Headford Ambush

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Headford Ambush

On 21 March 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the IRA attacked a British Army train at Headford Junction near Killarney, County Kerry. The raid was carried out by the IRA’s No. 2 Kerry Brigade, led by Tom McEllistrim and Dan Allman.

A party of about 30 IRA volunteers waited for a Royal Fusiliers train returning from Kenmare to Tralee. The train had to stop to change onto a different line, making the soldiers vulnerable. As the fusiliers began to disembark, the IRA opened fire from close range. Lieutenant C. E. Adams and several other soldiers were killed in the initial volley. A fierce exchange of fire followed.

Two IRA volunteers were killed during the fighting, including Dan Allman, and a third person, Jimmy Bailey, died while throwing a grenade under the train. Three civilians were killed and two were wounded in the crossfire. The British soldiers on the train fought back from inside the carriages; those on the platform scrambled for cover. The IRA tried to finish off the troops under the train with grenades, but a second British train arrived at Headford, and the IRA, having used most of their ammunition, withdrew into the surrounding hills.

Casualties are reported differently. British sources say about nine soldiers were killed and around a dozen wounded; IRA sources claim up to twenty-five soldiers were killed. In the immediate aftermath, an alleged spy was reportedly killed by the IRA, and the ambush helped boost IRA operations in Kerry.