MAN WITH GRIEVANCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 236, 18 July 1936, Page 5

MAN WITH GRIEVANCE.

COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE. CHAMPION OF LOST CAUSES. LONDON, July 17. McMahon, who is under arrest for presenting' a revolver at the King, is an Irishman, whose real name is Jerome Bannigan. He was born in Cookston, County Tyrone. His parents are now living in the Govan district of Glasgow. Both are nearly 80 years old. His father said: “We have not seen Jerome for ten years.’’ A brother is a Catholic priest in Dublin. The “News-Chronicle” understands that McMahon had a grievance against the police, and had written mary letters of complaint to Scotland Yard. He had been living with his wife in a oneroomed flat in a basement in Westbourne terrace for tlie last three years.

Neighbours describe McMahon as a man with a pleasant manner, devoted .to his wife. The “Daily Mail” says McMahon edited various pamphlets and periodicals. A resident said: “Many of us knew McMahon when he went about in a frock coat and gave the impression that he was a literary man of some importance. He kept a herbalist’s shop in Notting Hill for a time. I understand that he was a student at the Dublin University, and gat a B.A. degree there. He is a champion of lost causes.” THE ERANNIGAN FAMILY. ARDENT IRISH REPUBLICANS. FEUDING, This Day. Bannigan, alias McMahon, the King’s assailant, is well known to a Feilding resident. Interviewed this morning, the resident said he had 20 years’ personal knowledge of the Bannigan family, who were well known residents of Cookstown, County Tyrone. The family had been carrying on business in the spirit trade for years and owned an hotel in Cookstown. They always took a great interest in politics and were active followers of the late John Redmond in the activities of the Sinn Fein. Their house was always a meeting-place of the Sinn I ein, the family being ardent Republicans. Jerome Bannigan (cousin of the Bannigans) was a keen worker for the cause he espoused. A member of the Bannigan family had resided for years at Ardboe, on the shores of Lough Neagh, which was the seat of all Sinn Fein agitators, be' ing chosen because of its easy access and scope for watching for the approach of the police. “The Bannigans stand with those who are for complete severance of Ireland from Britain, and, sad to note, this has happened when De V alera is working hard for more agreement with Britain. Many Irishmen will dissociate themselves from the happening in London yesterday,” said the speaker.