Bandon Valley Massacre: The violent week that left 13 Protestants dead

In 1922, midway between the ratification of the Treaty and Ireland’s descent into civil war, a spate of murders in West Cork saw 13 Protestants killed between April 26 and 29, writes Pet O’Connell

Michael Collins, chairman of the provisional government, issued a plea to ‘every section of Irishmen’ to assist in bringing the guilty parties to justice for the killings. Colourised images: Matt Loughrey/ My Colourful Past

“A shocking affair occurred, resulting in Acting Comdt. Michael O’Neill, 1st Batt, 3rd Cork Brigade, being shot dead at Ovens, about 10 miles from Bandon. It appears that the deceased, accompanied by some other officers, called at the house of a farmer on some official duty. While the officers were standing in the hallway a shot rang out without any warning whatsoever, and the deceased fell dead.” 

The killing of IRA acting commandant Michael O’Neill, 25, of Maryborough, Timoleague, in the early hours of April 26, 1922, as reported in the Cork Examiner the following day, became the catalyst for a three-day spate of murders in West Cork that left 13 Protestants dead and a controversy over motives that rages to this day.