Black and Tan burials a bogland mystery

FOLLOWING the kidnapping of two of their colleagues in Tralee on October 31, 1920, the Black and Tans unleashed a reign of terror, in Tralee especially, and other parts of Kerry.

Having been lured into a “honey trap” by two local girls, the kidnapped officers were shot by the IRA. Though their bodies were never found, they are believed to have been buried in the crypt of a local family at Clogherbrien cemetery, outside Tralee.

As there was so many killings on both sides in the ensuing period, it is believed all kidnappings and deaths of Black and Tans may not have been made public and a body could have been taken away for a bogland burial.