IRA Raid on Inchicore Railway Works

On March 6 1921, during the height of the tan war and while a British military curfew was in force, Volunteers of F Company, 4th Battalion, Dublin Brigade of the Irish Republican Army carried out a daring raid at the railway works in Inchicore.

The Republican Army had received solid intelligence that a consignment of steel plating, which was to be used by the British in the construction of armored cars, had recently been delivered at the GS and W Railway Works in Inchicore.

The Railway works had for some time been a hotbed of support for the revolutionary movement, with republicans able to come and go as they pleased. Sets of keys for the entrance gates and stores were readily available to the IRA and the works were often used as a shelter for republican volunteers escaping from British raids.

Despite this however, a military raid on the works would be both difficult and dangerous to pull off successfully, due in no small terms to the close proximity of Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, and the readily available number of British troops.

F Company was a highly trained and disciplined unit, that had built a reputation for its ability to put the 'Brits on the run'. As many members of the Company worked at and were familiar with the Railway works, the volunteers new the site intimately and were able to plan their operation to the utmost military precision.

Due to the large scale of the operation, every available volunteer attached to F Company had to be mobilised. If someone managed to raise the alarm British reinforcements from Richmond Barracks could surround the works within minutes. It was therefore agreed that every civilian worker on duty that night would have to be taken prisoner by the IRA.

At 7.30pm on March 6, 80 volunteers paraded and final orders were issued to the Company officers. Under no circumstances could the steel plates be allowed to fall into the hands of the British.

The Republican volunteers split into three sections and with watches synchronized agreed to enter the works from three different sides at 8pm.

One section were to enter through the main entrance gate facing Kilmainham. The second section were to enter through the  'Private Pass', a narrow laneway on the northside of the works at Sarsfield Road, opposite The Ranch, Ballyfermot. The third section were to enter through a gate near the railway line on the Clondalkin side.

At the agreed time, the IRA entered the railway works, placed a guard on the gates and took control of the offices. The watchmen and other workers were taken prisoner and secured without a shot, demonstrating the effectiveness of the local IRA company and ensuring word about the raid couldn't leak out.

The steel plating was soon located and the smaller pieces were carried away and dumped. Sledge hammers were used in an attempt to break up the larger pieces, but when this failed it was decided to commandeer a number of lorries belonging to the railway company and transport the plates from the scene.

The loading of the trucks was completed by 3.30am but because the British curfew was still in effect the IRA decided to wait until the curfew ended at 6am, before leaving the rail works. In the meantime the IRA ensured that all volunteers had a good breakfast at the expense of the railway company.

At 6am the commandeered lorries, loaded with the steel plates, left the works, the prisoners were released unharmed and the Republican Army withdrew from another successful operation of massive propaganda value.

At 7th Lock Bridge on the way to Clondalkin, one of the commandeered lorries broke down due to being over loaded with steel plates. The IRA was left with no other option but to dump its cargo into the canal, where it remained for many years after.

Writing in 'Dublin's Fighting Story', Jim Donnelley who played a key role in the Republican operation that night, said:

 'There was consternation in Inchicore works the next day. Managers and officials were flying about. It seemed impossible that a large railway works could be occupied by the IRA from 8 pm to 6 am with curfew in force and Richmond Barracks only a stone's throw away, Kilmainham a few hundered yards, Tallaght about two milles and Baldonnel Aerodrome about three or four miles away. So once again had the men of Éire stolen a march on the Sasanaigh.'