Memorial to mark Moanreel ambush

TRIBUTES to those who fought and died during the Irish War of Independence will be paid at a ceremony in North Clare next month. The occasion will be the unveiling of a monument at Moanreel, on the Ennis-Ennistymon road, the site of two famous local ambushes on the British army and the RIC police.

The Moanreel ambush took place on December 18, 1920 and the Moananagh ambush followed on July 6, 1921.
The Sunday, June 26 commemorations will begin with a special mass, followed by an assembly at the Moanreel monument site. The monument will be unveiled by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony. The national flag will then be lowered and raised by a military officer, accompanied by the Last Post and Reveille sounded by a bugle and drum.
The monument honours the efforts made by the Irish Republican Army to capture guns and ammunition in aid of their cause and to disrupt the supply of British military and police forces and weaponry to British outposts in Clare.
On December 18 1920, IRA troops positioned on both sides of the road north of the Moanreel crossroad waited in ambush for two lorries of British soldiers and police. At 9.16am, three lorries approached from Ennistymon. With the unexpected arrival of the third lorry, the IRA troops were vastly outnumbered and at risk of being flanked and overrun. Knowing these dangers, they still engaged the enemy.
After the Rineen and Moanreel ambushes, the British authorities greatly increased the strength, size and security given to their convoys, sometimes accompanying them with armoured cars.  
On July 6, 1921 troops located on the high ground across the River Inagh near the Moananagh bridge opened fire on a large convoy headed towards Ennis, resulting in a firefight lasting over 10 minutes. After some time, they were ordered to retire, withdrawing across the countryside. In reprisal, several houses in the local area were raided by Black and Tan troops, houses and haystacks were burned and those suspected of being involved were beaten.