The Battle of Tourmakeady: A Study of the IRA Ambush and Its Aftermath Book

On 3 May 1921, the IRA's South Mayo Brigade Flying Column, commanded by Commandant Tom Maguire, ambushed an RIC/Black and Tan resupply patrol in the village of Tourmakeady, in order to destroy the patrol and to cause the closure of Derrypark RIC Barracks, seven miles to the south. Following the ambush the Flying Column took to the nearby Party Mountain and was subsequently engaged by British troops from the Border Regiment. The IRA commander said that the Flying Column was surrounded by up to 600 troops and that they fought their way out, inflicting up to 50 casualties and suffering 3.A Border Regiment Company Commander says that he shot the three IRA casualties and that he was the only British soldier wounded in the encounter. Was this a major success for the South Mayo Brigade IRA as is now generally accepted? Was it a minor action for a platoon from 'C' Company, 2 Battalion, The Border Regiment? What really happened? This book studies the available evidence in detail and for the first time puts into place the actual sequence of events surrounding the ambush and the Battle of Tourmakeady.Read More