The Sack of Balbriggan

The assault on the village's population by the British Black and Tans based in the nearby Gormanstown military barracks on 9 September 1920 was one of the more infamous acts of the Irish War of Independence. This event, known as the "Sack of Balbriggan", resulted in the destruction of 54 houses and a hoisery factory, and the looting of four public houses. The attack received much international attention due to Balbriggan's position close to foreign news correspondents in Dublin. A subsequent delegation from the United States pledged to rebuild thirty homes in the village and a local factory. Other deaths followed during the war, most noticeably those of Séamus Lawless and Sean Gibbons who were bayoneted to death by the British forces on 20 September 1920. A plaque on Bridge Street in the town commemorates their murder.