More politeness from the old IRA


From the Robinson Family Album 1906 (NLI)



According to the witness statement of Michael Coleman in the military history archives, at this time of the War of Independence, a small company of men had been detailed to watch out for a yacht carrying arms for the rebels that was supposed to land between Old Head of Kinsale and Galley Head. It may have been that this was what the IRA needed the telescope for.

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  1. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2026 at 1:32 PM

    Adding the reference for anyone who wants to pull the statement. It is Michael Coleman's, witness statement 1254 in the Military Archives' Bureau of Military History 1913-1921. The bureau's own Index to Contributors lists him as Coleman, Michael, Captain, IRA, Cork, 1921, which fits the Kinsale end of the coast. He is the only Michael Coleman in that index. The number is the useful part - it is what lets a reader find the account in the archive. Oren

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