New book on fallen gardaí

before he was conveyed on his final journey to Killelagh Cemetery in Doolin, Co Clare, for burial. The funeral was said to have attracted an enormous congregation.

It was widely believed that the shot that night in Scartaglen had been discharged accidentally and that the sergeant’s death had not been planned by the marauders.

This did not deter the Gardaí and the National Army however, who were determined to catch the perpetrators.

As the days went on with no apprehension of the culprits, larger numbers of troops converged on Scartaglen. Lieutenant Jerimiah Gaffney was placed in charge of one group of soldiers. He had previous experience of the village, having been stationed there during the civil war where he was involved in a number of skirmishes with republicans.

He also held a long-standing grudge against a family named the Brosnans. The feud concerned remarks the family had made about an affair he had been having with a local woman.

On 6 December Gaffney spent the day drinking with his men before ordering them into Brosnan’s pub.

Eighteen year old Thomas Brosnan was brought outside and shot dead by the lieutenant and his fellow soldier, Denis Leen.

Gaffney later claimed that this had been done because Brosnan had been one of the raiding party involved in Sergeant Woods’ death, an accusation which was later found to be baseless.

The brutal murder caused uproar and disgust throughout the country as Brosnan had little involvement in politics and was well liked locally.

Free State soldier Gaffney was found guilty of the murder and hanged on 13 March 1924. His colleague Denis Leen was also sentenced to death but reprieved after Gaffney confessed at the last minute to having ordered the shooting.

The aftermath of the death of Sergeant Woods left the local population living in terror, it being reported that “some people in Scartaglen have been afraid to sleep at home since the recent happenings there.”

Two murders in three days in the tiny village must have shaken the local population to its core. With Tom Brosnan’s killer found and punished, the hunt for those who had shot Sergeant Woods would continue for many months.

Government Minister Kevin O’Higgins fumed that the perpetrators of the crime were “well known to be hiding and to the knowledge of very many of the inhabitants.”

A breakthrough did not come until June 1924 when several arrests were made locally. Amongst the men detained was Michael Healy, a native of Knocknagree and anti-Treaty IRA volunteer.

When asked if he had anything to say to the charge, Healy replied “No, sir, but that I am innocent.”

Surprisingly Michael Healy was not charged with the murder of Sergeant Woods, instead facing an accusation of armed robbery.

His trial began in the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on 22 January 1925. Guard Spillane was the main witness against him, maintaining that he was able to recognise Healy from that night, despite the raiders wearing masks at the time.

Healy’s defence was that he had not been in Scartaglen on that evening at all. He had instead been at the house of Mrs Culloty, several miles away, where he had been playing cards. He added that he had numerous witnesses who could vouch for it and he had only been informed of Sergeant Woods’ death the evening after the incident.

With the tenuous testimony of Spillane as the only evidence against him, it was little surprise when Healy was found not guilty of the crime. The state kept him in custody in anticipation of other charges but Healy was eventually freed “with reluctance” on 6 February 1925.

Sgt James Woods was the first sergeant killed in the history of An Garda Síochána.

The Fallen is available in all good book shops and is also available on amazon.com

For more information see the author’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/colmwallaceauthor.