John Borgonovo – författare

In the 1940s and 1950s Ernie O’Malley interviewed survivors of Ireland’s struggle for independence. These interviews, now being made available to the public for the first time, give a fascinating insight into the times and the people who fought.The West Cork interviews detail IRA intervention in Ulster, as well as giving prominence to the Cork No. 5 Brigade. Of eight interview subjects, five participated in the IRA’s invasion of Northern Ireland. The interviewees talk about the Republican rifle exchange with the National Army which occurred secretly in May 1922, as Free State rifles supplied by Britain were swapped with IRA rifles, which were then sent to arm the IRA in Ulster. They also document the gruesome torture of Brigade Commander Ted O’Sullivan.

The Atlas of the Irish Revolution is a landmark publication that presents scholarship on the revolutionary period in a uniquely accessible manner. Featuring over 200 original maps and 300 images, the Atlas includes 120 contributions by leading scholars from a range of disciplines. They offer multiple perspectives on the pivotal years from the 1912 Home Rule crisis to the end of the Irish Civil War in 1923. Using extensive original data (much of it generated from newly-released archival material), researchers have mapped social and demographic change, political and cultural activity, state and non-state violence and economic impacts. The maps also portray underlying trends in the decades before the revolution and capture key aspects of the revolutionary aftermath. They show that while the Irish revolution was a 'national' event, it contained important local and regional variations that were vital to its outcomes. The representation of island-wide trends stand alongside street-level, parish, county and provincial studies that uncover the multi-faceted dynamics at play.The Atlas also captures the international dimensions of a revolution that occurred amidst the First World War and its tumultuous aftermath.Revolutionary events in Ireland received global attention because they profoundly challenged the British imperial project. Key revolutionaries operated transnationally before, during and after the conflict, while the Irish diaspora provided crucial support networks. The often neglected roles of women and workers are illuminated, while commentators consider the legacies of the revolution, including collective memories, cultural representations and historical interpretations. The Atlas of the Irish Revolution brings history to life for general readers and students, as well as academics. It represents a ground-breaking contribution to the historical geography of these compelling years of conflict, continuity and change.

This new volume in the award-winning Atlas Series presents fresh perspectives on, and a nuanced understanding of, the history of the Irish Civil War (1922-3). The centenary of the Civil War has prompted wide-ranging research into that tumultuous and complex period in Irish history. Featuring contributions from over ninety leading scholars from a range of disciplines, this book provides new insights into the conflict's regional, national and international dimensions. It includes the first-ever listing of Civil War fatalities and original explorations of issues including propaganda, gender, trauma, culture, labour, land and class. Produced in partnership with the National Library of Ireland with support from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, the Atlas of the Irish Civil War: New perspectives is richly illustrated with over 400 photographs, archival documents and a series of newly created original maps. From the research team that produced the widely acclaimed Atlas of the Irish Revolution, this volume represents a major and accessible contribution to the historiography of a conflict that has cast a long shadow over Irish life.

By the sixth week of the Irish Civil War in 1922, all eyes turned to Cork, as the National Army readied its climactic attack on the 'rebel capital'. At 2 a.m. on a Bank Holiday Monday, Emmet Dalton and 450 soldiers of the National Army landed at Passage West, in one of the most famous surprise attacks in Irish military history. Their daring amphibious assault knocked the famed Cork IRA onto the back foot, though three more days of stubborn fighting was required for the National Army to secure the city. The retreating IRA left destruction in their wake, setting the stage for Michael Collins' fatal final visit to his home county. For the first time, 'The Battle for Cork' tells the full story of the battle for Cork, showing all the chaos, bravery and misery of the largest engagement of the Irish Civil War and the final defeat of Republican Cork.

At the beginning of the First World War, Irish separatists in the city of Cork were marginalised and without political power. By the war's end, they had supplanted the local elite and launched a bloody war for independence. Using Cork as a case study, this book considers how the First World War brought about political revolution in Ireland, examining: wartime failures of constitutional nationalism; anxieties over food shortages; explosions in trade unionism; the effects of government repression; rising expectations for self-determination; the creation of a mass independence movement; and strident opposition to military conscription. For the first time, the Irish Revolution is viewed through a First World War prism, yielding results that will surprise students of both subjects. The book offers ground-breaking scholarship within an accessible narrative, and will be released shortly before the centenaries of the Irish Revolution and First World War, which will attract unprecedented scholarly and public attention to both subjects.The book: Argues that the Irish Revolution was directly caused by the First World War; explains why Irish public opinion swung so quickly towards the independence movement following the 1916 Easter Rising; and examines the rich political and social tapestry of one city during the turmoil of the First World War.The book offers the first local study of Ireland's wartime political transformation that preceded the violent revolution of 1919-1923. It begins immediately after the Republican defeat in the 1916 Easter Rising, and concludes with the triumph of Sinn Fein in the 1918 General Election. A number of new findings will influence the scholarship of this period, especially chapters regarding rising social unrest, collapsing popular deference, and war-related food and morality anxiety exploited by Irish Republicans. As such, this manuscript will significantly impact the charged debates surrounding the Irish Revolution and Ireland's First World War experience.