Irish War of Independence

The Kilmichael Ambush was an ambush near the village of Kilmichael in County Cork on 28 November 1920 carried out by the Irish Republican Army ... during the Irish War of Independence. Thirty-six local IRA volunteers commanded by Tom Barry killed seventeen members of the RIC Auxiliary Division. The Kilmichael ambush was of great political significance as it came just a week after Bloody Sunday and marked a profound escalation in the IRA's guerrilla campaign. The Auxiliaries were commissioned officers and were raised in July 1920 and were regarded as a highly trained elite force by both sides in the conflict. The Auxiliaries engaged at Kilmichael all had previous experience in World War I. The Auxiliaries and the Black and Tans rapidly became highly unpopular in Ireland for their intimidation of the civilian population and their arbitrary reprisals for IRA actions – including house burnings, beatings and killings. Only a week before the Kilmichael ambush, the Auxiliaries had fired on a football match in Croke Park, killing fourteen civilians .
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The Toureen Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 22 October 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place... near Toureen, County Cork. Up until the ambush the Third West Cork Brigade hadn't before engaged the British troops stationed in County Cork in a proper battle. The Brigade had finished its training and to get it ready for combat it had to get in an engagement with the British soldiers. The Essex Regiment of the British Army was deployed to West Cork and had a reputation for violently raiding the houses throughout the countryside and arresting people believed to be IRA volunteers. They were also known to torture their prisoners in order to get information on the whereabouts of the flying columns, so this made them a despised enemy to the West Cork IRA. The Essex were known to travel on the road from Bandon to Cork City every morning and return in the evenings. The road went through the village of Toureen which the Third West Cork Brigade was stationed at nearby and it was decided to ambush this column of the Essex Regiment as it made its way to Cork City.
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The Headford Ambush took place on 21 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. The Second Kerry Brigade of the Irish Republican Army ... ambushed a train carrying British troops at Headford Junction railway station . A total of at least 16 people died in the incident – 10 British soldiers, 2 IRA volunteers and 4 civilians . The guerrilla war in Kerry escalated rapidly in the spring of 1921. The county was occupied by the British Army, Auxiliary Division and Black and Tan paramilitary police, and the ordinary Royal Irish Constabulary police. In the months before the ambush, they had begun rounding-up all the male inhabitants of towns and searching them in order to find IRA suspects. They first did this in Tralee on 11 January. On 23 January, in response to the IRA assassination of RIC District Inspector Sullivan , 1,000 soldiers and armed police surrounded Ballymacelligott, arrested 240 men and marched them to Tralee for questioning.
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The Carrowkennedy Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army on 2 June 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place... in Carrowkennedy, County Mayo. The ambush was organised by Major General Michael Kilroy, later Commandant of the 4th Western Battalion of the IRA. He and his flying column of 33 volunteers took up position between Widow Sammon’s House and that of Widow McGreal in Carrowkennedy and awaited a Royal Irish Constabulary patrol. When a unit of Black and Tans arrived, the volunteers opened fire. Seven of the British side were killed/died of wounds sixteen surrendered. A large quantity of arms were seized. The Black and Tans who surrendered were not killed, even though this policy had been endorsed by IRA General Headquarters . Many of the local people went into hiding to avoid the retribution of the Tans. The volunteers escaped arrest by sheltering in safe houses. http://www.carrowkennedyns.com/ambush.
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