Sa scéal corraitheach seo de mhisniúlacht agus gliceas, chuir buíon foghlaithe mara de chuid an IRA i 1922 a ndúil i gceann de na goid is mó riamh i 1922. A sprioc? Long an Upnor de chuid an Royal Navy lán le 120 tonna d'armlóin a ghabháil.
Labhair RTÉ.ie/Gaeilge le Tom Mahon, údar The Ballycotton Job, atá anois ar fáil mar closleabhar ó Mercier Press.
So, Tom, where did you first learn about this story?
"Well, when I was a kid growing up in Dublin, we used to visit my mother's father, Tom Crofts, in Cork. He was a very nice, quintessential, stereotypical grandfather. He was warm, he had a sense of humour, a twinkle, his eye, and always smoked a pipe."
"Agus is cuimhin liom go mbíodh sé ina bhall den IRA i gCorcaigh agus go mbíodh scéalta grinn á insint aige. Ar cheann de na scéalta sin ná go raibh sé ina bhall ghrúpa a ghabháil long. Mheas mise i gcónaí go raibh sé seo ana-ghreannmhar; bhí bród orm go raibh foghlaí mara sa chlann - bhí teileascóip sa tigh aige fiú!"
"So many, many decades later, I started researching the seizure of the Upnor. And what's interesting is that it was known, but it had never really been written up before. There's only a few sentences about it in some of the more detailed history books of the period."
"Cheap mise gur scéal iontach a bhí anseo agus gurbh fhiú í a insint. B'shin an chaoi ar thosaigh an taighde agus tar éis turas fada, bhíos in ann é a chur le chéile."
It is really a remarkable tale, a bit like Kelly's Heroes; the guys who go behind enemy lines and pull off a really unbelievable heist that just shouldn't have worked, but it did. These guys in Cork were really audacious but were well organised too?
"I think it is like Kelly's Heroes in many ways, because they were a cast of very incredible, colourful individuals and the objective was totally outlandish. They didn't have the experience to do it, and it was an improbable adventure. And yet they succeeded."
"Agus is léiriú é ar sheiftiúlacht na hÉireann ag an am. Beartaíocht lasmuigh den bhosca chomh maith leis an gcrógacht, an disciplín agus an gairmiúlacht. Thuig na daoine seo a bí ar siúl acu, agus bhí an t-ádh leo, cinnte, ach bhí an t-uafás pleanála ag baint leis. Misean fíor-chasta a bhí ann."
Hundreds of IRA members hijacked every truck and lorry they could find in Cork city; a Murphy's Brewery lorry, a Crosse and Blackwell Jam Makers van, and truck belonging to Lyons - Manufacturers of Ladies Underclothing, among many, many others, and drove them to the outskirts of Ballycotton.
"It took hundreds of workers nine hours to unload 80 tons worth from the ship's hold - 70 lorry loads - comprising 39 machine guns, 1,000 rifles, over 700 revolvers, at least 200,000 rounds of ammunition, around 2,000 grenades and rifle grenades, a large quantity of explosives, fuses and helmets."
Go bunúsach, ghabh siad long chabhlach na Breataine. Agus tá greann sa scéal leis; léigh an Admiral Ernest Gaunt, go ndeachaigh ceann de na loing aige féin in easnamh ar thuras idir Corcaigh agus Plymouth sa nuachtán an mhaidin ina dhiadh! Aineoinn an scéal a chur faoi cheilt ar bhonn náire, bhí Churchill fiú moltach as an bhuíon toisc an éacht ghlic a bhaineadar amach.
Who do you think would enjoy getting a copy of this for Christmas, Tom?
"I'd like this for people who enjoy an adventure story or with history thrown in. I wrote it as a fast-paced read, but yet it's a meticulously researched book. I wanted it to be accessible to people of a wide range of age groups, genders and whether they're Irish or not."
"Agus sílim gur rud iontach fén closleabhar ná go bhfuil sé léite go fíor-chumasach ag Bob Kelly. Cuireann sé drámatúileacht agus mealltacht ann. Mar sin ba mhaith liom go sriochfadh sé daoine gur maith leo scéalta ina bhfuil cuid den stair ag baint leis."
Is ait nach raibh an scéal ag mórán sa Choitín, ach de réir a chéile tháinig roinnt duine chuig Mahon le h-íomhanna de roinnt rud a d'imigh ar iarraidh - bhí folcadh, troscán agus roinnt rud eile nárbh armlóin iad tógtha mar raic ag muintir na háite ar an oíche.
Tá an leagan closleabhar den The Ballycotton Job le Tom Mahon, léite ag Bob Kelly, ar fáil anois ar Audible, Apple Books, agus Kobo
