On 28th November 1920, members of an IRA Flying Column led by Tom Barry ambushed members of the Auxiliaries at Kilmichael in West Cork in which sixteen Crown forces were killed. Two IRA members also died. The event was politically and militarily significant and marked a turning point in the fight for freedom.
A West Cork Flying Column member, Dan Donovan, recalls the event, and on location at the site of the ambush, local man Donal McSweeney and historian and author, Meda Ryan, describe the events of that fateful day. Lena Walsh, daughter of Patrick O’Brien of Kilbrittain whose entire family were members of the IRA and Cuman na mBan, describes the harassment of the people of West Cork by the Black and Tans prior to the ambush at Kilmichael.
