Irish War of Independence Irish nationalists, who were certain the men had been tortured then murdered. This day became known as Bloody Sunday. On 28 November 1920, only a week after Bloody Sunday in Dublin, the west Cork unit of the IRA, under Tom Barry, ambushed a patrol of Auxiliaries at Kilmichael in County Cork, killing all but one of the 18-man patrol. These actions marked a significant escalation of the conflict. In response, Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary – all in the province of Munster – were put under martial law on 10 December under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act;
Irish language Irish language The Irish language (), also sometimes referred to as Gaelic or the Irish Gaelic language, is a Goidelic language (Gaelic) of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language in substantial areas of counties Galway, Kerry, Cork and Donegal, smaller areas of Waterford, Mayo and Meath, and a few other locations, and as a second language by a larger group of non-habitual speakers across the country. Irish has been the predominant language of the Irish people for most of their recorded history, and they brought