Clonfin Ambush

Clonfin Ambush
Part of the Irish War of Independence
Date 2 February 1921 Location Clonfin, County Longford, Ireland 53°45′40″N 7°35′02″W / 53.761°N 7.584°W / 53.761; -7.584 Result IRA victory
Belligerents
Irish Republican Army (North Longford Brigade)	Royal Irish Constabulary (Auxiliary Division)
Commanders and leaders
Seán Mac Eoin	Francis Craven †
Strength
21 volunteers	~19 men in 2 lorries; reinforcements of ~150 men in 14 lorries arrive later
Casualties and losses
None	4 killed 8 wounded
class=notpageimage| Location within island of Ireland

The Clonfin Ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 2 February 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. It took place in the townland of Clonfin (or Cloonfin) between Ballinalee and Granard in County Longford. The IRA ambushed two lorries carrying members of the British Auxiliary Division, sparking a lengthy gun battle in which four Auxiliaries were killed and eight wounded. The Auxiliaries eventually surrendered and their weapons were seized. The IRA commander, Seán Mac Eoin, won some praise for helping the wounded Auxiliaries. Following the ambush, British forces burned a number of houses and farms in the area, and shot dead an elderly farmer.