Ambush near Rathcoole
Introduction from
Chronology
Ambush of four lorries containing 25 Auxiliaries by 130 to 140 men
from the Cork No. 2 Brigade, IRA under Paddy O'Brien near Rathcoole (between Millstreet and Banteer), Co. Cork. This ambush results in the deaths of
two Auxiliaries.
More Detail
The
IRA had about 65 rifles, a Hotchiss machine gun and a
number of shotguns. They also had six mines placed along the road of the
ambush but only two could be used.
Lynch
says that when the IRA broke off the engagement, “Nearly half the
Auxiliary force lay dead on the roadway”. Hopkinson says that this ambush resulted
in the death of, at least, 12 Auxiliaries. However, Abbott says that only
two were killed (Cadet William Boyd and Cadet Frederick Shorter) and four were
wounded. These same two names of the Auxiliary cadets who were killed are
given by O’Halpin and Ó Corráin.
(Lynch’s
account is very sympathetic to the IRA – he says that his account is as
told to him by participants. This
illustrates the difficulty of relying on the accounts of ‘old
soldiers’ – no matter which side they are on.)