William O'Riordan- died in Lackelly Ambush, 1921

Having not grown up in Ireland, I often find it hard to understand aspects of Irish history I encounter while trying to learn more about my own family story. But then an event with a family connection happens, and suddenly I grasp a bit more.

William O’Riordan was the youngest son and child of James Riordan, farmer of Cullane, Ballylanders, and Bridget Hanlon. He was born around 1894, (though finding his birth registration has proven so far to be elusive.) A kind friend has sent me his baptism record, and he was baptised 21 July 1894 in Ballylanders, with John Quane and El Fitzgerald as sponsors. He died 2 May 1921, aged 27 years, in the Lackelly Ambush, a victim of bullets from the ‘Black and Tans’.

It was easy enough to find a family for William O’Riordan in the 1901 census, though until recently I wasn’t completely sure that it was linked with our family. I knew that Patrick Riordan my great-grandfather had a brother James, and that Patrick had come from Cullane South. In a search for James Riordan in Co Limerick in the 1901 census, there were 21 James Riordans, but only one was from the townland of Cullane South, Cullane, Ballylanders Parish.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Limerick/Cullane/Cullane_South/1506050/

 In the 1901 census, William Riordan was the youngest in the household, aged 6, described as a scholar who could read & write. He used the English language, and his father James was the only family member who used Irish & English. There were seven family members at home in this census, the parents and five children. His older brother Patrick wasn't at home in 1901: in mid-1903 he was ordained priest at Carlow College and then left for Australia. By the time of the 1911 census, there were four family members at home, the parents, and their two adult children Bridget (29) and Michael (27). William would have been about 16 at this time, and wasn’t living at home.

The reason I finally became sure this was the family of ‘our’ James, was because of a few ‘Trove’ mentions, when I was researching the story of Fr Patrick O’Riordan in NSW, Australia. He was known to be a cousin of the Riordan family in New Zealand, as well as of two O’Donnell priest-cousins. The ‘shorter’ version of that story is here:
http://kiwinomadancestors.blogspot.com/2022/10/fr-patrick-oriordan-1879-1933.html

 In 1921 there were two accounts in ‘Trove’ of the death and funeral of Captain William O’Riordan, and he was named as a brother of Father P O’Riordan of Binalong, Australia.
The W.A. Record, Perth, (Sat 17 Dec 1921) carried an account of the procession to the Ballylanders graveyard on 24 September 1921. William O’Riordan was described as an Irish Volunteer, and he was laid to rest in the Republican plot. Some 20,000 people took part in the procession from where they had first been buried, to their permanent resting place. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/212401323

A longer article in The Catholic Press, Sydney on 1 Dec 1921, gave more details, about how the bodies had been disinterred from a temporary resting place near Herbertstown, and High Mass was celebrated before the procession set off for Ballylanders which was 11 miles away. The chief mourners for Captain O’Riordan were said to be James O’Riordan and Mrs O’Riordan (parents), John and Michael O'Riordan (brothers) and Bridget O’Riordan (sister). https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/106253922

The Lackelly Ambush is well documented, and took place during the Irish War for Independence. William O’Riordan was part of the East Limerick Flying Column, and on 2 May 1921, he was part of a combined group surprised by members of the Green Howard Regiment of the British Army. Four IRA members were killed in the ambush. According to a video, ‘Lackelly Remembered’, Thomas Howard was killed outright, but William O’Riordan was wounded, and later beaten to death.
The bodies of the four IRA members were placed on a cart for removal to Galbally by the British, but in a battle the cart was retrieved by the IRA. The four bodies were buried first at a farm, but soon re-buried in the disused Rathjordan graveyard near Herbertstown. Several months later, during the Truce, the bodies of William O’Riordan and Thomas Howard were reburied at Ballylanders.
There is a video that explains all these events, called ‘Lackelly Remembered 1921-2021’. https://youtu.be/arFLL-M6GjA

A copy of William Riordan’s death registration is available by searching Irish civil registration. https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp
This states that he ‘died from effects of bullet wounds Killed instantaneously”.

 There is a large amount of detail available online about the Lackelly Ambush. In particular, there is a huge file on the Ambush that is on the Irish Military Archives Collection.
https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-service-pensions-collection-1916-1923/1916-1923-resources/operation/lackelly-ambush/

As part of this file, there is also a section devoted to William O’Riordan, DP6340, and largely that comprises applications made by family members for compensation. https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-service-pensions-collection-1916-1923/1916-1923-resources/operation/lackelly-ambush/  According to the rules, none of the family members qualified for compensation, as they weren’t dependants of William at the time of his death. This even applied to his elderly parents. However, the file is well worth perusing for the amount of genealogical information contained within.

The Emly Historical Society recorded an event in 2018 when they took a guided tour to the site of the 1921 Way of Independence Ambush Site. http://emlyhistoricalsociety.ie/blog/2018/04/03/hello-world-2/ There is a photo included of the memorial that includes William O’Riordan’s name.

The final resting place of William O’Riordan is in the Republican plot in Ballylanders Cemetery. https://historicgraves.com/ladywell/li-lwbl-0204/grave

About the writer: Margaret Riordan
I am a New Zealand-born Riordan descendant, living in New Zealand, and my grandfather Martin Riordan was a first cousin of William O’Riordan.
Coincidentally, my grandfather Martin also died in 1921, just  few months after William’s death, of acute influenzal pneumonia.