Galway In Days Gone By

1922

Violent assault

At Loughrea Quarter Sessions, before his honour Judge Doyle, K.C., Mrs. Anne Lowry, Carhoon, Tynagh, claimed £100 compensation for the alleged kidnapping of her daughter, Julia Goonan (under age), by armed and disguised men, and for the cutting of her hair on the night of October 6 last. Mr. Mulcair, solr., appeared for the applicant.

Julia Goonan, examined by her solicitor, stated she was seventeen years of age, and the daughter of Mrs. Annie Lowry, who resided at Carhoon, in the Portumna district. Witness was at her service with a man named Patrick Harte, Athenry-road, Loughrea, for about six months.

On the night of the 6th October last, four disguised men came to Mr. Harte’s door and knocked. They were admitted by Mr. Harte and coming in around the kitchen asked if he had a girl in the house. He replied he had, and witness, who was in a room off the kitchen at the time, was preparing to go to bed.

“The men, who were looking about everywhere,” proceeded witness, “saw me in the room and they pulled me out. They took a shawl that was hanging on the door and wrapping it around me took me to a motor that was outside and put me into it. I saw another man standing beside the driver when I came out to the car. They then drove me up as far as Nonie Ryan’s house at the other end of the town and on arriving there, took out Nonie Ryan and put her into the motor.

“I noticed some men outside Ryan’s house when the car stopped. They then drove us away up the Ballinasloe road, and when we had gone about three miles they blindfolded us. One of the men gave me a few slaps across the face.”

To his honour: Witness did not know the men. They were masked and blackened.

Continuing, witness stated the men, who apparently went astray, drove them around the roads from twenty minutes to twelve on Wednesday night, October 6, until three o’clock on the following morning. At Knockbrack witness was ordered out of the car and taken away about twenty yards, still blindfolded. She was “hung up” by the hair by one of the men and another shaved her hair in to the bone.

His honour: Don’t girls “bob” their hair to make themselves look attractive? (laughter).

Witness: They do, your honour.  – His honour: Did they “bob” your hair or cut it off altogether? – Witness: They cut it off altogether.

Mr. Mulcair: It is apparently growing now. When I saw her after the incident, she was very bare.

In further evidence, witness said the men told her wile in the motor they would take her to Athlone barracks and get two nice Black and Tans for herself and her companion. They subsequently stated they would take them to Ballinasloe barracks, and finally left them at her mother’s house in Carhoon in the morning.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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