Violent acts were committed all across the country and in some instances, old scores were being settled in the midst of the war.

The violence and intimidation of people knew no bounds during September 1920 as was evident in counties Down and Armagh. In the village of Kilkeel, county Down six armed and masked men kidnapped a Protestant farmer, John McKee, from his house at night. Taken by force, McKee was bound in ropes and taken to a field where he was tarred. The men ordered McKee not to attempt to leave for an hour and threatened to burn him if he attempted to flee, pouring oil over him in preparation. In county Armagh a railway engine driver, John Stutt, employed by the Great Northern Railway Company, was attacked by a number of armed and masked men, informing him that if he did not do as they said he would be riddled with bullets. Taken by a number of men into a nearby field Stutt was stripped and his body tarred from waist to neck. Asked did he know why they were tarring him, Stutt replied ‘I suppose it was from driving objectionable trains’. He was told that the next time he drove soldiers on his train he would be shot. Ordered to remain there for twenty minutes or he would be shot, Stutt reported the matter to the police as soon as his assailants had left.  

Source: Belfast Newsletter 1738-1938, 29.09.1920, page 7

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