100 years on from the burning of the Westmeath Independent

At 3.30am on November 3, 1920, 100 years ago today, members of the British Crown Forces in Ireland attacked and burned down Athlone Printing Works and the Westmeath Independent offices.

The premises at Garden Vale was destroyed by Black and Tans who used incendiary devices, bombs and burning tar, causing an estimated £100,000 damage.

The incident is viewed by historians as one of the most significant in the War of Independence in the region.

The paper had become stridently nationalistic in its stance in the years following the Easter Rising, to such an extent that it was seen as a supporter of the Irish republican cause.

It had been suppressed for two weeks in April 1918 by the British military for contravening censorship regulations but it remained steadfast in its pursuit of journalistic independence.

The raid on November 3, 1920, was the second such attack the paper had faced in just over a fortnight.

The premises had initially been badly damaged in the early hours of October 17 in another attack by the Black and Tans – however, that attempt not only failed to shut down the business, it also had little effect on the paper's editorial stance.

In its last issue before the successful attack, the Westmeath Independent lamented the death on hunger strike of the Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney and wrote scathingly about the British Government's defence of its forces firing indiscriminately through the streets of Moate and Athlone on the night of October 22, killing an innocent citizen, former local councillor Michael Burke, in the process.

The edition also carried thick black rules between the columns of newsprint in its coverage of both MacSwiney and Burke's deaths – a printing custom of mourning and respect traditionally reserved for the deaths of monarchs.

This time around the Crown Forces succeeded in silencing the paper and closing its associated printing operation.

It meant over 100 locals, who worked at the printing works, at the time the biggest in provincial Ireland, and the newspaper itself, were left without jobs.

It was not until February, 1922, that the paper and printing works returned to operation – just in time to report on the handover of the barracks by the British Army to Free State forces.

Next week (Wednesday, November 11), the Westmeath Independent will carry a special supplement, supported by Westmeath County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme.

The supplement will be published free with next week's edition, distributed widely to history students at senior level in local second level schools in the region, and available online as a digital epaper.