Image 1
Image 1

War of Independence Grenade

"This grenade was made in a secret bunker in Knockraha near Watergrasshill, Co. Cork in a mould that was produced surreptitiously in the Ford factory in Cork City. In 1918, employees of the factory sympathetic to the IRA’s cause, secretly produced the moulds using the materials and skills that were available to them in the manufacturing plant. The moulds were then taken to a secret location and live grenades were produced from them for use in the war. This grenade that I have in my possession was most likely a dud. It was embedded in the pillar of the gate to the parochial house in Watergrasshill until the 1970s when my friend dug it out. I’ve had it ever since. The moulds are owned by a local man called Jim Fitzgerald who inherited them directly from some former IRA members."

Submitted by: Barry Curtin