Read on Twitter
1) One hundred years ago today one of the most audacious escapes of the ‘Tan War’ occurred when Ernie O’Malley, Frank Teeling and Simon Donnelly escaped from the supposedly impregnable and escape proof Kilmainham Jail on the night of February 14, 1921.
2) Ernie O’Malley, attached to GHQ Staff of the IRA as an area organiser, was being held under the name, ‘Bernard Stewart’, following his arrest in Inistioge, Co Kilkenny the previous December. If his identity had become known to the British, he faced almost certain execution.
3) Frank Teeling was captured on ‘Bloody Sunday’ and had been sentenced to be hanged, his execution was only days away.
4) Simon Donnelly, a veteran of the 1916 Rising and Vice Commandant of the 3rd Battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the IRA had been captured on February 10 and only transferred to Kilmainham two days before the escape.
