Reading the memoirs of ex Tan, Constable Graham Poole, 'The Black and Tans in Galway during the Irish Troubles' (London Life, April 1966) who was present at Ballyturin after the murders. Most of the article concentrates on stop and search activities carried out the the Tans around Galway in 1921, however I have included his witness account of the Ballyturin Massacre.
"We were alerted to a shooting close to Gort by the daughter of a local protestant landowner, who had also been threatened by the gang of killers. Fifteen men including myself were immediately sent to the place where the assassins had struck, the army had also been alerted and in all 3 Crossley's and an ambulance attended. When we arrived, a number of people emerged from the gatehouse of the property, it transpired that masked men had held them prisoner while they meticulously planned their foul deed, all were unwilling to speak, out of fear. It was after this we saw the brutal carnage the killers had left in their wake. One man was by the gate slumped against a wall, he had been shot in several places and was quite dead. Inside the gate was a motor car containing the body of one of our men, an auxiliary named Blake, he was totally peppered with shot and the car was full of blood. On the path behind the car was a woman whose head was literally hanging off, she was covered in blood and peppered beyond recognition, she had been placed upon another dead man in a sexually explicit position, the woman was later reported to be Mrs Blake. The two dead men were army officers. We quickly took up search positions and as one of our men, an Irish constable named Kearney made for the wooded area off the path a shot rang out and he died shortly after. We found nothing in the woods, which led some to believe the constable may have been shot by our side, in an accidental discharge of gunfire. Some of the men were talking angrily of revenge as the dreadful scene began to sink in, but our commander would hear nothing of this, reminding us that the real culprits would be out of the area by now. The doctor, who had accompanied us, said nothing could be done as the killers had been very thorough in their work, and after detectives photographed the crime scene, the remains of the dead were loaded onto the ambulance. The house owner Mr Bagot, had come down from the house with a surviving member of the party, she had managed to escape by chance, this lady was Mrs Gregory, the daughter in law of the famous Lady Gregory. We questioned all the witnesses, but received no useful information, this was usual by now in a country gripped by fear, where any hind of cooperation with Crown forces could get you killed on even the slightest suspicion. That day was the worst of my life, even my wartime experience had not prepared me for such an evil crime. To kill Blake (who was the target by all accounts) was one thing, but to butcher two innocent men and worst still - a woman, was a wake up call to anyone who had romantic notions about the Sein Fein cause".
Author
Topic: Cecil Blake. Mill Hill, Sandon (Read 6655 times)