Ned opened his eyes, blinking rapidly. “I’m all right. Stay down. Keep low.”
Emmet gulped and tried to calm his voice. “You’re not all right. You’re bleeding.”
One of the other men, a fellow called Paddy, crept up on the other side of Emmet’s father. “You all right, Ned?”
“Feckin shoulder’s gone.”
The man pulled out a dressing from his backpack and pulled open Ned’s jacket. He pressed the pad down against the wound and nodded to Emmet. “Hold that.”
Emmet lay his hand down against the dressing, not wanting to hurt his father further.
“Hard. Press hard to stop the bleeding.”
Emmet pressed down harder, smelling the copper smell of warm blood. The man had pulled out a strip of cotton and wound it across the pad and around Ned’s chest and shoulder. “Looks like it went right through.”
Ned spoke through gritted teeth. “Grand.”
At that moment there was a cry from the men at the door as the frame gave way. The door toppled in, but inside there was another door.
Despite himself, Emmet looked up and could see that the second door was of iron or some sort of heavy black metal. For a moment Emmet’s heart sank. They can’t breech it. This is all for nothing. As the sledge again started thumping, a shout came from within.
Surrender! The men inside were surrendering. A rifle was thrown out through the top window as a token of their surrender.
Ned flapped his hand. “Go. Paddy, take the lead. Emmet go, go, go.”
Emmet bit his lip. “I want to stay with you.”
His father’s voice was weak, but firm. “I’ll be fine. This is why you’re here.”
Everything in Emmet cried out to stay where he was; to hold Da in his arms, and yet he rose, hesitated for another second and then rushed forward behind the others where they surrounded the entry in case there were any attempts of escape.
The iron door opened, and Weston pulled a revolver out of his holster and shouted to the men inside. “Step back. Back against the wall with your hands in the air, all of you.”
Emmet held his breath. They had so many weapons inside. What’s to stop them from firing on us now?
The half dozen RIC did as they were instructed and backed against the wall with their arms up. All the Volunteers were now inside and those with guns kept them trained on the constables.
Emmet tried to make his way over to his brother, but it was too crowded in the small room. He saw Kevin look around, his brow furrowed, and Emmet knew he was looking for Da. At that moment, he saw Paddy draw Weston aside for a quiet word. Weston frowned, and Emmet knew they must be talking about his father.
Weston pointed to Emmet’s brother. “Ryan, you can drive a motor, can’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your father’s been wounded. I saw a motor behind the barracks. Get your father to a doctor quick as you can. Then come back here with the motor.”
Emmet saw Kevin’s eyes widen. “Yes, sir.” He hustled out, throwing a worried look at Emmet as he left.
He heard a muttered ‘Jaysus’ and he turned to see the two from the previous day. If Emmet had been feeling less sick and worried, he might have smiled. The one he knew as Joe narrowed his eyes. “Joe Parnell. I knew you were a bloody troublemaker.”
Weston raised an eyebrow at Emmet and Emmet shrugged.
One of the RIC had his hand wrapped in a bloody towel.
Weston directed Paddy, as the appointed medic, to the injured constable. “See to him. Can he survive until help comes?”
Paddy nodded, and Weston had the other members of the RIC herded down into their own cells.
Weston pointed to Emmet and another man. “You two start collecting all the weapons and ammo that you can find.”
As Emmet lifted down rifles from the gun rack he heard Paddy ask the injured constable what had happened to him.
“I was the one at the window so one of you beggars shot me.”
“That’ll teach you.”
Paddy pulled out another dressing from his pocket and used it to bandage up the constable’s hand.
“He’ll be fine.”
Weston nodded. “Right. Take him to join his mates, then.”
While the others collected the weapons and took them outside, Weston went through the paperwork and files.
“Jaysus. Look at this.”
Emmet wished he had gone along to look after his father, but he kept quiet and followed orders. Weston flipped through the pages of a thick file and his voice was shocked. “They’ve got intelligence on everyone in the area. Names. Dates of parades. They’ve got eyes and ears everywhere.”
Kevin was back just as they finished, and he stopped beside Emmet on his way to report to Weston. “Da’s fine. He was all for coming back with me, but the doctor gave him a sedative and said he’d bring him over when he rested up a bit.”
Emmet shook his head. “But all that blood.”
“It looked worse than it was.”
Kevin moved on to report in to Weston.
Weston nodded. “Good. We’ll leave the motor here. It’s too obvious and will be a dead giveaway.”
They cleared out all the weapons, ammunition, and files of relevance and went back to their bicycles. The whole episode had taken less than two hours, but as Emmet climbed back on his bicycle, loaded now with a heavy tin box on the back, he felt as though an entire day had passed. They were heading back to make camp partway between Ashbourne and Garristown, and Emmet wasn’t sure he’d make it.
Kevin pedalled up beside him. “How are you doing?”
Emmet nodded. “I’m all right. Tired.” Emmet didn’t tell his brother that the sight of Da bleeding had made him throw up. Even the memory of the image made him queasy.
Kevin sat up straight on his bike, letting go of the handlebars to lift his arms in victory. “I’m just the opposite. Now that I know Da’s all right I say let’s go get ’em somewhere else.”
Emmet forced a grin at his brother and then watched as Kevin sped up to catch up to his pal Seamus.
He’s right. Christ, we just took a barracks. He felt a little more energy come into his legs. He sat up straighter and let the weak April sun warm him. As he sucked in deep gulps of fresh spring air, the tension left his muscles. He realized he’d been shivering. The whole time? Did anyone see that I was shaking the whole time? But I’m OK. I didn’t shame myself or Da.
They followed Weston to the camp. Others were already there, some seated on the ground eating from bowls. Others in line waited for theirs to be dished out from a large cooking pot hung over an open fire. They left the line and came over to greet the new arrivals.
Weston faced the men behind him. “Take all weapons and ammo and hand it in to Frank Lawless in the barn where the Battalion Quartermaster is set up.”
Emmet unstrapped the box of ammo from his bike carrier and joined the others of his group.
While he was walking over, his oldest brother came over to join him.
Michael put his hand on Emmet’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I heard about Da. You came back in one piece, though. Are you all right?”
Emmet tried to smile. “Yeh. I’m all right, but when I thought that Da was….”
Michael nodded. “I know. I’d have been the same, but it’s the chance we all take.” Michael paused, his hand still resting on Emmet’s shoulder. “You know that, right?”
Emmet frowned and twitched Michael’s hand away. “I do, of course. But knowing it and believing it. It’s different.”
Michael nodded again. “I know.” He hesitated and then went on. “You know you can go home. No one would blame you.”
Emmet straightened his shoulders. “I’ll go home when you go home.”
Michael grinned. “So tell me about the operation, then. It was a great success, I hear.”
Emmet tried to keep his voice calm. “Yeh, good. We took the barracks and you can see, we took a good haul. What about you?”
Michael nodded. “Victory all around, then. We walked away with half a dozen carbines, so not a bad day’s work.”
Michael suddenly grinned at a commotion behind Emmet as men moved aside and called out ‘hurrah’. “Look who’s here.”
Emmet turned. “Da!”
He was wearing a uniform jacket that someone had given him, his ruined jacket gone.
Kevin came trotting over when he saw his father.
Ned was still pale, and his voice sounded groggy, but he looked a hundred percent better than when Emmet had last seen him. “I’m fine, boys. No need to make a fuss now.”
Michael grasped his father’s good elbow for an instant. “Are you sure you should be here, Da?”
Ned’s voice was gruff. “Where else would I be? By tomorrow I’ll be fine. Nothing more than a flesh wound.”
“Well, then. It’s good to see you. Have you seen Weston already?”
“I have. Now, let’s get something to eat, lads. There’ll be a briefing in an hour.”
Michael left Emmet to hand in his ammo and went off with his father to talk further.
As Emmet handed in his tin box and watched Frank record the contents on a record of their arsenal, he felt his heart swell. Frank simply took the box without comment. I’m just one of the men. No one looks twice at me to wonder why a boy is here. I look like I belong.
Emmet left the barn and made his way to the field kitchen to get his supper. When he had a bowl and spoon he looked around for a place to sit and saw Liam sitting on his own eating his meal.
“Mind if I join you?”
Liam looked up. “Emmet. Sit man, sit.” His eyes were wide. “Tell me about it. I heard that you saw some action.”
Emmet sat down on the damp ground. “We did.”
“Well what happened? Did you use a gun, yourself?”
Emmet made a wry face. “No, but I had my knife, and you can be sure if any of those beggars tried to make a run for it, I was ready to use it.”
“But there was shooting?”
“There was. They weren’t ready to surrender without a fight.”
Emmet went on to describe in detail what had happened. Now that he had seen with his own eyes that his father would be all right, he could relax and enjoy the telling of the story, with a few embellishments here and there.
Liam shook his head. “I wish I had been there.”
“What about you? You weren’t sitting around doing nothing today.”
“No, we had a good day as well. We went all over the county cutting telegraph lines.”
“Sure, that was important work as well.” Emmet was glad that he could tell a more exciting story of his day. But if we had the day Liam had, Da wouldn’t have been shot.
They finished their food and then wandered around stopping here and there to listen to the stories of the different forays until it was time to gather in the barn for their briefing.
The forty-odd men gathered in the barn and then two men in actual uniforms went to the front where a large map was tacked to the wall. It was the first time that Emmet had seen either the Battalion Commandant, Thomas Ashe or his second in command, Lieutenant Richard Mulcahy.
Emmet, standing with Liam, bit his bottom lip, almost holding his breath, waiting for Ashe to speak.
Liam nudged him and whispered in Emmet’s ear: “Grand-looking uniforms. How do we get our hands on some like that?”
Emmet frowned at Liam, not answering.
Ashe had an unruly head of curls and a wide, waxed moustache that gave him the look of a dandy, but when he spoke, Emmet was entranced. “We’ve had an extraordinary day today, men. Well done to all of you.”
Emmet looked around the group of rough farmers and working men and saw the glow of pride on their faces.
Ashe nodded and went on. “We’ve made a good start. Today the barracks at Swords and Donabate were both taken, significantly adding to our arsenal. Add these successes to the major disruption that’s been delivered to the communication systems and we can say that the Fifth Battalion can hold its head high. The troops in Dublin will be grateful for the help that’s been given with these actions.”
Heads were nodding around the barn.
Ashe turned to his second in command. “Lieutenant, please take the men through the next phases of our work.”
Now Richard Mulcahy stepped forward. Emmet had heard his Da talk of this man before because he also worked for the Post Office, but he had never seen him. He was about the same age as his Da, so in his late thirties or early forties. He was tall and lean with a square chin and chiselled face; deep lines marking his cheekbones and exaggerating his deep-set eyes. His collar was loose around his long neck.
Mulcahy took off his fedora and wiped his brow with his sleeve before replacing his hat. “After we finish the briefing you should all try to get some sleep because we’ll be going to Garristown tonight for a raid. We’ll pack up camp, so take everything along with you.”
Mulcahy gestured for the men to gather close to the map as he pointed with a long stick, the route that they planned to take. “It will still be dark, lads. Study the map so you know where you’re going.”
When the briefing was finished, and assignments made clear to each detachment, men settled down to sleep as they could. Jackets were rolled under heads as pillows or thrown over themselves to keep the damp April night dew from them. The four Ryans instinctively gathered together to try to sleep.
Emmet saw Liam standing, studying the map. “Liam, come away now and lie down for a bit.”
Liam joined the Ryans. “I won’t sleep.”
Emmet nodded. “I know, but we should try anyway.”
They lay down side by side, the two youngest members in the group. Emmet closed his eyes and felt the comfort of having his father and brothers around him. Unbidden, he had the vision again of his father lying on his back, blood seeping, and once again he felt his gorge rise. I want to be a part of this. I need to be a part of winning Ireland’s freedom, but do I have the stomach for it? It’s so different than what I expected.
The thought was the last one Emmet had before exhaustion sent him to sleep.
• • •
Emmet’s eyes snapped open. Where am I? Then he remembered everything and sat up. His father had already left his place, but his brothers and Liam were all still sleeping. Perhaps his father’s departure had woken him.
Someone came into the barn carrying a lantern. “Time to rise and shine.”
There were groans as the men stretched sore muscles.
The lantern carrier called out over the sounds of the coughing and snuffling. “There’s tea and bread waiting for you. Get your breakfast as quick as you can and then get ready to move out.”
Liam rubbed his eyes. “What time is it, anyway?”
Emmet peered at his watch, trying to focus in the dim light. “One-thirty.”
“Jaysus”
Emmet stumbled outside, the dampness clinging like a cobweb. It was a dark night, the moon just a sliver of light high above him.
He was drawn to the fire along with everyone else. Tin mugs with sweet tea were handed out and he inhaled the steam gratefully. There was a queue to get a thick cut of buttered bread, which he joined.
Kevin came in behind him. “Did you get any sleep?”
“I didn’t think I would, but I did.”
Liam joined them, yawning and twisting his head first one way and then the other. “God, I’ve got a desperate kink in my neck.”
Emmet rolled his shoulders. “Funny enough, I feel good.”
Kevin smiled. “The sleep of the righteous.”
They all received their breakfast and ate standing up. Mulcahy walked amongst the men having a word here and there, checking that everyone was well and ready to move out. The barracks in Garristown should yield another good haul for their arsenal and everyone was excited to add to their successes of yesterday.
Liam’s voice was high-pitched, and he spoke very fast, the wo
rds tripping over themselves when Mulcahy stopped by his side. “Will we all be issued guns, sir? I’ve used one before. My uncle has a shotgun that he’s let me use out hunting.”
Mulcahy held up his hand to stop Liam’s barrage of questions. “Weapons will be issued to those that require them, son.”
Liam persisted. “Should I go and check with the Quarter Master? Does he have a list of names?”
At that moment the Commandant called for Mulcahy. Mulcahy shook his head to Liam. “If you needed one, you would have it now.” With that he hurried away.
Liam turned to Emmet. “So much for being soldiers. What are we doing here?”
Emmet touched Liam’s arm. “Don’t fuss. Soldiers do what’s needed and that’s what we’ll do, too. Who knows what the day will bring?”
Kevin nodded. “Emmet’s right. It’ll be a long day and every one of us will have a job to do.”
Liam scowled. “You can say that. You’ve got a gun.”
Kevin shook his head. “Settle down, Liam. Come on, it looks like we’re getting ready to go.”
Joe Lawless came striding over to them. “There you are. You’re with me again, Liam.”
Liam nodded. “Right behind you, sir.”
Emmet frowned at Liam and got a grin in return just before Liam set off behind Joe.
They mounted their bicycles and headed off in the semi-darkness. The line of bicycles strung out along the road formed a surreal chain.
An hour later the men were in place surrounding the Garristown barracks. Again, the door was rushed in the same fashion as Emmet had seen in the previous day’s attack at Donabate. This time there was no answering fire or even shouts from within. The men breeched the door only to find that the barracks had been abandoned. There were signs of a hurried departure.
By then most of the men were crowding around the door and Emmet heard Mulcahy curse. “Dammit. They must have heard about the raids yesterday and took everything worth taking and deserted.”
There was a conference between the leaders and they decided to make camp a short distance off and get some more sleep. In the morning they planned to destroy the Midland Great Western Railway.
It was a subdued group that set up camp to try to get a few more hours’ sleep.
Torn Asunder Page 4