Van set upon by men ‘armed with heavy blackthorn sticks and revolvers’

February 10th, 1916

The London Irish Rifles, now known as “the Footballers of Loos”, The Irish Times reports, want more men “to complete the establishment of this famous regiment. Vacancies have been caused recently by casualties and by men being given commissions.”

News reaches the paper of an incident in Ennis, Co Clare, on Friday night last when the houses of three farmers were fired at by armed parties. “The outrages were evidently carefully planned. The occupants had narrow escapes. In one case the woman of the house had just closed the kitchen door when a couple of bullets were sent through it which just missed her. The incidents were attributed to a local dispute about land.”

A fire has destroyed the Canadian houses of parliament in Ottawa – the police are satisfied German agents were not responsible despite rumours to the contrary.

On Saturday afternoon a large number of people assembled at a spot between the villages of Clady, Co Tyrone, and Lifford, Co Donegal, for the purpose of cock-fighting. The police got word of the fight, and they arrived just as the last battle was being concluded, but all present made good their escape.

On Monday evening at 6 o'clock two of the van men of Mr JS Young JP, controller of recruiting in Galway, were conveying loads of empty mineral cases from Kinvara to Galway. "Close to the villages of Clarenbridge and Oranmore a crowd of men numbering between 20 and 30, armed with heavy blackthorn sticks and revolvers, and disguised with handkerchiefs and masks tied over their faces, jumped over the walls and stopped the drivers, who were dragged from their seats. The horses were taken from the vans and hunted over the country. The mineral cases were scattered over the road and the drivers were dragged into a field . . . a number of revolver shots were fired in the air . . . " An important conference of those interested in recruiting in the counties of Longford, Meath, Westmeath, King's, Queen's counties and Louth was held in the Mansion House. Addresses were delivered by the Lord Lieutenant, who urged the necessity for greater exertion in regard to recruiting , and by Mr John Redmond MP (inset), who made a special appeal for the sons of farmers to enlist. psmyth@irishtimes.com