Jeremiah Mee (29 March 1889 – 8 May 1953), was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and leader of the

Listowel Mutiny The Listowel mutiny occurred during the Irish War of Independence when Royal Irish Constabulary officers under the command of County Inspector O'Shea refused to be relocated out of their rural police station in Listowel, County Kerry and moved ...

in 1920.

Early life

Mee was born in the townland of Knockauns East, near

Glenamaddy Glenamaddy () is a small town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies at the crossroads where the R362 and R364 regional roads meet. Glenamaddy became a musical focal point in Connacht during the 1960s during the showband era. To the east of the ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

. He was the fourth child of John Mee and Ellen née Mee; he had four brothers and four sisters. He left school at the age of 12 and worked on his father’s farm until he joined the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Mee joined the RIC on 16 August 1910, aged 19. He was first stationed in Kesh, County Sligo in 1911. Following that he served in Collooney,

Geevagh Geevagh () is a village in the south-east corner of County Sligo, Ireland, on the R284 regional road. The name, meaning "the windy (place)", describes a climatic feature of the village and its surrounding countryside. The name Geevagh also r ...

Ballintogher Ballintogher () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is located approximately 8 kilometers southeast of the county town of Sligo on the R290 road between Ballygawley to the west and Dromahair in County Leitrim to the north-east. Known as ...

and Grange, all in Co. Sligo.

Mutiny

Mee was initially stationed in Listowel in 1919. In June 1920 the transfer of fourteen constables was ordered from Listowel barracks as the military were to take control. The constables at Listowel, led by Mee, refused the transfers as they felt military intervention unnecessary in the area. On 19 June, Divisional Police Commissioner for Munster, Lt.–Col. Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth, came to Listowel to give a speech to the constables, in which he called for more aggressive action against those who would not obey police and military commands immediately. After an angry reaction from Mee, Smyth ordered that he be placed under arrest, which the remaining constables prevented. After a period of quiet in the barracks Mee, along with four other constables, left the force. Smyth’s speech at Listowel was published in the Freeman’s Journal on 10 July 1920. Following this he was shot dead on 17 July 1920 in the County Club, Co. Cork.

Later life

Following the mutiny, Mee made contact with Countess Markievicz and

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

, becoming involved with Sinn Féin, helping former RIC officers find employment. He was involved with the Belfast Boycott, boycotting Belfast banks and businesses, which was instigated by the Republican Dáil. Mee later worked for the

Irish White Cross The Irish White Cross was established on 1 February 1921 as a mechanism for distributing funds raised by the American Committee for Relief in Ireland. It was managed by the Quaker businessman, and later Irish Free State senator, James G. Doug ...

and in the oil industry for British Petroleum (BP) and Russian Oil Products Ltd. Following that he worked in the Department of Local Government and Public Health. Mee died on 8 May 1953, and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mee, Jeremiah People from County Galway Royal Irish Constabulary 1889 births 1953 deaths