Soloheadbeg ambush

Soloheadbeg ambush
Part of the Irish War of Independence
A proclamation offering a reward of £1,000 for information leading to the capture of those involved in the Soloheadbeg ambush
Date 21 January 1919 Location Near Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary, Ireland 52°31′N 8°10′W / 52.52°N 8.16°W / 52.52; -8.16 Result IRA seize large amounts of Gelignite
Belligerents
Irish Volunteers/Irish Republican Army	United Kingdom Royal Irish Constabulary
Commanders and leaders
Seán Treacy Dan Breen	James McDonnell † Patrick O'Connell †
Strength
10 volunteers	2 policemen
Casualties and losses
None	2 policemen killed
class=notpageimage| Location within island of Ireland

The Soloheadbeg ambush took place on 21 January 1919, when members of the Irish Volunteers (or Irish Republican Army [IRA]) ambushed Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers who were escorting a consignment of gelignite explosives at Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary. Two RIC officers were killed and their weapons and the explosives were stolen. The Volunteers acted on their own initiative and had not sought authorisation for their action. As it happened on the same day that the revolutionary Irish parliament first met and declared Ireland's independence, it is often seen as the first engagement of the Irish War of Independence.^[1]