Tracing the development of the Irish Republican Army following Ireland’s Declaration of Independence, this book focuses on the recruitment, training, and arming of Ireland’s military volunteers and the Army’s subsequent guerrilla campaign against British rule. Beginning with a brief account of the failed Easter Rising, it continues through the resulting military and political reorganizations, the campaign’s various battles, and the eventual truce agreements and signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Other topics include the significance of Irish intelligence and British counter-intelligence efforts; urban warfare and the fight for Dublin; and the role of female soldiers, suffragists, and other women in waging the IRA’s campaign.

Joseph McKenna is a retired local studies librarian, with over 30 years experience working in the Central Library in Birmingham, England. He formerly sat on the City Council`s Conservation Advisory Areas Committee.

Joseph McKenna
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 300
Bibliographic Info: 63 photos, maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-5947-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8519-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments       vi
List of Acronyms      ix
Preface      1
Introduction      3

1. The Easter Rising, 1916      11
2. Political Reorganization      31
3. Military Reorganization      38
4. Passive Resistance      66
5. The Intelligence War      73
6. Urban Warfare      97
7. The Splendid Women      109
8. Guerrilla Warfare      116
9. 1919: The War Begins      125
10. 1920: The Second Year of the War      132
11. 1921: The Last Year of the War      184
12. Between Truce and Treaty      250
13. Conclusion: Prelude to Civil War      265

Appendix I: “Patrolling in the City” (from Record of
Rebellion in Ireland 1920–1921)      273
Appendix II: Tom Kelleher’s Account of Crossbarry      275
Appendix III: Analysis of Crossbarry by Tom Barry      278
Chapter Notes      279
Bibliography      283
Index      285