Sniper Summary

The story takes place in the night in Dublin, amidst a war. There is a republican sniper hiding on a roof, and after he kills an enemy in a vehicle and an informer he takes a shot to the arm. With no feeling in his arm, he takes cover behind a low protective wall on the edge of the roof, and sees that his arm is broken so he then sterilizes it and wraps it up. Realizing he must get out before the morning he comes up with a plan to ensure a safe escape: he tricks the last enemy on the rooftop across the street into thinking he has shot and killed the sniper, and once the enemy is in clear shot, the sniper shoots him off the roof with a cry of victory as the opponent falls to the street below. However his joy does not last long, for it is replaced by remorse. After retreating from the rooftop he decides to go see if he might have known the soldier, only to discover he had shot his brother.