Kilmichael 100

One hundred years ago today an unambiguous message was sent to the British Empire from a bóithrín in West Cork.

I wrote this piece last year, on the 99^th anniversary of the Kilmichael Ambush.

The successful IRA operation against the hated Auxiliaries came just one week to the day after Mick Collins had sent his men out to eliminate British Intelligence operatives in Dublin.

The Brits responded by shooting into the crowd at Croke Park.

Consequently, by the end of November 1920, the British government’s stated position that they had the situation in Ireland under control was palpably false.

As if to underline the extent to which they had lost control, they then imposed Martial law on much of southern Ireland.

On December 11^th the Auxiliaries, Tans and British soldiers looted and burned buildings in the centre of Cork city.

Local firefighters testified that the Brits and hindered their efforts to tackle the blaze by cutting their hoses and shooting at them.

This was a situation that was spiralling out of control.

Indeed, the British government was not just losing their grip on Ireland, but on their own men.

Remember dear reader, the Frongoch graduates,  had devised a strategy to make Ireland ungovernable for the British.

Of course, the main strategist in that university of revolution was a young Corkman called Collins.

One hundred years ago today, the strategy was clearly working.

The Auxiliaries were the elite counter-insurgency force of a global imperium.

As they drove through the Irish countryside in their Crossley Tenders, they thought that they were invincible.

Yet in close quarters battle they were no match for a group of Irish lads who had been in training camp for only ONE WEEK.

Their legendary commander Tom Barry was all of 22 years of age.

The message that was sent from Kilmichael one hundred years ago today was as straightforward as it was brutal:

You do not rule here.

Today the writ of the Frau Saxe-Coburg crime crew has no power in the Rebel County or on this hillside in Dún na nGall where these words blink to life.

Yes, we still have the situation of the Six Counties to solve and more and more folk there are starting to “Think 32”.

Like so many of the relationships within these islands, the situation has been transformed by the Brexit shitshow.

Just like a century ago, we still have gallant allies in Europe and our exiled children in America.

When the British wanted to conclude the Phase One Brexit negotiations of the Withdrawal Agreement it could not happen until Brussels received word from Dublin to proceed.

The return of a hard border on this island was non-negotiable although the Birts had not given much thought to it at all.

Consequently, they were surprised that something pertaining to Ireland could stop their plans.

This was clear concrete evidence that the political hegemony of Westminster had been usurped here.

It has been a long, tortuous process and we are now only entering the endgame in the Six Counties.

The inconvenient truth for many in the Dublin political elite is that we achieved an independent Irish state because of events like Kilmichael.

Lest we forget.