War and Revolution in the West of Ireland: Galway, 1913-1922

by Conor McNamara

"The people generally are out for a Republic and they propose to get it."-County Inspector RIC, West Galway, July 1920 *** The period 1913-22 witnessed extraordinary upheaval in Irish society. The Easter Rising of 1916 facilitated the emergence of new revolutionary forces and the eruption of guerrilla warfare. In Galway and elsewhere in the west, the new realities wrought by World War One saw the emergence of a younger generation of impatient revolutionaries. In 1916, Liam Mellows led his Irish Volunteers in a Rising in east Galway, and up to 650 rebels took up defensive positions at Moyode Castle. From the western shores of Connemara to market towns such as Athenry, Tuam, and Galway, local communities were subject to unprecedented use of terror by the Crown Forces. Meanwhile, conflict over land, an enduring grievance of the poor, threatened to overwhelm parts of Galway with sustained land seizures and cattle drives by the rural population. War and Revolution in the West of Ireland: Galway, 1913-1922 provides fascinating insights into the revolutionary activities of the ordinary men and women who participated in the struggle for independence. In this compelling new account, Galway historian Conor McNamara unravels the complex web of identity and allegiance that characterised the west of Ireland, exploring the enduring legacy of a remarkable and contested era. [Subject: Irish Studies, History, Military History]

252 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2018

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

McNamara examines the politics of revolution and civil war in Galway in light of the violent confrontations over land in the county during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.