The Sniper (story)

"The Sniper" is a short story by Irish writer Liam O'Flaherty, set during the early weeks of the Irish Civil War, during the Battle of Dublin. It is O'Flaherty's first published work of fiction, published in a small London-based Socialist weekly The New Leader (12 January 1923) while the war it depicted was still ongoing. The favorable notice it generated helped get other works by O'Flaherty published and started his career. It is widely read today in secondary schools of many English-speaking countries, due to its short length, easiness to read, and its notable surprise ending.

There is heavy fighting taking place in Dublin. An IRA sniper is sitting on a roof top eating a sandwich hungrily and taking a shot draft of whiskey. Despite knowing it is dangerous he decides to have a smoke and instantly a bullet hits the roof. An armoured car of the free staters arrives when an old woman comes out of the darkness and points out his position to the soldier in the car. The sniper shoots the woman and the man in the car. Immediately he is hit by the enemy sniper in the right arm. He applies some dressing, though in great pain. He lay quietly in pain for some time. But decides he has to escape from the room before morning. Since unable to hold the rifle he tricks the enemy sniper into shooting the cap that he had placed over the rifle. He let the cap fall into the street and then dropped his left hand over the roof and let it hang lifelessly he also let the rifle drop making the enemy sniper think that he has been shot dead. The enemy soldier then stands up clearly only to be shot instantly by the republican sniper with a revolver. The dying man fell over the roof and hit the ground. Weakened and disgusted, he came down to the street curious to find out whom he had killed. Only to see the dead man was his brother.

External links

• Full text of the story.

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