Mercier's History of the Irish Civil War – serie

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.

On Wednesday, 2 August 1922, Free State troops landed at Fenit pier in the first of a series of seaborne landings on the Cork and Kerry coast. This was a risky and ambitious strategy for the Free State government, whose aim was to surprise the staunchly anti-Treaty republicans in Kerry. By attacking them from an unexpected direction the government hoped to shorten the war, however, over the months of August and September, the republicans mounted a series of counterattacks against the Free State army. When Free State troops were all but surrounded in their barracks, the innovative invasion from the sea by Free State forces under Emmet Dalton caught the Republican forces almost completely by surprise. In this book Tom Doyle looks at the various successes and failures of both sides in Kerry during the Summer campaign of 1922 and how the superior forces of the Free State army and the lack of support from the people for the republicans allowed the Free State to build up a strong presence in a crucial part of the republicans' heartland.

Focusing on the people and the decisons they made, 'The Fall of Dublin' examines the attack on the Four Courts and the subsequent fighting in Dublin in June and July 1922 which signalled the beginning of the Irish Civil War. With the use of new sources the book challenges many of the pre-conceived thoughts on the fighting in Dublin – the role of the leadership on both sides, the personalities of those involved and even the destruction of the Four Courts. These sources not only shed new light on the conflict itself, but more importantly they are invaluable in telling the stories of the ordinary men and women on both sides of the divide who for many years have been forgotten. They include memoirs from people on the ground, military history bureau witness statements, a complete garrison list of people in the Four Courts, a copy of the army constitution and the proposed Free State constitution, and a copy of the republican proclamation.

When the Free State army captured Limerick city in mid-July 1922, Republican forces retreated south towards Cork and made their next determined stand around Kilmallock. This area barred the way to the heartland of the ‘Munster Republic’. In one of the largest and most intense battles of the Irish Civil War, Free State and Republican troops fought for possession of Kilmallock, Bruree and Bruff, with the latter two towns repeatedly changing hands. The eventual Free State occupation of Kilmallock was a vital turning point in the war. In The Battle for Kilmallock John O’Callaghan outlines the goals of the opposing forces, assesses their respective strengths, charts the course of the combat over two weeks in late July and early August, examines key strategies, and evaluates the role of leading personalities. The book challenges inherited wisdom about the engagement and offers sobering insights into the conduct of the belligerents.