Kilmeena
Kilmeena is a small village in County Mayo, Ireland, near Westport. The village has a Roman Catholic church and a national (primary) school.[1]
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History
The Kilmeena ambush was the scene of a defeat for the local Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. On 19 May 1921, British troops surprised an IRA ambush party at Kilmeena. Six IRA men were killed and seven wounded. The remainder of the column fled over the mountains to Skerdagh. One Royal Irish Constabulary man and one Black and Tans member were also killed in the action. The British forces threw the dead and wounded IRA men into the street outside the Police barracks in nearby Westport, causing widespread revulsion among the local people.
GAA
Kilmeena GAA Club was founded in 1889. Club records show that they played their first game against Westport at Kilmeena on 10 March 1889. The club was affiliated to the County Board in the same year. They contested their first county senior final against Ballina Stephenites and were beaten. It wasn't until 1968 when, while playing in the Junior A division, the club won the West Mayo Cusack Cup for the first time, beating Westport in the final. They had a further wait until 1977 before they won their first County Junior title, beating Carramore in the final in Castlebar. The club secured their own grounds, Saint Brendan's Park, in 1938. Since then the playing pitch has been floodlit, and the club has hosted a number of training sessions for the Mayo county team. A new club house was formally opened in 2000.
Song
In 1884 George Cooper and John Rogers Thomas wrote a song Sweet Flower of Kilmeena.[2]
