Special mass to remember victim of 1922 shooting
TENURE CHURCH CEREMONY TO RECALL FRANKIE JOHNSON
A SLANE native and a civilian casualty of the Irish Civil War, will be remembered at a special mass in Tenure church on Sunday September 30th at 11am.
Francis ‘Frankie’ Johnson, a farmer labourer, was fatally shot on the morning of Saturday, Sept 30, 1922 by a volunteer member of the Drogheda Brigade of the Irish Free State army at Priestown, Dunleer.
The coroner’s inquest, held at the scene later that day, heard that Frankie was born in Knockmooney, Slane and was 45 years old. He was the son of Patrick and Mary (nee Carolan).
The report stated that Vice Commandant Anthony O’Connor was in charge of troops that left Drogheda at 7.30am that morning, travelling to Mullary to search for irregulars.
One group, led by Sgt John Lynch, travelled up to Priestown and searched outhouses on land owned by Mary Anne McDonnell.
They moved to one building and called for the men sleeping in a loft to identify themselves. There was a response that they were getting up and Vol Laurence Farrell climbed a ladder with his gun in one hand. At the same time, Francis Johnson was getting out of bed to put his clothes on when the rifle went off. Johnson died from a single bullet wound.
Dr PJ Butterly found that he died from a wound that entered just below the breastbone.
It was recorded that the gun had a faulty safety catch and it seems likely that the gun discharged accidentally. Frankie’s last words were reportedly, ‘oh my God. What did I do on yous’.
His employer, Mary Anne McDonnell, said Frankie was a good worker and she had sent word of his death to his family in Slane. They asked that he be buried next to his brother, Edward, in Monasterboice graveyard. He was buried that day.
Last November, just over 95 years after his death, a small headstone was erected on his grave.
Local man Noel McDonnell has carried out much of the research on the incident.