George O'Shea (1897 - 1923) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who fought with the Anti-Treaty side during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. He was one of eight men killed by Free State forces in the

Ballyseedy Massacre The executions during the Irish Civil War took place during the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War (June 1922 – May 1923). This phase of the war was bitter, and both sides, the government forces of the Irish Free State and the anti-Trea ...

, a defining event in Irish history. The Republican plot at St

Biography

O'Shea was born to Anne and John O'Shea in Fahavane, a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Kilflynn,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He lived at No.1 Fahavane. His father was a farmer.Kerry/Kilflyn/Fahabane/Residents of a house 2 in Fahabane (Kilflyn, Kerry) .b. the spellings/door number are as recorded/ref>Kerry/Kilflyn/Fahavane/Residents of a house 1 in Fahavane (Kilflyn, Kerry) In May 1920, he was nominated for and elected to the Tralee Rural District Council for the Ratass area. He served in the Kilflynn IRA during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

as captain of the Kerry No.1 Brigade, 2nd Battalion. After the

, he continued to fight against Free State forces thereafter. Military Archives from the 1930s show his name amongst hand-written notes regarding state pension provision. He was found by Free State troops from Lixnaw, who found him three miles south of Kilflynn, hiding in a dugout at "Loughnane's quarry", in late February 1923. He was with

Stephen Fuller Stephen Fuller (1 January 1900 – 23 February 1984) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1937 to 1943. Early life Fuller was born in Kilflynn, County Kerry, in 1900. He ...

and John Shanahan - both lifelong Fahavane neighbours and friends - and Timothy Tuomey. After being taken to Lixnaw they were put in

Ballymullen Barracks Ballymullen Barracks () is an Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish military installation at Tralee, County Kerry in Ireland. History The barracks were built for local militia units between 1810 and 1815. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on ...

, Tralee by the recently-arrived

Dublin Guard The Dublin Guard was a unit of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and then of the Irish National Army in the ensuing Civil War. Foundation In May 1921 the Active Service Unit of the Irish Republican Army's Dublin Brigad ...

where, reported by Fuller, they were tortured by the intelligence section (under the command of David Neligan) and later moved to the workhouse of the other barracks in Tralee. Shortly after, on 6 March, five Free State soldiers were killed by a booby-trapped bomb at Baranarigh Wood, Knocknagoshel. Amongst the dead were long-standing colleagues of Major General Paddy O'Daly, G.O.C. Kerry Command. Prisoners had been beaten after the killings and Daly ordered that republican prisoners should remove mines. On the morning of 7 March, O'Shea, Fuller, Shanahan, Tuomey and five other prisoners from Ballymullen Barracks - all selected by Neligan - were taken in a lorry to

Ballyseedy Ballyseedy () is a townland in County Kerry, Ireland. It was historically situated in the parish of Ballyseedy, within the barony of Trughanacmy. The townland contains a number of notable landmarks, including Ballyseedy Wood, a bridge over t ...

Cross. There, they were secured to each other by legs and hands in a circle round a landmine whose construction was supervised by two senior Dublin Guard officers. The prisoners continued their prayers and goodbyes as the troops retreated. According to the sole survivor, Stephen Fuller - his lieutenant - O'Shea uttered the group's final words "goodbye lads" before the mine was detonated remotely at some time past 3 a.m. The majority of the remains were put in nine prepared coffins. The event was witnessed by a local, Rita O'Donnell, who also saw the uncleared remains later that morning, spread about the greenery. More reprisals followed soon after Ballyseedy. Seriously injured, Fuller escaped into hiding. Later the same day as the murders, Paddy Daly authorised the release of the coffins. Angry relatives came with carts and placed the remains in their own coffins while a band was reportedly playing. On 8 June, an army statement was released claiming two mined barricades (a similar event happened at Countess bridge, Killarney) exploded while being dismantled by prisoners accompanied by Dublin Guard troops and that all prisoners were killed and five troops injured. The dead prisoners' names were published as part of the cover-up. The story was then hastily changed when it was realised Fuller was missing. O'Shea's death record, reported by his mother, cites the cause as "Shock and haemorrhage, fractured skull caused by mine explosion. No medical attendance." Subsequent contrary reports to the official line about the killings came from Cumann na mBan, Free State Lieutenants

Niall Harrington Niall Charles Harrington (23 January 1901 – 18 September 1981), born in Dublin, was an Irish soldier, officer, military intelligence director, writer and broadcaster, campaigner for the memory of Charles Stuart Parnell and a union represent ...

and W. McCarthy and the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

, but were all ignored; the latter report was only made public in the 1980s. O'Shea was buried in a Republican plot at Kilflynn Church (now St. Columba's Heritage Centre) with two colleagues, Timothy Tuomey (of Gortclohy) - also killed at Ballyseedy - and

Timothy Lyons Timothy Lyons (4th December1895 -16th April 1923), a.k.a. Aero or Aeroplane, was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who fought with the Anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War. After a three-day siege by Free State forces at Clashmea ...

(of Garrynagore) who was killed at Clashmealcon Caves a few weeks after Ballyseedy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OShea, George 1898 births 1923 deaths Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side)