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

36.about 1 a.m. When the column 0/C. (Tom Barry) had ascertainedthat the gate leading to the barrack was not baked,. the minewas raised on to the shoulders of Peter Kearney, Tom Kelleher,Christy O'Connell and Jack Corkery. The two fuses were lightedby Denis Lordan and we started off at a trot to the barrackdoor. The mine was kept in position on the shoulders of thebearers by myself and the Vice 0/C. Clonakilty Battalion(Tim O'Donoghue). The gate leading to the barrack door wasopenedhy the column 0/C. (Tom Barry) and we carried the mineto the door against which we laid it. We then dashed back tothe corner and threw ourselves on the ground. I should havementioned that, while moving into thesebected positions andapproaching the enemy post, the members of all sections weremoving in their stockinged feet and were armed with revolverscarried in their free hands with their rifles slung acrosstheirbacks.We had hardly reached cover when the mine exploded with adeafening roar. Our party and the following section with thetorches dashed immediately for the barracks. By the light ofa torch we saw that the mine had not damaged the barrack tothe expected extent. It had, however, blown a hole in the doorand not the steel shutters on two windows flying. Before wehad completed the examination of the damaged door the garrisonwere firing through the door and windows. Our storming partyreplied to this fire as did the sections north and east ofthe building. We then threw Mills bombsand some canisterbombs through the hole in the door, but the enemy replied withMills bombs. After nearly two hours fighting we succeeded indriving the garrison from the ground floor. It was thendecided to try to set the barracks on fire and I was instructedby the column 0/C. to procure a supply of paraffin from a shopcolumnclose by. I arranged a human chainofmen with buckets and