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The Ballycotton Job
An astonishing act of piracy, the capture of the British war ship, the Upnor changed the course of Ireland's Civil War. Flawless in its planning and execution, while Winston Churchill remarked on Irish 'genius for conspiracy', a furious Michael Collins accused the British of deliberately arming his enemies. Indeed, it's highly likely that the bullet that killed him originated in the Upnor. The Ballycotton Job brings this riveting story to life, its cast of disparate characters and strands of adventure beautifully woven together. This book sees events leading up to the capture as well as the consequences of the Upnor seizure discussed in detail. Based on years of archival research, it tells a unique story of both sides, Irish and British. The book's fast-paced narrative is enlivened by dialogue and details obtained from interviews with participants. Ireland teetered on the verge of civil war, the IRA splitting into anti-Treaty and pro-Treaty stance, Michael Collins and the Provisional Government on the pro-Treaty side. Cork's Sean O'Hegarty, the local anti-Treaty IRA leader, prevented Collins' National Army from entering the city. As the British evacuated soldiers and equipment back to England, O'Hegarty came up with a brilliant plan to capture the munitions en route. Commandeering a tugboat from the Royal Navy base at Queenstown/Cobh, they sped out of the fortified harbour on a mission. Simultaneously, over eighty trucks and lorries were hijacked all across Cork, leaving citizens mystified as to what was going on. In a clever ruse, the IRA squad captured arms ship Upnor, bringing it into the small port of Ballycotton. The village, now under the control of IRA fighters, witnessed the unloading of weaponry onto waiting lorries then driven off to secret arms dumps throughout Cork. O'Hegarty's men seized eighty tons of arms, subsequently distributed to southern IRA divisions during the Civil War. This audacious act of piracy caused a sensation.
256 pages, Paperback
Published April 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 4, 2022
The saga of Ireland’s Civil War following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921 was a harsh reality that significantly shaped the social and political landscape of the country well into the modern era.
The anti-Treaty IRA knew from the beginning that finding enough arms and ammunition to advance their cause would be crucial in the attempt to overturn a seriously compromised bargain with the British that neither relinquished the whole island nor granted true independence.
Before the bloody fighting began, the first grab at needed munitions occurred in February 1922 when anti-Treaty IRA men attacked the Royal Irish Constabulary base in Clonmel, Co. Waterford obtaining hundreds of rifles and ammunition.
At the end of the following month, what had been building up in the minds of the anti-Treaty elements within the IRA’s Cork No 1 Brigade led by the brilliant strategist Séan O’Hegarty, the execution of the bold plan to seize the repatriating British supply ship Upnor with all her guns and bullets, unfolded almost faultlessly.
Mahon writes superbly on this historical episode. His telling is engrossing and scrupulous. The use of the word “Job” in the book’s title suggests a British-style ‘caper’ story’ – but it was certainly more than that. The author adroitly supplies the reader with the necessary historical framework and delves into the personalities and background of key players both Irish and British including the aforementioned mastermind of the Upnor’s seizure, O’Hegarty, as well as the outgoing Commander of the Royal Navy in Ireland, Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt.
Mahon lays out a fascinating build up to the seizure and delivers insightful analysis when describing the fallout. The subject of the book is extensively and impeccably researched. Among other sources, he has probed UK government records from The National Archives in Kew, the Churchill Archives, witness statements from Ireland’s Bureau of Military History, and interviews from the Archives of University College Dublin, and drawn material from numerous journals, newspapers, and books.
Additionally, he has undertaken site inquiries, taking us to the streets and vistas of Queenstown (now Cobh), the islands of Cork harbour, and, of course, Ballycotton itself. While there are some helpful, if basic, maps laid out in the book, a small gripe is the absence of photographs to visually invigorate the story. Perhaps we’ll see them in second edition.
On April 3, 1922, Winston Churchill, then the Secretary of State for the Colonies, told the House of Commons that the Upnor “was piratically captured upon the high seas by a gang of Republican conspirators hostile to the Provisional Government [of Ireland] … whose control over Cork and this district is practically non-existent”. As the author observes, Churchill placed blame on the Provisional Government and gave misleading figures on the number of arms and explosives seized.
The British were keen to minimize the embarrassment and significance of the affair and, in a relatively short period of time, press and public attention on that island waned. Yet in Ireland, Michael Collins, formerly the head of the IRA during the War of Independence, but now chairman of the pro-Treaty Provisional Government as well as now commander-in-chief of the new National Army, was seething.
The Irish Civil War erupted in June 1922 with the bombing by the National Army of the Four Courts in Dublin that had been held by anti-Treaty forces. Cork city’s IRA was subdued the following August and, in May 1923, hostilities ended. It was a brutal confrontation and the guns and munitions from the Upnor, dispersed and deployed, surely furthered the bloodshed.
Mahon’s book serves as an important reminder of the complexities and intertwining of Anglo-Irish history and relations that continue, albeit under less strained circumstances, to this day and most notably seen in the post-Brexit world and tangle of the Northern Irish Protocol.
The anti-Treaty IRA knew from the beginning that finding enough arms and ammunition to advance their cause would be crucial in the attempt to overturn a seriously compromised bargain with the British that neither relinquished the whole island nor granted true independence.
Before the bloody fighting began, the first grab at needed munitions occurred in February 1922 when anti-Treaty IRA men attacked the Royal Irish Constabulary base in Clonmel, Co. Waterford obtaining hundreds of rifles and ammunition.
At the end of the following month, what had been building up in the minds of the anti-Treaty elements within the IRA’s Cork No 1 Brigade led by the brilliant strategist Séan O’Hegarty, the execution of the bold plan to seize the repatriating British supply ship Upnor with all her guns and bullets, unfolded almost faultlessly.
Mahon writes superbly on this historical episode. His telling is engrossing and scrupulous. The use of the word “Job” in the book’s title suggests a British-style ‘caper’ story’ – but it was certainly more than that. The author adroitly supplies the reader with the necessary historical framework and delves into the personalities and background of key players both Irish and British including the aforementioned mastermind of the Upnor’s seizure, O’Hegarty, as well as the outgoing Commander of the Royal Navy in Ireland, Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt.
Mahon lays out a fascinating build up to the seizure and delivers insightful analysis when describing the fallout. The subject of the book is extensively and impeccably researched. Among other sources, he has probed UK government records from The National Archives in Kew, the Churchill Archives, witness statements from Ireland’s Bureau of Military History, and interviews from the Archives of University College Dublin, and drawn material from numerous journals, newspapers, and books.
Additionally, he has undertaken site inquiries, taking us to the streets and vistas of Queenstown (now Cobh), the islands of Cork harbour, and, of course, Ballycotton itself. While there are some helpful, if basic, maps laid out in the book, a small gripe is the absence of photographs to visually invigorate the story. Perhaps we’ll see them in second edition.
On April 3, 1922, Winston Churchill, then the Secretary of State for the Colonies, told the House of Commons that the Upnor “was piratically captured upon the high seas by a gang of Republican conspirators hostile to the Provisional Government [of Ireland] … whose control over Cork and this district is practically non-existent”. As the author observes, Churchill placed blame on the Provisional Government and gave misleading figures on the number of arms and explosives seized.
The British were keen to minimize the embarrassment and significance of the affair and, in a relatively short period of time, press and public attention on that island waned. Yet in Ireland, Michael Collins, formerly the head of the IRA during the War of Independence, but now chairman of the pro-Treaty Provisional Government as well as now commander-in-chief of the new National Army, was seething.
The Irish Civil War erupted in June 1922 with the bombing by the National Army of the Four Courts in Dublin that had been held by anti-Treaty forces. Cork city’s IRA was subdued the following August and, in May 1923, hostilities ended. It was a brutal confrontation and the guns and munitions from the Upnor, dispersed and deployed, surely furthered the bloodshed.
Mahon’s book serves as an important reminder of the complexities and intertwining of Anglo-Irish history and relations that continue, albeit under less strained circumstances, to this day and most notably seen in the post-Brexit world and tangle of the Northern Irish Protocol.
November 20, 2022
Before 1922, Royal Navy ships frequently docked at Queenstown, Ireland (known as Cobh today) for repairs and to take on supplies. This began to change in January of that year when the Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified. Instead of overseeing naval operations, Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt started shutting down British naval bases and arranging for soldiers to be evacuated. Normally unshakable, disciplined, and logical, he was now unduly tense and thoroughly despised Ireland. He believed those who supported Irish independence, particularly the Irish Republican Army (IRA), were simpleminded killers who lacked the ability to plan and execute military operations.
About eight miles to the northwest lay Cork, a major port for merchant and passenger ships. The city was the home of Seán O’Hegarty, commander of the Cork No. 1 Brigade, a large and highly efficient unit within the IRA. Contrary to Gaunt’s belief, O’Hegarty was quite adept at arranging ambushes and skirmishes with great success and minimal losses. He showed no fear, cared little for his own well-being, and led from the front. Ruthless, clever, and resolute, he had a single goal: Irish independence. If that meant provoking war, so be it.
With the dismantling of the naval bases, there were untried opportunities for O’Hegarty to launch a pivotal attack. He settled on a bold plan that involved kidnapping and piracy, even though the key participants possessed little, if any, knowledge of ships and the sea. “Any reasonable and rational commander would have dismissed the undertaking as foolhardy in the extreme. Not only was the underlying premise overly optimistic, but the project entailed an elaborate sequence of actions, each dependent on the other and should one component fail then the whole operation would fail.” (129-130) Not one to back down, O’Hegarty refused to be dissuaded and the isolated village of Ballycotton became the “X” on the treasure map.
This is the astounding story of how O’Hegarty seized a navy transport, laden with ammunition, explosives, and weapons, on 30 March 1922. Mahon skillfully answers questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how in a manner that reads more like an adventure novel than a recitation of facts. To enhance the reading experience, he delves into a variety of interrelated subtopics (such as violence, prejudice, and colonialism) and discusses the aftermath of the incident and what became of the people involved in or affected by it. Also included are maps, a glossary, notes and references, and a bibliography. The Ballycotton Job is a must-read for anyone wishing to know about the turbulent struggle for Ireland and the Irish to be free of British rule in the early twentieth century.
(This review was originally posted at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Mahon.html)
About eight miles to the northwest lay Cork, a major port for merchant and passenger ships. The city was the home of Seán O’Hegarty, commander of the Cork No. 1 Brigade, a large and highly efficient unit within the IRA. Contrary to Gaunt’s belief, O’Hegarty was quite adept at arranging ambushes and skirmishes with great success and minimal losses. He showed no fear, cared little for his own well-being, and led from the front. Ruthless, clever, and resolute, he had a single goal: Irish independence. If that meant provoking war, so be it.
With the dismantling of the naval bases, there were untried opportunities for O’Hegarty to launch a pivotal attack. He settled on a bold plan that involved kidnapping and piracy, even though the key participants possessed little, if any, knowledge of ships and the sea. “Any reasonable and rational commander would have dismissed the undertaking as foolhardy in the extreme. Not only was the underlying premise overly optimistic, but the project entailed an elaborate sequence of actions, each dependent on the other and should one component fail then the whole operation would fail.” (129-130) Not one to back down, O’Hegarty refused to be dissuaded and the isolated village of Ballycotton became the “X” on the treasure map.
This is the astounding story of how O’Hegarty seized a navy transport, laden with ammunition, explosives, and weapons, on 30 March 1922. Mahon skillfully answers questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how in a manner that reads more like an adventure novel than a recitation of facts. To enhance the reading experience, he delves into a variety of interrelated subtopics (such as violence, prejudice, and colonialism) and discusses the aftermath of the incident and what became of the people involved in or affected by it. Also included are maps, a glossary, notes and references, and a bibliography. The Ballycotton Job is a must-read for anyone wishing to know about the turbulent struggle for Ireland and the Irish to be free of British rule in the early twentieth century.
(This review was originally posted at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Mahon.html)
December 6, 2022
After the War of Independence, the IRA is divided between those who are pro and anti-Treaty. Michael Collins dominates the pro-Treaty side while some of his fellow Corkmen take a different position, including Sean O'Hegarty who masterminds and executes the most daring of plans - to board the Royal Navy ship, the Upnor, on its journey to Portsmouth and steal its cargo of 120 tons of ammunition and arms.
It is a feat that requires intricate planning, guile and cunning and was described by Winston Churchill as "a brilliant operation".
The taking of the Upnor passed off without a single casualty or any gunfire but the haul taken from it would go on to be used in the Civil War and likely provided the very weaponry used to kill Michael Collins at Beál na Bláth.
It is a feat that requires intricate planning, guile and cunning and was described by Winston Churchill as "a brilliant operation".
The taking of the Upnor passed off without a single casualty or any gunfire but the haul taken from it would go on to be used in the Civil War and likely provided the very weaponry used to kill Michael Collins at Beál na Bláth.
September 5, 2023
Loved this this rollicking yarn -- it's a great read. The subtitle tells you all you need to know: “An Incredible True Story of IRA Pirates.” In March 1922, a daring crew of Cork rebels took to the high seas and hijacked a Royal Navy ship packed with 120 tons of guns and ammo. This bloodless act of piracy caused an uproar in London and Dublin, and altered the course of the Irish Civil War. "The Ballycotton Job" is well written and well researched. Mahon knows whereof he speaks – his grandfather was the head of the Cork IRA.
June 19, 2022
I would thoroughly recommend this book, so well written! I couldn’t put it down
September 17, 2024
A brilliant book, very well researched and well written. An absolute MUST for Irish history buffs .... Top Marks
June 28, 2025
very much enjoyed this book on an incident i never heard of before.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews