Sixmilebridge (IE)

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Sixmilebridge MX of 1845
Sixmilebridge old Post Office building
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Sixmilebridge (Irish: Droichead Abhann Uí gCearnaigh, meaning "Bridge of the River of O'Kearney"), colloquially The Bridge, is a small town in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the town is a short distance away from the main N18 road, being located on the old "back road" between the two.

The village of Kilmurry (Irish: Cill Mhuire) is also part of the Sixmilebridge parish.

On 22 July 1852, a magistrate and eight soldiers of the 31st Regiment escorted 18 tenants of the Marquess of Conyngham to Sixmilebridge to vote for Colonel Vandeleur in the Clare county constituency at the general election. Vandeleur was a Conservative opposed to tenants' rights. A crowd of protesters, including two Catholic priests, was gathered near the ballot office, and an affray began between them and the voters' party. Soldiers opened fire, without the Riot Act having been read. Six people were killed at the scene and eight wounded, one of whom later died. At the coroner's inquest, the jury returned a verdict of murder; this was overturned by the Attorney-General for Ireland. An article in the Anglo-Celt accused the regiment of "willful and deliberate murder", and the editor was jailed for libel. The affair was discussed at Westminster, where Conservative members demanded the priests be prosecuted for incitement. The events generated lingering bitterness and tension.

Ireland Era 1922 -

GB Era - 1922

GB 1d Red cover Plate 36 QI sent from Sixmilebridge to Dublin 1844 cancelled by a Sixmilebridge Maltese Cross
Reverse of GB 1d Red cover Plate 36 QI sent from Sixmilebridge to Dublin 1844 showing Sixmilebridge despatch and Dublin receiver.