DINNY LACEY.
But we knew we had to be careful and more cautious than usual. The net was drawing round us. An incident that occurred at this time on the night of the 10th October, 1920, shows the dangers which surrounded us. Sean Treacy and I had decided to stay that night at the house of Seumas Kirwan, 49 Parnell Street. We had often stayed there before and had held several meetings there. Seumas was a Tipperary man himself and gave us the full run of his house. All his assistants and employees were I.R.A. men, and whenever we stayed there for the night they were fully armed.
On this particular night we had just entered when a man rushed in at our heels and told Seumas that “the two men who had just come into the shop were shadowed by a spy.”
Sean and I at once rushed into the street and the tout, who was standing near the door, ran for his life when he saw us. He was a good judge.
We changed our plans and went elsewhere that night. Henceforth we knew that Kirwan’s would be a marked house, and I never stayed there again until the Truce period.
The manner in which we were warned that night illustrates how loyal the people were to us. It was quite common to get friendly warnings from newsboys and orange-sellers who saw touts hanging about.
Only a few days previously I had met a group of the Dublin Castle murder gang face to face in Talbot Street. We recognised each other simultaneously and drew our guns. They did not fire. I don’t know why. As I had no desire to engage a whole group unless forced into it I didn’t fire, but walked quietly away unmolested.
But to return to the spending of our winnings on the horse. Our first little dissipation was to go to the pictures at La Scala Theatre, which had just been opened in O’Connell Street. That was on the afternoon of the 11th October, 1920. In the theatre we met the two Misses Fleming, of Drumcondra, with them was Mrs. O’Brien, wife of Eamon O’Brien, of Galbally, one of the men who had taken part in the rescue at Knocklong with us, and who was now in America. Mrs. O’Brien was not only delighted but astonished to meet us. I suppose it was somewhat of a surprise to her to meet in a picture house two men whom all the troops and police in Ireland had instructions to shoot at sight. We had grown used to taking these risks now, even though it was quite probable that not one in that audience that evening would get home without being held up and searched at the door, or in the street or in the tram.