An Irish Civil War Dugout: Tormore Cave, County Sligo: Archaeology, History, Memory

A brutal Civil War erupted across Ireland in June 1922. The IRA, in opposition to the development of a pro-Treaty government, returned to the familiar guerrilla tactics of the War of Independence. Hundreds of dugouts constructed in rural settings were key to the IRA campaign. These secret places offered safe shelter to men on the run, while also allowing for supplies and arms to be stored and prisoners held.

Tormore Cave, high in the mountains of County Sligo, in the northwest of Ireland, was one such dugout. Over 30 Republican men sought refuge there for six weeks in September and October 1922. Like most dugouts, Tormore Cave was never mentioned in historical accounts or documentary sources, but its significance was remembered locally. Archaeological excavations conducted on the centenary of its occupation revealed the extensive modifications that had transformed this natural limestone cave into a habitable military dugout, a crucial refuge for combatants whose comrades had been executed or arrested by Government forces. The historical artefacts and environmental material recovered during the excavations, combined with detailed archaeological surveys and analyses, provide a fascinating insight into the conditions endured by those billeted there. The lives of the men and women directly associated with the cave dugout are explored, including an in-depth study of IRA General Officer Commanding Billy Pilkington – a key figure during the Irish revolutionary period who has, until now, been largely overlooked.

An Irish Civil War Dugout: Tormore Cave, County Sligo adopts a multidisciplinary approach, the first of its kind in an Irish context, combining archaeology, local and military histories, family memories, community recollections, and landscape studies. This groundbreaking study – the first archaeological excavation of a Civil War site in Ireland, facilitates a wider discussion of the role of dugouts in guerrilla warfare. By focussing in detail on one site at a local level, this book provides a unique and valuable contribution to the Irish revolutionary period on a regional and national scale.

Marion Dowd holds a BA (1995), MA (1997) and PhD (2004) in archaeology from University College Cork. She has been employed at Atlantic Technological University (formerly ITSligo) as a Permanent full-time Lecturer in Prehistoric Archaeology since 2005. She specialises in the archaeology of Ireland's caves and has published and lectured widely in the subject, including five books (one published by Archaeopress) and multiple peer-reviewed papers and book chapters in national and international journals and publications. She has excavated numerous caves around Ireland adopting a muli-disciplinary approach.

Robert Mulraney is an archaeologist, ecologist and speleologist. He has a special interest in cave explorton, mapping and photography and endevaours to detail the historical events, stories and folklore that develop around the underground and other liminal places.

James Bonsall uses geophysical and remote sensing technology to investigate ancient people and landscapes. James is particularly interested in conflict archaeology and the challenging upland and coastal environments that require technical expertise combined with novel methodological approaches to enhance the interpretation of past environments. James has over twenty-five years of archaeological geophysical experience acquired in the commercial and academic sectors. His PhD, a fellowship from the National Roads Authority, focused on aspects of prospecting driven by legacy data collected during the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economic boom. James is a former Lecturer in Environmental Sciences at the Atlantic Technological University (formerly IT Sligo). His recent publications include a geoarchaeological study of shell middens on the west coast of Ireland; mapping pauper burials in the UK; the challenges of surveying remote upland sites in Ireland and Italy; the 1798 Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland; and two books on the Irish Civil War.