Scramogue Ambush
Encyclopedia
The Scramogue Ambush was an ambush
carried out by the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) on 23 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence
. It took place in the townland
of Scramogue, County Roscommon
.
in the flat open countryside there. Prior to the action at Scramogue, the biggest previous incident had been in October 1920, when four RIC policemen were killed in an ambush near Ballinderry
.
Sean Connolly had been sent by IRA GHQ from Longford to re-organise the Roscommon Volunteers and had selected the ambush site at Scramogue. However he was killed twelve days before the action at the Selton Hill ambush
in neighbouring County Leitrim..
and 1 sporting rifle), 20 shotguns (though some of them in bad condition) and 2 or 3 Webley revolver
s. This was the largest collection of arms that was assembled in Roscommon during the war and some of them had been borrowed from IRA units Longford.
Among the volunteers who took part were Martin Fallon, 'Cushy' Hughes, Frank Simons, Luke Duffy, Peter Casey, Peter Collins and Tom Compton. Several of the IRA men, including Hughes, had served in the Irish Guards
in the First World War, but had been persuaded by Pat Madden to join the IRA on their return.
The ambush site was carefully prepared. It was located at a sharp bend on the Longford
–Strokestown
road. A farmhouse and barn at the bend had been taken over and loopholed, and a trench was dug behind a hedge alongside the road. Only a mile from the IRA's position, the Ninth Lancers
regiment was garrisoned in Strokestown House.
The lorry carried a nine-man British Army
and Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) patrol travelling on the Strokestown–Longford road. The British inquiry into the incident was to question why the lorry was unescorted, as their practice was not to travel in lone vehicles.
The IRA opened fire from very close range, killing the driver and halting the lorry in its tracks. Several of the soldiers and policemen were hit and they scrambled for cover behind a wall along the road. The lorry had a Hotchkiss machine gun
, bolted onto it, but its gunner got off only one burst before being badly wounded and the gun put out of action. The commander of the patrol, Captain Roger Greenville Peeke, was hit in the lorry but tried to run to safety, only to be hit again 400 yards down the road and killed. The other officer with the party, Lieutenant Tennant, was also killed by a shotgun blast. After the death of the two officers, the surviving British, several of whom were wounded, surrendered.
Just as the firing was dying-down, another lorry - an RIC/Black and Tan patrol - approached the ambush site but turned back after coming under fire.
Four of the British force were killed – this included two British Army officers (Roger Grenville Peek and John Harold Anthony Tennant), an RASC driver, and one RIC man (Constable Edward Leslie).
Two men in civilian clothes were also found in the lorry. They turned out to be Black and Tans who had been placed under arrest by the soldiers (Constable Buchanan and Constable Evans) – they were made prisoners by the IRA. The ambush party, after taking the British arms, including the Hotchkiss gun, and burning the lorry, made their escape over the hill of Slieve Bawn.
The British garrison in Roscommon
town mounted a sweep directly after the ambush with eight lorries an one Whippet Tank. Three volunteers who had taken part were arrested afterward. Pat Mullooly and Brian Nagle, both from the North Roscommon Brigade were arrested, as they tried to get away from the scene of the ambush, as was "Cushy" Hughes, who was picked up when he was drawing his soldier's pension in Roscommon. Michael Mullooly and Nagle were badly beaten by their captors on the road to Roscommon. The next day, another Volunteer, Michael Mullooly (brother of Pat) was shot dead in his home by the RIC.
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
carried out by the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) on 23 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
. It took place in the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
of Scramogue, County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Background
County Roscommon was not one of the more violent areas of Ireland during the conflict. The local IRA argued to their GHQ that it was very difficult to conduct guerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
in the flat open countryside there. Prior to the action at Scramogue, the biggest previous incident had been in October 1920, when four RIC policemen were killed in an ambush near Ballinderry
Ballinderry
Ballinderry is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh....
.
Sean Connolly had been sent by IRA GHQ from Longford to re-organise the Roscommon Volunteers and had selected the ambush site at Scramogue. However he was killed twelve days before the action at the Selton Hill ambush
Selton Hill ambush
The Selton Hill Ambush took place on 11 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. An Irish Republican Army flying column was ambushed by members of the RIC Auxiliary Division at Selton Hill, County Leitrim...
in neighbouring County Leitrim..
Preparing the ambush
Both the North and South Roscommon IRA Brigades took part, and were commanded by Patrick Madden. There were 39 volunteers in the column, but only 14 took part in the actual attack, the remainder were tasked with blocking roads to keep the IRA's line of retreat open. The IRA party was armed with 13 rifles (11 Lee Enfields, 1 WinchesterWinchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
and 1 sporting rifle), 20 shotguns (though some of them in bad condition) and 2 or 3 Webley revolver
Webley Revolver
The Webley Revolver was, in various marks, the standard issue service pistol for the armed forces of the United Kingdom, the British Empire, and the Commonwealths from 1887 until 1963.The Webley is a top-break revolver with automatic extraction...
s. This was the largest collection of arms that was assembled in Roscommon during the war and some of them had been borrowed from IRA units Longford.
Among the volunteers who took part were Martin Fallon, 'Cushy' Hughes, Frank Simons, Luke Duffy, Peter Casey, Peter Collins and Tom Compton. Several of the IRA men, including Hughes, had served in the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
in the First World War, but had been persuaded by Pat Madden to join the IRA on their return.
The ambush site was carefully prepared. It was located at a sharp bend on the Longford
Longford
Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 7,622 according to the 2006 census. Approximately one third of the county's population resides in the town. Longford town is also the biggest town in the county...
–Strokestown
Strokestown
Strokestown, historically called Bellanamullia and Bellanamully , is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N5 National primary route and the R368 regional road in the north of the county....
road. A farmhouse and barn at the bend had been taken over and loopholed, and a trench was dug behind a hedge alongside the road. Only a mile from the IRA's position, the Ninth Lancers
9th Queen's Royal Lancers
The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers, or the Delhi Spearmen, were a cavalry regiment of the British Army. They are best known for their roles in the Indian mutiny of 1857 and for their part in the North African campaign of World War II including the retreat to and the battle of El Alamein in 1942.-Early...
regiment was garrisoned in Strokestown House.
The ambush
The IRA waited in their position all day for British forces to come from Strokestown. Just as a troop lorry finally appeared, two civilians came up the road in a pony and trap and had to be frantically waved out of the way.The lorry carried a nine-man British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) patrol travelling on the Strokestown–Longford road. The British inquiry into the incident was to question why the lorry was unescorted, as their practice was not to travel in lone vehicles.
The IRA opened fire from very close range, killing the driver and halting the lorry in its tracks. Several of the soldiers and policemen were hit and they scrambled for cover behind a wall along the road. The lorry had a Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss machine gun
Hotchkiss machine gun:*Hotchkiss M1909, light machine gun also known as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" in British service*Hotchkiss M1914, medium machine gun*Hotchkiss M1922, light machine gun*13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, heavy machine gun...
, bolted onto it, but its gunner got off only one burst before being badly wounded and the gun put out of action. The commander of the patrol, Captain Roger Greenville Peeke, was hit in the lorry but tried to run to safety, only to be hit again 400 yards down the road and killed. The other officer with the party, Lieutenant Tennant, was also killed by a shotgun blast. After the death of the two officers, the surviving British, several of whom were wounded, surrendered.
Just as the firing was dying-down, another lorry - an RIC/Black and Tan patrol - approached the ambush site but turned back after coming under fire.
Four of the British force were killed – this included two British Army officers (Roger Grenville Peek and John Harold Anthony Tennant), an RASC driver, and one RIC man (Constable Edward Leslie).
Two men in civilian clothes were also found in the lorry. They turned out to be Black and Tans who had been placed under arrest by the soldiers (Constable Buchanan and Constable Evans) – they were made prisoners by the IRA. The ambush party, after taking the British arms, including the Hotchkiss gun, and burning the lorry, made their escape over the hill of Slieve Bawn.
Aftermath
The IRA leaders –Pat Madden, Luke Duffy and Frank Simons– decided to kill the two Black and Tans, despite their offering to show the IRA how to use the captured machine gun. The IRA officer's reasoning was that if the prisoners identified the IRA men who had taken part in the ambush, the Volunteers would be at risk of being executed if captured. The two were taken to remote locations and shot over the next two days.The British garrison in Roscommon
Roscommon
Roscommon is the county town of County Roscommon in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 5,017 . The town is located near the junctions of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.-History:...
town mounted a sweep directly after the ambush with eight lorries an one Whippet Tank. Three volunteers who had taken part were arrested afterward. Pat Mullooly and Brian Nagle, both from the North Roscommon Brigade were arrested, as they tried to get away from the scene of the ambush, as was "Cushy" Hughes, who was picked up when he was drawing his soldier's pension in Roscommon. Michael Mullooly and Nagle were badly beaten by their captors on the road to Roscommon. The next day, another Volunteer, Michael Mullooly (brother of Pat) was shot dead in his home by the RIC.