Celebrating Tipperary’s heroes of 1920

In the annals of the Third Tipperary Brigade the name Drangan has a special resonance. The attack on the RIC barracks there on June 3/4 1920 went according to plan and was entirely successful. The planning and tactics of the attacking volunteers demonstrated how well they’d learned the lessons of previous similar attacks. They introduced a new weapon – mud bombs. In contrast to the Hollyford attack they adopted a policy of not threatening the defending Peelers with dire punishments if they surrendered.
The attack was planned and led by the Brigade’s stalwarts – Seumas Robinson, Seán Treacy, Ernie O'Malley, Dan Breen, Seán Hogan, Brian Shanahan, and Ned O'Reilly. A number of local volunteers also proved their bravery, ability, and gallantry that night. Among them were Tom O'Donovan, OC, Seventh (Drangan) Battalion, Nicholas Moroney, the Battalion Adjutant, and J. Foley, Capt. of the Drangan Company.
It is said that, “no plan, no matter how perfect, survives contact with the enemy. That’s why he’s called the enemy”. In Drangan the volunteers disproved that dictum. Apart from driving the British presence out of the locality, the other aim was to capture badly needed weapons and ammunition. The volunteers were perpetually and woefully short of war material of every kind. The crown forces were their primary source of such material. Drangan proved that.
The second lecture in the symposium in Drangan, which has been organised by the Comóradh na nÓglach group for Saturday, May 9, 2020, will be delivered by Michael Moroney. A native of Drangan, he has a keen interest in the War of Independence and those involved in it in the east Tipperary area. His pedigree could only be described as impeccable. He is the son of a Volunteer, Patrick Moroney. Happily his mother, Bridget, is still hale and hearty, one of the very few living volunteer widows. He is a nephew of the above-mentioned Nicholas, and a grand nephew of Jim Egan, an outstanding volunteer in the Mullinahone Company of the Kilkenny Brigade. Michael has written on various aspects of the struggle for national self-determination. Indeed, many of his admirers’ greatest wish is that he’d write, and publish, much more! He has organised, lectured, and spoken at many commemorative events. A committed Republican, he is noted for his absolute commitment to telling the truth and giving a balanced account of the personnel and operations of the volunteers. His first historical article published in the inaugural edition of the Tipperary Historical Journal in 1988, was, “George Plant and the Rule of Law – the Deveraux Affair 1940 – 1942”. That biography remains the definitive account of Plant’s life and death.