appeared on the list of ‘missing persons’ published in the Irish Times of 22 August 1921.
His mother testified at a compensation clain that he had been abducted. There were warning notices placed in the Cork Examiner that unless he was released, then there would be retaliations. I can find no evidence of George Horgan being in the British Army, nor can I see that his father ever served in RIC
1899 Born Killarney
1901 census at 4 High Street, West Side, Killarney, Kerry
1911 census at 95 Ballintemple, Blackrock, Cork
1920 Dec 12. Kidnapped on 9 th Dec 1920 and shot by the IRA on a farm at Lakelands in Blackrock. The day after his kidnap the Cork Examiner published notices with the following threat: ‘If G. Horgan is not returned by 4 o’clock on to-day (Friday), 10th December, rebels of Cork, beware, as one man and one shop shall disappear for each hour after the given time. (Signed) “B’s and T’s.”
The assumption must be that Horgan was supplying important information to the British
IRA Witness StatementIn or about this time, a man named Horgan, joined the local Company. Some members of the Company knew Horan's uncle and considered him alright and suitable. I was rather suspicious of him and remarked to a comrade named Murt Curtin, that I considered Horgan a shifty customer. Curtin did not agree with me as he thought I was being over cautious. There was very little activity at this time but one evening I mentioned to Horgan confidentially that there would be great excitement shortly in our area as a very big ambush was to be carried out on a military lorry patrol on a date a week later and that the ambush position was to be along the high ground at Daly's quarry at Rathduff.Horgan cleared off on some pretext a few days before the date I had mentioned for the ambush and on the date the ambush was supposed to take place one of the largest military parties we had seen up to this made a cordon over a very wide area and carried out extensive searches within the general locality at Rathduff. We never saw Horgan again as he cleared off to England: it seemed fairly evident that he had given information to the British of the supposed ambush.
1922 Jan. Anna Horgan of Ballintemple took up a Compensation Case, and she said in her evidence that she had three sons—Denis, James, and George. They had all joined the army during the war. Anna Horgan stated that at 5 in the morning of the 9th December 1920, a group of armed men knocked on their door and wanted to talk to George Horgan. He came down the stairs to see them, confirmed that he was George Horgan. They told him to dress and he did so. Anna Horgan became very distressed. George comforted her and warned his brother James to keep away from the armed men. The men took him away. Before going, he appealed to his mother not to worry, that he would be all right. She has not heard nor seen him since. As an ex-soldier when he entered civilian employment, he was on friendly terms with the military and police, and used frequently to talk to them, many of them being friends he met during his service.’ She said George was 21 years old. as 21. The Recorder of Cork awarded £900 to Anna Horgan. Compensation Commission Register shows that British liability was accepted, and compensation of £900 was awarded. (CO 905/15, TNA).