‘The ‘Kyber Pass’ Ambush Site

Many readers of ‘Rebels to Reels’ have requested more information on the ‘Kyber Pass’ ambush in Dan McGovern’s hometown of Carrickmacross in County Monaghan, Ireland. The ambush of Royal Irish Constabulary regulars and Black and Tans during the Irish War of Independence occurred at Annahia close to Tullyvaragh at the end of May 1921. The engagement is more commonly referred to as the ‘Tullyvaragh Ambush’ as the roadway on which it occurred ran through IRA positions which straddled both townlands with Tullyvaragh being the larger of the two. The action resulted in the death of at least one Black and Tan but research by the author indicates that more may have been killed than was officially reported at the time.

The accompanying photograph shows the ambush site as it appears today, three miles north of Carrickmacross and looking towards Castleblayney. The rebel positions in 1921 included atop the limekiln in the foreground and also on the high ground in the distance. What was the original line of the Carrickmacross to Castleblayney road in 1921 is to the right of shot but the roadway has been re-aligned several times in the intervening years. As is revealed in ‘Rebels to Reels’, this ambush has an interesting connection to the Croke Park massacre of Bloody Sunday, November 21st 1920 in which fourteen innocent people were killed or fatally wounded.