"The Sniper" by Liam O’Flaherty is a short story published in 1923 and set in Dublin during the Battle of Dublin, when the Irish were attempting to free themselves of English rule. The story is told in the third person by a limited narrator who has access to the thoughts, actions, and feelings of the sniper of the title.
The sniper is sitting on a roof searching for targets. He realizes that an enemy sniper is aware of his position, which he gave away by lighting a cigarette. An armored car drives over the bridge and an old lady walks up to the car. He realizes that the old lady is alerting the car's driver to his position and so he kills both the old lady and the British soldiers without remorse. The opposing sniper sees his muzzle flash and shoots his arm. He lures the other sniper out into the open by pretending to be dead and kills the other sniper.
He feels some kinship to the dead sniper, and "he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed". He makes his way to the corpse. The story ends with the line:
Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.
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