Battle of Ballinalee 1920
Approximate location: the point for Ballinalee, the place Wikidata gives as the battle’s location.
Key facts
| Year | 1920 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Interwar (1919–1938) | derived from year |
| Location | Ireland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Irish War of Independence | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 53.7667, -7.6333 | Wikidata P276 location: Ballinalee (approximate) |
About the battle
The Battle of Ballinalee took place during the Irish War of Independence on 4 November 1920. Members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), led by Seán Mac Eoin, drove a mixed group of Crown forces consisting of Black and Tans and Auxiliary Division personnel from the village of Ballinalee in County Longford.
Crown forces hoped to burn the town as a reprisal for the deaths of several RIC personnel in the preceding days. This included the killing of an RIC inspector, Philip St Johnstone Howlett Kelleher, the previous week and an RIC Constable, Peter Cooney, the previous day. Cooney had been suspected of being a spy and his execution was reputedly ordered by Michael Collins. At the time of his killing, Cooney was allegedly carrying coded dispatches with the names of Longford IRA men.
The Crown forces (numbering 100 men in 11 trucks) were defeated by about 25 IRA members, of which 4 were involved in the main battle. Mac Eoin had placed several groups at the roads leading into the village, including one at a house, Rose Cottage, on the approach to the village centre.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Ballinalee (revision 1375555294), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
See also this battle on Battlefields of Britain.
Quick answers
- When was the Battle of Ballinalee?
- In 1920.
- Where was the Battle of Ballinalee fought?
- In what is now Ireland (Europe), at about 53.77, -7.63.
- Who fought?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Which war was it part of?
- The Irish War of Independence.
From Wikidata (CC0) and Natural Earth; see the sources column in Key facts.
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- Battle of Magh Slecht 1256 · 46 km
Browse more: battles in Ireland · Europe · Interwar battles