Michael Moran from Tuam.

The shooting dead of Michael Moran

By Jarlath Deignan

MICHAEL Moran was born in 1891 at Carrowmoneen, about three miles from Tuam on the Dublin Road. He was the oldest child of Pat and Margaret Moran and had three sisters and one younger brother. His father died when he was a young man and as the eldest, Michael took over responsibility for managing the family farm with his widowed mother.
Like many men of his generation, he became actively involved in the struggle for Irish independence after 1916, becoming the chief organiser of both Sinn Féin and the Irish Volunteers in the Barnaderg region.
His leadership and organisational qualities were apparent to colleagues at an early stage and around 1919 he became commandant of the Tuam battalion. The battalion consisted of ten companies in the region, including Tuam, Barnaderg, Sylane, Cortoon, Kilconly and Milltown.
The suppression of the Dáil in September 1919 and the arrest and imprisonment of TDs led many in the IRA to believe that political action had failed. The start of 1920 saw an intensification of activity by the IRA in North Galway following a directive by GHQ instructing all units throughout the country to attack barracks and police patrols.
Moran organised IRA attacks on the RIC barracks at Castlehackett and Castlegrove at the beginning of 1920, both of which resulted in the evacuation of the rural garrisons in the days following the attacks.
He also directed other activities during the War of Independence, including arms raids, intelligence gathering and stopping jurors from attending British courts.
* Jarlath Deignan is author of 'Troubled Times: War and Rebellion in North Galway 1913-23'
Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald