Murder of Sgt James Woods in Scartaglin features in
GALWAY author, Colm Wallace has written a book entitled The Fallen and it tells the story of 21 Gardaí killed in the line of duty during the lifetime of the Irish Free State.
One of the stories included in the book is that of Sergeant James Woods, who was shot dead in Scartaglin in 1923. His killer was never discovered.
Mr Wallace sent an extract from the book concerning the murder of Sgt. Woods – an event which was commemorated with a plaque unveiling by Garda Commissioner Patrick Culligan at Castleisland Garda Station in September 1995. The event was attended by many of the relatives of the tragic Sgt. Woods and they travelled down from County Clare for the occasion.
Colm Wallace’s extract follows:
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“Of all Irish counties, Kerry was the hardest to bring under the government’s control in the early days of the state, the authorities being unpopular amongst vast sections of the population. This unpopularity extended to the Gardaí, who struggled to gain support in the county. One newspaper remarked on 18 November 1922:
“With the possible exception of Kerry, the Civic Guard are today in every county of the twenty-six administered by the provisional government.”
By the beginning of December the government would deem it safe enough to send a contingent to the county and the Gardaí largely managed to stay out of the IRA’s line of fire, apart from a few isolated incidents. This run of good luck would come to tragic end in Scartaglen in December 1923.
James Woods, a native of Doolin, Co Clare, was just 22 years old in 1922 when he was appointed sergeant in Scartaglen.
The sergeant and his three colleagues had no headquarters to speak of, and found themselves forced to use the house of local man Jerimiah Lyons as their temporary Garda Station.
The owner still occupied the house, and it was clearly illequipped to serve as a police station as his family and the Gardaí living in the house were forced to share a kitchen.
Desperate times called for desperate measures however, and as the dwelling was reasonably comfortable and situated in the middle of the village the Gardaí chose it as their short-term headquarters under the stewardship of Sergeant Woods.
At around 8:30pm. on Monday 3 December, six armed and masked men arrived at the barracks under the cover of darkness. They were brandishing weapons and three of the raiders entered the kitchen while the others stayed on the porch.
The crowded room contained Garda Patrick Spillane, as well as a number of locals and children. The sergeant was in the guardroom while two other Gardaí from the station were out on patrol.
One of the masked men announced his arrival by immediately hitting a local man named James Kearney into the face with the butt of his weapon, breaking his nose on impact.
They next went straight for Guard Spillane, dragging him to the ladder and ordering him to climb it, following on behind.
When they reached the top floor they demanded that Spillane strip off his clothing. He refused, saying that he was prepared to die in defence of his Garda uniform.
One of the men loaded a bullet in his rifle and threatened “if you do not strip it will be worse for yourself.” Spillane bravely stood his ground. Instead of shooting him, one of the raiders forced him onto the bed and ripped his uniform off him while a second man covered him with a rifle.
Spillane was stripped down to his shirt, which the raider ordered him to take off. The raiders eventually succeeded in taking the shirt and Spillane was then left completely naked. They also took his watch and chain, as well as 30 shillings which they discovered in the pocket of his tunic.
The armed men next burst open the Gardaí’s wooden chests, removing many of their belongings. The boots and clothing were thrown down the ladder, where they were collected by other comrades who had by this point entered the house.
One of the men started asking loudly for Sergeant Woods as the other men spread throughout the house ransacking various rooms.
Woods had been in an adjoining room situated just off the kitchen and had heard the commotion by this stage. He arrived into the kitchen.
One of the raiders quickly instructed him “Put them up and get up the stairs.” The masked man followed him, all the while pointing his rifle in the sergeant’s direction. As Woods was ascending the ladder, Spillane could see him from the room upstairs.
Suddenly the raider butted the sergeant with the rifle between the shoulder blades, in what appeared to be an attempt to force him to hurry his progress.
At that point a blast of a rifle was heard. A bullet struck the sergeant in the back of the head and he fell forward on his knees on the ladder.
The raider behind him then gave him a sharp prod with the muzzle of the rifle as if to make him get up. He did not do so. Sergeant Woods was dead.
The gunman immediately shouted to his comrades to get down the stairs and leave the house. The rest of the men had already heard the shot and widespread panic was evident throughout the station. The party immediately left the building, the man who came downstairs having to jump over the sergeant’s body as he made his hasty exit.
The other raiders had managed to steal other items from the house, including uniforms and money. A number of these items were discarded on the way out but a portion of the stolen goods could not be traced and appeared to have remained in the raiders’ possession.
A doctor quickly arrived on the scene. He announced that Sergeant Woods had died instantly, the bullet having entered the back of his head. The sergeant’s Mass was celebrated in the local church in Scartaglen,