#OTD in 1919 – Soloheadbeg Ambush: Two members of Royal Irish Constabulary are shot dead by Irish Volunteers including Seán Treacy and Dan Breen in an ambush at Soloheadbeg, Co Tipperary.

At Soloheadbeg the war began,
And the next was heard the song
Of the rescue of Seán Hogan
At the Station of Knocklong.

On the same day, the first Dáil was meeting, an ambush takes place at Soloheadbeg, Co Tipperary that is now seen as being the opening skirmish in the War of Independence.

An unauthorised attack led by Seán Treacy and Dan Breen resulted in the deaths of two RIC constables, James McDonnell and Patrick O’Connell. Although much of nationalist Ireland went on to support the war against Britain, this attack evoked outrage at the time. Breen, a ruthless, brilliant guerilla fighter later said ‘The people had voted for a Republic; now they seemed to abandon us who tried to bring that Republic nearer, for we had taken them at their word. Our former friends shunned us. They preferred the drawing-room as a battleground.’