Luíochán Lios Póil ó Bhéal Jack Brosnan

Roibeard Ó Cathasaigh

Cad í an chuimhne is sia siar id cheann, a léitheoir? Níl aon amhras ná go bhfuil buanchuimhne ar leith againn go léir ar ár gcéad chuimhne a fhanann linn i gcaitheamh ár saoil ar chúis amháin nó ar chúis eile. Chuireas an cheist úd ar mo Dhaid uair, agus bhain a fhreagra siar asam. Saolaíodh m’athair ar an 23 Bealtaine 1919 (-’99) ráithe tar éis dá athair siúd, Robert Casey, dul ar shlí na fírinne. Seo freagra na ceiste ó bhéal Bhilly mar a dh’eachtraigh dom – é ’bheith i mbaclainn a mháthar, Agnes Thompson, in Jack Brosnan aois dhá bhliain go leith (earrach 1921) le linn Fráma reoite, fís 1984 dosna Dubhchrónaigh ruathar a thabhairt ar an dtigh i bPáirc an Teampaill. Bhíodar sa tóir ar a uncail Tom a mhair in aon tíos leo, agus a bhí gníomhach sna hÓglaigh ag an am. Chuardaigh na Tans an tigh ó bhun go barr, ach ní bhfuaireadar Tom ann rompu. 1 Ach, fiú mura bhfuair, d’fhág an t-eachtra a rian ar m’athair, mar dúirt sé go mba mhinic tromluí ina óige air, é ar a mhíle dícheall ag teitheadh ósna Tans, ag éalú ar éigin thar teorainn leasa le folú sa Teampall Liath uathu – Teampall Mártan suite cúpla céad slat óna thigh. 2

Luíochán Lios Póil 1921

Cuimhne úd m’athar mar chomhthéacs stairiúil, b’fhéidir, dá bhfuil le teacht anso thíos! Tabharfar Luíochán Lios Póil/Lispole Ambush chun cuimhne ar an 22 Márta i mbliana, céad bliain go díreach ó tharla an t-eachtra is mó agus is tábhachtaí i gCorca Dhuibhne le linn Chogadh sa Saoirse. 3 Cuimhne óm óige an leacht breá cois bóthair, i gcuimhne na n-Óglach a maraíodh sa luíochán, á nochtadh i searmanas tar éis aifrinn sna seasaidí luatha (1962).

Jack Brosnan (1900-’90)

Saolaíodh Jack i mBaile an Bhúlaeraigh i 1900, an cúigiú duine de sheachtar de chlann John agus Bridget (nee Griffin, Cinn Aird Thiar) Brosnan – mar a bhí de réir dhaonáireamh 1911 – Mary (15), Timothy ‘Tadhg’ (14), Hannah (13), Margaret ‘Peig’ (11), John ‘Jack’ (10), Thomas ‘Tom’ (8), Patrick ‘Paddy’ (6). D’fhág san Jack bliain is fiche le linn Luíochán Lios Póil. Chuaigh Jeaic ar imirce go Pittsburgh Mheiriceá i ndiaidh an luíocháin, mar a raibh Paddy, Tom is Hannagh ann roimhe. D’fhill Jack abhaile le linn an Spealaidh Mhóir/ The Great Depression. D’oibrigh sé le Bord na nOibreacha sna 40aidí ag tógaint an bhóthair ó Bhaile Ristín go Baile an Gharráin ar cheithre scilling sa ló.4 Chuireas-sa céad-aithe ar Jack roinnt blianta ina dhiaidh sin le linn dó bheith ag obair d’Uachtarlann an Daingin. Bhíodh sé i bhfeighil inneall buailte Marshall a chaitheadh lá nó dhó san fhómhar ag bualaldh arbhair le meitheal fear in ár n-iothla i bPáirc an Teampaill ó bhliain go bliain sna 60aidí. Chaith Jack blianta deiridh a shaoil go sona sa Ghrove i nDaingean Uí Chúis, mar a dheineamair an taifeadadh seo. Bhí fáilte gheal romhainn aon uair a bhuaileamair isteach chuig Jack ina thighín cluthair/comfortable sa Daingean, agus é gealgháireach, comhluadrach romhainn i gcónaí.

Luíochán Lios Póil ó Bhéal Jack Brosnan. Seo a leanas, foilsithe den chéad uair, tras-scríobh ar mhír d’fhísthaifead le Jack Brosnan ar Luíochán Lios Póil 5 a dheineamar i Lúnasa 1984, le cúnamh óm uncail Connie Ó Súilleabháin, grásta air, a bhí ar saoire ó Londain Shasana ag an am. Jack …They (the Volunteers) landed there Sunday, and there was five positions taken up. There was one – five fellas across the big bridge on the other side at the bohereen there, to fire there; and the main line was on the road, just the back of the school there, up on the ditch on the road there; there was about six inside in the school with boards up on platforms by the windows. Roibeard: By Ardamore School? Jack: Ya, and there was four more over in Connor’s field at the back of the chapel. But, no Tan turned up Sunday, and they said they’d wait for Monday. It was a stupid thing. No man turned up Monday, and they said they’d wait for another day, and that day the Tans came out. But the Tans had heard in the meantime that there was an ambush prepared for them. Anyone don’t know who gave (the information), but it was common for a while that it was some priest that didn’t say anything, but advised the superintendent not to go out to Lispole that day – he built on that. But the Tans went out on Tuesday, 22 March, and they stopped at Lispole School, and there was fellows watching in the place above, and some of them divided and went down Bóthar na Lathaí. Ah, they said, Jeffers, now – a Tralee man that was watching with two fellows with him, ‘They’re gone down searching Fothrach.’ And more of them went along the track, and over by your place (the railway tracks via Páirc an Teampaill) and over to John Larry’s (O’Sullivan), you see, and three of them with a machine gun.

R: Nobody spotted them? J: Nobody spotted them till there were a couple of shots. They hit the school, they wanted just to flush them, and after a couple of bursts of machine gun, we got the order, I was on the road with the main body, you know, there were about twenty of us there to ‘Retreat’. Jesus, to retreat where, there was no orders. A lot of them went into the Glen, that was a mistake, you know that big glen there. There was several of us went up the road (the old road between church and schoolhouse from main road up to Gráig), but the fellows that went into the glen – there was no alterations or no planning for a retreat – they went up the glen, and the end of the glen opened up on to a an open field, and the first man out was Tommy Hauley, and he was shot, he was hit on the head. The four more, they were so near him, they had to surrender. They were brought down along the glen, do you see, and Mike Harrington, now, and I give him credit for all this, Mike Harrington, John Street, he was in the American Army, he was a soldier, alright. He saw the lads coming down with the Tan opposite him, and he made one roar, ‘Come now lads, get them’ Jesus, the Tan got such a shock he dropped his rifle and ran, and the four that was behind him with a prisoner each, they all ran like hell, without firing a shot, they ran. There was one of them came up the road to the school, he was going to bomb the school, he was shot, he wasn’t killed, he was wounded. When the machine gunner saw the fellows above running they packed up and ran away too.

Léarscáil lámhscríofa le ‘Jimmy Fitz’, Lios Póil 6

Le caoinchead ó Noel Ó Murchú, údar WAR IN THE WEST 1918-1923.