Incident
Abducted and shot dead by terrorists after being ordered off a pony and trap at Callan’s Cross, Kilbrittain, County Cork, while travelling from Kinsale with his aunt to visit his mother. His body, with a bullet wound in his head and another in his neck, was found by the roadway at Carrigcannon the following day.
Constable O’Leary had recently been disbanded from the RIC and had returned home to Kilbrittain.
His brother, Jeremiah, also a Constable in the RIC, had been killed in an ambush eighteen months earlier, in November 1920, and their uncle, Daniel Roche, an RIC Sergeant, had been shot and killed by terrorists in October 1920.
In Our Keeping
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BO-GB-RIC-0293FBAE- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Constable O’Leary served with the Royal Irish Constabulary.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable O’Leary.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable Timothy O’Leary is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,756 officers honored here.
In L, 592 of 749 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 79% of this state's fallen. That is 79 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Royal Irish Constabulary, 519 of 642 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 80.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Timothy O’Leary's cause is highlighted.
How Timothy O’Leary Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Timothy O’Leary is highlighted in May.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Others Who Wore This Badge
641 officers from Royal Irish Constabulary are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.

