Teeling and The Battle of Collooney

Written by

A recent trip took me to Collooney, a village in Co. Sligo on Ireland's west coast. Now, Collooney is a place that many people bypass while travelling along the N17 from Galway to Sligo and Donegal.

Teeling Monument Collooney, Sligo

While there a friend told me about this long forgotten statue, built in 1898 and now in a state of disrepair it is located a few minutes walk from Collooney and is visible from the dual carriageway to Sligo. I wonder how many people have passed this monument and not noticed it.

Bartholemew Teeling, from Co. Antrim, was involved in the Irish Rebellion in 1798 and, having travelled to France to encourage support for a French invasion of Ireland, he served as Chief aide de camp to General Humbert when the French forces landed at Killala.

At Collooney the Franco-Hibernian forces met a unit of English troops who had a cannon located on a hill just outside of the village.

Teeling advanced alone on the gunner's position, having broken ranks, and single-handedly captured the cannon allowing the French and Irish troops to advance and ultimately win the battle. 60 English troops were killed and 100 were taken as prisoners during the battle.

Teeling went on to fight at The Battle of Ballinamuck, where along with many Irish and French soldiers he was captured. He was hanged at Arbour Hill in Dublin.

Darren McLoughlin

Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.

Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic

Cancer survivor.

Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.

https://darrenmcloughlin.com

Leave a comment

Contact Us
1000 characters left
Cookies make it easier for us to provide you with our services. With the usage of our services you permit us to use cookies.
Ok