Christmas Raid

Although the operation was initially successful, two of the raiders were captured shortly after the raid and, in the following days, most of the stolen military equipment was recovered and several IRA volunteers were arrested.

The building is located in the south-eastern part of the park, close by a wooded ridge, and has a commanding view of the surrounding area.

A number of members of the Army Council were also on the run, trying to evade capture by the Garda Síochána (Irish police).

A raid on the Fort was not a new idea—it had been floated initially in 1937, but IRA Chief of Staff Mick Fitzpatrick had dismissed the idea as unworkable, because there would be nowhere to store the stolen ammunition.

[2] The Christmas season was chosen as the perfect time for the operation, as security was expected to be even more lax than usual.

This was against standard operating procedure, but seemed to be a regular occurrence for visitors arriving and people leaving the fort.

At his court martial, the MP testified that he answered that he would take the parcel and bent down to unbolt the gate, and when he stood up straight again he saw the muzzle of a revolver pointed in his face.

[5] The sentry on guard at the time testified in contrast that the MP had left both gates open and, when the gun was pointed in his face, had run in the other direction crying for help.

[6]: 65 The two hostages were then forced to act as human shields for the two intruders to the guardroom where the remaining soldiers were caught by surprise and surrendered without a fight.

At this point, all the troops attached to the fort and the gatekeeper were held prisoner until around 2220 hrs that evening and made no attempt to resist their captors.

The Oireachtas was recalled on 3 January 1940 and in two days the government rushed through amendments to both the Emergency Powers Act (EPA; to extend its internment powers to Irish civilians[7][8]) and the Offences Against the State Act (OSA; to re-establish non-emergency internment within the parameters of the Burke v. Lennon judgment[9][8]).