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SEARCH FOR ARMS.

There was a pressing need for arms of any kind in the Fermoy Battalion and soon members were out at night raiding for arms around the area. Matt says that most people who were sympathetic towards them would tell them where the arms were and have them ready when they called. But it was not always so. One of Matt's first raids was at D.L.O'Gorman's. He gave us a fairly good reception, he fired at us several times', said Matt. He lived out at Janeville and was on the County Council with Martin Corry'.

With the exception of one or two it was only a matter of going out and collecting guns. 'You see the boys would get the tip-off that the R.I.C. were going to collect the guns, the owners of the guns would come to the local Volunteers and say "Would you ever come and take them before the other crowd come up for them" They were mostly sporting guns, shot guns.' That was around 1919 and by now Liam Lynch was anxious to go into action to get better arms for his men. In April he had travelled up to Dublin and got permission to increase activity in his area to this end, then in July got permission to attack British military if he could do so without casualties and now the war was being brought to the enemy.

Mick Fitzgerald and the Araglen Company captured Araglen Barracks without a shot being fired. I think they must have got about five carbines', says Matt Flood, 'I remember having one in my hand and a nice rifle it was. They were shorter than the Lee-Enfield and as far as I can remember there was about four inches of barrel near the muzzle,exposed. The timber work stopped there and there was a bayonet boss to fit on a bayonet!

Now it was time for an engagement in the centre of Fermoy town and training concentrated on an action which was to take place on 7th September 1919 near the Wesleyan Church near the Council Offices. In it one soldier was killed and three wounded.

It was to be Matt's first engagement with the Fermoy Company, even though he was to play a minor role he had vivid recollections of that Sunday morning as he relates himself.

'They decided to bring in a lot of strangers on that action because they thought the Fermoy fellows would be known. So we were to keep out of it even though some of our men were in the attacking crowd with Lar Condon in charge. Still some of us did manage to get into the action, it would have been hard to keep us out. That morning I went to first Mass, it was eight o' clock at the time and after that we has the usual games, some went playing football and others went bowling. I think it was all to make sure that no one would expect anything to happen. We went down then about a quarter past eleven. You know fellows had an awful habit of fooling in the street at the time, so we went down in twos and threes, chatting and trixing away. That's how it started that morning. Paddy Ahern led the Mallow crowd at the Protestant church, the Ballynoe fellows knew what they were to do, and there was Pax Whelan and some of the Waterford boys there too. Most of the Fermoy fellows, there was a lot of them along the street, they were doing the scouting. Then there was a signal from a fellow on the bridge-"they're coming" Fitz was preparing the attacking party at what we used to call the creamery.

The co-op have it now. There were some down the mart road and more walking casually by. There were a few more around the courthouse. It was only to make a charge. Most of us carried cudjels or other implements I was close to the action, near the creamery gate. Most of the attacking party were there Lynch was there of course. There was a lot of excitement, we got fourteen rifles. Those fourteen fifles were addad to the carbines captured by Fitzgerald and the Araglin Company, making up the 19 rifles which were the armaments of the Brigade column when it was formed. They were hidden in Clondulane and in different places.