One hundred years ago today, Liam Lynch lost his life to a long-range bullet fired by the Free State soldiers. Lying on a cold mountainside in County Tipperary’s Knockmealdown Mountains as Chief of Staff of the anti-Treaty IRA, he commanded his troops to leave him and save themselves.
Liam Lynch had called a meeting with his senior officers on the mountainside, as was common for the anti-Treaty IRA side to evade the better-armed Free State soldiers. As the Civil War progressed, it became increasingly clear that the anti-Treaty side was losing.
Lynch and his officers had arrived in Newcastle the previous day and were hiding out in safe houses around the village. Somehow, the Free State troops found out, formed columns, and began a search of the area. By the time the IRA members were tipped off it was too late for them to disperse and take cover. The Free State Army were all over the mountains and valleys closing in on the irregulars with great speed and stealth. Although the IRA were well prepared and armed there were just too many troops and were quickly outgunned in the shootout that ensued.
Liam Lynch took a bullet almost immediately. Not wanting to implicate his officers more than necessary, he gave them his gun and documents and ordered them to save their own lives, as his was ebbing away. Reluctantly, they did. Lynch, who was bleeding profusely, was captured by the Free State troops, who did their best to save his life. He was carried back to Newcastle, where he was attended first by local doctors and then by medics at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Clonmel. But his wounds were too severe, and he lost his life later that night.
Sources
https://www.rte.ie/news/2023/0410/1375751-liam-lynch-civil-war/
Photograph
By Unknown author – Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109659357