Visit the scene of Tom Barry’s dramatic escape in West Cork

For the 'Flying Column' descending in darkness, it must have been epic, with the constant danger of falling or being hit by rocks displaced by those above

Visit the scene of Tom Barry’s dramatic escape in West Cork — Poll, the rocky gully down which Tom Barry escaped. Picture: John G O'Dwyer

It was June 1921, when the IRA’s West Cork Flying Column retreated up the Borlin Valley towards the Cork/Kerry border. In hot pursuit were thousands of British troops who had been deployed to eliminate the Column, while more soldiers blockaded their escape route to Kerry.

The odds were heavily stacked against the IRA men, but morale remained high. Their commander was, after all, the charismatic Tom Barry who, in just eight months, had established an international reputation as an able, cunning and fearless guerrilla fighter. A hero in West Cork, he enjoyed one considerable advantage: the local populations's unquestioning loyalty.