Kilmeena is a small village in County Mayo, Ireland, near Westport. The village has a Catholic church and a school.
The Kilmeena ambush was the scene of a defeat for the local Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence. On May 19, 1921, British troops surprised an IRA ambush party at Kilmeena. Six IRA men were killed and seven wounded. The remainder of the column fled over the mountains to Skerdagh. One Royal Irish Constabulary man and one Black and Tans member were also killed in the action. The British forces threw the dead and wounded IRA men into the street outside the Police barracks in nearby Westport, causing widespread revulsion among the local people.# The Irish Press published a report on this ambush with location maps in I think the 1970's
St. Brendan's G.A.A pitch is home to Kilmeena's Gaelic football team, with stand capacity of 200. The club is currently chaired by Michael Carney. The club has produced many successful players including David Feehan and Tomas 'Hot Socks' Gill and the great powerhouse Sean Barrett.
Mark Ryan is the current manager of Kilmeena GAA Senior team. He has currently adopted a progressive managerial role, focusing on fitness levels as a primary goal. He was appointed as the youngest manager of a Kilmeena football team. Tomas Gill is the team's star player and he is fondly called Ballotelli, after the volatile soccer player, by the locals due to his temperamental playing attitude.