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Ballymacandy: The Story of a Kerry Ambush
On 1 June 1921, at the height of Ireland’s War of Independence, a cycling patrol of members of the RIC was ambushed by members of the IRA at Ballymacandy, County Kerry. After an hour of fighting, four police officers lay dead and another died a day later. Ballymacandy tells their story, and that of those who led the attack against them.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2021
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About the author
Owen O’Shea
4 booksA native of Milltown, Co Kerry, Owen O’Shea is an author, historian and researcher with a passionate interest in the history of his own county in particular. He has been writing and researching history for many years and his main areas of interest include politics, elections, the War of Independence and the Civil War and related events in Kerry, as well as the history of his own locality.
Most recently, Owen’s research on politics in Kerry in the twentieth century has featured in Kerry: History and Society which was published by Geography Publications in August 2020.
His current research on the Ballymacandy Ambush of 1921 will be published by Merrion Press in 2021 to coincide with the centenary of the ambush which occurred between Milltown and Castlemaine in County Kerry at the height of the War of Independence.
A graduate of University College Dublin, where he studied history and politics, Owen is currently a PhD student with the School of History at UCD. His topic, under the supervision of Professor Diarmaid Ferriter is political culture and communication in Kerry in the decade after the Civil War (1923-1933).
Owen worked in Leinster House for five years as a press officer for the Labour Party and is a former member of the Labour Party national executive. He has worked in journalism in Kerry for many years with Kerry’s Eye newspaper and Radio Kerry. He has also had articles published in the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Irish Examiner and the Sunday Business Post. He is currently employed as Media, Communications and Customer Relations Officer with Kerry County Council.
Hear more about Owen’s books and research: from the ‘Saturday Supplement’ show on Radio Kerry on 15 February 2020, when presenter Joe McGill talked books, local history, centenaries and Kerry politicians and elections of the past with Owen:
https://www.radiokerry.ie/saturday-su...
Most recently, Owen’s research on politics in Kerry in the twentieth century has featured in Kerry: History and Society which was published by Geography Publications in August 2020.
His current research on the Ballymacandy Ambush of 1921 will be published by Merrion Press in 2021 to coincide with the centenary of the ambush which occurred between Milltown and Castlemaine in County Kerry at the height of the War of Independence.
A graduate of University College Dublin, where he studied history and politics, Owen is currently a PhD student with the School of History at UCD. His topic, under the supervision of Professor Diarmaid Ferriter is political culture and communication in Kerry in the decade after the Civil War (1923-1933).
Owen worked in Leinster House for five years as a press officer for the Labour Party and is a former member of the Labour Party national executive. He has worked in journalism in Kerry for many years with Kerry’s Eye newspaper and Radio Kerry. He has also had articles published in the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Irish Examiner and the Sunday Business Post. He is currently employed as Media, Communications and Customer Relations Officer with Kerry County Council.
Hear more about Owen’s books and research: from the ‘Saturday Supplement’ show on Radio Kerry on 15 February 2020, when presenter Joe McGill talked books, local history, centenaries and Kerry politicians and elections of the past with Owen:
https://www.radiokerry.ie/saturday-su...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 25, 2025
This book caught my eye in a bookshop in Dingle when I was on holiday in Kerry this summer, so I decided to take a punt on it. I'm very glad I did! There have been a lot of good books written in this decade of centenaries from 2012 to 2023, marking the birth of the Irish State, and this book is a fine addition to that catalogue. This isn’t a general history of the period, but rather a local history that captures a snapshot of a single ambush, albeit one that is representative of the military action happening all over the island during the War of Independence.
Owen O'Shea writes with passion and thoroughness, and his narrative perfectly illustrates the impact that the War of Independence had on local communities across Ireland. In particular, the contribution of the women of Cumann na mBan is an aspect of the independence struggle that has often been overlooked. As the men had to figure out how to fight a guerrilla war (I guess what we would now refer to as asymmetric warfare), so the women had to figure out logistics and supply, medical care, intelligence and countless other duties. It would be wrong to overemphasise this, but it strikes me that the fight for independence was more egalitarian than Irish society would be for a long time afterwards (not unlike the way British women entered employment en masse to support the war effort in 1939).
O'Shea has done a great job of bringing the ordinary men and women who were involved in the ambush at Ballymacandy to life, and also of drawing out the ambiguity that hangs over their actions. The Civil War is sitting in the background like a dark cloud, as many of the men who carried out the ambush that day in 1921 would later find themselves on opposite sides in the bitter conflict that followed the establishment of the Irish Free State. He also writes about their incompetence and petty rivalries with a refreshing honesty. There is also a surprising balance to the way O'Shea writes about the enemy: they aren't portrayed as foreign Black and Tan boogeymen, but as flesh and blood actors in the drama. Most of the RIC men who were ambushed were Irishmen themselves, and it's hard not to feel the tragedy of a long-serving police sergeant, who still lived in his local community, and who left behind a widow and eight children.
That said, this is no revisionist work of history, and O'Shea's sympathies are those of an Irish nationalist patriot. But he has made a creditable effort to present the facts and details of this little vignette as clearly and honestly as he can, and I gladly recommend it.
Owen O'Shea writes with passion and thoroughness, and his narrative perfectly illustrates the impact that the War of Independence had on local communities across Ireland. In particular, the contribution of the women of Cumann na mBan is an aspect of the independence struggle that has often been overlooked. As the men had to figure out how to fight a guerrilla war (I guess what we would now refer to as asymmetric warfare), so the women had to figure out logistics and supply, medical care, intelligence and countless other duties. It would be wrong to overemphasise this, but it strikes me that the fight for independence was more egalitarian than Irish society would be for a long time afterwards (not unlike the way British women entered employment en masse to support the war effort in 1939).
O'Shea has done a great job of bringing the ordinary men and women who were involved in the ambush at Ballymacandy to life, and also of drawing out the ambiguity that hangs over their actions. The Civil War is sitting in the background like a dark cloud, as many of the men who carried out the ambush that day in 1921 would later find themselves on opposite sides in the bitter conflict that followed the establishment of the Irish Free State. He also writes about their incompetence and petty rivalries with a refreshing honesty. There is also a surprising balance to the way O'Shea writes about the enemy: they aren't portrayed as foreign Black and Tan boogeymen, but as flesh and blood actors in the drama. Most of the RIC men who were ambushed were Irishmen themselves, and it's hard not to feel the tragedy of a long-serving police sergeant, who still lived in his local community, and who left behind a widow and eight children.
That said, this is no revisionist work of history, and O'Shea's sympathies are those of an Irish nationalist patriot. But he has made a creditable effort to present the facts and details of this little vignette as clearly and honestly as he can, and I gladly recommend it.
July 18, 2021
A very solid work of local history, which is rich in detail & places the eponymous ambush in a broader context without overwhelming the narrative with extraneous detail.
A very few errors made it past the editor’s eye, but otherwise there is nothing to complain about. An essential addition to the library of anyone with an interest in Kerry history.
A very few errors made it past the editor’s eye, but otherwise there is nothing to complain about. An essential addition to the library of anyone with an interest in Kerry history.
November 23, 2021
I read this book because my Grandfather was an RIC constable in Killorglin prior to this era . O Shea was meticulous in his research and report of that ambush . Even though he favoured the Irish patriot he stated the these RIC personnel were ordinary Irish men who took up the position to feed and look after their families .
The role of women was well documented .
The role of women was well documented .
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews