"Meanwhile, the base at Baldonnel was singled out for a coup by the 'Irregulars', whose fortunes in the Dublin area were on the wane. They planned to seize the air base with the help of some sympathisers among the garrison. The jumping-off point for the attack was a wood close by the aerodrome, where 25 armed men were to rendezvous with a larger number of unarmed personnel, their task being to transport captured supplies. With the aerodrome secure, a former wartime pilot nicknamed 'The Deacon' (he had advanced to that stage of the Holy Orders before espousing the Republican cause) with an assistant, would commandeer an aircraft and attack Government buildings. The raid completed, the aeroplane was to land on Merrion Strand. In later years, the 'bomb aimer' described the plan as high farce. When he queried his pilot on various matters, 'The Deacon' always had a suitable reply, but when asked about the state of the tide at the time when they would be landing, he confessed that he had forgotten to check. Not surprisingly, when the raid on Baldonnel was cancelled, the young bomb aimer elect was greatly relieved because he had come to the conclusion that 'The Deacon' could not really fly an aircraft! However the aborted raid did result in casualties, three members of the Baldonnel garrison who deserted to the Irregulars for the planned operation, were subsequently captured, court martialled, and shot."