Captain John Fanning
O/C Fermoy Company IRA
RÉAMHRÁ
As a young child, I was always fascinated by this tall upright man who always carried the Irish flag at the head of the annual Liam Lynch commemoration parade in Fermoy. At that time, in the 1950s, it was a very big event in the town; people came from all over via bus, train and car, assembled in Páirc Mhic Gearailt and marched to Kilcrumper Cemetery. I didn’t know who this fine man was and what his story was, but I was always impressed by his stature.
Just a lad of eighteen summers I became politically active and that’s when I came to know this unassuming man. He was John Fanning of Clondulane.
Many a night after a Fianna Fáil meeting I, Dan and Mrs O’Donovan and a few others would be enthralled listening to Johnny, Lar Condon, Matt Flood and Paddy Ahern telling of their days in the War of Independence. They weren’t boasting or bragging; they were just friends reminiscing about the old days and they had a rapt audience. It is only later on that I realised how privileged I was to be in the company of these men who brought Mick Fitzgerald and Liam Lynch to life for me. I have often regretted that I didn’t write down what I had heard.
John Fanning will always be a hero to me. He was such a quiet, unassuming and pleasant man. This is not to take from the other Old I.R.A. men and Cumann na mBan women I had the pleasure of knowing.
It was a great blessing to be able to read some of Johnny’s memories in his Witness Statement from the Bureau of Military History. What follows is part of the story of John Fanning, Captain Fermoy Company Irish Volunteers.
YOUNG VOLUNTEER AND RISE THROUGH THE RANKS
John was born on 29th June, 1897 at Clondulane, Fermoy. He joined the Irish Volunteers in March or April 1917 at the Sinn Féin Hall in Chapel Square, Fermoy. There were about sixty present at that meeting which elected the following officers: Liam Denn, Officer
Commanding; Liam Lynch, 1st Lieutenant; Lar Condon, 2nd Lieutenant; George Power, Adjutant and Mick Fitzgerald, Quartermaster.
New recruits were vetted before being admitted as volunteers. Drills and parades were held a couple of nights each week in either the Sinn Féin Hall or in fields around the town. The instructors were the officers who took sections in turn.
Around October 1917 the arrest of Liam Denn and Lar Condon led to a change in the officer board. The new officers were Liam Lynch O/C, Mick Fitzgerald, 1st Lieutenant and John Fanning 2nd Lieutenant. In early 1918 Fermoy Battalion was formed. It comprised the volunteer companies of Fermoy, Araglin, Ballynoe, Bartlemy, Castlelyons, Conna, Glenville, Kilworth, Rathcormac and Watergrasshill. The officers elected were: Martin O’Keeffe, Ballynoe, O/C; Lar Condon, Vice O/C; Liam Lynch, Adjutant and Mick Fitzgerald, Quartermaster. The three latter were members of Fermoy Company.
This led to a further shake up in the officers of Fermoy Company, with John Fanning becoming O/C, Pa Gallagher 1st Lieutenant and Mick Sweeney 2nd Lieutenant. The membership of Fermoy Company continued to increase until by the end of 1918, there were around 120 members. In the Spring and Summer of 1918, due to the Conscription scare, there was a surge in membership to 350-400; but when the threat of conscription receded, the majority of the new recruits faded out.
ACTION FOR THE FIRST TIME
The first incident Johnny was involved in was a raid for arms on a Fermoy-bound train at Castletownroche in May 1918. According to Paddy Ahern, ‘Liam Lynch received information from a contact of his in the Army stores at Cobh (Queenstown then) that a large consignment of rifles and ammunition was being despatched to Fermoy on a date in early May 1918. Arrangements were made by the battalion officers in conjunction with John Fanning (O/C Fermoy Company) to hold up the train ...... With a number of other members of Fermoy Company including Tim Fenton, Jack Herlihy, Jack Fitzgerald and Patk. (“Powder”) Maloney, I proceeded to a pre-arranged meeting place at Renny boreen – about 6 miles from Fermoy on the road to Fermoy where I met the following who had arrived by car: Liam Lynch, Liam Tobin, Lar Condon, Jack O’Neill, Mick Fitzgerald, John Fanning (Company O/C), George Power as well as three railway men who were to co-operate (Jerh. Corkery, Tom Egan and Tim Sheehan). In addition to the above named, there were also selected members of the local companies who were engaged on scouting and outpost duty as well as standing by at Renny boreen to transfer the captured material to cars.
Incidentally the cars, which had been hired to go to a funeral, were driven by Tom Cavanagh (later Battalion Intelligence Officer) and Mick McCarthy. One car load (Tom Egan, Tim Sheehan, Jerh. Corkery, Jack O’Neill and John Fanning) proceeded to the vicinity of Castletownroche Railway Station to await the arrival of the train while two others (Liam Denn and Ted Heskin) were already on the platform. The latter pair were to board the footplate as the engine was about to pull out and to compel the driver to halt the train at Renny boreen where the main party were. The others in the vicinity of the station were to board the train also, while the railwaymen (Tom Egan, Jerh. Corkery and Tim Sheehan) were to be prepared to take over the train in an emergency.
However, due to an error in timing on the part of the volunteer who had been delegated to cut the wires, the operation did not proceed according to plan. It had been agreed that the wires would not be cut until the train had whistled that it was about to leave the station but it was later established that the wires were in fact cut as the train whistled when about to enter the station.’
So, while the action was well-planned, due to human error it had to be abandoned. As it happened it was later discovered that there were no arms on the train, but were on a later train.
RAIDS FOR ARMS
Around this time also Fermoy Company under Johnny, O/C and Paddy Ahern, 2nd lieutenant, carried out a successful raid for arms at Barry’s hardware merchants in Fermoy whose magazine was in the timber yard on the hospital road. ‘A considerable quantity of fuses, detonators, gelignite and shotgun cartridges was obtained in the raid. It was all dumped in Clondulane. Nearly all the members of the Fermoy unit took part in this raid’, John tells us.
Arising from several raids in the area, Fermoy Company accumulated 7 or 8 rifles, 30 shotguns, about six .22 rifles and a quantity of ammunition. On another occasion John Fanning, Paddy Ahern, Pa Gallagher and Tim Sheehan raided the house of D.L. O’Gorman, Janeville, Fermoy while he was at Mass. They obtained a quantity of guns. Miss O’Gorman, who was in the house at the time of the raid, did not disclose the identity of the raiders to her father on his return.
On 6th January, 1919 Cork No.2 Brigade was formed with Liam Lynch, O/C; Dan Hegarty (Mallow), Vice O/C; Tom Barry (Glanworth), Adjutant; George Power (Fermoy), Quartermaster. Consequent to this there were changes in the Fermoy Battalion officers: Mick Fitzgerald, O/C; Lar Condon, Vice O/C; Moss Twomey, Adjutant and Con Leddy, Quartermaster.
Paddy Ahern tells us of another incident in which Johnny was involved.
‘Consignments of military stores were regularly handled at Fermoy station so it was arranged that Jerh. Corkery and Tom Egan (two shunters employed at the station) would arrange to shunt a wagon containing stores “down the line” one night in the late spring of 1919. The wagon contained some thousands of rounds of .303 rifle ammunition made up in slings in cardboard boxes. The wagon was opened by John Fanning and witness (Patk. Ahern) and the contents were removed by members of the Clondulane section of Fermoy Company to a dump in their own area. This dump was situated in Clondulane Mills. It was made by constructing a false bottom in a large wheat bin which was not in use. This bin was between 50 and 60 feet deep and the bottom was reached by means of a permanent ladder affixed to the inside of the bin. To ascertain whether there was anything in the bin it was necessary to go down the ladder and to take with you an inspection lamp lighted by electricity. As there was always one or two bins in the mill which appeared to be empty at one time or another, there was never any suspicion that the bin in question was being used as a dump. This dump which was constructed by Mick Fitzgerald, who later died
on hunger-strike in Cork Gaol, was never discovered. The ammunition captured on this occasion supplied the brigade and battalion columns of Cork II Brigade during the subsequent period of intense activity during late 1920 and 1921.’
RAID AT THE WESLEYAN CHURCH
In the spring and summer of 1919 the drilling and parades with occasional rifle practice continued. Military carrying rifles usually paraded to church on Sunday morning. A party of eighteen to twenty normally paraded to the Wesleyan church near the courthouse. Liam Lynch decided to attempt to disarm this group.
Meticulous planning went into this operation. Johnny as O/C of Fermoy Company was heavily involved in this planning and on the day, along with Mick Fitzgerald, Paddy Ahern and Jack Fitzgerald, was part of the main attacking party under Lar Condon.
He tells us: ‘The whole job did not take five minutes and sixteen rifles were loaded into the cars. As a member of the main attacking party, I was within an arm’s length of the soldiers when the order ‘hands up’ was given. I immediately grabbed the rifle of the soldier nearest to me and attempted to wrest it from him. After a short struggle, I succeeded in doing so. All the other members of the main attacking party, as well as those in the Mallow car and the hangers on, who had previously been strolling round the road, were engaged for a minute or two in a sharp struggle but the enemy were soon overpowered. During the scrimmage a couple of shots were fired and one of the military party (Private Jones) was shot dead. Two or three of the military were wounded. Our only casualty was Liam Lynch who sustained a slight wound on the shoulder.
When the rifles had been loaded into the cars, I jumped on the running-board of the Mallow car which carried, amongst others, Liam Lynch, Owen Harold, Ned Watters, Bryan Kelly and Leo O’Callaghan (the driver). We proceeded with all speed to Carrigabrick, about one and a half miles from Fermoy, on the Fermoy-Tallow road. We halted here to pick up William Ahearn (chemist) who was our firstaid man. A number of the others engaged were in the Rathcormac car which was also with our party.
Both cars were then driven to Kilmagner, about four miles further on towards Lismore. I should have mentioned that, when we passed Carrigabrick, the road was blocked behind us by felling two large trees. These had already been sawn through earlier that morning and were held in position by ropes until we passed.
At Kilmagner we unloaded the rifles from the cars. Assisted by Ned and William Lane (brothers), Crough, Lar Condon, Mick Fitzgerald and witness (John Fanning) took the rifles about one mile across the country to a drain in Kilbarry woods where they were dumped. With Mick Fitzgerald I then went home to Clondulane, had a meal and later that evening returned to Fermoy to attend a Feis which was being held there.’
The Feis was being held in the grounds of St. Colman’s College. The military arrived and proceeded to attack those in attendance who retaliated with stones, bottles and anything else that was available, while the students of St. Colman’s even used their hurleys.
ARRESTS AND IMPRISONMENT
The following morning Lar Condon, Mick Fitzgerald, John Swaine, John Fanning and his brother James were arrested and brought to Fermoy R.I.C. Barracks. The men were held in the barracks over night with a military guard on duty at the gate.
Johnny tells us: ‘During the course of the night of September 8th, when the soldiers of the Shropshire Light Infantry were rioting and wrecking the town, I can clearly remember that there was a crowd outside the gate of the R.I.C. Barracks, shouting to the soldiers, “Come up here to the murderers.” This was the attitude of a goodly proportion of the townspeople of Fermoy at this period.’
The prisoners were brought to Cork Gaol under military escort on the evening of September 9th and were remanded at weekly intervals for six weeks, when all except Mick Fitzgerald were released.
From the time of his release Johnny resumed his position as O/C and was basically ‘on the run’.
Towards the end of January 1920 it was decided to attack Aghern R.I.C. Barracks on 1st February. However, due to intense enemy activity in the area the idea was abandoned. (Lar Condon tells us that another attack was made about three weeks later in an affray that lasted about three quarters of an hour, but was abandoned with the arrival of reinforcements in armoured cars.)
In early February Johnny was arrested and deported to Wormwood Scrubs prison in London and after about four months was released, having been on hunger strike for 21 days.
CAPTURE OF GENERAL LUCAS AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Shortly after his release, he was asked by Liam Lynch to get petrol for a car to be used in the capture of Brigadier General Cuthbert Lucas which took place on 26th June, 1920. Tom Cavanagh supplied the petrol to Johnny. Johnny was also given the task of notifying the members of Araglin Company who were to take part in the operation, but he himself was not allowed to take part.
On the night of the capture of General Lucas, British military sacked Fermoy town as they had done after the Wesleyan church attack.
After General Lucas’ capture arrangements were made with the British Army for the passing on to him of correspondence, clothes, etc. These were left at O’Keeffe’s in MacCurtain Street where they were collected by Volunteer Michael Barry and on two occasions, were passed on to Johnny who took them to the Mourneabbey area where Lucas was being held.
The I.R.A. used to hold meetings at the home of the Rice family in Strawhall. Around the time of the Lucas capture, Rice’s house was raided by the British disguised as civilians and clergymen. The family was driven out and the house set on fire. The locals helped to put out the fire and saved part of the house. A quantity of explosives were discovered, so clearly the intention was to completely ruin the house. The explosives were handed over to the volunteers, some armed members of whom kept guard on the house for some nights after the raid.
Investigation by the local volunteers established that the raiders were military from Fermoy and that the clothes used as disguise had been supplied by the owner of a fish and chip shop in Barrack Hill, an Englishman named Longhurst.
Johnny tells us: ‘He was kept under guard by the British for some time and rarely left his home. However, he eventually moved out to a club, where he used to play cards, one Sunday evening. Word was immediately sent to me by the local Intelligence Officer, and with Paddy Maloney (Powder) and William Twomey I entered the club where we seized Longhurst. We took him out and bundled him into a milk car in which we were driven by Volunteer Michael Barry to Castlelyons where the prisoner was handed over to William Buckley (Bronco) who was O/C at the time.’
Longhurst was tried by Liam Lynch at Brigade Headquarters with Paddy O’Brien (Brigade Quartermaster) as his defence and was sentenced to be deported. As he passed through Fermoy he was met at the railway station by his family. He never came back.
WITH THE FLYING COLUMN
The Cork No. 2 Brigade Flying Column was formed in September 1920. The training camp was in the Mourneabbey area under the direction of Liam Lynch and Ernie O’Malley. On either 30th September or 1st October, a few days after the capture of Mallow Barracks (September 28th), Johnny and Lar Condon joined the Column at Freemount, which was in the Newmarket Battalion area.
Lar Condon tells us: ‘Later in 1920 Johnny Fanning and myself were with Lynch’s Column and we operated in North Cork for about six or seven weeks. The column was formed from men picked from the battalions in the brigade. There wasn’t much doing during this time, except a proposed attack on the R.I.C. Barracks at Dromcollogher. There were about 40 men in the column with rifles and two machine guns, a Lewis and a Hotchkiss. Ernie O’Malley was with the Column too. The Dromcollogher attack was stopped as we approached the town on the pleas put forward by the O.C. East Limerick Brigade that we were not authorised to operate in another brigade area.’
While with the column, they received training in the use of arms, scouting and the use of cover. When they returned to their own battalion, Johnny went to Araglin for two weeks imparting the skills he had learned while with the column.
DEATH OF MICHAEL FITZGERALD
Fermoy Battalion O/C Commandant Michael Fitzgerald died after 67 days on hunger strike on 17 October, 1920. Johnny was in Araglin at this time. He took part in the funeral procession and, when the Army surrounding the cemetery had departed, he with Paddy Ahern and Daithí Barry fired three volleys over the grave.
PLANNED AMBUSH AT BLACKSTONE BRIDGE
Around the end of November it was decided to ambush a convoy of auxiliaries who usually went to Cork each day from Fermoy. The place selected for the ambush was Blackstone Bridge on the Cork side of Rathcormac. The ambush party was under the command of Moss Twomey and was made up of volunteers from Fermoy, Araglin, Castlelyons, Rathcormac and Bartlemy.
Johnny takes up the story: ‘Half the column which included armed members of local companies, numbered about forty, took up position behind a stone-faced fence, a field in from the road and in a position overlooking same. The second section of the column took up a somewhat similar position on the opposite side. However, in order to ensure that Blackstone Bridge was effectively covered, it was necessary for four members of this latter section to dig themselves into two trenches; this latter party were William Buckley (Bronco) and Maurice Regan, Martin Condon and Michael Keane.
The Ccolumn took up their positions at dawn on the 8th December, 1920. They were armed – about 22 with rifles and the remainder with shotguns. The O/C of the operation had decided that, if the convoy consisted of more than three lorries, we would not take them on.
About 4pm our scouts reported that the enemy were approaching from Fermoy direction and Moss Twomey got ready to give the signal to open fire, but at that moment a large funeral party in about thirty or forty horses and traps entered the ambush position. In addition, the enemy party, which arrived at the same time, was composed of five lorries, so the signal to open fire could not be given in the circumstances. The convoy of auxiliaries was allowed to pass through and the signal to withdraw was given.’
The Fermoy group went back to the Clondulane area and the rest were billeted in the Castlelyons area. For a few nights after, Fermoy Company patrolled the town for fear of reprisals but none materialised.
FINAL ARREST BY THE BRITISH
In the first week of January 1921, Johnny recounts that with Moss Twomey, he ‘was engaged in making a final check on the company and battalion position prior to our joining the battalion flying column on a full time basis when we ran into a round-up being carried out by a large concentration of enemy forces in the Clondulane area. Despite our knowledge of the country and the co-operation of the civilians in the area, we failed to break through the encircling movement and were eventually captured.’
Johnny was then taken to Fermoy Military Barracks and eventually to Ballykinlar Camp in County Down. He was interned here until under the general release of prisoners following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6th December, 1921 - he was released on December 8th.
After the signing of the Treaty, Captain John Fanning, O/C Fermoy Company, followed Liam Lynch in opposing that Treaty, as did the majority of the I.R.A. at that time.
Johnny passed to his eternal reward on 27th October, 1984 at the age of 89. (According to the Census of 1901 and that of 1911, he was born in 1895 not in 1897, as he states in his witness statement). He now rests in Kilcrumper Cemetery not far from his comrades Mick Fitzgerald and Liam Lynch.
Sár-fhear!!!
Foinsí: Bureau of Military
History