The Free State Army formed in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 were attempting to control the anti-Treaty rebels on the streets of Dublin in July 1922. After the Fall of the Four Courts other Irregulars fought in Sackville Street (now O´Connell Street). The man firing the rifle is probably a Free State soldier not yet supplied with a uniform. Artillery ensured a swift Irregular capitulation though Cathal Brugha, once Dail Minister for Defence, refused to surrender and was shot down, a revolver in each hand while shouting, ´they´ll never get me´. The Red Cross appears.