Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc – författare

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world. They were sparked by a knife attack by an immigrant on three children. Inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Part of the north inner city were wrecked, cars and buses torched, and protestors wreaked havoc on the streets for hours.Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on having escaped the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism now rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that has led to this pivotal moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and 30s, the energetic efforts of Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA''s alliance with Nazi Germany in the 40s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that were millimetres away from fascism. He tells the story of exotic entities like the Fascio di Dublino, the Dublin branch of Mussolini''s Fascist Party, and the Irish wing of Miss Rotha Lintorn-Orman''s ''British Fascisti''. The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an offshoot and ally of the early Fine Gael, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters'' statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment. And the Catholic and nationalist Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection), a post-war sect, was in many ways a precursor of today''s Irish far right.This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world.Sparked by an immigrant''s knife attack on three children, inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Parts of the city were wrecked, cars and buses torched. In 2024, a proposed site for refugees in North Dublin was blockaded for months and subjected to repeated arson attacks, and many other sites were burnt out.Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on escaping the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that led to this moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and ''30s, the energetic efforts of Oswald Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA''s alliance with Nazi Germany in the 1940s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that flirted with fascism. The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an integral part of the early Fine Gael party, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters'' statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment.Ó Ruairc also investigates carefully the recent history of the far right in Ireland, its equivocal relationship with arson and other violence and its chequered electoral history. This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world. They were sparked by a knife attack by an immigrant on three children. Inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Part of the north inner city were wrecked, cars and buses torched, and protestors wreaked havoc on the streets for hours.Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on having escaped the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism now rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that has led to this pivotal moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and 30s, the energetic efforts of Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA’s alliance with Nazi Germany in the 40s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that were millimetres away from fascism. He tells the story of exotic entities like the Fascio di Dublino, the Dublin branch of Mussolini's Fascist Party, and the Irish wing of Miss Rotha Lintorn-Orman's ‘British Fascisti’. The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an offshoot and ally of the early Fine Gael, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters’ statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment. And the Catholic and nationalist Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection), a post-war sect, was in many ways a precursor of today’s Irish far right.This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world. They were sparked by a knife attack by an immigrant on three children. Inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Part of the north inner city were wrecked, cars and buses torched, and protestors wreaked havoc on the streets for hours.Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on having escaped the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism now rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that has led to this pivotal moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and 30s, the energetic efforts of Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA’s alliance with Nazi Germany in the 40s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that were millimetres away from fascism. He tells the story of exotic entities like the Fascio di Dublino, the Dublin branch of Mussolini's Fascist Party, and the Irish wing of Miss Rotha Lintorn-Orman's ‘British Fascisti’. The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an offshoot and ally of the early Fine Gael, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters’ statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment. And the Catholic and nationalist Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection), a post-war sect, was in many ways a precursor of today’s Irish far right.This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.

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.

This book contains interviews with members of the IRA’s Mid Clare and East Clare Brigades. It includes details of the Rineen Ambush, which was, at that time, the largest and most successful operation that the IRA had conducted against the RIC. It also includes an eyewitness account of the reprisals in Miltown Malbay carried out in revenge for the ambush and a fascinating account of IRA operations in Ennis during the War of Independence, including details of Republican sympathisers within the RIC garrison who provided the IRA with information, and the activities of local loyalists who assisted the British forces. There is also an account of the ‘Scariff Martyrs’, who were killed by members of the RIC Auxiliary Division on Killaloe Bridge. The Civil War also features prominently, with Paddy MacMahon discussing his capture during the ‘Battle of the Four Courts’ in Dublin.

In May 1915 Ernest Blythe was appointed as an organiser for the Irish Volunteers by Volunteer headquarters and was sent to Clare to train the Cloonagh and Kilfenora Volunteers. The authorities were well informed about Blythe's activities in Clare. He established Irish Volunteer companies at Doolin and Liscannor and supplied the Crusheen company with rifles. Because of his success in organising and arming the Clare Volunteers, Blythe was arrested and deported a few weeks later, under the defence of the realm act. Fifty-three Republicans from Clare gave their lives in the struggle for independence, but the story of Clare republicanism goes much deeper than that. Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc takes the story of Clare's Republicans from the start of the twentieth century to the end of the War of Independence. In the process, he examines the course of the campaign, the events both tragic and heroic and the victims, British and Irish. Featuring detailed descriptions of the battles and campaigns, Blood On The Banner offers a fresh perspective on events that shaped the county for decades to come.

The first of a six book series on titles on the Military History Of The Irish Civil War, this is an in-depth study of the battle for Limerick city.The story concentrates on the vicious battle that took place between Republican and Provisional Government forces for the control of Limerick City. Occurring in the early days of the Civil War, hostilities 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 Anti-Treaty Chief of Staff, Liam Lynch. But the benefit of this lull in fighting accrued almost entirely to the Pro-Treaty side, gaining them time for reinforcements and weaponry to arrive. When it 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. Padraig 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 checked the pro-treaty rout that the initial stages of the Civil War had been.