The Irish Civil War 1922-23

By Peter James Cottrell

2008

First Published

3.37

Average Rating

Number of Pages

2H55M

Audio Length

Part of Series

Osprey Essential Histories

Series · 74 books

By Michael Hicks, Nigel Bagnall, Matthew Bennett, and more

In a sequel to his successful best-selling ESS 65 The Anglo-Irish War, Peter Cottrell explores the devastating conflict that tore Ireland apart, shortly after 'peace' had been declared. He focuses on the short but bloody battles that witnessed more deaths than the preceding years of the War of Independence. Examining the many factions that played a part in the fighting, and more often in the terror and counter-terror operations, Cottrell highlights the contrasting styles of leadership and the conduct of combat operations by the IRA and the National Army. He uses detailed tactical maps to explain the tactics that ranged from urban warfare and street-fighting to the final siege of Limerick city. A bitter sequence of attack and reprisal, the Irish Civil War was a complex social and political battle to change the nature of government and politics in Ireland. This book primarily discusses the military operations, but also places these in the wider context of the personalities involved, including Liam Lynch and Michael Collins. It also assesses the impact of the war on civilian life, and its influence on the politics of Ireland at national and international levels thereafter. This is not only the story of one country, but also of the relationships between Ireland and Britain, and Ireland and America, which have had a profound impact on modern politics for decades.

Avg Rating

3.37

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

11%

4 STARS

26%

3 STARS

52%

2 STARS

11%

1 STARS

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Author

Peter James Cottrell

Author · 4 books

Despite being born on an RAF base in East Anglia I have always thought of myself as Welsh. Both my parents came from Glamorgan so that was where we went when my father left the RAF when I was four and where I grew up and went to school. I joined the Territorial Army whilst still in the sixth form and went on to gain commissions in both the Royal Navy and British Army after qualifying as a teacher. I decided to leave the regular army to spend more time with my family and return to teaching after a long, enjoyable and somewhat eclectic service career that encompassed learning to parachute; Loan Service in Saudi Arabia; being a UN Military Observer in Bosnia whilst taking in Northern Ireland; the Arctic Ocean; Iraq; Sierra Leone and Afghanistan along the way. The Army funded my Master's degree and inadvertently got me into writing. Since 2005 I have written histories of the Anglo-Irish Troubles that followed the end of the Great War and the Irish Civil War that resulted from the Anglo-Irish Treaty. I have also written an historical novel called 'England's Janissary' about a young Irish soldier who returns from the Great War and joins the Royal Irish Constabulary as well as an historical fantasy novel called 'Wyrdegrove' set during the English Civil War. My wife, Heather has given me much of the inspiration and encouragement that I have needed to write and I would be lost without her.