The Sniper

Kevin Pérez Morales

What is a sniper?

A sniper is a person that shoots at exposed individuals (as of an enemy's forces) from a usually concealed point of vantage.

Summary

This is a short story in which the author (Liam O’Flaherty) uses the suspense to narrate an incredible experience of a sniper during a civil war. From a roof-top near O’Connell Bridge, a Republican sniper was watching while eating a sandwich and swigging whiskey. An armored car pulls up fifty yards ahead, and an old woman stops to inform the car’s turret gunner of the position of the sniper. When the gunner emerges from the turret, the sniper kills him, then the woman. Gunfire from the opposite roof wounds the sniper in the arm. He can no longer handle his rifle. He has only his revolver to defend  himself. If he tries to get off the roof, he will be an easy target for the gunman across from him.

Summary (Continuation)

A plan occurs to him, to fool the enemy. The purpose of this plan is to make the other sniper shoot at his cap, and think he killed the enemy. He executes his plan successfully. He sees his enemy standing up and looking across, apparently believing he killed the IRA man. Then, he brings his revolver into position, and fires to the enemy who reels on the roof, drops his rifle to the street, and falls to the pavement. The sniper became bitten by remorse and began to curse the war, himself, and everybody. In disgust, he throws the revolver to the roof, it discharges, sending a bullet past his head. The shock of the near miss sobers him, and steadies his nerves. Now he is curious about the other sniper, who was a very good shooter. He decides to have a look at the man, and when he turns over the body, he sees the face of his brother.

Setting

Place: "The Sniper" takes place in Ireland's largest city, Dublin, located on the country's east coast on Dublin Bay, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The IRA sniper posts himself on a roof-top in central Dublin near the Four Courts building, which houses the high courts of Ireland, and O'Connell Bridge.

Time: The time is nightfall in June, after the establishment of the Irish Free State, during a civil war that erupted in 1922-1923.  

The Four Courts (Setting Place of “The Sniper’’)

Characters

1. IRA (Irish Republican Army) Sniper: Man posted on a roof in Dublin.

2. Opposing Sniper: Enemy gunman posted on a roof across from the IRA sniper.

3. Turret Gunner: Man shot by the IRA sniper.

4. Old Woman: Informer who betrays the position of the IRA sniper to the turret gunner.

5. Unseen Machine Gunner: Person who fires at the IRA sniper after he leaves the roof.

Liam O’Flaherty (Biography)

Birth place and parents: Liam O'Flaherty was born on August 28, 1896 in Inishmore, Ireland, to Leroy O'Flaherty and Janet Emageht O'Flaherty.

Education: In 1908, at the age of twelve, he attended one of three different colleges. The first, Rockwell was followed by enrollments to Holy Cross and University College, Dublin. According to The Sunday Times, it was said he also attended Belvedere College and Blackrock College. He never attended any of the earlier two schools for long. Among his studies, he took up the study of religion and had intended on joining the priesthood.

Military Life: In 1917, he left school and joined the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army. During this time, he fought in World War I and was injured. He also suffered from a barrage of attacks by the enemy which led to a battle with shell shock. Two days after the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, O'Flaherty and a group of supporters seized a building in Dublin for four days, flying a red flag from it. In 1933, he suffered from mental illness which most believe to be a result of the shock suffered in World War I.

Liam O’Flaherty (Continuation)

The Writer: After the war, he left Ireland and moved to the United States, where he lived in Hollywood for a short period of time. Between 1923 and 1950, he published many works, he wrote novels and short stories. “The Sniper”, one of his best piece of work, was the first story written by O’Flaherty, and was published in 1923. This story is based in part, on his own experiences during Ireland’s civil war. In 1935, his novel “The Informer” (for which he had been awarded the 1925 James Tait Black memorial Prize for fiction) was turned into a movie, by his cousin, John Ford, who was a famous movie director. Many of his works have the common theme of nature and Ireland. Some of his work was written in his native language, Irish. He also travelled the United States as well as Europe. Many letters he wrote while on these trips were published. Other works of this author are: “Civil War” and “Famine”. His last novel was published in 1950.

Other information about his life: It is documented that he had a love of French and Russian Culture. This is one of the possible reasons why he may have turned to communism. Before his death he left the Communist Party and returned to the Roman Catholic faith. Throughout his life it was suspected that O'Flaherty was possibly homosexual, leading to conflict between him and his father.

Liam O’Flaherty (Death)

Liam O'Flaherty died on September 7, 1984, in Dublin, Ireland.

After his death, many of his works were re-released as well as some of his letters.

Today, Liam O'Flaherty is remembered as a profound writer of the twentieth century by those who have been exposed to him and his work.

He is also remembered as a strong voice in the Irish culture.

Author Style

The author style is the Rat-a-tat prose, which means that the author uses short sentences to maintain suspense in the story.

My Personal Opinion

I really liked this story because its easy to read, its interesting, and it has a lot of suspense, which I like.

The Sniper Rifle

The IRA Soldier

Modern day IRA soldier

The Irish Civil War

Irish Civil War Map