Bodyke Eviction Resonates Today with Eoin O'Broin

This is the Iconic Image of the Bodyke eviction. The figures in uniform are soldiers and RIC in a different Ireland. The doctored image in the tweet of Eoin O'Broin draws directly on this odious history and it was crass and unthinking to associate the AGS with that event.

By all means highlight the Housing Situation politically and the "apology" is welcome and but has the tweet been deleted.

On the morning of 7 June 1887 the troops arrived at the farm of Francis McNamara. The young farmer had recentlybecome head of the household following his father’s

passing and shouldered the responsibility of raising five younger siblings.

As expected, the men began attacking the walls – but they soon encountered resistance from an unlikely source: Bridget and Anne McNamara. The two sisters (aged 14

and 16 respectively), launched a surprise counter-attack from the rafters above, scalding the invaders with kettles of boiling water, oil, and porridge.

Similar tactics were employed by other families facing eviction, making life miserable – if only temporarily – for O’Callaghan’s henchmen. The McNamara girls were tried

in Ennis Court for their actions and each punished with one-month of hard labour. Francis, who was severely beaten during the ordeal, received a three-month

sentence.

These McNamaras have a direct connection with the history of An Garda Síochána

Shortly after the formation of An Garda Síochána in 1922, a familiar surname kept appearing on its Register, courtesy of one family from Bodyke. Five sons of Francis

McNamara and his wife Johanna (née Conlan) eventually joined the Force, starting with Frank McNamara (Reg. No.Garda service records for the five McNamara brothers.

208). Subsequently, his brothers Michael (Reg.No. 748), Joseph (Reg. No. 824), John (Reg. No. 2399), and Thomas (Reg. No. 6547) all followed suit, combining more than 193 years of service in An Garda Síochána. The McNamara family tree would also produce.

other Garda members — a tradition kept alive today by Sergeant Brendan Duffy.

Material was drawn from an article in Síocháin magazine in Summer 2021