The 3rd Cork Brigade, also known as Third (West) Cork Brigade, was a unit of the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
that operated in the western areas of
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...
during the
Irish War of Independence. The unit was commanded by
Tom Barry for most of the conflict and was responsible for the
Kilmichael Ambush
The Kilmichael Ambush ( ga, Luíochán Chill Mhichíl) was an ambush near the village of Kilmichael in County Cork on 28 November 1920 carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence. Thirty-six local IRA v ...
and
Crossbarry Ambush.
Activities
Under the command of Tom Barry, who later described many of the unit's activities in ''
Guerrilla Days in Ireland'' (1949), the 3rd Cork Brigade was one of the most active during the Irish War of Independence.
Its actions were focused on the
West Cork
West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...
area, and included the Kilmichael Ambush in November 1920, which resulted in the deaths of 18 members of the
Auxiliary Division, and the
Crossbarry Ambush of March 1921, during which the unit escaped encirclement by 1,200 British troops.
Other activities, planned by the unit, were aborted. For example, a planned attack on a
Black and Tan
A black and tan is a beer cocktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half because in Ireland the term "''black and tan''" is considered to be offensive. ...
barracks in
Kilbrittain
Kilbrittain or Killbrittain () is the name of a village, townland and parish in County Cork, Ireland. The village lies about southwest of Bandon, and near Courtmacsherry and Timoleague. The coastal route around the edge of the parish is the R6 ...
was called-off after two aborted attempts. Towards the end of 1920, members the unit planned an attack on the barracks, proposing to plant a mine against a door or wall and to storm the barracks immediately after it exploded. A
"home-made" mine was made, consisting of 30 pounds of
gelignite
Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and salt ...
and gun cotton encased in a wooden box. On the night of 31 December 1920, and again in mid-January 1921, two attempts were made. On both occasions the
mines failed to explode, and the attacks were aborted.
Actions associated with the brigade
:
:
:
See also
*
Timeline of the Irish War of Independence
This is a timeline of the Irish War of Independence (or the Anglo-Irish War) of 1919–21. The Irish War of Independence was a guerrilla conflict and most of the fighting was conducted on a small scale by the standards of conventional warfare.
...
*
North Longford Flying Column
References
{{reflist
External links
Cork's War of Independence - List of Third Brigade incidents
Irish Republican Army (1919–1922)