ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21 ...

-21-After enemy had spent a good while in Moyloughand had searched the country in the Tuam direction, theywere returning to Mountbellew and travelling pretty close,when we opened fire on them. The leading driver wasput out of action and the lorry pulled up, as did theprivate car and the next lorry, and they succeeded ingetting cover in a drain on the opposite side of theroad. The fighting lasted for about one and a half hours.We had a lot of defective ammunition, and I got fivemagazines of ammunitioninwhich there were only a fewgood rounds. This was ammmnition that had been buried ina bog hole in 1920. I met a man, named Thomas Higgins,from Moylough who gave us some good ammunition that wasin the Mountbellew battalion; otherwise we would neverhave got away from this position as we could not try aflanking movement. If we could have flanked the enemyfrom an elevation on the Moylough side, I have no doubtthat we would have made a complete success of thisoperation. We had to wait on until dusk to get away,and then only in sections. We had to conserve ourammunition, and had only five rounds for each rifle leftafter the operation.I do not know what the enemy casualties were, butI do know that there were at least five killed or wounded,as I subsequently met a man named Christopher O'Connorwho was commandeered to drive the private car for theR.I.C. that evening, and he told me that, in addition toone wounded man in the car from Moylough, there were fourother casualties, as far as he could see, but that thepolice hid them away from him.During the months of May, June and July beforethe Truce in 1921, the enemy rarely moved out by day,