Dan Breen and the IRA by Joe Ambrose

which, according to legend, was home to malevolent fairies: ‘Seán Treacy and Arty Barlow went out to cut some bushes to make a fire from a moat near at hand. Someone remarked that it was not right to cut any wood off a moat, to which Seán replied, “Ah, sure the fairies won’t say anything to us for trying to keep ourselves warm.” The following morning Seán got a breakfast ready at seven o’clock. Some of us were dozing around the fire while others slept on the remains of two beds in the room – this was a disused house. He called several times that the breakfast was ready but the lads were slow in coming. When they did come they had no milk as Seán had consumed the tin of condensed milk. Of course there was general disapproval to which Seán replied, “This will show you that Volunteers must be punctual, even at breakfast!”’
    â€˜During our conversations around the fire there were divergent views as to what the strength of the escort would be and various suggestions were made about the best method of holding them prisoner after they were disarmed and until the gelignite was got safely away,’ said Tadgh Crowe. ‘We assumed all along that the police would surrender and put up their hands and I am certain that none of us contemplated that the venture would end in bloodshed and loss of life.’
    â€˜It was laid down as an order,’ said Robinson, ‘That if only two RIC should accompany the cart they were to be challenged but if there were six of them they were to be met with a volley as the cart reached the gate.’
    Paddy O’Dwyer was the lookout whose job it was to warn the group when the gelignite and its guardians were leaving Tipperary: ‘For five or six days I cycled to Tipperary each morning and returned each evening with nothing to report. At night-time we went to the vacant house on Hogan’s farm to sleep … A week-end intervened and on the Saturday morning I cycled home to Hollyford for a change of clothing and cycled back to Solohead on the Sunday night.’
    â€˜After a week’s wait the whole affair ended suddenly and in a tense atmosphere,’ said Tadgh Crowe. ‘My recollection is that the two RIC men armed with carbines were walking behind the horse and cart when it came into the ambush position. There were several shouts of “Hands up!” I myself shouted that command at least two or three times. I saw one of the policemen move up to the cart and crouch down beside it. From the position he took up and the manner in which he was handling his carbine, I was satisfied that he was going to offer resistance.’
    â€˜The hot-headed tension of Breen made it even more vitally important that Treacy should be collected and cool in order to be able to deal with any emergency,’ said Robinson. ‘One could depend on cool riflemen. Small arms in the hands of men in their first fight, no matter how cool these men may be, are almost useless at a range of more than two yards.’
    Paddy O’Dwyer said he was with Robinson ‘on the extreme left-hand side of the position, about twenty-three or thirty yards away from what I will call the main party of six and the arrangements were that Robinson and I were to get out on to the road when we heard the others call on the men with the cart and the escort to stop and put up their hands, the idea being that if they did not halt, Robinson and I would be in a position to stop the horse and cart.’
    â€˜Seán Treacy and Dan Breen at the last exciting moment started to insist that they should be allowed to rush out,’ said Robinson. ‘Breen seemed to have lost control of himself, declaring with grinding teeth and a very high-pitched excited voice that he’d go out and face them.’ Robinson later claimed that, right there and then, he made a mental note that Breen ‘should never be put in charge of a fight’.
    Séamus