The Life and Times of a Civilian Shot in Ballyshannon during The War of Independence on this Day

The scene of the shooting of Tommy Rooney at East Port Ballyshannon on December 5th  1920. The badly wounded man reached the Kane home, down the street, on the left of where the cyclist is, where he died from his wounds. 

On this day 5th December 2020 remembering the life and times of Tommy Rooney the first civilian shot in Ballyshannon during the War of Independence 100 years ago today. The article, with new research, which I have written in this blog below was also printed in The Donegal Democrat on Thursday 3rd December 2020 where it gave great coverage to Tommy Rooney, one of its former employees. If you know anyone who is interested and is not on the internet they can pick up a copy of the paper. More material on this and The War of Independence can be found in the book Ballyshannon Genealogy and History a local book for Christmas.

A local book for Christmas for those at  home or  away.
See details at end of blog.

One hundred years ago on the 5th December 1920, Thomas (Tommy) Rooney, a compositor with “The Donegal Democrat,” was shot by a British soldier at East Port Ballyshannon. Tommy was born in Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland on 31st May 1896, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Eliza, Lizzie) Rooney who had married in Ballyshannon in 1893. By 1899 the family were back living at West Rock in Ballyshannon and they had 5 sons, Patrick, Thomas, James, Michael, John and one daughter, Mary Josephine, who died in her early childhood. Tommy’s 4 brothers were all born in Ballyshannon. After Tommy Rooney left school he worked as a compositor with “The Donegal Independent” a Ballyshannon newspaper which pre-dated “The Donegal Democrat.” 

He enlisted in the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, as private 22432 on 15th April 1918 but he did not have active service in World War One due to ill-health. He was discharged from the army on 9th August 1919 and was awarded the Silver War Badge which was granted to army personnel who had been honourably discharged due to sickness or wounds. His commanding officer wrote of him; “A very good man who answered his Country’s call, is discharged in consequence of ill health”. 

On his return to Ballyshannon Tommy found employment as a compositor in “The Donegal Democrat” which began publication on 16th June 1919. 

Ballyshannon for the most part had been relatively quiet in the War of Independence with attacks on the Customs Office, the RIC Barracks and a curfew at the Harvest Fair in 1920. Tensions in the community were increased by British military from Finner Camp raiding numerous family homes in the town, where nothing incriminating was found. On Friday 3rd December three men from the East Port area of the town were arrested and were interned in Ballykinlair Camp in County Down, with men from different parts of the country, including men lifted after Bloody Sunday in Dublin a few weeks previously. Those arrested and interned without trial were Seamus Ward of The Bridge End Bar (now McGraths), a County Councillor, and a member of Ballyshannon Town Commissioners, John Kane also a Town Commissioner and F.H. Morgan, a prominent business man in East Port. The following night Saturday 4th December there were a lot of men on the streets at East and West Port and the Bridge End but, according to the military, local people and the local newspapers there was no civil unrest.

  Margaret Kane East Port who tended to the dying Tommy Rooney
     in her home. her husband John was one of 3 local men interned 
in Ballykinlair internment camp. (Photo courtesy of Phyllis Kane)

The Shooting of Tommy Rooney 

Very early on Sunday 5th of December 1920 Tommy Rooney, who had no background in politics,was shot dead by a British military patrol in East Port. A Military Court of Inquiry was held very quickly the following day, Monday 6th December, in the Boardroom of the Ballyshannon Workhouse to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. The Court consisted of three military officers who had viewed the body in the Workhouse morgue beforehand. The family had no legal representation at the Inquiry. People who attended the tribunal included Tommy Rooney’s father, Dr. Gordon and evidence was given by Mrs. Margaret Kane, a local man who was at the scene, also a Lieutenant in charge of the military patrol, a police sergeant, the private army soldier who fired the fatal shot and another private soldier. 

Thomas Rooney (senior) of West Rock Ballyshannon had the sad duty of identifying his son’s body and later informed the inquiry that his son was twenty five years of age and had been a soldier in the Irish Rifles in World War 1. His record showed that he had served honourably and his discharge sheet showed that he was trustworthy and could be recommended to any employer. His son worked for Cecil Stephens and John Downey (founders) in printing works which were the premises of “The Donegal Democrat” in the centre of town. He informed the tribunal that his son had taken no part in any political disturbances in Ballyshannon and never was involved with any civil unrest. Dr. Gordon advised the tribunal that Tommy Rooney had been shot once and that death was most probably due to haemmoraging. 

Mrs. Kane said that she had been sitting by the fire in her home in East Port when she heard two shots ringing out. As she went to lock the front door, Tommy Rooney pushed it in. It was about 12.10-12.15 a.m. on Sunday 5th December. Deceased said, “Mrs. Kane, I’m shot. ” He fell in her hallway and asked her to get a priest. She wasn’t able to do this because of the dangerous situation on the street but she did get word by the back way to his aunt, Mrs. Fannon, who lived nearby. Tommy Rooney was in a weakened state and was not fit to tell her how the incident had happened. Like all other accounts she told the tribunal that the street had been quiet before she heard the shooting.

A local man gave evidence that he saw Tommy Rooney on the street but that he was not speaking to him. He was challenged by a patrol and put his hands up. Tommy Rooney went in the direction of John Kane’s house. Witness said that he heard three shots ring out but that prior to the shooting the area had been quiet. A Military Lieutenant told the Inquiry that he was on patrol with four soldiers in the East Port area, early on Sunday morning, and challenged and searched a group of 20 civilians who were coming from the direction of the bridge. He found no weapons and allowed them to proceed, however he stated that he saw two men in a doorway, one tall and one smaller men. He challenged them and the taller man at once put his hands up. He was in the process of searching the taller man when he heard a noise and saw the smaller man twisting away from the patrol. A soldier told the inquiry that he called on the man to halt, but when he did not stop, he opened fire but couldn’t indicate to the tribunal if he had hit him and could not identify the body. Another private soldier told the tribunal that he was part of the patrol and that a soldier raised his bayonet to challenge the smaller man but the man ran down East Port. He stated that the soldier fired a shot which hit the civilian who doubled up after the shot was fired. That was how he knew that he was hit but the civilian kept on running and disappeared into the darkness. Although Tommy Rooney had been accepted into the army, he was, surprisingly only over 5 foot and was the smaller man who was shot and who left a trail of blood on East Port down as far as Kane’s house. 

A police sergeant gave evidence that he was in charge of a patrol from 12.00 to 3.00 a.m and that he heard a report of firearms about 12.15. About 12.45 he saw a number of civilians and there was more activity than normal considering the late hour. His police patrol met a lieutenant and a military patrol on the bridge at Ballyshannon. The military told him that that they had occasion to fire a shot or two in East Port. The police officer stated that he asked were there any casualties and he was informed that only a soldier had grazed his finger. He stated that that there were two shots fired within ten or 15 seconds of each other and that he heard a third shot about 3 a.m. The police officer had not heard that Tommy Rooney had been shot at this period. 

The tribunal concluded as follows: “That court having carefully considered the evidence are of the opinion that the deceased, Tommy Rooney:

 a) Met his death from a bullet wound on December 5th 1920, in Ballyshannon.

 b) That the bullet which caused the death of Thomas Rooney, junior, was fired by the military in the execution of their duty.

 c) That no blame attaches to any person other than the deceased for his death”. 

An early newspaper account gave a conflicting account of what had happened. “From the meagre details to hand, it is not clearly known how the tragedy occurred, but some people state that the deceased failed to answer the challenge of “Hands up” while others say there was no challenge issued. The remains were removed to the Workhouse Morgue on Sunday pending an inquiry. Deceased was not a Sinn Feiner and was not in any way identified with politics.”

The military court of inquiry into Tommy Rooney's death was held  
upstairs in this workhouse building which still stands today.

The remains of Tommy Rooney were removed to St. Joseph’s Church on Monday evening 6th December and Requiem Mass was celebrated the following morning by Rev. J. Trainor. The funeral was attended by a large crowd of people and on Tuesday afternoon at 2.30 p.m. Fr. Trainor officiated at the graveside. Chief mourners were; Thomas Rooney (father), Paddy, James and John Rooney (brothers) and Richard Bromley (stepbrother). Funeral arrangements were by Edward Stephens, undertaker, and two wreaths were sent by the Comrades of the Great War in recognition of his army service. The list of mourners above included Richard Bromley whose father Herbert Bromley had died and whose mother Eliza subsequently married Thomas Rooney (senior).

 A grandson of Richard Bromley is John Bromley who coincidentally had a long association with “The Donegal Democrat” and was editor of the paper from 1988-2002. John Rooney followed in the newspaper business and worked as a printer with “ The Irish Press” and successive generations of the Rooney family have worked in the printing business. The Rooney grave is in the graveyard adjoining St. Joseph’s Church where Tommy Rooney and members of the family from Ballyshannon and Bundoran are buried. Michael (Mickey) Rooney St. Brigid’s Terrace Bundoran, died on 28th January 2017 and is interred in this family grave.

The grave can be identified and located as grave number 201 in Ballyshannon Genealogy and History which lists all the inscriptions in this graveyard.

Concerns over the Inquiry 

Edward Kelly M.P. a native of Ballyshannon, expressed concern in the Westminster Parliament that in the case of military inquiries, a solicitor for the next of kin should be allowed to appear as at normal inquests. His appeal in parliament on 25th November 1920, before the shooting of Tommy Rooney, was turned down but it highlighted the anxiety felt by families, at the verdicts of military inquests where they had no representation. The impartiality of the military carrying out the investigation into the shooting of Tommy Rooney, which involved one of their own soldiers, was to say the least open to question. The speed with which the inquiry was concluded, a day after the shooting, while people were still coming to terms with the shock of what had happened, left little room for reflection at the time. Edward Kelly M.P. who felt that families should have legal representation at military inquiries, was the last Donegal elected member of parliament to sit in Westminster and represented East Donegal. He was born and grew up on the Mall in Ballyshannon, in the impressive house that is now a shell and is known locally as Condons as they were the last family to live there.  

      The former home of Edward Kelly M.P. last member of parliament
for Donegal to sit in  Westminster.

“The Donegal Democrat” for which Tommy Rooney worked, reported that Mrs. Margtaret Kane had made an Act of Contrition and that the dying Tommy Rooney had repeated the words after her. Mrs. Kane had a most difficult few days, as her husband John was one of the 3 men arrested, on Friday 3rd December, and sent to Ballykinlair internment camp and she also witnessed the death of Tommy Rooney in her home, early on Sunday 5th December. 

John Downey, editor of “The Donegal Democrat,” knew the deceased well as a work colleague and he recorded that Tommy Rooney was “as harmless as a baby and a born humourist. He saw a joke in everything and laughed and his laughter was infectious. The question was asked at the Military Tribunal was he concerned in politics? No he wasn’t. He treated politics as he did many other things as a huge joke.” John Downey’s opinions about Tommy Rooney’s character, was echoed by Ballyshannon’s other newspaper “The Donegal Vindicator” which was located in East Port, beside where Tommy Rooney was shot.

 This shooting was the subject of debate and speculation in the town and it is worth noting that none of the civilians present at the time of the shooting had weapons or were engaged in disturbances. With the passage of time this event faded in memory but as the centenary approaches on the 5th December 2020, it is fitting to remember what was the first tragic shooting of a civilian in the town of Ballyshannon during the War of Independence . Further local events in The War of Independence can be found in “Ballyshannon Genealogy and History”

Ideal Local gift for Christmas home and away. Limited edition quality hardback with dust jacket as above available in A Novel Idea and Local Hands Ballyshannon and Four Masters Bookshop Donegal Town. 

Also available signed copies, and inscriptions, for postage or collection from anthonyrbegley@hotmail.com

Topics include: How to go about Tracing your Roots/The first settlers in the area/ Newly researched history of the town of Ballyshannon and the townlands in Kilbarron and Mágh Éne parishes/ Records of the first travellers and tourists to Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Belleek, Rossnowlagh and Ballintra/An aerial guide to place names along the Erne from Ballyshannon to the Bar/Flora and Fauna of the area/  5  Members of Parliament from Ballyshannon/ A history of buildings and housing estates in the locality/Graveyard Inscriptions from the Abbey graveyard, St. Joseph’s and St. Anne’s /Rolling back the years with many memories of the Great Famine, Independence struggle, hydro-electric scheme, Gaelic games, boxing, handball, Boy Scouts, soccer, mummers, characters, organisations, folklore and lots more.