The Irish Civil War 1922-23

by Peter Cottrell

Overview

In this follow-up to the acclaimed The Anglo-Irish War, Peter Cottrell explores the Irish Civil War, a devastating conflict that tore Ireland apart. This book examines the many factions that played a part in the fighting and the terror and counter-terror operations, focusing on the short bloody battles that witnessed more deaths than the preceding years during the struggle for the Free State. Cottrell particularly focuses on the contrasting styles of leadership and the conduct of combat operations by the IRA and the National Army, providing a fascinating study for all students of Irish history as well as military history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472810335
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/06/2014
Series:	Guide to... , #70
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Peter Cottrell is currently a serving Army officer in the British Army. He has recently completed an MA thesis on the Royal Irish Constabulary and is hoping to read a PhD on policing during the Anglo-Irish War. He lives in Hampshire, UK.
Peter Cottrell was born on an RAF base in Norfolk to Welsh parents and grew up in South Wales. He joined his local Welsh Territorial Army infantry battalion whilst still at school and subsequently gained a degree in War Studies from Wolverhampton Polytechnic and a PGCE from University College Swansea. In 1988 he attended Britannia Royal Naval College and was commissioned into the Instructor Branch of the Royal Navy as a Defence and Political Studies specialist. After a period of loan service in Saudi Arabia he transferred to the British Army in 1995 and gained a Master's degree in History, specialising in the militarisation of policing in Ireland from 1913-23. In an eclectic service career that included operational service in Bosnia with both UNPROFOR and IFOR as well as Afghanistan, Iraq and Northern Ireland, he finally retired as a major after twenty-one years of naval and military service in 2008 to return to teaching. From 2008-16 he taught English, History, Latin and Classics in Wiltshire and then moved to Cumbria in 2016 to be head of English and Media in a small secondary school in the depths of rural Cumbria. In 2021 he finally retired to live on the Yorkshire coast.

Table of Contents

Introduction     7
Chronology     12
Background to war: The Anglo-Irish War     15
Warring sides: The combatants     20
Outbreak: The Anglo-Irish peace and the Republicans     27
The fighting: Conflict in Dublin and the provinces     35
Portrait of a soldier: Major-General James Emmet Dalton MC 1898-1978     60
The world around war: The wider impact of the Irish Civil War     64
Portrait of a civilian: Robert Erskine Childers DSO TD 1870-1922     75
How the war ended: Tentative de-escalation     79
Conclusion and consequences: A republic divided     83
Glossary and abbreviations     90
Further reading     92
Index     94

Editorial Reviews

Without giving too much away, it is a book that the author, Peter Cottrell pens superbly. He is able to help weave through what seems like a tangled mess of people and events to provide as clear a history of the war as any I've ever read. Superbly illustrated with period photos as well as excellent maps, it is a book that I can highly recommend to all of those who show an interest in this particular conflict.” —Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (September 2008)

“[A] sequel to The Anglo-Irish War ... an outstanding survey perfect for Irish history and military collections alike.” —California Bookwatch (November 2008)

From the Publisher