An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 29 one junior officer commanding each section, while the remaining four officers formed the headquarters staff. The commanders of the sections were: No 1, Charlie Weston; No 2, myself; No 3, Ned Rooney; and No 4, Jim Lawless." (Jim Lawless was my grandfather's uncle.) In the days preceding the engagement the unit was involved "in a se- ries of lightning raids upon RIC barracks and communications in the area, with the threefold purpose of collecting some much-needed arms, hamper- ing enemy movements, and drawing some enemy attentions away from the hard-pressed Volunteers fighting in the city". For the raids the routine was: "One section as advance guard, one section as a main body with the commanding officer and staff, and one section to act as a rearguard. The remaining section would remain in camp to collect supplies each day … all section duties to rotate each day". On the eve of the fight the unit camped at a disused farmhouse about two miles south of Garristown. Based on reports that troops with field artillery were preparing to move by rail from Athlone to Dublin the unit "planned an attack on the Midland Great Western Railway near Batterstown, about ten miles from our present position … and if we could interrupt the line it might provide scope for our further activity in harassing tactics". On Friday the unit departed for Batterstown and "moved cautiously towards the crossing of the main Dublin-Slane road known as Rathcross". Having arrived at Rathcross RIC Barracks, scouts from the advance guard reported that it "appeared to have been reinforced, and was being placed in a state of defence". A barricade was also being erected across the road. The advance guard man- aged to capture two policemen working on the barricade and disarmed them. Ashe moved forward in full view to make a "demand for surrender, pointing out that he had the place surrounded and that he would, if necessary, destroy the barracks". Shots came from the barracks in reply and this resulted in a "siege of the barracks with both attackers and defenders husbanding their ammunition, only hazarding a shot or two now and then". However as the fighting escalated so did the confusion to the extent that "to our great surprise and my considerable discomfiture the force we had thought to be the enemy reinforcements and exchanged shots with, were, in fact, our own fourth section, under my father". (Francis Lawless, my grandfather's father, the unit quartermaster, was with his brother Jim's section during this part of the action). Following a fight that lasted five-and-a-half hours fifteen policemen, including a district inspector, surrendered. "The official British casualty list gave the names of two officers, two sergeants and four constables killed … in addition to those killed, the names of fifteen police are listed as wounded". On the Volunteer side two were killed and five wounded. The success of the operation served to boost the morale of the Volunteers as they "had come through the test of battle victoriously, and victoriously against a better armed and well-trained force of twice our number". After the Rising my grandfather was interned in Knutsford and Frongoch until Christmas 1916. During the War of Inde- pendence he was interned initially in Arbour Hill and then in the Curragh. He escaped from the Curragh in October 1921. On the foundation of the Irish Free State he joined the army, serving in the Trans- port Corps and then in the Armoured Car Corps, subsequently renamed the Cavalry Corps. In 1940, with Comdt AW Mayne, he designed and supervised the production of the Ford Light Armoured Cars. These vehicles were later deployed to the Congo and, under Joseph's son, Captain Frank Lawless (who like his father subsequently became Director of Cavalry), saw action at the capture of The Tunnel at Elizabeth- ville. Colonel JV Lawless retired as Direc- tor of Cavalry in 1958. This article was previously published in the April/May 2006 issue of An Cosan- toir celebrating the 90th Anniversar1916 Easter Rising. JV Lawless (19), taken in early 1917, after his release from Frongoch, with a rifle captured at Ashbourne. a. Position of Section 1 of Volunteers at start of fight. b. Position of Section 2 & 3 at start of fight. c. Section 2 & 3 retreat to this position after arrival of police. d. Some of these men move to here to cut off any police retreat. E. Belated arrival of Section 4 Volunteers exchange fire on each side by mistake. f. & g. Scene of heavy fighting along Garristown Road. Map from field of fire: the Battle of ashbourne, 1916 by Paul o'Brien

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