A commemoration is to be held in Milltown next month to remember three local civilians who died during the Civil War.

Milltown in the early 1920s.

Milltown in the early 1920s.

The deaths of Jeremiah Hanifin, Jeremiah McKenna and Mary McKenna in separate incidents during 1922 represented almost one quarter of all the civilian casualties in County Kerry during the Civil War.

Organised by local historian and author, Owen O’Shea, and with the support of the Milltown Community and Chamber Alliance, a memorial plaque will be unveiled at the Square in Milltown on Sunday, May 7 at 12 noon.

"In all wars, the toll on civilians is often forgotten and overlooked. During the Civil War, a total of 14 civilians lost their lives in Kerry. It is important that they are remembered and not forgotten as we approach the centenary of the end of the Civil War," said Owen.

Father of 10, Jeremiah Hanifin was talking to a neighbour outside his home near Farran Cross, Milltown in September 1922 when a Free State army patrol passed by. Shots were fired indiscriminately and Hanifin was mortally wounded. Two months later at Kilderry near the village, mother and son Mary and Jeremiah McKenna died when they were fired upon following an ambush of a Free State army cycling patrol. All three were innocent bystanders with no apparent connections to the conflict.

"Thankfully, my home town of Milltown was spared much of the viciousness and brutality of the Civil War which impacted communities in many other parts of Kerry. There were, for example, no known fatalities among natives of Milltown in the ranks of the Free State army or the anti-Treaty IRA.

"Sadly however, three innocent civilians became victims of the dreadful war, which claimed the lives of a total of 14 civilians and over 150 combatants in Kerry. It is important that we remember and commemorate those who died during this dark period in our history, be they combatant or civilian."

The commemoration ceremony will feature a short address by Owen on the Civil War in Milltown and the unveiling of a stone plaque to the memory of the three people who died, by local councillor and Cathaoirleach of the Castleisland-Corca Dhuibhne Municipal District, Cllr Michael O’Shea.