Eoin ‘Stan’ is hoping to inspire some new music fanatics
Musicians launches second part of Sliabh Luachra Music series
EOIN “Stan” O’Sullivan launched the second of his Sliabh Luachra Music Series during the week.
The local musician and Sliabh Luachra musician-in-residence has not stood still during the lockdown producing lots of high quality online content featuring the best of our local flavour of music.
“The biggest part of me doing the Musician in Residence for Sliabh Luachra job was meeting people, schoolchildren, musicians, festival organisers, all the Sliabh Luachra clans and factions in the hills here and out around the wide world,” he said.
“I can’t do that at the moment so I thought I’d try to create videos and new recordings to entertain you who are missing the sessions and festivals and hopefully inspire some new fanatics.” The Sliabh Luachra Music Series is some of his finest work to date. The latest episode includes music from Aine & Francis O’Connor, Niamh Ní Charra, Tim Browne, Bryan O’leary and great young musicians. Many of the performances were filmed in the Cultúrlann (the old Protestant church). You can find these videos by searching for “sliabh luachra music series” on You Tube
This is the extraordinary story concerning the capture of General Cuthbert Lucas by the IRA and how a young student from Lackendarra, Glantane was instrumental in saving the town of Fermoy from total destruction by British forces afterwards.
Gen. Lucas was the most senior army officer ever captured by the IRA and the British Secretary of State, Winston Churchill, was aghast at such a daring capture and annoyed that such a senior army officer could expose himself to such danger. Before the centenary of the War of Independence expires it is opportune to relate the story of how events unfurled that famous day.
On Saturday 26/6/1920 Liam Lynch became aware that General Lucas, along with two other officers, Colonels Danford and Tyrrell, from Fermoy Army Barracks, were seen fishing on the Blackwater at Kilbarry near Fermoy and made plans to capture them. An IRA raiding party surprised the fishing group at the fishing hut on their return in the evening and took them prisoners without difficulty.
They had two cars on standby to escort the prisoners to a safe hideaway. The mission went well, initially, but Lucas and Danford attacked their escorts, Lynch and Clancy, in the rear car, and in the ensuing fight, Lucas surrendered but Danford made a dash for freedom; however, he was shot in the shoulder and recaptured.
The first car turned back and Tyrrell was allowed stay with Danford to get help and the rest headed to the Lombardstown Company area where Lucas was imprisoned. Liam Lynch knew the area well as he used safe houses there extensively as Brigade HQ during the war.
Gen. Lucas was held prisoner that night in the home of the O’Connell family in Lackendarra, near Glantane, where John and Michael were staunch IRA activists and another brother, Liam, gave his life to the cause in Dublin the following October. General Lucas arrived as a prisoner at about 3am on the 27th with Liam Lynch himself as chief custodian and the escort also included local man Ned Murphy along with Gerry Buckley and Gerry O’Hanlon.
Lucas was imprisoned in one of the bedrooms and Liam Lynch stayed on while Michael McCarthy, from nearby Creggane, along with the O’Connells were on guard duty.
Another brother to the O’Connells, Patrick, who was a student in St. Coleman’s College in Fermoy, arrived home later that evening, on holidays, and when he entered the kitchen his mother asked if there was any news from Fermoy. He told her that all hell was about to break loose in the town as the British Army garrison threatened to bomb and burn down the town unless their general was released.
The man sitting by the fireside, Liam Lynch, who was reading a book, jumped up on hearing this and questioned Patrick about the veracity of his comments. Satisfied, he got notepaper and a pen and went to Gen. Lucas who obliged by writing a note to state he was still in command and under no circumstances was Fermoy to be touched. He also gave instructions on where and to whom the note should be delivered and now the question was how to get it there.
John O’Connell volunteered to cycle there but Lynch did not want that as it could lead to disclosure of where Lucas was held. Michael McCarthy was then given the job and set out on a 25 mile cycle to Fermoy.
When he arrived at the designated premises in the small hours of the morning the owner refused to open the door. He could not deliver it to the army barracks as he could be detained and used as a hostage, so he decided to roust up the local priest who knew the barracks and promised to deliver the note.
Some looting and damage had already taken place but the town was saved almost certain destruction by a throwaway comment by young Patrick O’Connell.
The above account was recorded by John O’Connell himself.
Gen. Lucas was transferred to the McCarthy home in Creggane, Lombardstown the following night for a short time before being moved out of the area to Clare and Limerick. A month later he escaped near Herbertstown in East Limerick and found his way to Pallasgrean RIC Barracks where he was looked after.
He was being escorted back to Fermoy when the convoy was ambushed by an IRA party but after an intense battle the convoy got through.
It was suspected he was deliberately allowed escape as his captivity was using up too much resources and drawing intense searches. His grand daughter has also indicated such an outcome.
When the British press descended in droves to hear his story and expecting to receive a lurid account of his torture and mistreatment at the hands of savages he made one telling statement when he declared the now immortal words: “I was treated as a gentleman by gentlemen”. There was a lot of truth in that statement as his captors had a grudging admiration for Lucas and he, likewise, for his captors.
His personal letters indicate his participation in some farm tasks, fishing, salmon poaching at night, card playing, being chased by a bull and he was supplied with whiskey almost on demand. He recalled the chase by the bull while out exercising in Caherconlish regularly as an amusing anecdote describing how a British army general and a high ranking officer in the IRA were put on the run by a farm animal.
His grand daughter wrote: ‘My grandfather, Brig. General Cuthbert Henry Tindall Lucas, was captured by the IRA in 1920 and held for over a month. He was treated exceptionally well and eventually ‘allowed’ to escape. It is one of the few ‘good’ stories to come from a very dark period during the Irish War of Independence’. A fitting tribute to his IRA captors and guards and also to his own honesty and integrity. He was especially thankful to the women who looked after him in the various houses where he was held captive.