An event is being held near Cahir on Saturday afternoon to commemorate the first ever March by Sean Hogan’s ‘Flying Column’. The Flying Columns were an innovation in the War of Independence that is credited to volunteers in County Limerick led by Donnacha O Hannigan in 1920 – in Tipperary the first Column went into operation in September 1920 under the leadership of Dinny Lacey.
The Columns were able to take advantage of their local knowledge of the terrain to strike at the Crown Forces and make good their escape using boreens, Mass paths and a network of “safe houses”. The column operating locally was known as the no.2 ‘Flying Column of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade IRA.’ Their leader was Sean Hogan born in Greenane supported by Dan Breen, from Donohill.
The event on Saturday will cover a distance of less than 1km and feature an address by Dr. Tomas Mac Conamara. The accomplished historian has written extensively on this period and two of his six books include ‘The time of the Tans’ and ‘The Scarriff Martyrs’. He is a regular on the ‘Today Show’ and is an award winning oral Historian.
The Commemoration will begin at 2.30pm with a march following part of the route Sean Hogan, Dan Breen and the ‘Flying Column’ took all those years ago. Organiser Tom Hennessy says “It is fascinating that today over 100 years later the same “boithrins” and much of the landscape has not changed and you are ‘walking in the footsteps’ of the ‘Flying Column’ it is a ‘Landscape of Revolution’ and it is a unique experience to stand where those men passed all those years ago.”
This event is non-political and all are welcome to attend. The location is just outside Cahir at Killinure(E21 Y308). Tipperary Independent Republican Association is organising the event – the group seek to record local history from this period of Ireland’s struggle for Independence and to erect plaques at key locations to enable future generations to have access to their heritage. The event will conclude with refreshments at Halleys Bar in Clogheen.
