Pirates & Privateers: Tom Mahon's Books

Before 1922, Royal Navy ships frequently docked at Queenstown, Ireland (known as Cobh today) for repairs and to take on supplies. This began to change in January of that year when the Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified. Instead of overseeing naval operations, Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt started shutting down British naval bases and arranging for soldiers to be evacuated. Normally unshakable, disciplined, and logical, he was now unduly tense and thoroughly despised Ireland. He believed those who supported Irish independence, particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA), were simpleminded killers who lacked the ability to plan and execute military operations.

About eight miles to the northwest lay Cork, a major port for merchant and passenger ships. The city was the home of Seán O’Hegarty, commander of the Cork No. 1 Brigade, a large and highly efficient unit within the IRA. Contrary to Gaunt’s belief, O’Hegarty was quite adept at arranging ambushes and skirmishes with great success and minimal losses. He showed no fear, cared little for his own well-being, and led from the front. Ruthless, clever, and resolute, he had a single goal: Irish independence. If that meant provoking war, so be it.

With the dismantling of the naval bases, there were untried opportunities for O’Hegarty to launch a pivotal attack. He settled on a bold plan that involved kidnapping and piracy, even though the key participants possessed little, if any, knowledge of ships and the sea. “Any reasonable and rational commander would have dismissed the undertaking as foolhardy in the extreme. Not only was the underlying premise overly optimistic, but the project entailed an elaborate sequence of actions, each dependent on the other and should one component fail then the whole operation would fail.” (129-130) Not one to back down, O’Hegarty refused to be dissuaded and the isolated village of Ballycotton became the “X” on the treasure map.

This is the astounding story of how O’Hegarty seizes a navy transport, laden with ammunition, explosives, and weapons, on 30 March 1922. Mahon skillfully answers questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how in a manner that reads more like an adventure novel than a recitation of facts. To enhance the reading experience, he delves into a variety of interrelated subtopics (such as violence, prejudice, and colonialism) and discusses the aftermath of the incident and what became of the people involved in or affected by it. Also included are maps, a glossary, notes and references, and a bibliography. The Ballycotton Job is a must-read for anyone wishing to know about the turbulent struggle for Ireland and the Irish to be free of British rule in the early 20th century.

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