#OnThisDay 1919 RIC District Inspector Michael Hunt was shot dead in Liberty Square, Thurles by IRA Volunteer Jim Stapleton. Hunt was a hardline anti-republican, breaking up republican meetings and tearing down the Tricolour and who had already had several attempts on his life.
The horse racing still went on despite the 60 British soldiers standing on the race course with fixed bayonets. When the races finished, the crowds swarmed into Thurles town and at Market Square, Hunt in full uniform was shot.
Three shots were fired by “Big Jim’ Stapleton, who kept the pistol in his pocket to avoid detection, two hitting & instantly killing Hunt. The third hit a 12 year old boy, Danny Maher, in the left kneecap. Maher was taken to see a local doctor, who couldn’t retrieve the bullet so the young boy walked the eight miles back home. (The next day Maher got the train to the Mater hospital in Dublin to get x-rayed and proper medical attention. He lived well into his 80s)
The Irish at War 