What did Ireland’s newspapers say about the revolution which was occurring in every town and village around the country in December 1920. The Irish Newspaper Archive and the Radical Newspaper Archive has the answers. Following the month of death and carnage which had proceeded it many believed that December would be a quiet month. However, the opposite transpired.

  Although there had only been a few ‘outrages’ in Ireland in the beginning of December 1920, the week leading to the 20 December was noteworthy for a marked increase in the number of organised armed attacks on ‘Crown forces’. This included seven ambushes and three attacks were made on police barracks, as the IRA returned in many places to tactics which had proved successful in the spring of that year. In total there were 7 police and 2 soldiers killed and 6 police and 10 soldiers wounded in these attacks. Five of these, one killed, were sustained in an ambush in Kilcommon, county Tipperary on the 16 December when over 100 IRA men attacked a police patrol. On the following day, two military lorries were ambushed at Bruff district, county Limerick, and attacked with rifle and machine gun fire. Two of the military party, which consisted of nine men, were killed. The police had better luck at Ennistymon, county Clare on 18 December when two lorries were attacked but after a short and sharp engagement the IRA retreated with a number wounded. Elsewhere, police barracks were attacked in Camlough, county Armagh; Ballinalee, county Longford and Folkmills, county Wexford. The month was also noted for the fact that the military and police had swooped on over 1,000 men who had been interned Ballykinlar camp. Despite the casualties, newspaper such as the Belfast Newsletter was confident that the tide of the war was turning.    

Source: Belfast Newsletter 1738-1938, Friday, December 24, 1920; Page: 5

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