Events at Clonmult remembered in Araglin
At the beginning of 1921, the War of Independence continued to rage, with Cork the epicentre of a vicious conflict between IRA volunteers and British security forces, who by now, had been supplemented by Black and Tans and auxilaries.
The IRA were also more organised with permanent ‘on the runs’ being fashioned into full time units known as ‘flying columns’. One such flying column, operating in east Cork, had a base in Clonmult, which is about 5 miles from Midleton. Unusually, for such an active unit, they stayed at this location for 6 weeks. On February 20th, 1921 (the date they were scheduled to leave) the thatched cottage was surrounded and occupants forced to surrender - having laid down their arms, 12 of them were shot dead. This event, the single largest loss of life for the IRA, would become known as the Clonmult Massacre.
On Sunday last, at a small scale, socially distanced event, locals in Araglin gathered at the 1916 monument to recall what happened 100 years ago - as a mark of respect to those who lost their lives, the tricolour was flown at half mast. Among those in attendance was Neil Donovan from Ballyporeen, who has carried out extensive research into the War of Independence era. Neil told those in attendance that Araglin IRA Flying Column members were active in the east Cork area at the time, but, due to communication and transport limitations, were unable to intervene at Clonmult. Even in a best case scenario, it’s unlikely they would have dislodged such a formidable force of RIC and British soldiers, who were drawn from the 2nd Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment.
CLONMULT COMMEMORATION CURTAILED
A dedicated committee had planned to stage a large scale commemoration in Clonmult this month to mark the anniversary, but it was called off due to Covid-19 restrictions. As part of these plans, the committee visited Araglin in 2016 to observe a 1916 re-enactment and video presentation. The Clonmult visitors enjoyed their time in Araglin and were very appreciative of the warm welcome they received.