November 28th, 1995, will mark the 75th Anniversary of the Kilmichael Ambush. On that date in 1920, a contingent of battle-hardened British Auxiliaries, the most feared force in Ireland, left their barracks in Macroom to raid into West Cork. They never returned.

South of Kilmichael, on the Dunmanway road, they were intercepted by a flying column of the Third West Cork Brigade IRA, under Commandant Tom Barry. Few of Barry's men had seen military action. The majority were from a farming background, inspired by the upsurge of Irish nationalism following the Easter Rising of 1916. One had joined the brigade only the day before; one came because, in a toss-up with a friend for a single rifle, he won.

This was the poorly armed, poorly trained force of men and boys that assembled at Kilmichael. They were to face a crack unit of professional soldiers, all with war experience, all of officer rank. The Auxiliaries had been sent to terrorise the Irish into submission. They ranged far and wide and were a law unto themselves. In that year, the British Government was intent upon reaffirming its overlord ship in Ireland. It had rejected the democratic vote of the Irish electorate for independence, and the formation of the first Irish Dail. This refusal to recognise the right of the Irish nation to form a Government led to the physical force campaign of the Irish Volunteers.

The Ambush at Kilmichael had a special significance. It was the first occasion on which the well armed Auxiliaries were confronted by a column of Volunteers. Their annihilation was a major trauma for the Crown forces and for British administration in Ireland. It gave a mighty boost to the morale of the Volunteers, and to the passion for Irish independence then abroad.

The Kilmichael and Crossbarry Commemoration Committee, in association with the Ballineen and Enniskeane Heritage Group, has compiled the following text in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the ambush.

It is hoped that the contents will be of interest to the general public and, particularly, to the younger generation. The aim is to reflect something of the mood and spirit of the West Cork people, and the world of change they lived in, 75 years ago.