Tullycrine Bomb to feature in RTÉ documentary

EVENTS surrounding the Tullycrine Bomb, which killed Detective Garda Tadhg O’Sullivan on June 11, 1929, will be examined on RTÉ One on Monday evening from 7.30pm.
The programme is part of the CSÍ documentary series, which is a series of programmes featuring Irish historical crime stories. It reveals unexpected twists and turns with elements of who dunnit, modern forensic analysis and cold-case review.
Eighty-one years ago, two detectives and a garda stared at a black box, which lay on the ground in an isolated Tullycrine field. They tried to open it but failed. Eventually, one of the detectives kneeled down beside the box and placed his hands on the lid.
These were the last moments in the life of Detective Garda Tadhg O’Sullivan. He died almost instantly as he tried to prise open the box. His two colleagues suffered horrific injuries but survived.
Just this year, James Sullivan a retired New York police officer, visited the scene in Tullycrine. The dead man was his uncle. James’ aim is to find out what happened that day as he tries to reconcile the pathos of his family tragedy with the cruelties of Irish history.
The Tullycrine bomb happened six years after the end of the Civil War. In West Clare, however, the Anti-Treaty IRA didn’t accept the authority of the Free State or An Garda Síochána. As the conflict between the gardaí and the IRA grew in intensity, it became clear that blood would continue to be spilt.
It was this maelstrom of civil war political tensions that gave rise to murderous plots and conspiracies.
No one has ever been convicted of the killing and for decades, it has not been spoken about in the locality, leaving many questions unanswered.
Why was Detective O’Sullivan killed in such a brutal fashion by the IRA? Was he really the intended target of the bomb?
CSÍ: The Banner Bomb explores the background to this unsolved crime and reveals what really happened.