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

17.for which he had only seven rounds of ammunition and, havingfired those seven, his gun became useless to us. Relief camein the person of Bill Fraher. He had been on his way toO'Doherty's house and, fortunately, had his rifle with himwhen he heard the shooting. He doubled to it, sized up thesituation and opened a rapid fire which scattered the Tansand we had no further trouble from them.We had, however, to keep going and we went in the Ooladirection. There were several bullet holes in Lacey'sclothing and a bullet had passed through my overcoat. On thejourney I started to cough up blood and some of the othershelped me along. It looked then as if my health had completelyfailed. That night, a reprisal party of British forces burnedO'Doherty's house and also burned hay at Jim Kilmartin's place.Jim Kilmartin was also a member of the column.Next day in Donaskeigh, Dan Breen gave me an address ofpeople in Co. Donegal to which I was to go to recuperate.Packy Deere, 0/C. Donaskeigh Company, and a cousin of SeanTreacy, who was also in bad health with rheumatic painswas to come with me. Tom Carew, the brigade Q.M., gave us £5 tocover our expenses. The column had reassembled and moved offand Deere and I went back to Solohead. There, I decided not togo to Donegal. I thought that if I was going to dieI would die at home in my native place, and Deere decidedthat he would not go either.In January 1921, I was sent to Dublin by Dinny Lacey tocollect and bring back some explosives and a plunger forexploding electrically fired mines which, I understood, wereto come from Scotland. My instructions were to call toCharlie McLaughlin's office at 8 Upper O'Connell St., where Iwould either be given the material or be put in touch with theman who was to hand it over. Lacey gave me 8/- going to covermy expenses and I travelled by rail on a privilege ticket