HC Deb 28 January 1902 vol 101 c1111
MR. ROCHE (Galway, E.)

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he is aware that the sergeant who is in charge of the police hut at Woodlawn, Co. Galway, assaulted a young man named Reilly, and that on the 20th instant this sergeant placed a body of police across the high road at Kilconnell and prevented the band from passing, and also ordered the police to draw their batons against anyone who attempted to pass; and, whether he will state by whose authority the sergeant acted in such a manner.

MR. WYNDHAM

The sergeant did not assault Reilly, otherwise the facts are correctly stated. On each occasion a disorderly crowd, headed by Reilly, who was beating a drum, marched with the evident intention of intimidating a local landlord. The sergeant, who acted with tact and firmness on his own initiative, prevented the crowd from committing itself further in an illegal course.