of Independence, on 31 October 1920 a police officer, District-Inspector Philip Kelleher was shot dead by two masked men in the bar of the Greville Arms Hotel, Granard. As a reprisal, a motor convoy of Crown forces entered the village four days later and systematically destroyed some of the main business premises of the town. Transport Granard is within the catchment area for Edgeworthstown railway station. The station is about a fifteen-minute drive; there is no bus link. Bus Éireann Expressway route 65 provides one service a day to Monaghan (with onward connections to Belfast) and one service a day to Athlone (with onward connections to Galway). On Fridays there is a second service each way. Bus Éireann local route 111A between Cavan and Athboy (with onward connections to Trim and Dublin) serves Granard and operates four times a day each way, thrice each way on Saturdays and once each way on Sundays. Donnelly's Pioneer Bus Service, a local bus company based in Granard, operate a Local Link route from Granard to Longford via Ballinalee. There are several journeys each way, with no Sunday service. Notable people Thomas Henry "Tommy" Bond (1856–1941), a pitcher and right fielder in Major League Baseball, was a native of Granard and the first Irish-born person to play Major League Baseball. Larry Cunningham (1938–2012), from nearby Clooneen, was an Irish country music singer and the first Irish showband artist to break into the British charts with "Tribute to Jim Reeves" in 1964. Kitty Kiernan (1892–1945), who was born in Granard, was engaged to Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. Ann Lovett (1968–1984), a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl who died giving birth beside a grotto in 1984. Eddie Macken (b.1949), international show jumper, was born and lived in Granard. James O'Brien (1806–1882), High Court judge, was born in Granard. Brendan O'Reilly (1929–2001), Irish broadcaster and athlete. James Bronterre O'Brien, leader of the Chartist Movement. See also List of towns and villages in Ireland Market Houses in Ireland References Towns and villages in County Longford