The West Mayo Flying Column in The War of Independence

[Music] from their vantage point on the peak the seven ira men were able to identify the islands of clue bay which gave the impression of being clustered together when seen from such a great height below them glistening in the reflected light was the whole history of the district some of them could supply memorized fragments which in a folklore territory went back to medieval times [Music] on monday the 23rd of may 1921 a few days after the calmina ambush a section of the west mayo flying column found themselves surrounded by british forces on this mountain deep in the nathan begg range the west mayo flying column where an elite active service unit of the ira supported by local volunteers and coming on this was their homeland and they were at war with the british empire to attain its independence the next few months would determine the future of the fledgling irish republic [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the history of the 1798 rebellion and the memories it embedded in the people's perception of their relationship to authority and british rule added to the republican desire for an independent ireland the assertion of irishness that began in the late 19th century had its roots in movements like the young islanders fenianism and those who fled the famine to america and who held on to songs and stories of their homeland these were re-transmitted to ireland in the late 19th century in 1893 conor negelga the irish language movement contributed a sense of identity to those who wished to invoke their separate irishness indeed owen mcneil a founder member was also to be the leader of the irish volunteers many of the 1916 revolutionaries were a member of conor negelga and the gaa and other such organizations the abbey theatre was founded in 1904 to promote irish drama yates singh o'casey and others availed of this opportunity and so the rapid social and cultural changes of the late 19th century inspired the people to an awareness of their separate irish identity on the political front the irish parliamentary party had split as a result of the parnell scandal some supported the home rule party leader while others took a more conservative view 1905 saw the formation of another small party shin fein they would be denied electoral success till the 1918 election but from there on would play a major role many held them responsible for the 1916 rising though as an organization they had not taken part however by 1917 they had a hundred and twelve thousand [Music] members john redmond appealed to the irish volunteers to support the war effort in return for home rule the volunteer split into the redmondite national volunteers and the irish volunteers who followed owen mcneil and who refused to support the war effort i have a distinct recollection of this period 1915 i think of a very large recruiting meeting in westport the speakers that's which delivered their operations from the banking of the town hall although they had michael o'leary vc from carp to ginger things up and a number of tables ready to take names for recruits after the meeting was over they did not get one recruit in westwood as a result of this meeting there was one organization that remained quietly in the background the irb the irish republican brotherhood also known as the fenian brotherhood and in america as clan male they were a secret outbound society dedicated to the establishing of an independent democratic irish republic michael moore of calabrac became a member of the volunteers in 1913 and they held their meetings in the father mana sweeney memorial hall in newport it was here that the hall was situated close to the grotto and michael moore noticed that after meetings some men would remain on these were irb men planning to hold their own secret meeting and later in conversation michael kilroy asked morn if he would like to join the irb if they existed the newport volunteers under michael kilroy used his home and workshop at carabon as their headquarters during easter week of 1916 there were four volunteers constantly on duty there their military equipment was sparse enough a service rifle a few revolvers and some shotguns there was also explosives and a few pikes and most importantly there was metal cutting equipment [Music] this is the site of the farmer railway station at newport michael kilroy proposed to armor plays a car using metal from one of the bridges here it was then his strategy to lead a motorized column to atlan and to destroy the bridge across the shannon in july 1914 900 mauser rifles were landed in hope by erskine childers from his yacht the asgard some of those rifles found their way to mail [Music] the volunteers had other plans to procure additional weapons we made a survey of the district for arms and we decided that as there were several british soldiers at home on leave from the war carrying rifles we would relieve them of these before they returned we raided all their homes with fairly good success [Music] as a result of their marching and drilling the volunteers came to the attention of the ric who followed known volunteer members wherever they went yet many ric men were sympathetic to the volunteers and voluntarily gave information when raids were about to happen indeed many of those ric men had resigned from the force before the conflict began in earnest [Music] there were six ric men and an inspector in the newport barracks it would be one of the targets for the newport battalion during the planned easter rebellion [Music] on good friday of easter week michael kilroy took michael morn to a house south of westport where an irb meeting was taking place joseph mcbride brother of major john the revolutionary was chairman and those present were required to take a note of allegiance to the republic at that meeting they were informed that there were to be three days of maneuvers and that action was about to start i had met mcbride on easter saturday evening and remarked to him that i hoped we should have a good parade tomorrow sunday and he replied that he thought there should be nothing doing [Music] it was only afterwards i realized the significance of his reply the sunday papers contained mcneil's counter-mending order [Music] volunteers completely deceived all the orders for tomorrow sunday are completely cancelled thus wrote on mcneil to countermand the planned rising the irish volunteers have been planning to haul peaceful maneuvers but on easter saturday mcneal discovered that a group within the organization led by podrick pierce had secret plans to launch an armed rebellion furthermore on learning of the arrest of roger casement and the loss of the promised german arms mcneil was against any rising believing it to be doomed to failure [Music] this came as a tremendous shock to the newport volunteers kilroy had no choice but to dismiss the men but he did ask them to be prepared to get to their appointed places on receipt of the order to do so the order never came the rising began in dublin on easter monday 24th of april 1916 and lasted for six days on that easter monday morning it was 21 year old michael stains from kiltarnet newport county mail who raised the tri-color over the gpo as he looked down into sackville street he could see and hear podrick pierce read the declaration of independence proclaiming the irish republic risings were planned for many parts of the country in galway for instance lee mellows was to lead the rebellion but it was never clear what they were supposed to do and so their efforts came to not and they dispersed and went on the run at the end of easter week fifteen of the revolutionaries including all seven signatories of the proclamation were executed at kilmainham jail by firing squad between the third and the twelfth of may while lesser participants were interned in various parts of britain as w b yates the poet put it in words forever to be remembered a terrible beauty is born with the rising crushed and the leaders executed britain could now concentrate on the war effort in europe there were already some 200 000 irishmen fighting for the english cause some were there to earn money to feed their families while others were there for the adventure and the glory and still others supported john redmond [Music] by 1918 the british were desperate for reinforcements the government introduced and passed a conscription bill for ireland in april of 1918 this brought immediate and universal agreement amongst all those opposed to conscription in mayo 700 volunteers and 150 common iman made a pilgrimage to the reek in protest the catholic church also opposed the law it was never enforced but it did increase the numbers joining the volunteers this is glenda horck in the foothills of the nathan's mountains right behind me and it was here that plans were made to conceal young volunteers should the british military attempt to search for them in order to enforce conscription despite all the protests and actions it mattered little the great war was to end just six months later [Music] as a result of the failed easter rising there were over 3 000 men and 100 women interned in frangoc and other english prisons and while there they got to know each other and where they came from and they also trained in revolutionary methods and organization the time was fast approaching when this revolutionary elite schooled in these prison camps would take up arms in the next phase of the struggle for independence by december 1916 most of the prisoners were released from internment many of them were members of sinn fein they immediately began to politicize the struggle for independence it soon became clear that shin fein were positioning themselves to establish an independent irish republic in early 1918 richard mulcahy was appointed chief of staff of the ira and aimen de valera president of the volunteers for their part the british established a royal commission that pointed up the failings of the irish administration but did nothing to change it in fact ireland was discussed only once at the weekly cabinet meetings between june 1917 and march 1918 and all the while young ira men with the support of kamen aman were preparing for a new confrontation with the british establishment and its military in ireland lloyd george now sought to benefit from the armistice in europe by calling a general election in december 1918 but he did not take into account the situation in ireland sinn fein swept the boards with 69 out of 105 seats they immediately refused to attend westminster instead forming their own parliament the first doll in the mansion house in dublin this was the beginning of the sinn fein abstentionist policy the volunteers swore a note of allegiance to the doll thus becoming oglign the irish republican army in the service of the new doll [Music] the oath was administered in mayo by different people such as richard mulcahy who came from dublin on one occasion and in a small hall three miles from westport he administered the oath of allegiance to the west mayo brigade a line was drawn on the floor and volunteers were asked to cross the line and by doing so indicating that there was no going back one volunteer recalled the oak being sworn not on a bible but on prayer books i tam kitrick who solemnly swear that i will not yield voluntary support to any pretended government authority or power within ireland and i do further swear that i will support and defend the irish republic and the learning against all enemies i will bear true faith and allegiance to the salem and that i will take this obligation freely without many reservations so help me god [Music] the scene was now set for a war that would begin slowly but would gather momentum as a result of ira activities in 1920 lloyd george the british prime minister assented to martial law of the most stringent kind and also to counter terrorism measures in effect the british state let loose a reign of terror on the people of ireland major general hugh tudor would unleash the blackened hands and the auxiliaries the british government had cried havoc and let slip the dogs of war [Music] this policy was forcefully implemented when lieutenant colonel smith spoke to the garrison in le stahl in june 1920 if a police barracks is burnt then the best house in the locality is to be commandeered the occupants thrown into the gutter let them lie there the more the merriam police are to lion ambush and when civilians are seen approaching shout hands up should that order not be obeyed at once shoot and shoot to kill if a person approaching is in any way suspicious looking shoot them down you may make mistakes occasionally that can't be helped you're bound to get the right person sometime mayo would suffer greatly from that state-sponsored terrorism but equally would produce leaders and activists who would carry the war back to the ric and the auxiliaries and the blackened hands and michael kilroy would be in the front rank of those leaders michael kilroy was born in derry lahan townland near newport he moved to his grandparents house in clunitial and from there he attended culmore national school where he was taught by martin casey casey had a major influence on the young kilroy imbuing him with a sense of irishness and a love of its history michael became a carpenter and coach builder and set up his own business in newport in january 1921 he took command of the west mayo brigade of the ira he was a strict commander and a quick learner as shown in the aftermath of the kilmena ambush after the civil war he entered politics eventually becoming a td he died in 1962 in mayo another issue had become significant the land war was not over a new land agitation was being experienced in the county from the early 1900s on there was a view that the land acts favored the richer tenants and led to large commercial holdings the poorer tenants it was felt did not benefit from the reorganization of holdings there were many cattle drives in mail during 1917 when usually at night groups of men irish volunteers for the most part would drive cattle from their fields often leaving them to wander the roads and borings or indeed to drive them farther afield and sell them on by the summer of 1920 the shadow shin fein government had established the irish republican courts they operated alongside the english court system they were very successful especially here in mail in the area of land and cattle drives they strove to apply justice in the light of the 1916 proclamation and the underdog wasn't always successful the emergence of people like conor mcguire who was first elected to mayo county council in 1899 these lawyers counselors and judges would slowly assume the powers of the english court system by july 1920 the conventional court system had collapsed with no cases coming before them conor mcguire was later to state it is not easy to understand how we were allowed to get away with it these republican courts did far more damage to the prestige of the english government than any assassination ever did [Music] there were arrests and court appearances and refusals to recognize the british administered courts the tensions were growing the assassination or murder whichever your point of view of rm milling in late march 1919 was never attributed to anyone though there were many suspects claim that it was michael collins himself who ordered the execution it did however have an effect for some volunteers there were lighter sentences and for others the court cases had to be transferred to galway for trial as the shin found grip on the county tightened so too did the actions of the volunteers become more open and evident for instance on fair days and holidays the volunteers would provide patrols of two to ensure that brawls office fights were stopped before the ric could intervene the volunteers carried police whistles so that they could call for help if needed bit by bit public opinion was turning in favor of the volunteers and their intentions in early 1920 the mayo brigade was divided into 17 battalions based on the major towns led by a commandant and each having four to eight companies of 103 men the company was to be the main tactical unit of the ira the west mayo brigade consisted of four battalions and our story is concerned with the second battalion and the active service unit also known as the west mayo flying column the flying column was drawn from all four battalion areas these 65 men were the best armed most capable and most active and they were empowered to engage the enemy throughout the entire brigade area in 1920 father mcmahon came down to mayo to offer additional training to the brigade new tactics were adopted the coming war would not be fought face to face but on the terms of the ira by night and by ambush for the most part after every engagement the volunteers would melt away into the countryside to safe houses to rest and recuperate for the next action mcmahon's efforts were aided by some ex-british army men returned from the great war their knowledge and experience invaluable to the volunteers another group who would play a vital role in the coming conflict were coming them on they were farmed in 1914 sadly the new free state would airbrush many of them from the record and it was not until the 21st century that they obtained the recognition they richly deserved [Music] the case of dr kathleen lynn is a good example she was born near kalala in county mayo she was a suffragette a labor activist a member of the irish citizen army and during the 1916 rising she was the chief medical officer after the rising she was imprisoned [Music] in later years her career went on to great success when with dr noel brown she would be instrumental in setting up saint olton's hospital for infants in dublin there were many unsung heroic women in mayo there were branches in glenn hest braca kilmina shremor and tyrnar as well as westport and castlebar this was repeated all over mail [Music] come aman promoted symbols as part of the national struggle flags and banners were popular during the 1798 rebellion and the fenian rising of 1867 in 1848 the tri-color was brought from france to ireland by the young irelanders the 1916 rebellion and the raising of the tri-color made that flag an important symbol once again the tyrnar banner is a great example commissioned by the local volunteers and come and iman the banner made its first appearance in 1917. one side depicts padre pierce while saint patrick is featured on the other these flags and banners were usually paraded on feast days such as st patrick's day and again at easter they had a huge effect on people instilling a sense of their heritage and identity for this reason the authorities feared them and made every effort to confiscate and destroy them raids were carried out in local communities but the custodians of the banner were always one step ahead to dwarf their efforts [Music] coming on would be the backbone of the coming war they would carry messages tend the wounded comfort the injured and hide the arms they would be the unsung heroines of the war of independence always alert to the possibility of danger suffering humiliations at the hands of black and towns having their homes wrecked and burned and finally in the new ireland forgotten and removed from recognition [Music] by 1920 incidents were occurring various parts of the county such as the raid on the income tax office at claire morris skirmishes also occurred at other places such as flower or here at the red bridge on ultimate street in westport the west male volunteers were anxious to engage with the enemy the first fatal engagement with the enemy occurred by chance rather than by design on march the 22nd 1921 michael kilroy joe ring and brodie malone were confronted by a sergeant and three constables as they walked a quiet ballroom just off the westport road near carol kennedy shooting began immediately with peter the painters used by the flying column men these were mars or revolvers only nine feet the width of the road separated the combatants those with the most desire to live would be successful the fight ended well for the volunteers michael kilroy wounded the sergeant a man called cochlear and he died later michael himself stated that i regretted this very deeply [Music] afterwards [Music] it was the townspeople of westport and surrounding districts that paid a heavy price as the forces of law and order went on a rampage of burnings and beatings retribution was inflicted not on the ira men but on their families and the communities that they came from again and again the blackened hands sought to drive a wedge between the volunteers and those communities some villagers stand out for their support of the west mayo brigade ahagawa is one of them as was the area around arty and drummond tyrnar stands out as a district that gave great support as well as many young men to the flying column [Music] bronco was another chamois girder was a strategic location in the heart of the nathan mountains where families sheltered many a volunteer [Music] eventually the blackened hands were forced to withdraw to barracks confined to sally fort to patrol the major roads and to harass the people of the countryside [Music] on the third of may the first major ambush in mayo took place in termiti under the leadership of commandant tom mcguire the south male volunteers succeeded in killing a number of ric as well as black and towns and military maguire himself was wounded but managed to escape despite major troop searches of the partry mountains this monument was erected to the memory of ira volunteer parikh feehan he had traveled from ballenrobe to join tom maguire he was arrested by the blackened hands and shot on this hillside execution style the termity ambush must have given grey's impetus to the west male flying column however on friday the 6th of may 1921 two young island 80 men lost their lives to the blackened hands while they were preparing an ambush here at the big wall their names were tomas o'malley and tomas lally as a result of the increasing ambushes and activities of the volunteers the blackened hands began to escalate their own war of terror on an unsuspecting population on the 12th of may petey joe mcdonnell and jack feehan arrived outside westport they were on their way to fihan's house in rossell there they were going to the wedding of petey john mcdonnell to tilly kilroy michael kilroy's sister they were witness to a trail of destruction left by the ric and the blackened hands and this is what vihan wrote in his witness statement on the 12th of may we arrived outside westport we continued on to newport and on our way we called at stephen mcguff's house and there to our horror found him sitting in the midst of his ruined house everything was smashed and broken seemingly a gang of ric under district inspector fudge and sergeant butler had raided the house just before we arrived they brought a cow into the kitchen and put michael on its back whipped around the kitchen and out the front door with michael still on her back and shots ringing out after him we made haste after them and as we were well armed with grenades and small arms we would give them something to think about if we caught up with them we came to tom lyon's house when petey joe mcdonnell and jack feehan arrived here at tom lyon's house they found the same thing had happened the ric men had beaten this man as he lay in bed with rifle butts and then brought a horse into the bedroom and beat the horse until he reared up and struck lions with his hooves tom lyons never fully recovered from this we only missed them by the smallest bit and our tempers were so bad that we were considering following them into newport five members were all that took part in that atrocity sergeant butler being the chief culprit [Music] we continued on to the house of only kane near newport and found only his sister there very badly shaken for the raiding party of ric had left their mark here too they pelted him and beat him insensible they retired to the rear of the house probably considering shooting him and when he escaped to the house of james garrity who saw his condition sent for the priest and that priest was the reverend cannon mcdonald who was later to write it was an orgy of demons on the morning of the lord's day their savagery was superlative was this the counter-terrorism measures envisaged by ly george in 1920 in his and i quote martial law of the most stringent kind in the midst of the strife and turmoil there were the ordinary events that marked the lives of many of the participants one of these was the marriage of the connemara officer commanding petey john mcdonnell to michael kilroy's sister we arrived at my father's house in our cell one mile from newport on the shores of cloud bay we used a huge breakfast and retired to bed and slept almost all day the next few days were taken up with the preparations for the marriage of the oc pt mcdonald the vp of newport would not have the marriage ceremony carried over to newport church because there's two near the barracks he arranged the marriage would be carried out in crimea church the marriage was duly carried out at that church at 6 00 am with nuptial mass [Music] [Music] you peter joseph take my tinder to be your lovely wedded wife i do do you meet tinder take peter joseph to be your lawfully wedded husband i now pronounce you man and wife you may kiss the bride [Music] the bright green best men were adorned with forty fives and grenades [Music] the wedding breakfast was partaken at my father's house in russell and mrs mcdonald and our friends returned to jerry lagann where her husband and i joined them later that night [Music] by early may 1921 the volunteers had plans in place to engage the enemy forces several ambushes were prepared at places such as the yellow river and here at the red bridge in borussia the tans failed to appear the column were becoming impatient for action and kilroy knew that he would have to do something to draw them out [Music] the column met at balina carraga and kilroy decided to send men to westport and newport to shoot up the town in an attempt to provoke the enemy into retaliation the volunteers took up a position east of kilroy's house and 300 yards away on the castle bar road sergeant butler walked out of the barracks a single shot rang out and the sergeant fell mortally wounded [Music] at this point all hell broke loose as the tans bombarded the kilroy home with fire narrowly missing michael's wife and other occupants of the house the house was raided and set alight as was the nearby foundry [Music] michael's brother john's shop in the town was raided and all goods destroyed the rampage continued with burnings of homes and lootings of shops by the towns headquartered at balina cariga kilroy received information about happenings in newport immediately he gathered the column together and headed for here for baraka [Music] there the columns set up communication posts and requested the services of the local company of volunteers this was necessary according to michael kilroy in order to protect their means of retreat from their chosen ambush site at kilmena [Music] the men set off at early light killer i was worried about the non-arrival of the men sent to westport a's experienced riflemen including vice commandant james malone and captain johnny duffy tommy heavy jimmy flaherty and joe ring likewise those who had gone to newport fail to return for whatever reason [Music] as the dawn chorus heralded the arrival of a clear may morning the flying column arrived at nakhna bola kilroy began to position his men for the coming ambush they settled down to wait it would be a long wait the morning jew would be long gone the sun moved beyond its midday station before the sound of approaching lorries signaled the arrival of the ric and the blackened hands [Applause] [Music] the volunteers failed to stop the first lorry it continued through the ambush and stopped at school some distance further on [Music] the second larry stopped at the priest's house and immediately began to engage with the volunteers as the afternoon wore on murderous valleys were exchanged punctuated by the rattle of the lewis machine gun [Music] the occupants of the first lorry had by now returned and began to fire on the volunteers from the bridge at this point the volunteers began to take heavy casualties [Music] by now the flying column were under severe and mounting pressure they were in danger of being outflanked from the north and the south by enemy forces killer i realized that he had no choice but to withdraw from the engagement i ordered a general retreat and got patty jordan to come out in the open and help me keep down the enemy when our boys were getting away there was much blood in his face but i thought it was from briar scratches and did not complain to me [Music] we remained there for about half an hour there was a dinner above in feather conroy's house i'd say around half two we were nearly ready when suddenly the guns began [Music] everyone went to shelter at the walls keeping back from the windows i'd say after about two hours a young policeman came to the house saying that the men were dying and that priests would have to attend to them michael welcher myself said we were willing to go we went out across the road and up on the hills a sergeant of the police was with us and we had to bend down every so often but the bullets were still coming [Music] we went over a fence and found two volunteers dying we were in time thank god to anoint them but they died before our eyes [Music] and may god have mercy on thomas o'donnell from ross and rubel and john stanton from kilmena [Applause] i was told then that there was another man lying further on and as i went to attend him a tan is going to me chest threatening me with death he was shaking with fear but when the surgeon saw him he began to curse him and ordered him to pull back his gun the poor man was mcheavily he was lying on the ground [Music] i'd say he was already dead but i united him anyway and the grace of god to his soul i i was surprised they were all black in the face but it must be the gunpowder i suppose was the reason for it [Music] we left him there then and continued up the hill there was two there one of them is jordan from ireland badly injured he died six weeks after that may sold be at god's right hand we left them all there and returned back to the house but god no one had any desire to stay in that place so we we went home by evening quiet had returned to those green fields around clunine no more could be done there were wounded to be cared for dead to be mourned and other days to prepare for what began as a planned engagement with enemy forces and began in confidence it must be said ended in defeat and retreat it is easier now with hindsight to weigh up what went wrong no one in the active service unit could have anticipated inspector donald's tactic of separating the black and tan and ric vehicles in the column this allowed them to almost outflank the ira and caused enormous problems for them michael kilroy was missing 11 of his best men these had gone to westport and to newport to cause provocation to the barracks there they were also his best armed and best able killer i must have pondered these events and like all good generals he learned valuable lessons we remember those who died there captain seamus mcevely of castlebar thomas o'donnell of castleberry sean collins of westport paddy jordan would be the last to die of his wounds a few weeks later and we remember too those wounded and captured captain patty o'malley of newport thomas nolan of castlebar and john cannon of westport [Music] dr madden and nurse lottie joyce with the help of miss gallagher bridget kelly and mary malcron tended the wounded but time was pressing the volunteers needed to get out of the area it now fell to the local company to guide them across country to safety [Music] they were a dejected and despondent group that left courtney classer and the surrounding villages and headed north towards the nathan mountains and the village of shkurda where they could expect to rest and recover the men's expressions wore a mask of dejection and pain their faces were blackened by gun flash residue their varied uniforms were muddied and torn and yet they held themselves proud each one in his own private world mourning the deaths of comrades lost in the heat of battle kilroy knew he would have a job to do to reinvigorate his men little did he know that the opportunity would arise sooner than he would expect the darkness of night enveloped the men giving them security for a time this was a wild and desolate countryside with only tracks and trails to guide the flying column along they knew that in the morning at first light the auxiliaries and the blackened hands would flood the countryside to seek them out for the moment the flying column was on the run they made their way to scure the upper and lower and the village of clunchoffinia where they had a good rest on friday saturday and sunday [Music] advice was forthcoming to kilroy that the column should perhaps take it easy until the harvest was gathered michael kilroy was probably not that anxious to rest up he wanted another opportunity to engage with the crown forces the volunteers wanted revenge for kilmena [Music] the column was billeted in 17 houses in all thomas ketrick records that the column had 26 men in good fighting condition he himself was bulleted with a family named lavelle early in the morning shots rang out from an outpost warning of an enemy approach the ric had been observed coming down the tony hugon road this was as kilroy says about 3 30 in the morning the first response was to evacuate the wounded this was done successfully by ned moon and others they were guided through the valley of glen lara to shrimar at this point some of the volunteers were taken to the kirian caves by william chambers the rest of them along with the wounded ended up in la hardan where they were made most welcome and comfortable for over half an hour michael kilroy and jack connolly held off the police force of 24 men eventually dr madden found him and he along with johnny gibbons john mcdonough tom patrick and kelly cannon remain to ensure the safe retreats of the wounded and the other volunteers [Music] this is the rune of tom chambers house in glen lara and the seven ira men stopped here for food and while eating they noticed the approach of blackened hands and ric they immediately retreated up this mountain known locally as the black sods in an unsuccessful attempt to rouse the ira men from their cover the tans raked the hillside with machine gun fire eventually the ira men established themselves in a safe position on the hillside they settled down to watch the enemy movements however kilroy realized they would need to evade the ring of steel that would soon surround them after dark they returned to the village something the police might not expect them to do they called to mcdonald's and diaries where they had a good meal and it was there they learned of the tragic death of jim brown [Music] it was here that jim brown was shot while trying to rejoin his comrades he was a big brave quiet man whose only weapon was a shotgun and thus he needed to get close to his enemy to engage this cost him his life [Music] the skirt actions were now almost over the flying column had succeeded in engaging superior numbers holding them at bay and making good their escape confidence was again high the metal of his men had been tested and kilroy was now certain of their courage and guile [Music] claddy was the next stop for the flying column it joined the townland of carroll kennedy and it was here that the west mayo flying column would have their finest hour [Music] on the 2nd of june the column were advised that a force of blackened hands were at carroll kennedy where they were forcing local turf cutters to fill in trenches on the road michael kilroy observed the goings-on and knew that should the patrol proceed it would not get further than earth bridge for the volunteers had already blown that bridge the ira men knew how many were in the patrol and what vehicles they had meanwhile michael kilroy and his officers were laying out the trap this time the planning and execution would be faultless great lessons had been learned from kalmina and shkurda and were now put into operation very quickly the 50 or so flying column men were divided into attack units and suitably positioned using high ground [Music] within each group were designated officers whose job was to maintain morale in the face of fire from the enemy kilroy wanted no panic others were appointed to ensure that the machine guns carried on the lorries could not be brought into action with the effects they had had at kilmena here they come at around 6 30 in the evening a scout reported the returning lorries as the first larry climbed the hill towards the ambush the flying column were preparing to spring the trap the driver was now in the sights of the marksman d.i stevenson was driving the lead larry against orders it must be said he was shot immediately and died instantly his lorry stopped right there where the monument stands today a furious gun battle followed the men of the flying column sang in unison as they fired away at the enemy the strains of kelly dubois from kalam rang clear across the valley michael kilroy was to describe this in his witness statement to the bureau of military history in 1955 there was a burst let up into the air to frighten us this was the lewis machine gun the poor fellow tried to level it across the fence at us but that was all suddenly there was too much lead in his head another comrade pushed him aside and started the same game the second man had scarcely cut the gun until he also was dead then a third man made like effort and met with the same faith after that the poor lady lewis was left all alone after two hours fighting it was decided to end the affair with a flanking movement and that joe baker and some of his men would carry that out time was pressing and there were still blackened hands holding out in the widow mcgrail's house jimmy flaherty who had possession of the lewis gun fired shots into the touch the tans immediately surrendered michael kilroy arranged for a constable to cycle to westport to seek medical and spiritual aid for the dying and wounded no member of the active service unit was injured eight of the british side were killed outright are died of their wounds and sixteen surrendered they were released as the kalyan men left the area the flying column disappeared away into the night when the engagement ended around 8 30 in the evening and the remaining ric and blackened hands had surrendered the ira found that they had captured over 28 leigh enfield rifles one lewis machine gun boxes of grenades and over a thousand rounds of ammunition kilroy and his men headed eastward towards ahagar but this was a deception and after 20 minutes they turned and headed west towards the village of durless in the remote mountainous area behind crow patrick from the 3rd of june until the 11th of july when the truce would become a reality the flying column must avoid capture dust began an epic journey throughout the entire west mayo brigade area initially the column made their way north from cara kennedy and through the castle bar battalion area and on to kremlin in the burn and from there they made their way here to the windy gap the french army had passed through here in 1798 and now the british army were out in force to capture this most troublesome flying column who had caused so much mayhem and were so endeared to the ordinary people of mail to avoid capture the flying column continued from village to village and from safe house to safe house on the 21st of june 1921 they arrived in the townland of derry martin on the southern slopes of nathan and it was here that the iconic picture the men of the west was taken the remarkable thing about this picture is that the men have all removed their caps this was necessary because the picture was taken at 15 minutes to midnight and required a long exposure to reveal all the detail the men also had to remain perfectly still michael kilroy remembers for up to five minutes the photograph was taken by jack leonard of cross malina a photographer by trade jack was also a member of the north mail brigade his pictures taken before and after the war of independence provide a valuable visual resource for the period without doubt this picture the men of the west is regarded as the best photograph of an active service unit in the field the column moved rapidly throughout the brigade area for a number of days from nathan to the windy gap and on to kremlin circling back to ahagawa by sunday the 24th of june they realized there was a serious amount of enemy troops in the west mayo brigade area and that the hunt for them was hotting up the column arrived here in own way and kilroy decided they would dump arms and divide into small groups of three to four men carrying only sidearms in spite of the fact that there were between three to five thousand british troops in the brigade area seeking them out they managed to evade capture and make their way to safety [Music] [Music] heart there were scenes of great joy and revelry in every house as the volunteers arrived home [Music] do the years that followed would see the fledgling state experience great change but for now it was men and women like those of the west mayo brigade and come and imam who would take the flame of hope and with it light the fire of freedom [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Purple Foxglove Films

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Id: a-YVf9sGls4

Length: 68min 43sec (4123 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 11 2021