 After the German planes did not clear the airspace over Dublin and continued erratically flying over the city, the Irish Army fired warning flares, starting with three flares representing the colors of the Irish flag to inform the pilots they were over neutral territory, followed by several red flares warning them to clear Irish airspace or be fired on.After fifteen minutes had passed, the order was given to open fire, and Irish anti-aircraft guns began firing at the bombers.Local air defenses were weak, and the gunners were poorly trained.