Memory, conflict and the songs that carried the people through
In the spring of 1921, County Leitrim — often remembered as a quiet border county — found itself drawn directly into the final, most intense phase of the Irish War of Independence. Two events in particular, the Sheemore Ambush and the Selton Hill Ambush, left a deep mark on the local landscape and on the collective memory of the area.
These were not distant or abstract events. They unfolded on familiar roads and hillsides, near homes, farms, and market towns. Long after the gunfire faded, the stories remained — carried in conversation, in recollection, and often in song and verse, where people could say what was harder to speak aloud.
This page brings together historical accounts, local memory, and creative responses to those events, allowing space for songs, poems, and stories that reflect how people in Leitrim experienced, remembered, and interpreted what happened.
Sheemore Ambush – March 1921
Sheemore rises above the road outside Carrick-on-Shannon, a familiar landmark in the local landscape. In early March 1921, it became the setting for one of the most successful actions carried out by the South Leitrim Brigade of the IRA.
The following documentary produced by Edwina Guckian to commemorate the ambush, supported by Leitrim County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative, gives us a local insight into events.
While brief in military terms, the impact of the Sheemore ambush was felt far beyond the hillside itself. Reprisals followed in the nearby town, and fear, tension, and uncertainty settled over the area. People who had not taken part in the fighting nonetheless found themselves living with its consequences.
Yet alongside fear, there was also resolve. In later recollections, Sheemore is remembered as a moment when a small, lightly armed local unit demonstrated organisation, discipline, and confidence — a reminder that even in rural Leitrim, the national struggle was being actively fought.
The Sheemore Ambush by Pádraig McGovern – ‘As It Happened’ Decade of Centenaries 2012 – 2023
The Sheemore Ambush – Old Song
“On the fourth of March I will let you all know.
The English from Carrick to Gowel did go
They went to Gowel they they’d have fun
It’s there they thought they’d meet some boys on the run
When they went to the church they searched young and old
The priest on the altar they gave him a scold.
When they left the church a Black and Tan let a roar
He say’s I am wounded my fighting is done
He says I’m shot by an Irishman’s gun
The old captain jumped out saying he would’nt have that law,
When an old English Liutenant lost half of his jaw”
Dúchas Folklore Collection – Kilnagross School – informant, James Reynolds, Greenaun, aged 70.
These verses were widely recited or sung around South Leitrim for many years – having appeared in the Dúchas collection from the 1930s, no writer is mentioned and perhaps, they were lying low as the lines were more than likely composed quite soon after the ambush itself.
Selton Hill – March 1921
Selton Hill lies between Mohill and Fenagh, a quiet stretch of countryside that witnessed one of the most tragic episodes of the War of Independence in Leitrim.
Only days after Sheemore, a group of IRA Volunteers — including men from Leitrim and neighbouring counties — were resting in the area when Crown forces, acting on intelligence, surrounded their position. What followed was a sudden and devastating engagement.
Read local historian, Michael Whelan’s comprehensive account of the event which appeared in The Leitrim Guardian (all copies of which are available in Local Studies Section, Leitrim Library, Ballinamore) in 1970
Six Volunteers were killed at Selton Hill. Their deaths dealt a severe blow to local republican organisation and cast a long shadow over the surrounding communities.In the local area, the loss was felt not just politically, but personally: these were sons, neighbours, and friends.
Accounts from the time and later witness statements speak of shock, grief, and anger — but also of silence. In the years that followed, Selton Hill was remembered carefully, sometimes quietly, as people weighed what could safely be said, and how.
The Slopes of Selton Hill
Written by aforementioned historian, Michael Whelan, this ballad succinctly captures the ambush at Selton Hill. The ballad has been sung by many people over the years and Michael was never precious about the air of the song, the story mattered more.
The Heroes of Selton Hill – Author Unknown
Another ballad documenting the event and remembering those involved from an unknown source.
Here sung by Kathleen Donoghue from Cavan
More ballads and poetry
Here local man, John Wrynn, sings “The Ballad of Selton Hill” as recorded for the RTÉ Archives – writer unknown.
More Recent Compositions
As part of the “As It Happened” project, Edwina Guckian commissioned Leitrim artists to respond to the events of the Independence years through their respective arts practices.
Here, writer Vincent Woods commemorates one of the most significant events – the ambush at Selton Hill.
As It Happened is produced and filmed by Edwina Guckian and supported by Leitrim County Council & the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 initiative.
A monument was erected at Selton Hill in 1936 to mark the tragic event. The Selton Hill Committee work to look after the monument and to remember those who lost their lives in 1921.
In 2021, they produced a documentary to mark the occasion, as part of further commemoration events .
Portraits by Sinéad Guckian
“Caoineadh Chnoc Shailtin” lament composed and played by Niall Flynn
“The Slopes of Selton Hill” written by Michael Whelan and sang by Fionnuala Maxwell
Frank McGrail grew up in Coldrumman, Gorvagh, he was a young boy when he heard the gunfire at Selton Hill on 11th March 1921. Seventy years later he was interviewed about his recollection of the event and this oral history interview is part of the Local Studies Collection at Leitrim County Library.
