On the frontline of guerilla warfare

ADMIRED by Che Guevara, feared by the British Army, loved by the people he led, Tom Barry, legendary commander of the famous West Cork Flying Column survived the War of Independence to tell his incredible story.

Guerrilla Days in Ireland, Barry’s thrilling first-hand account of the struggle for independence in Cork and the inspiration for the 2006 film The Wind that Shakes the Barley, will be brought to life on the Glór stage on Friday and Saturday October 5 and 6.

Barry led a volunteer army in a hide-and-seek campaign of guerilla warfare, matching wits against an enemy of overwhelming strength and power.

Adapted by Neil Pearson for the stage, the play has had an acclaimed first run and is generating a great deal of excitement as it builds towards its second tour. Starring Brendan Conroy (The Field, The Butcher Boy), Michael Grennell, (The Tudors, The Clinic), Jack Walsh and Aidan O’Hare, Guerillla Days in Ireland is not only hugely entertaining but of enormous historical importance.

Tom Barry (July 1, 1897 – July 2, 1980) was one of the most prominent guerrilla leaders in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence.
In 1915, during World War I, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery at Cork and became a soldier in the British Army. As well as fighting in Egypt, Russia, Italy and France, Barry also fought in the infamous battle of Kut-el-Amara  in present day Iraq. There, in a war communiqué posted to the front, Barry first heard of the Easter Rising. It would become a pivotal moment in his life.

In 1920, soon after his return home, Barry joined the Third West Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army, then engaged in the Irish War of Independence (1919 – 1921). He was involved in brigade council meetings, was brigade training officer, flying column commander, consulted by IRA General Headquarters Staff (GHQ) and also participated in the formation of the IRA First Southern Division. The West Cork Brigade became famous for its discipline, efficiency and bravery and Barry garnered a reputation as the most brilliant field commander of the war.

On November 28, 1920, Barry’s unit ambushed and killed almost a whole platoon of British Auxiliaries at Kilmichael, County Cork. The Kilmichael Ambush was a turning point of the war as the auxiliaries, previously thought ‘invincible’, were defeated by an IRA column – a fact that had a very negative impact on British morale. On March 19, 1921 at Crossbarry, Barry and 104 men, divided into seven sections, broke out of an encirclement of 1,200 strong British from the Essex Regiment. In total, the British Army stationed over 12,500 troops in County Cork during the conflict, while Barry’s men numbered no more than 310. Eventually, Barry’s tactics made West Cork ungovernable for the British authorities.

The performance of Guerilla Days runs for two nights at Glór at 8pm. For further information or booking details contact 065 6843103 or visit www.glor.ie.