"I am warning you, my husband is in there and he is a very sick man. I refuse you entrance to his room, and if you force your way in, and if anything happens to him I will hold you responsible!" This did scare the raiders enough to stay away from that bedroom as they certainly did not want to accept such responsibility. Soon after they left. [120] The following morning in the Military Barracks I saw and spoke to Michael Crowley telling him that if we could just get outside the gate, we could easily escape as I knew every inch of that area. Michael suggested that Wednesday night might be the best time as he had been studying the schedule of the guards and there were very few on duty that night. The Prison Governor Kavanagh tried to treat us as common criminals and put Sean and myself into isolation cells while Michael was in a different section. The next morning the Governor summoned us to his office. When a Sergeant Kilpatrick shouted at us to stand to attention, he got just one contemptuous, ice cold stare from us in return. Right away the Governor began lecturing us as if we were small boys in need of chastisement. Interrupting him in mid-sentence, I bluntly told him he could go to hell as far as we were concerned, which made friend Kilpatrick gasp and then scream: "How DARE you talk that way to the Governor!'' So, we told Kilpatrick too where he could go and then asked the Governor, in turn: "Who do you think you are to talk to us in that manner?? We have no intention of taking orders from you nor to recognise your authority." As a result of that statement we were returned to solitary confinement. I had a wing to myself, and so had the others. A few days later I was surprised to hear a voice greeting me with a cheerful "Good Morning". With my arms leaning on the tier banister I looked up and saw a Captain of the Free State Army. "Who are you", I asked. "The new Governor", he replied. Laughing I said: "Now, don't tell me that WE had anything to do with having that upstart of a predecessor of yours moved from here." Of course, I knew that we had nothing to do with his transfer but this new [121] looked real friendly and I had a feeling I might get him to talk to me. He then told me that his name was Minogue and again I laughed as I immediately recited for him:
"They brought him from Tipperary's bogs, And dressed him up in Redmond's togs, But, here's up 'em all Said the boyos of Fair Hill."
Well your man just roared with laughter when he heard that. "That was me, alright", he said, ''but, how did you remember?" So, I told him that I had been in Cork Park that day and had observed the "Fair Hill composer" who spontaneously put the ditty together, full of nomination, when he saw Minogue on the field playing with the Redmond's. Minogue proved to be a friendly and fair man and, as a result, all three prisoners were given more privileges. The question of escape was discussed again and Wednesday night, as suggested by Michael Crowley, definitely appeared to be the best time. That morning I was awakened in my cell by Michael who told me that he was being moved to Mountjoy Prison by train within a couple of hours. So, our whole escape plan went up in smoke. Sean and I would have to make our own plan now. Some days later I was brought to the Intelligence Office of the Free State Army which was located in Cork Barracks. One of the escort was a young lad who spoke to me and, only then did I remember that he had been attached to the IRA in Union Quay but had later joined the Free State Forces (to the detriment of many of our lads whom he identified and who were arrested as a result). There were several officers present in the Intelligence Office. I remember Higgins of East Cork, Collins of Blackrock, the names of the rest [122] escape me. The walls were lined with the pictures of many IRA men, all of whom I knew very well. I sensed right away what those
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