The murder of James Dunne in Ferns, county Wexford in early July 1920 highlighted the rapacity with which the British military were prepared the engage with as the Irish War of Independence continued.

Stopping at a public house in Ferns for a drink, two policemen asked Dunne to join them. When he refused the request, the soldiers became infuriated and began to shoot up the public house and shop. When Dunne left he was pursued by the two policemen, one of whom overtook him and fired four revolver shots into him. A native of Cortown, Dunne, it was claimed had no political associations and this his murder shocked that locality and there was considerable resentment towards the police and the military. The inquest found that Dunne had been hit by four bullets and that he had died in a few minutes. Another man, Patrick Kelly who was with Dunne in the public house ran for safety and was also fired on. It was a deliberate attack on the civilian population and occurred in the same week as the people of Cashel, Tipperary were attacked by the military as they were in the process of decorating the town. Preparing for the visit of the Bishop of San Francisco and the Bishop of Los Angeles the military tore down the decorations and forbid them to erect others.  

Source: The Irish Bulletin 1918-1921, Wednesday, July 07, 1920, page 1

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