CHAPTER XIX.
CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF GENERAL LUCAS.
The capture of Brigadier-General Lucas was effected on June 26th, 1920, by Liam Lynch, George Power, and a few more of Lynch’s staff. General Lucas, who was stationed at Fermoy and commanded in that district, was accompanied by Colonel Danford, R.E., and Colonel Tyrell. Lynch and his comrades drove up in a motor car and surprised the three British officers at a place called Conna, near Castlelyons, seven or eight miles from Fermoy, where General Lucas had taken a fishing lodge. They were taken completely by surprise and removed to a waiting motor car. The original idea was to hold the General as a hostage to be exchanged for Bob Barton, T.D., who was then being treated as a criminal in an English prison, where he was undergoing a 10 years’ sentence for “sedition.”
When Lynch had driven his prisoners for some distance they were conversing amongst themselves in Arabic. The purport of their conversation was made clear when, half an hour later, they suddenly attacked their captors. In a sharp melee which ensued Colonel Danford was wounded. Lynch thereupon sent a motor back to Fermoy military barracks by Tyrell, whom he also released, while Lucas was removed to a place of safety in the keeping of the I.R.A. The manner in which the English soldiers at Fermoy showed their appreciation of a generous foe who had released a wounded officer was to wreck the town next night—the second time within twelve months that Fermoy had been wrecked because of a successful exploit by Liam Lynch.
Lucas himself was every inch a gentleman and a soldier. For five weeks he was a prisoner of the I.R.A., and during that time he was treated with the courtesy and kindness befitting his rank and character. Every facility was given him for communicating with his relatives, and he had every comfort that his captors—themselves “on the run” with their prisoner—could provide. To his credit be it said he acknowledged this later, though I believe he got into trouble with the British War Office.
His last place of detention was a house in East Limerick. From there he made his escape on the night of July 29th, in circumstances which it is not in my province to narrate.
Now, on the morning of July 30th, Sean Treacy and the rest of us had planned an ambush on the road between Limerick and Tipperary. At that time our men were creating much trouble for the enemy by holding up trains and mail cars to censor letters for information. In this way we got much valuable information from time to time, including evidence against local spies here and there. So serious a problem did we create for the British that they had to take special precautions to prevent military mails and despatches falling into our hands. For instance, the Limerick garrison adopted the plan of sending a special military escort by road to the Limerick Junction every morning to take the mails off the train there, and thus avoid possible raids on the 20 miles of the branch line from Limerick Junction to Limerick.
We determined to ambush this party. The spot we selected was half a mile on the Tipperary side of the village of Oola. That would be about six miles from Tipperary town, fifteen from Limerick city and four from Soloheadbeg. Although we were on the main road from Limerick to Waterford we had a great stretch of country by which we could escape southwards, getting back towards East Limerick. The country is comparatively flat with good thick hedges of whitethorn as cover along the roadside.
We expected the military car to arrive from Limerick about 10.30 a.m. A few minutes before that time we felled a tree across the road to block their path. Then we took up our positions, still well out of view, for it must be remembered that in the village of Oola itself, almost in view of our selected spot, there was a strong garrison of peelers, and on the other side of us, two miles away at the Limerick Junction, was another R.I.C. garrison.
Sharp to time the military car came tearing along from Limerick. Just when they turned a corner and drove almost into the barracks we opened fire. Like a shot every man jumped from the car and took cover to reply to our men.
A fierce encounter followed for half an hour. In the first minute two of the British dropped their rifles and rolled over dead, but the others continued to pour volley after volley in the direction from which our fire came. But we were in a difficulty. There were only seven of us there, and we had only ten rounds of ammunition per man.