Clodagh Finn: The forgotten heroine who passed on life-saving information to IRA leader Liam Lynch

For decades, the account of Julia ‘Juie’ O’Riordan’s wartime bravery existed only as a family story

Julia 'Juie' O'Riordan cycled out into the night on March 9, 1921, to give crucial intelligence to Liam Lynch, who was hiding high up in the Boggeragh mountains, above Nadd in Co Cork, with a large group of volunteers.

Beside the date of her birth on August 7, 1898, Julia O’Riordan wrote in her personal pocketbook: “Glorious day for Ireland, to be remembered in History”.

It is heartening to see such confidence (and, we might add, humour) in a young Corkwoman who would indeed be remembered in history, even if it took some time and considerable digging by her relatives before her contribution to the Irish War of Independence was recognised.