The Crossbarry Ambush – Tom Barry and the 103 Men Who Overcame Massive Odds

“The Crossbarry Ambush” recalls one of the most dramatic moments of Ireland’s War of Independence.
On 19 March 1921, in the quiet fields near Crossbarry, County Cork, the West Cork Flying Column led by Tom Barry faced a massive encirclement by British forces — over a thousand soldiers against barely a hundred volunteers.

Against overwhelming odds, Barry’s men executed a daring breakout that stunned the British command.
It wasn’t just a military success; it became a symbol of strategy, courage, and the unbreakable will of Ireland’s volunteers to defend their land.

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LYRICS

In cold early spring, in dawn’s grey light,
Near Crossbarry village there brewed a fight
’Twas by the bridge we took up our stand,
As word went round of the Crown’s plans.


We’d gathered down a West Cork glen,
A hundred tired and hungry men,
Our rifles primed, our bodies worn,
From raids through nights till early morn.


Twelve hundred foes were closing fast,
Six columns sweeping through the pass
The net drew tight before the dawn,
And Tom Barry knew the fight was on.


No time for plans or grand parades,
A fight for life was all we made,
From ditch and hedge the bullets flew,
And chaos split the column through.


While lorries burned, our trap was set,
Their wounded cried terrified of death,
Through hails of fire and dreadful odds,
We broke their ring by the grace of God.


Through fields of fog and furze we ran,
Each comrade trusting God’s own plan,
No banners high, no bugles to hear,
We made it out — but death was near.


Three brave men lay dead that day,
Their souls the price we had to pay,
We left them there lying in the glen,
Prayers unspoken — for three brave men.


When smoke cleared, the fight was done,
The rising mist revealed the sun,
We’d lived to tell what few could say,
A hundred men had escaped the frey.


Many years have passed, the glens grown still,
But echoes still linger on the hill,
The hundred men they could not kill,

Live on as legends at Crossbarry still.

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