kilmichael ambush volunteers??

sd123

i'm looking to find a list of names of the IRA volunteers who participated in the kilmichael ambush, as I believe my great grandfather was a member. cant find a list anywhere. any help would be gteat

Fenian

I'm sure Tom Barry mentions a few names in his book "guerilla days in Ireland".

You could also get on to one of the SF cumainns in west Cork.

Mick86

The Command Post was manned by three men- John Nyhan, Mick O’Herlihy and Jim Murphy. Barry himself stood by the road nearby.

No. 2 section was commanded by Michael McCarthy (one of the three IRA dead) and No 3 Section by Stephen O’Neill. No 1 Section was located only a few feet away from Barry so I presume he commanded that himself. Jim Sullivan and Pat Deasy were also killed in the ambush.

37 men participated directly in the action but those are the only names provided by Barry in his book AFAIK.

McArmalite

Here's a poem written by Bobby Sands when Tom Barry passed away in 1980.

For Barry’s soul we prayed in hell
Pathetic creatures adorned in pain
And we never heard his requiem bell
But our own — in torture’s livid strain.

In the southern realms of Munster world
The humble whin bush sway
Shedding yellow tears like child
For a legend passed away.

And they blow down lanes of time gone by
O’er Crossbarry and Kilmicheal grave
And resurrect a battle cry
‘With Barry, boys be brave!’

In dusky light, by mist, o’er hills they tread
A column on the run
The ghosts of fighters long since dead
Yet n’er at rest, their guns still slung.

Now Barry leads them in the night
Hardy souls of Cork Brigade
To tramp the glens to morning light
When their ghostly forms shall fade.

And we prayed tonight for Barry’s rest
Would Barry e’er be free
As he tramps across old Munster’s breast
To blind eternity.

And in darkened shadows, ‘neath prison bars
The hags of torture wave
But we hear a voice that is of ours
‘With Barry, boys be brave!’

( BTW, I'm not trying to make a political point here, I just think it's a good tribute to Tom Barry and the brave, hardy Corkmen who fought under him. )

McArmalite

And also by the way, I once heard that Lord Haw Haw ( who was from Galway) announced on "Germany Calling" that as the 100,000 British troops were taken away into captivity, the Japanese band struck up "The Boys of Kilmichael".:D A right looney bin he was.

sd123

^^^^
Nice poem by the way, where did you come accross it?

Fenian wrote:

I'm sure Tom Barry mentions a few names in his book "guerilla days in Ireland".

Do you know where i could get it?

You could also get on to one of the SF cumainns in west Cork.

what??

Fenian

sd123 wrote:

Do you know where i could get it?

Any decent book shop should have it.

You can also get it here
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=0947962344

sd123 wrote:

what??

SF= Sinn Fein

Cumainn= leagues/groups.

The SF structure is broken down into Cumainn (as are all Republican political groups eg. 32CSM, RSF and the IRSP). Each town/area has it's own Cumann (Cumainn is plural for Cumann).Cumainn are usually named after IRA volunteers who were from that area.

West Cork has many SF Cumainn.

sd123 wrote:

Nice poem by the way

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=185635220X

That book has many of Bobby Sands poems and songs.

sd123

Thanks a mill. lots of help:)

donaghs

McArmalite wrote:

And also by the way, I once heard that Lord Haw Haw ( who was from Galway) announced on "Germany Calling" that as the 100,000 British troops were taken away into captivity, the Japanese band struck up "The Boys of Kilmichael".:D A right looney bin he was.

The way I heard it, which makes more sense, was that Lord Haw Haw announced the news, and hoped aloud that "General Barry" would be pleased to hear of that General Percival had surrendered all British forces in Singapore to the Japanese.

Percival had been a British commander in West Cork with a reputation for torturing prisoners.

3 or 4 years in a Japanese prison camp is a long time....

Fenian

sd123 wrote:

Thanks a mill. lots of help

Not a bother, let us know how you get on.

Mrs. MacGyver

Michael Galvin (a local historian from home) has written on this topic. Check with your Local Library and they may be able to request the info. Its very specific to Cork though. Ther was a centenary issue of the Southern Star (west cork weekly newspaper) in 1989, this would also prove useful, the library may have a copy.

Jimthecop

The Kilmichael parish website had links to various pages about the ambush. Here is one that gives names of the volunteers:

http://www.coppeenheritage.com/archives/kilmichael/kilmichael_detail.html

There was also at one time a link to a map of the ambush site made by the british the next day, when they recovered the bodies.