Free Dan Breen and the IRA by Joe Ambrose Page B

arrest and that he was in Thurles, they made an urgent decision to rescue him. In the preceding years they and their friends had been in and out of prison often so they knew all about the entire process of arrest, custody and incarceration. It was likely that Hogan would very soon be transferred – by train – to Cork. They would free him while he was in transit on that train.
    Assistance of various sorts was sought and, in the meantime, they set about choosing a suitable train station at which to stage the rescue. Goold’s Cross, Emly and Knocklong were considered suitably small and unguarded.
    Treacy established a mission headquarters at Maloney’s of Lackelly, not far from Emly. There, in the early hours of 13 May, Robinson, Breen and Treacy sat around the breakfast table and worked out a plan. Treacy fretted about which station would prove the best bet, which would be furthest from RIC and army reinforcements, and which would allow the greatest hope of a getaway. The freeing of J. J. Hogan – as everybody knew him – was due to be an all-Tipperary action, but local factors intervened.
    Emly and Knocklong, being in Co. Limerick, were outside the Tipperary men’s brigade area. There were friendly ties between the east Limerick and south Tipperary IRA – they regularly co-operated on important jobs – but the Galbally brigade, within whose area the rescue was to be attempted, were territorial enough. They were happy to allow the Big Three across their borders but they baulked at allowing virtual hordes of Tipperary fighters into their space.
    Mick Davern from Cashel had been approached on 12 May by Patrick McCormack, one of the Soloheadbeg gang, with a verbal instruction from Séamus Robinson. Davern was to proceed immediately to mobilise twenty-five men – or as many as he could arm – and to bring them under cover to within striking distance of Goold’s Cross train station. ‘I carried out this order,’ said Davern. ‘I had them billeted in an old shed about one and a half miles from the station. Some of the men had no idea why they were there, but they were told that they would have no option but to fight in a few hours. They were quite happy and I told them that if the fight came off I had arranged for Father Matt Ryan to give them General Absolution.’
    The next morning Davern was told that the plan had changed. Now the rescue would be done at Emly and, more importantly, his Tipperary men would not be needed. The Galbally battalion would supply enough men and whatever else was required.
    At Lackelly, the decision was finally made to stage the rescue at Knocklong. The countryside around Knocklong was quiet and, on one side of the station, deserted. The two nearest barracks were more than three miles away.
    Using an elaborate panoply of lookouts, telegrams and local Volunteers, a theoretically foolproof scheme was worked out. Women and men set about watching Thurles Barracks, train station and points in between there and Knocklong. Coded telegrams would be used to convey news of Hogan’s movements.
    At 1.29 p.m. the morning train from Dublin pulled into Knocklong. Hogan’s pals went on board but found no sign of him. The three then returned to Lackelly and prepared to meet the evening train, due into Knocklong at 8 p.m. Five Galbally IRA men were recruited and made their way to Lackelly where the plan was being revised.
    As the Cork-bound train made its way south, four Galbally Volunteers got on board at Emly, the stop which preceded Knocklong. They soon discovered that Hogan was on the train, guarded by four armed RIC men.
    They were to warn the Knocklong rescuers – Breen, Robinson, Treacy and Eamonn O’Brien, a Galbally man closely linked to the Big Four – that Hogan was there and to indicate exactly which compartment he was held in.
    Hogan sat in a compartment, handcuffed and seated between Sergeant Wallace and Constable Enright.