Том Барри: Ирландский партизанский лидер

Irish guerrilla leader (1897–1980)

Thomas Bernardine Barry (1 July 1897 – 2 July 1980), better known as Tom Barry, was a prominent guerrilla leader in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. He is best remembered for orchestrating the Kilmichael ambush, in which he and his column wiped out a 18 man patrol of Auxiliaries, killing sixteen men. Born in County Kerry, Barry was the son of a former Royal Irish Constabulary constable. In 1915, at the age of seventeen, he joined the British Army and would go on to see action as a gunner in the Middle East during the First World War. Despite expressing some British patriotism during his early years, Barry's views slowly began to change towards Irish republicanism. In his memoir, Barry stated that this started shortly after he heard about the Easter Rising in 1916, though records show that after the war he made two unsuccessful attempts at joining the British Civil Service. In July 1920, he joined the IRA's 3rd Cork Brigade. Using his experience from his time in the British Army, he was able to train up the men in the flying column so it could become an effective fighting unit. Barry then became the column's overall commander and would lead the Brigade in a number of successful attacks against British forces, including the ambushes at Kilmichael and Crossbarry. Barry was amongst the Anti Treaty IRA, republicans that opposed the Anglo Irish Treaty. Following the outbreak of the civil war, Barry was briefly imprisoned by the new Irish Free State but managed to escape and go on to command Anti Treaty forces in the southern regions of Ireland. When it became clear that victory could not be achieved, Barry proposed that the Anti Treaty IRA should lay down their arms, which led to frequent clashes with Liam Lynch. Barry still continued to be a part of the IRA after the civil war and served briefly as its commander in chief in 1937, during which he devised a proposed plan for an IRA offensive into Northern Ireland and opened contacts with Nazi Germany. After leaving the IRA, Barry would write Guerrilla Days in Ireland, a memoir about his service in World War I and in Ireland.

Thomas Barry was born in Killorglin, County Kerry. He was the son of a Royal Irish Constabulary policeman Thomas Barry and Margaret Donovan. Four years later, Thomas Barry Senior resigned and opened a business in his hometown of Rosscarbery, County Cork. Barry was first educated at Ardagh Boys' National School before later attending Mungret College in County Limerick from 25 August 1911 to 12 September 1912.

In 1915, during Ireland's involvement in World War I, he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery at Cork and became a soldier in the British Army. Barry enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery on 30 June 1915 and was sent to the military depot at Athlone for basic training. In April, while his brigade was attempting to break the Turkish Siege of Kut, Barry first heard of the Easter Rising, which he describes in his memoir as "a rude awakening". Perhaps, in reaction to the British response to the Rising, Barry dropped his rank at his own request on 26 May and reverted to his original rank of gunner, which he would hold until the end of the war. From January 1917 until March 1918, he saw further action south of Kut, where his unit suffered heavy casualties, and also at Fallujah, Samarra and Baquba.

In 1949, Barry published his memoirs of the Irish War of Independence, Guerilla Days in Ireland. It describes his Brigade's activities, such as the ambushes at Kilmichael and Crossbarry, as well as numerous other less known actions which were directed against the British Army, Black and Tans, the Auxiliary Division and the Royal Irish Constabulary.

Barry died on 2 July 1980 at a hospital in Cork. He is buried in St. Finbarr's Cemetery, Cork.

Bobby Sands wrote a poem about Barry after his death, entitled Tom Barry. It was published posthumously in the collection Prison Poems. In 2011, Barry's memoirs were adapted into a four man stage play of the same name. Written and directed by Neil Pearson, the play follows Barry's service during the First World War and War of Independence.