IN THE levying of ‘war upon England’, the Sinn Feiners consider that it is fair fighting to ambush anyone loyal to the Crown, and in pursuance of this policy, they carried out an ambush, in the Mullaghfad district – a mountainous part of the county beyond Cooneen – near the County Monaghan border.

Between 12 and 12.30am on Sunday morning there was a patrol of Special Constables going past Mullaghfad Cross.

In advance was a party of about eight men, and a rear guard was formed by two Constables, Robert Coalter and John Montgomery.

The night was cold, and a farmer named James Hall, aged about 55, asked the two men, Coalter and Montgomery, to go to his house and have some tea.

As they were nearing Hall’s house, at a bend in the road, a terrible fire at close quarters was poured into the three men.

Coalter’s head was practically blown off, and his brains scattered about the road.

Hall received very severe injuries to the lower parts of his body, while Montgomery got a slight wound on the temple and a bullet in the leg.

Coalter died instantaneously, while Montgomery fell on the road temporarily stunned.

Hall dragged himself to a neighbouring house of a Roman Catholic farmer.

He knocked, but was refused admission, and he was later found dead on the street.

From the place of the shooting there was a continuous trail of blood to where his body was later found.

When Montgomery regained consciousness, he made his way to the house of a farmer named Johnston, where he was kindly treated.

The Fivemiletown police were early on the scene, and when the word reached Enniskillen at 5am, lorryloads of Specials under Captain Andrews were on the scene before 6am.

Dr. Bleakley attended Montgomery’s wounds and he was later conveyed to the Fermanagh County Hospital.