It was at 10pm on a cool September night when James Murray of the Free State army was behind the wheel of a lorry carrying troops that was trundling up Barrack Street on the route to West Cork.
As he approached Bandon Road he encountered a Free State checkpoint. He was ordered to halt by Private Thomas Coughlan but Murray drove past it and the young private took aim and fired. The lorry swerved before coming to a stop and when the soldiers approached and opened the door, Murray was slumped over the wheel dead.
Today, the site of the fatal shooting.
Horgans Buildings - home to Private Murray.
Murray had joined the Free State Army in May 1922, having been previously employed as a mechanic in Wrights Garage, Copely Street. Following his tragic death 23 year old from Horgans Buildings was laid to rest in St Joseph's Cemetery with full military honours.
Murray may not have heard orders to halt over the loud spluttering engine. He may have thought he had no need to stop at a checkpoint as he was on duty and in uniform driving a Free State lorry. The private at the checkpoint may have just simply panicked, this was after all just a few weeks since the assassination of Michael Collins and tensions in Cork and throughout the land were high.
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