Members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), led by Seán Mac Eoin,[3] drove a mixed group of Crown forces consisting of Black and Tans and Auxiliary Division personnel from the village of Ballinalee in County Longford.

[4] Crown forces hoped to burn the town as a reprisal for the deaths of several RIC personnel in the preceding days.

At the time of his killing, Cooney was allegedly carrying coded dispatches with the names of Longford IRA men.

[6] The Crown forces (numbering 100 men in 11 trucks) were defeated by about 25 IRA members, of which 4 were involved in the main battle.

[1] Rose Cottage, the building from which Mac Eoin coordinated the defence of the village, was developed into an exhibition centre and opened to the public in November 2023.