On top of roof and window,

Those boys stood up to fight,

‘Til the burning of the cottage

And no escape in sight.

It was around 4 pm on a…

Come all you gallant Irishmen, come listen for a while

I’ll sing to you the praises of the sons of Erin’s Isle

’Tis of an awful, awful ambush I’d have you to beware

That happened in Rineen, in a spot in County Clare.…

It was late afternoon of a warm day in June in Carrowkennedy, County Mayo. Irish Volunteer Jimmy O’Flaherty (right) heard the…

In the early part of the Irish War of Independence there had not been any major ambushes of Crown forces in County Mayo, unlike several other counties, notably County Cork. However, in May 1921, the Irish Volunteers began to escalate their attacks there. First, on May…

On the morning of the 19^th, George Plunkett, the ranking officer that night, visiting from GHQ, no doubt aware of the withdrawal from Durrow and other engagements due to want of ammunition, recommended a return to the ambush site to secure supplies possibly left from the night…

What followed next was a scene that has occurred numerous times when Irish rebels were faced with the question of what to do with an informer. Irish history and literature are replete with references to this scourge of failed rebellions. Liam O' Flaherty's character Gypo Nolan betrayed his former…

Having taken John Murphy into custody, the Black and Tans headed back to Dungarvan, via Cloncoskoran, with a Ford motorcar preceding the tender transporting the soldiers and the prisoner.

Read Part 2, The…

by Neil Cosgrove (First publish 1/11/12)

(Left:'Black and Tans' on the streets of Dublin, 1920)

A recent post on TheWildGeese.com’s Facebook page discussed Irish revolutionary Michael Collins’ role in the event of Bloody Sunday, November 21, 1920. On that day, under Collin’s…