A Garrison Remembers

by St. Mary's NS, Arva

The 25th of September 1920
A dark, Autumnal night
You could hear a leaf drop.

I, Constable John McKeon
And half a dozen others
Stationed in the RIC Barracks.

The tension was high,
The smell was tobacco,
The sound was the fire crackling.

Ten minutes later
The worry overwhelming,
A bang from Master Corcorans.

16 rifles,
16 revolvers,
Homemade bombs and shotguns.

Attacked from the front and the rear,
IRA victorious,
RIC defeated.

20 minutes of conflict
One sergeant slightly wounded
No casualties reported.

One garrison in ashes
One dark, Autumnal night
One 25th of September 1920.

Written by Áine Brady, Phillip Hoang, Dylan Lewis and Isabelle Reilly as part of Poetry as Commemoration workshops led by Frank Galligan in  St. Mary’s NS, Arva, Co. Cavan, in October 2022.

Image credit: UCD Archives UCDA P151-1497 Papers of Seán MacEoin.