Free 1972 by Morgan Llywelyn

called, “Garland, is that you?”
    â€œ W E didn’t even get out of the lorry,” Feargal complained.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Barry consoled his friend. “I’m sure we’ll see plenty of action soon.”
    Privately his disappointment was intense. The high excitement
of anticipation, the sudden burst of adrenaline when things began to happen, the racing blood, the pounding heart, and then … and then nothing.
    Damn, damn, damn it!
    T HE attack on Gough Barracks had to be abandoned, but at midnight ten other targets, in a ring from Antrim to Derry, were hit. In spite of a substantial network of paid informers, the RUC did not have adequate warning. Operation Harvest began with the chatter of machine guns and the roar of explosives.
    A raiding party destroyed a BBC transmitting station. After moving the caretaker and his family to safety outside, another group set fire to a courthouse full of government documents. A post used by B-Specials was burned to the ground. Originally recruited under orders from Winston Churchill, the B-Specials were a fanatically pro-British militia with a taste for violence. Although they were called “police reservists,” this was only a flag of convenience. In reality the B-Specials dispensed punishment as they saw fit and had a well-earned reputation for savagery to Catholics.
    Not all IRA operations that night went smoothly. A plan to blow up bridges in County Fermanagh went awry because the mines used were not powerful enough to destroy the concrete pillars. An attack on the RAF radar installation at Torr Head was intercepted at the last moment; gunshots were exchanged and three Volunteers were arrested.
    But the opening salvo of the campaign could be considered a qualified success.
    The combined Garland-Daly column fell back to South Armagh to await new orders. Irritable and frustrated, the men put together a makeshift camp and tried to get some sleep. The only dry place was inside the lorries.
    In the morning Phil O’Donoghue went to the nearest village for milk for their tea, and a newspaper. He returned in a state of elation. “This made the early edition!” he said, waving the paper.
    The men crowded around him. Barry read over Feargal’s shoulder.

    December 12, 1956
    IRA ISSUES CAMPAIGN PROCLAMATION
    Spearheaded by Ireland’s freedom fighters, our people in the Six Counties have carried the fight to the enemy. We seek an independent, united, democratic Irish Republic. For this we shall fight until the invader is driven from our soil and victory is ours. 2

    The words swelled in Barry’s soul like a balloon going up.
    That afternoon new orders arrived. “We’ll be moving out again,” Garland told them. “We’re going to attack Lisnaskea Barracks in County Fermanagh tomorrow night.”
    For once the promised transport—three small trucks and a bakery van—arrived on time. The men piled inside. Their route led through Monaghan, where IRA field headquarters had been set up, to Fermanagh. Along the way Dave O’Connell “liberated” fifty pounds of gelignite from a small-town armoury and Charlie Murphy used the explosive to construct a large mine.
    A T Lisnaskea the members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary were billeted together with a squad of B-Specials. The Lisnaskea Barracks was a three-storey building in the main street of the town, with civilian houses on either side. Across the road from the barracks was a house occupied by the parish priest. On this evening the bitter cold and sleet were keeping everyone indoors.
    At dusk a couple of Volunteers knocked at the priest’s door. “We’re here to free occupied Ireland, Father. Would you kindly remove yourself for a little while to avoid accidental injury?” 3
    â€œIf the time of my death has come,” the old man replied, “I’ll meet it here in my own house, thank you.”
    The rest of the group