com), accessed June 2017.
- “The torturers and murderers of the Royal Irish Constabulary,” AnSionnachFionn (https://ansionnachfionn.com/), accessed June 2017.
- Lennox Robinson, Lady Gregory’s Journals 1916-1930 (London, England: Browne and Nolan Ltd., 1946); digital image, “E-Books,” Archive.org (https://archive.org/), accessed June 2017.
- “Roadside Memorials,” Secret Ireland (http://www.secret-ireland.com/), accessed June 2017.
- Remembering the Past: Horrific death of brothers at hands of Black and Tans,” News, AnPhoblacht (http://www.anphoblacht.com), accessed June 2017.
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