"Leehane" is as spelt on Death Cert.
Sunday Independent, Sunday 17 October 1920, page 5. Shot in Cold Blood. Uniformed Men Cause Sensation in Co. Cork. Our Macroom correspondent wired yesterday: A man of the labouring class named James Lehane was taken from a shop in the village of Ballymakeera last night about 9.00 o’clock by a party of uniformed men and shot dead against a fence some distance from his house. The deceased was a most inoffensive man who never took part in politics of any kind. No reason is given for the shooting which has excited considerable indignation in the district.
Twohig's version places Leehane's killing in the context of a major raid on the village of Ballymakeera by the Auxiliaries where practically every house and business in the village is raided. Twohig gives details of who were in various houses and pubs and of the attempts by various IRA men in the village to evade capture (Twohig 1994, pgs 136-141). On the evening of the raid, Twohig says that Leehane "happened to be in a house in the village - his own home was in the East End - when an Auxie walked in. When questioned he gave his name as James Leehane. … He was ordered out of the house and directed down the by-road where, about fifty yards from the village cross, the Auxie emptied his revolver into him. Other Auxies ran to the spot but immediately the usual whistle blew for 'All Aboard' and they made for the lorries at the double. The death of Lehane is put by Hart at 17th October and Twohig says it was the 20th October. O'Suilleabhain says 1 Nov and Ryan say 1 Nov and also names the killer as Gutherie who later died at Kilmichael.
T/Cadet Munro noted "We inflicted our first casualty. It was during a raid on some cottages up towards the Kerry border that we apparently surprised a meeting of some sort. It was just some young fellows who took fright on seeing us and ran for it. But they were some little way off before we spotted them and they were called on to halt. They kept going and a few shots were fired after them. They were really out of effective revolver range, but by chance one was hit and fell. On reaching him we found him to be badly wounded, so taking him in to one of the cottages, we did what we could for him and sent one car to get a doctor and a priest. Who arrived in time to do what they had to do before the man died. This incident depressed us, specially as it was an unnecessary and stupid death, and had so to speak, opened the war, which we had not wanted. The man who had fired the fatal shot received several warnings that he was marked and would soon get what was coming to him. So far as I know he is still alive".
WO 35/153A - I cannot find the Inquest report