{{no footnotes, date=November 2015 The Teeling Column was one of four armed units created by

Seán Cronin Seán Cronin (29 August 1922 – 9 March 2011) was a journalist and former Irish Army officer and twice Irish Republican Army chief of staff.Brian Hanley and Scott Millar, ''The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers Pa ...

for the Border Campaign in the west of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. On 30 December 1956, the Column's inaugural operation involved an attack on the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

barracks in

Derrylin Derrylin ( or "Oakgrove of the blackbirds") is a village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the A509 road (Northern Ireland), A509 road between Enniskillen and the border with County Cavan (the N3 road (Ireland), N3 ro ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

. The object was to obtain the surrender of the garrison. The unit failed to achieve this and, fearing being outflanked by reinforcements, withdrew across the border to

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

. The next day, the column's commander Noel Kavanagh and six others (including

Ruairí Ó Brádaigh Ruairí Ó Brádaigh (; born Peter Roger Casement Brady; 2 October 1932 – 5 June 2013) was an Irish republican political and military leader. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from 1958 to 1959 and again from 1960 to 19 ...

) were arrested in Cavan by

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

officers. All members of the Column were eventually imprisoned. Ó Brádaigh was gaoled for six months in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

, and the others were sent to

Bridewell Prison Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...

Members

*Noel Kavanagh,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Column Commander *

, 2nd in command. *Pat MacManus,

Kinawley Kinawley or Kinawly () is a small village, townland (of 187 acres) and civil parish straddling County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and County Cavan, Republic of Ireland. The village and townland are both in the civil parish of Kinawley (founded b ...

*John Joe Ruane,

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virtu ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

*Paddy Hannify, Athenry, County Galway *Willie Folan,

Galway city Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city o ...

*Peadar Murray, Newport,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

*Joe Daly,

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population, tenth largest settlement in ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

*Dermot Blake, Navan, County Meath *Pat McGirl, Aughavas,

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

*Paddy Duffy, Derrinacrieve,

Tullyhaw Tullyhaw ( ga, Teallach Eathach) (which means 'The Territory of Eochaidh', an ancestor of the McGoverns, who lived ) is a Barony in County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The area has been in constant occupation since pre-4000 BC. Locate ...

*Leo Collins, Navan, County Meath *Des Clarke, Navan, County Meath

References

*''Sabhat and Ó hAnluain Killed in Action'';Saoirse-Irish Freedom January 2007 Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) History of the Republic of Ireland History of Northern Ireland