The MIchael O'Dempsey Shooting

The Michael O’Dempsey shooting His own ‘Personal Memorandum’ tells of his abduction and interrogation, which took place in January 2021, two months before the fatal shooting.

Author: Margaret Franklin

Abduction at Gunpoint in the Blackstairs Mountains The fatal shooting of Michal O’Dempsey and his client, William Kennedy, in Borris, Co. Carlow, in March 2021, was described as ‘shocking’ in the Irish Times newspaper report, which appeared on Friday, March 18th, a few days after the tragic incident.

My great uncle, Michael O’Dempsey, was well aware that his life was in danger. Over two months before the shooting took place, he had been abducted at gunpoint and brought to a derelict cottage in the Blackstairs Mountains, where he was held for several hours, interrogated and threatened. He was warned to have nothing more to do with a particular case involving his client William Kennedy.

Michael refused to give an undertaking to drop the case and bravely continued to represent his client. The case had been taken, by William Kennedy, against certain named individuals who had placed a picket on his business premises, following his refusal to close his shop on the day of the funeral of Terence MacSwiney, who had died on hunger strike in October 1920.

The Personal Memorandum of Michael O’Dempsey.

Here, in his own words, is Michael’s account of what happened to him in Jan. 1921: Personal Memorandum of Michael J. O’Dempsey Made 4th January 1921

At 9.30 Monday morning 3rd inst I started from Graigue in a hired car driven by owner, Pat Doyle, Upper Main Street, Graigue. Picked up my damaged Tamplin at Skeogue, 2 miles from Graigue and towed it myself steering. Stopped at Ballymurphy, got spare tow-rope at Joyce’s Ballymurphy, from assistant McDonald. Seen in Ballymurphy by various people, some no friends of mine, others clients and friends. About a mile from Ballymurphy at about 10.30 a.m. on Coonogue townland we were held up by two masked men, one tall one short, both young with revolvers. The tall man sent the short on a message to some one up the slope of Coonogue wood on right-hand of road to Kiltealy. After perhaps twenty minutes small man came back. Tall man told us we should both come with him. Getting ready to start, an old man and woman with donkey-cart passed. Old man whom I do not know gave me time of day calling my name. Tall man stepped to him and said “Mind, you have seen nothing”. Both men got into Ford car, revolvers in hand all the time.

We drove a mile and a half, turned up a laneway and into a headland, by a dilapidated house, plainly in view of road; townland of ________; house believed to be once occupied by ___Rose, on side of Blackstairs Mountains. Left the cars in field; went into kitchen. Self and driver were searched by tall man who took my pocket-book and diary. They were about to search my bag when I asked them to let me go through papers with them, “as I know what they wanted”. I went through papers showing them endorsements on documents and files, till we reached the (1) original writ dated 9th december 1920, Kings Bench No 10379, William P. Kennedy vs Edward Dundon and nine others; with I said ,“These are what you want, and only at the point of the revolver I must let you take them”. They took these papers; also some vouchers in a Lunacy case in which Kennedy was the Guardian. I told them these were vouchers dealing with quite a different case; and asked them to take care of them. They said that was enough, that my bag would be searched again by some gentlemen who were coming, one of them from Dublin, to deal with a charge against me. I said “I think you have all you want”.

The tall man then sent the small man on a message. He and Doyle made a fire. He talked to us, saying he came from Tipperary. He went up to the loft with the papers, where I think he read them; he came down and went into the parlour.

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The remains of the cottage where Michael was held in January 1921

Personal Memorandum of Michael O’Dempsey (Continued from previous page) I heard him chopping or breaking timber. I got my bag and took (a) Copy case written on by Counsel in the matter in question (b) Instructions taken on 1st January; and mixed them among papers in other files, concealed the best way I could.

At about 1.30 (very approximately - my watch was stopped) the messenger brought tea and bread and butter in a basket, shared by all four; and cigarettes; they said they had comandeered them.

At in or about 2.30 p.m. the small man was in the parlour, the tall man was somewhere outside, myself and Doyle were in the kitchen. I went out of the kitchen door to pump.

I saw down the slope on my right hand side perhaps 30 yards away 4 or 5 masked men talking to the tall man. They made a move, I waved my hand and said “All right, I only want to pump” and I did so. I had a look at the men when I was going in. Could not tell who they were. I am short-sighted, but don’t wear glasses. Very shortly after the tall man came, carrying a white muffler; said “I have to put these over your eyes while you’re talking to the gentleman from Dublin, but you needn’t be afraid. We won’t put your back to the wall, we’ll let you off soon, and we’re not going to shoot you.” I said I wasn’t much frightened and that I was prepared for that (meaning shooting) if need be. The tall man asked me to give him contents of pocket; I gave him pocket-book and pocket diary. He went out and about fifteen minutes passed in desultory conversation between myself, Doyle and the small man. I stood up to see whether I could see under the bandage if my bag was where I left it. I could see that the bag was not there. Then the tall man came to see me again. I heard some people pass in through kitchen to parlour; I got the impression there were three or four. The tall man took my arm and led me into the parlour, giving me unnecessary consolation as to not being afraid.

Meanwhile I heard someone talking to Pat Doyle outside.

In the parlour someone spoke to me in tones so disguised that I could not realise that he was addressing a question to me. I turned towards him and he repeated : “You are solicitor for a man named Kennedy ?” I said “I am, but what is the charge against me?”

The questioner then said in a very different tone, with passionate anger and threatening “You are charged with joining Kennedy in bringing the Black and Tans on the Republicans of Borris.”

I said “ I deny that absolutely.” The Questioner said “We have documentary evidence to prove that you did this. You are worse than Kennedy. You urged him on to do what he would not otherwise”. I said “I deny that also”.

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Questioner said “We have found it all out among your papers. Your office in Enniscorthy was raided on Saturday, and we have got your instructions to Counsel. They are going to be referred to Dail Eireann. There is evidence enough to show you deserve to be hanged. You urged Kennedy to do this.” I said I took his instructions as his solicitor. Questioner said “You advised him to get evidence implicating Dundon, you advised him to swear affidavits and if he swears them he will be shot. We got your letter to Hughes in the raid on the mails in Borris last Saturday. You will have an opportunity of defending yourself and disproving these charges.” 1 He further said “You know Dundon and all the parties are soldiers of the Irish Republic”. I said I did not know that; I heard it rumoured.

Questioner said “You know more about Dundon than I do. You are responsible for Kennedy’s going against these men”. I said I had the ordinary responsibility of a solicitor for his client, or to his client, I forget which.

At about this stage a man (a labourer, judging by his voice) came behind me and pressed something which felt more like a man’s thumb than a revolver-barrel against the back of my neck and said “I’d give him this now in the back. He’s worse than the Black and Tans; he deserves it.” I felt no sense of danger and could not help smiling. Someone (not questioner) protested, and the man went away.

There was a great deal more bully-ragging from same questioner, the object of which seemed to be to get me to say something to apportion the responsibility between myself and my client. I answered as little as I could and, I think, evaded the object. At one stage I said “If I am on trial for my life, is it quite fair to cross-heckle me?” The Questioner said “Yes, it is.” The Questioner said a lot about my breaking the laws of the Irish Republic; I said no law was promulgated to the knowledge of the general public that cases could not be taken to the English courts where they were every day; I said that in Kennedy’s case my view was that Arthur Griffith’s statement in newspapers as to holiday for dead Lord Mayor of Cork was a request, not a mandatory law. Questioner said he asked the Irish people, and “that was law for us” I said that if Kennedy had broken the law, which was doubtful, and that Dail Eireann sanctioned penalties against him he should surely have been tried before punishment; not punished before trial. The questioner made no reply to this. Told me it was not exactly Dail Eireann but the Home Office which directed the proceedings; said something about my case being under the consideration of the Competent Military Authority, who was a General, and that he had come from Dublin to look into it, and that his friend had come from Tipperary; that, whatever I deserved I would be let out for the present if I gave an undertaking to have nothing more to do now or hereafter with this case.

That they could get me anytime, anywhere; and that if I took any further steps in the case, “before ever you go to court, or before you get on the train to Dublin, or even, I am sorry to say, before that again, in your own home, you will be shot.” I said nothing and he went on with matter that left no impression on my memory, then said “Unless you do this we must keep you for the night. Unless you give an undertaking to have nothing more to do, now or hereafter, with this case.” I said “I might as well be shot as give such an undertaking.” Questioner said “All right”.

I said I wished to say, without any warmth, that “if it was the law that a solicitor carrying out his duty to his client should be liable to the penalties they suggested it would not be sanctioned by any morality, human or otherwise.”

There was a sort of breaking-up then. The Questioner said he was sorry they could give me no more comfortable quarters for the night, but I would be better treated, than by British soldiers. I said the treatment was all right.

I was left in the parlour with one man for a while. I heard someone say “I am sorry for O’Dempsey”.

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Then taken by tall man into the kitchen, and the bandage taken off. Left alone for a while. Then Pat Doyle brought in blindfolded. Another interval. Then tall man, short man and two others, masked, came in. The short man was now unmasked. The tall man, still masked and the short man unmasked opened the door and saw us out. Nothing was said as to keeping me or otherwise. The tall man walked with me to laneway where cars had been moved to.

He said to me “I did my best to get you off.” He said “I suppose you won’t report any names as you don’t know me”. I said I didn’t intend to report at all; I had no personal animosity about the matter.

The tall man repeated to me “You won’t report any names anyhow? if you report the matter.” I said I would not report at all. He shook hands with me. We started, Doyle and myself and got to Enniscorthy, without incident, arriving 5.15. p.m. My typist told me that at 11.30 three men unmasked called, enquired for me, asked for Kennedy’s papers; she said she didn’t know where they were; they produced revolvers, put her in study; also an old woman client who called; searched the office; were about to search the study when one of them told the others he had got what they wanted; told typist to tell me the papers in Dublin were also being got, and that I would be shot if I had any more to do with the case.

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I am disliked by three or four landless householders in Ballymurphy, by Seamus Lennon, T.D.E. for Carlow, one of the Defendants, and by others (but not all) of the Sinn Feiners, because I refused to sell them a farm at Kilmurrin for £480, and sold it to another party for £900.

Note : The memorandum ends here, but there are some handwritten notes, possibly in Mrs. O’Dempsey’s own hand, the text of which is given below :

Mr. Stack read copy above statement the 10th May 1921. Mr. Skeffington saw Mrs. Franklin and me next morning at 48 Warrington St. and told us the hold up and proceedings were “bogus” and statements made all false. Mr. Stack stated these men acted independently of all Authority and Michael’s and Kennedy’s killing was murder - We have this and a lot more from Mr. Skeffington and Mr. Wyse Power - also that above and note re sale was the first the Authorities heard of this sale.

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