Clonfin Ambush The Clonfin Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) on 1 February 1921 , during the Irish War of Independence . It took place in the townland of Clonfin ( or Cloonfin ) between Ballinalee and Granard in County Longford . Four members of the Auxiliary Division were killed and eight were wounded in the ambush . Background . The IRA ' s North Longford Flying Column , 21 strong , led by Seán Mac Eoin , had been formed in late 1920 . In that year they had killed 4 RIC policemen . In November , a company of Auxiliaries - a paramilitary police force formed out of ex - officers - had been stationed in the county to put down the local IRA , they were reinforced in January 1921 . Whereas previously the IRA had tried to operate in relatively large numbers , often attacking police barracks , from this point on , their GHQ in Dublin ordered smaller but more frequent attacks to be made . The ambush site , on the road between Granard and Ballinalee , was well chosen . Sean McEoin selected a position where the ambushers had excellent cover and were barely visible to the British . The plan was to explode a mine as the lorries passed . The British assessment was that , " the ambush was most cleverly laid " The IRA were , however , unaware that their targets were Auxiliaries , who were usually a far more formidable enemy than the regular RIC or Black and Tans . The ambush . The IRA detonated the roadside bomb as two British lorries were passing a bridge , killing the driver of the first lorry instantly . The IRA unit then opened fire on the lorries , triggering a fire - fight of two hours . One of the Auxiliaries got away and managed to summon reinforcements . During the fighting , four members of the IRA party worked their way around the flank of the Auxiliaries , killing their commander , Lt . Commander Worthington Craven . After his death , the remaining policemen surrendered . A total of four Auxiliaries had been killed and eight wounded . Sean MacEoin ' s treatment of his prisoners was humane . He congratulated them on the fight they had put up and prevented his fighters from assaulting the Auxiliaries . He also had water brought from nearby houses for the British wounded . When he was later captured by the British , three Auxiliaries , who had been at Clonfin , testified at his court martial to his generous treatment of them at Clonfin . MacEoin ' s humanity delayed the IRA ' s getaway and they were almost caught by 14 lorries of British reinforcements as they escaped across Clonfin Wood . The IRA captured 18 rifles , 20 revolvers ammunition , a Lewis gun and 800 rounds of ammunition . Aftermath . In the aftermath of the ambush , British forces raided the nearby towns of Killoe , Ballinamuck , Drumlish , Ballinalee , Edgeworthtown , Granard and Ardagh . A number of houses and farms were burnt . They also shot dead an elderly farmer , Michael Farrell , in reprisal for the ambush . The IRA flying column lay low after the ambush and did not attempt any more attacks until the end of the month . Sean MacEoin , the Longford IRA leader was captured at Mullingar railway station in early March and charged with the murder of RIC DI MGrath . He was released in July under the terms of the Truce which ended hostilities . In his absence , the Longford IRA were not able to sustain the intensity of their campaign . A memorial was later erected at the site of the ambush . The combatants were Sean Mac Eoin ( Ballinalee ) , Sean Duffy ( Ballinalee ) , James J Brady ( Ballinamuck ) , Tom Brady ( Cartronmarkey ) , Paddy Callaghan ( Clonbroney ) , Seamus Conway ( Clonbroney ) , Pat Cooke ( Tubber ) , Seamus Farrelly ( Purth ) , Paddy Finnegan ( Molly ) , Larry Geraghty ( Ballymore ) , Mick Gormley ( Killoe ) , Hugh Hourican ( Clonbroney ) , Jack Hughes ( Scrabby ) , Mick Kenny ( Clonbroney ) , Paddy Lynch ( Colmcille ) , John McDowell ( Clonbroney ) , Jack Moore ( Streete ) , Mick Mulligan ( Willsbrook ) , Michael F Reynolds ( Killoe ) , Sean Sexton ( Ballinalee ) and Jim Sheeran ( Killoe ) .