Obviously, my insistent demands for food for our soldiers nettled him but later on, he and I became the best of friends. It was then arranged that one contingent of our troops was to proceed to Waterford, while the rest of the Cork and the Kerry soldiers were to return home. Cork was a veritable beehive of activity when we got back, particularly the Union Quay IRA headquarters. Just then a young Dublin boy was arrested as a Free State Army agent which, in turn, soon led us to arrest a well-known footballer a man who, in 1918, was attached to Sinn Fein. He had been imprisoned and had gone on hunger strike in Wormwood Scrubbs Prison, England, and he was now a Free Stater. While in our custody his cheque book was inspected and it was discovered that a large sum of money had been spent. He was sent to Cork by Mick Collins and his aides there to organise the Ex-British soldiers. We charged this man with this obnoxious duty as he had agreed to organise a gang of men disloyal to Ireland and planning to fight and possibly kill those who had helped to install even the Provisional Government and all its members to whatever posts and positions they held at the time. The man was reminded of his despicable conduct and he then realised that, by organising such elements who would be financed by the ratepayers money, he would only help to re-establish, once again, the Union Jack in Ireland. Subsequently, this ex-footballer was interned in Cork Barracks where we already held quite a number of Free State Army soldiers; some of them were interned there for the third time! It was then that George Buckley and myself approached the Bishop of Cork requesting that a Chaplain be assigned to attend these prisoners, and making it clear to His Lordship that this was at the prisoner’s special request. [97] Bishop Coholan haughtily dismissed us commenting that he "did not recognise our authority" nor would he EVER be prepared to do so. To humiliate us still more he turned his back on us but as he was walking away. I just could not help saying: "You never did recognise authority even under Dail Eireann!" The Bishop did not seem to have the courage to reply to my challenge - he just kept walking away towards his Palace in Farrenferris. One night we were awakened in Union Quay headquarters with the news that the Free Staters had landed in Passage. This was a most unpleasant surprise as we felt sure that all roads and avenues had been tightly closed and protected. Immediately, troops were mobilised and they proceeded first to Rochestown and then on to Passage. By this time the Free Staters had moved towards Cork City and some fighting had taken place in the vicinity of Rochestown. The next day, while Mick Murphy, Corney Sullivan, and I were walking along the Rochestown Road from Douglas, suddenly, an armoured car appeared. By sheer luck Corney and myself managed to get over the ditch on our right. hiding behind the hedge but poor Mick very unfortunately, ran in the opposite direction into open country and a bog which hampered him even more. In his flight he lost all the magazines for his automatic revolver, still he was extremely lucky to escape at all. When we met him later he truly looked like "something the cat had dragged in"'! Soaked to the bone, covered in mud head to toe, shivering and thoroughly miserable. Still he was alive and back with us again and that's really all that mattered. Douglas came under fire from the Free Staters and one of our machine gunners, Tommy Regan of G. Comp. 2nd Batt. He was later captured there. Just when some of us were using [a] section of the Cross Douglas Road in a defensive position, the shooting from the Free Staters became very severe. Finally, we had no choice but retreat along the Douglas Road. By that time we also received word that our IRA troops had evacuated Cork and that we were to proceed to Ballincollig. [98] 7 This was most surprising since no provision had been made to get the troops to retire or indeed to do so to a point five miles west of Cork. We moved westward, having sent several messages to a column led by Thomas Riordan D. Company 2nd Batt. to retire. These soldiers were moving towards Rochestown from Carrs Hill side. We were told, on reaching Ballincollig, to go further west to Macroom. The confusion was glaring as was the complete lack of spirits on the part of the troops, not alone at that time, but before and afterwards. A headquarters was set up in Macroom and later a Brigade meeting was arranged at Stuake, Donoughmore. At that meeting the situation was discussed, Michael Leahy was then the Brigade O.C. with Dan Donovan Vice O.C. and also O.C. Operations.
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