ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1013-21 ...

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15.flew out of the driver's hands and his second shot got thedriver on the arms and hands. The tender hit the ditch andstopped. Almost simultaneously the main party opened fire andthere was a sharp encounter at close range with some of thepolice who had taken cover underneath the tender. Thatcontinued for perhaps five or six minutes until the policeshouted that they were agreeable to surrender. On going outon to the road we found that three of the policemen were deadand the four who surrendered were all wounded. One policemanhad jumped from the tender and escaped when the firing startedand I understand he reached Bansha safely.We collected the rifles, revolvers and ammunition belongingtothe dead and wounded policemen. In addition, there weresome spare rifles and a box of .303 ammunition in the tenderall of which made a welcome addition to our meagre supply.Finally, we used some spare tins of petrol which were on thetender to spray it and set it on fire, having first removed itthebodies ofdead policemen from its vicinity.The British reaction to the ambush at Lisnagaul took theform of reprisals. Three shops in Tipperary town -P.J. Moloney'sHayes in Main St. and the Irish House - were wrecked and lootedand military and police who visited the scene of the ambushburned down a nearby Co. Council cottage.After Lisnagaul, ambush positions were occupied for twodays on the Tipperary-Emly road and on the Tipperary-Dundrumroad, but without any fight, as no enemy forces arrived. Oneof the big difficulties about remaining for lengthy periods inan ambush position, especially on main roads, was the numbers ofpassers-by, such as people going to the creameries, or countrygoing peopleto the towns, who, with their vehicles, had to betaken in off the road and detained. The longer we remained inthe position the greater was the number to be detained, and Iremember on one occasion a band of tinkers came along and had tobe detained with the others for the length of a day.
16.The column disbanded for a few days around Christmas, 1920.I did not go home, but spent the break resting at Cronin'sof Monamore, near Solohead. I had never completely recoveredfrom the pneumonia which I had earlier in the year and I rememberI felt very sick again about the time the column disbanded.On Friday, December 28th, I went to O'Doherty's of Seskinwhere the column was due toreassemble. Dinny Lacey, SeamusRobinson, Jim O'Doherty and Jack O'Meara were in O'Doherty'swhen I arrived and the remainder of the column were scatteredin other houses around Seskin. The five of us had dinner andRobinson retired to the parlour to do some writing. Next, weheard the screeching of brakes and a lorry of Black and Tanspulled up at the gate and approached the house. After a briefperiod, whilst Robinson collected his papers, we rushed out ofthe house and a running fight developed. Our route brought usparallel to the road and also parallel to a river which wasswollen.A second lorry of Black and Tans arrived and drove alongthe road, apparently with the object of heading us off. Wewere in a tight corner between the road and the river, and wewould have to leave any cover we had if we went towards theriver and tried to cross it. Jack O'Meara did go for the riverand succeeded incrossing it, and his run drew the Tans who hadarrived in the first lorry after him. Jim O'Doherty and I knewthe district well and we took Robinson and Lacey along a linewherewe would have cover. We had reached a point two fields frfrom the road when the Tans from the second lorry dismounted andentered the field beside the road. We engaged them from thedividing ditch. Things were far from rosy. Robinson had on apair of light shoes and slipped several times in the mud. Hewas armed with a parabellum pistol and he was handicapped withthe bundle of official papers which he carried under one arm.Jim O'Doherty's weapon was a Winchester .44 repeating rifle
Page 1 and 2: ROINNCOSANTA.BUREAU OF MILITARY HIS
Page 3 and 4: 2.His visit coincided withthedeath
Page 5: 4.officer in charge of the Hall and
Page 8 and 9: 7.I reported that night at Mrs. Bre
Page 10 and 11: 9.Seamus Robinson, but, as far as I
Page 12 and 13: 11.to surrenderby setting fire to t
Page 14 and 15: 13.Next came the shock of Sean Trea
Page 18 and 19: 17.for which he had only seven roun
Page 20 and 21: 19.When daylight came next mornings
Page 22 and 23: 21.Next night, a party of police in
Page 24: 23.ambush are fairly accurately des

ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1013-21 ...

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