William K Storey, Professor of history and great grandson and namesake of Head Constable William K Storey RIC, grew up in America with a strong sense of ‘a skeleton in the cupboard.’ Professor Storey – ‘Bill’ as he has become known to his new friends in Castleisland – knew his great grandfather had died in Ireland but beyond this, family history was a closed subject.
In his student years, Bill inherited a box of mementoes left by his great grandmother in which he found a burial certificate for his great grandfather. The document recorded the date of death and burial in Cork and the cause as ‘natural.’
This stirred Bill’s curiosity, and many years later, with an established career in teaching history under his belt, he decided to look a little closer into the ‘natural’ death of his great grandfather. He uncovered a newspaper article which recorded how his great grandfather and another constable, Sergeant James Butler, were shot as they left mass in Castleisland Church on Sunday 8 May 1921. Head Constable Storey died instantly from a shot to the back of the head, and Sergeant Butler, shot in the back, died from his wounds on 19 July 1921. Both men were aged 46 – Head Constable Storey with a young family of nine children.
Thus began Professor Storey’s journey of discovery into Irish history in an effort to understand the context in which his ancestor met such a violent and unnatural end. His considerable research was presented in the River Island Hotel, Castleisland on Tuesday 11 March 2025 in an absorbing matter-of-fact style.
The Talk was followed by a questions and answers session in which theories were put forward about why Constable Storey was targeted.
Castleisland District Heritage, celebrating its ten year anniversary, added an exhibition of work to the occasion, including the display of the three Posthumous Pardons of John Twiss, Sylvester Poff and James Barrett. Jimmy Deenihan, former Minister for Heritage, launched the updated website of Castleisland District Heritage and praised the achievements of the voluntary committee.
The well attended event was introduced by John Roche, Chairman of Castleisland District Heritage who gave special thanks to the River Island Hotel for providing the venue for the occasion, to Mr and Mrs Donie and Noreen Ring, and to Margaret O’Connor, Crageen Employment, for their invaluable and ongoing support of Castleisland District Heritage. A presentation was also made to Professor Storey by Castleisland District Heritage, the gift handed to the scholar by Transition Year student and history enthusiast Shane O’Connell who is currently on work placement with the project.
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