livinghistory.ie

Hello all my second book "The Battle For Limerick City" Is being launched at O Mahony's Bookshop, O Connell Street in Limerick City on Friday 16th of April (this Friday) at 7.P.M.

Any re-enactors wishing to attend in period kit - flying column, Free State Army, British forces MUST contact me before hand. Because the launch is taking place in the city centre no re-enactors are to come armed.

The book is available online at www.mercierpress.ie

Thanks
Padraig

Press release for The Battle For Limerick City, recently published by
Mercier Press.
The Battle For Limerick City

Military History Of The Irish Civil War Series
Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc

To be launched in O’Mahonys Booksellers, Limerick, on 16 April @ 7pm

The full story of the fierce battle between Republican and Provisional
Government forces for control of Limerick city in the early days of
the Civil War. The Civil War arrived in Limerick with a whimper rather
than a bang. Outnumbered and out-gunned, the pro-Treaty commander of
the city, Michael Brennan, negotiated a truce with the Chief-of-Staff
of the much stronger anti-Treaty force, Liam Lynch.

The benefit of this lull in fighting accrued almost entirely to the
pro-Treaty side. They gained time for reinforcements and weaponry to
arrive and when they did, the city became a battleground of extreme
viciousness. Several buildings were shelled by 18-pounder guns at
point blank range. The fighting around the Strand barracks was
particularly heavy.

In this new book on the victory of the Free State troops in Limerick,
Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc offers a fresh perspective on the struggle that
reduced the viability of the Republican's hoped for ‘Munster Republic’
and set the stage for the battle of Kilmallock, which turned the tide
of the Civil War in favour of the pro-Treaty forces.

The Battle For Limerick City is published in paperback at €12.99

Salve Padraig!

Well done, I hope it's a great success for you!

Vale,

Nerva.

Thanks Martin

Heres a review of the book - its not necessarily a positive one but the reviewer avoids using words like shit, useless etc

http://www.theirishstory.com/2010/06/21/book-reviews-merciers-military-history-of-the-irish-civil-war-series/

Have a read of the book and make up yer own minds!

Padraig

bannerman wrote:Heres a review of the book - its not necessarily a positive one but the reviewer avoids using words like shit, useless etc

http://www.theirishstory.com/2010/06/21/book-reviews-merciers-military-history-of-the-irish-civil-war-series/

Have a read of the book and make up yer own minds!

Padraig

OUCH! Well, Paddy, I have faith in you, and it sounds like the reveiwer is an author with an axe to grind, or a non-author who has never been published.

finnobreanan wrote:OUCH! Well, Paddy, I have faith in you, and it sounds like the reveiwer is an author with an axe to grind, or a non-author who has never been published.

I'd suspect the latter.
The reviewer seems to completely miss the point that the book covers a local event and not the Civil War as a whole.

While trying to be neutral here, I take exception to some of the reviewer's assumptions.

The nature of IRA violence was generally small in scale and intended not to take territory or to eliminate the British forces, but to apply political pressure on the British government.

Aside from the fact that the term "violence" is judgement-laden and emotive, this assessment is completely wrong. The RIC were rendered redundant and replaced with gangs: that would seem to count as an elimination of British forces. The whole system of British government and law was successfully replaced. This was not "political pressure": it was the retaking of the country.

There is too little analysis in this volume and too much partisan championing of the Anti-Treaty side. For example, the author uses the republican terminology of the time to describe the belligerents. The Anti-Treaty side are always, ‘the IRA’ and the Pro-Treaty side are the ‘Free State army’.

How does it count as partisan to use the terms each army used for itself? I'd love to know.

The reviewer argues that the Church's championing of the FS was based on their majority in the June 1922 - odd, then, that the Church didn't recognise the result of the 1918 election, being so democratically inclined. The FS's ignoble conduct in relation to the June 1922 election disqualifies it from it being termed a mandate for Empire even if the Dáil had the power to disestablish itself.

I haven't got an opportunity to read the book yet - but it does cover part of the period for my own research, so I will get to it in due course. However, I want to address one comment here -

thepremier wrote: The whole system of British government and law was successfully replaced. This was not "political pressure": it was the retaking of the country.

The system of British government and law may have been replaced - how successfully though is an open question. Certainly in Limerick there are numerous reports of rural workers objecting to and, in certain instances, opposing the actions of the Dail courts. In local government, there are many instances of widespread opposition to SF policies on Limerick Co. Council. Furthermore, given that members the Council was inextricably linked with the local farming community, constant class battles were fought between rural labourers and creamery workers on one side and farmers on the other from 1919-1922 leading to widespread opposition to the policies and actions of SF locally.

While it has been said that the IRA never succeeded in 'taking over' a single farmhouse during the War of Independence, workers in Limerick took over everything from individual creameries to whole villages and towns to Limerick city, for periods of up to several weeks between 1919-1922.

Hello all,

While it has been said that the IRA never succeeded in 'taking over' a single farmhouse during the War of Independence

I think it was Richard Mulcahy who said at the time of the Treaty debates "The I.R.A. never suceeded in capturing one large barracks" Thats not verbatum - its from memory but the quote definately applied to barracks not farmhouses! The IRA during the War of Independence did suceed in taking over a number of occupied RIC barracks after attacks in the War of Independence, and rather that maning them and trying to defend them (which would have been futile and counter productive in the type of guerilla war they were then wageing) they burnt them. By doing this the I.R.A. in some counties managed to "liberate" fairly large areas of countryside which then had no fixed military or police bases remaining which could be used by the British forces - leaving the IRA to operate, train and police these areas

But any way all of that relates to the War of Independence remember the book is a military history account of the fighting in Limerick City in July of 1922 during the Civil War ( a point which I think is being missed)

Theres an alternative online review of the book on amazon.com here
http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Limerick-Military-History-Irish/dp/1856356752/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284054091&sr=1-1

Thats it for now
Padraig

Congratulations Paddy! A most excellent review on Amazon. Now to find time to actually read the book!