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