A Secret History of the IRA

Book Description

An epic portrayal of one of the twentieth century's longest wars—based on unprecedented access to all the players.

Filled with disclosures and based on the author's unprecedented access to the Irish Republican Army, this explosive book sparked controversy when it was first published in hardcover. Delving deeply into the inner workings, furtive plots, and deadly rivalries of the Irish Republican Army, Ed Moloney, who has covered the IRA since the late 1970s, delivers a riveting account of how one of the world's oldest and most ruthless terrorist groups was maneuvered into ending its thirty-year war with Britain. With revelations including the IRA's long and astonishing associations with Qaddafi's regime, Margaret Thatcher's secret diplomacy with Gerry Adams, the Catholic Church's clandestine negotiations with Republican leadership, and hitherto undisclosed activities of the American government under Bill Clinton, A Secret History rewrites, with dramatic results, the story of this intractable conflict. In particular, fascinating material on Adams's Machiavellian rise to power establishes the IRA leader as one of the most complex political figures of our time. Like Thomas Friedman in From Beirut to Jerusalem, Moloney brings a sharply intelligent reporter's eye to a tangled history often baffling to outsiders. #1 international bestseller; A Washington Post 2002 Rave. 8 pages of illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

informative.......2007-02-13

the degree of knowledge the author has acquired on the workings of this secret organization is remarkable.

Irish Roots.......2006-07-08

I finally visited Ireland a couple of years ago. The typical American seeking their Irish roots. On my mother's side her Irish ancestors are from the South and on father's side from the North. His ancestors are Scots-Irish.
What was very interesting was my tour of Northern Ireland where the "Troubles" were fought. The murals were an eye-opener.
What was really noticeable was the difference of economies between a now prosperous Southern Ireland compared to a lesser economy of Northern Ireland. You knew a war must have been fought here. My tour was one of the first for vistors since the "Troubles" ended and I was told Northern Ireland had very much improved since then. This gave an idea of how much the Northern Ireland had lagged behind the rest of the country.
I desired to learn more about the "Troubles" and this book certainly provides an understanding about the early history of Northern Ireland and the IRA. This is a serious read and may not be the definitive book about the IRA yet it could be.
The author lived there during the "Troubles" and was an active reporter researching and interviewing many of the participants of the IRA and others. This is different from a lot of history books as many of these events are first hand accounts of the parties involved.
I especially found the glossary of terms, chronology, printed documents and information about the personnel very helpful in understanding the "Troubles".
The author attempts to present a fair and balanced view of the "Troubles" but this is the secret history of the IRA. He seems to tell it like it was but does not label the IRA as terrorists.

Blessed are the peacemakers.......2006-06-04

Ed Moloney, amazingly, tapped sources deep within the IRA and Sinn Fein command structures to uncover the real story - at least from a Republican point of view - of the birth of the Good Friday Agreement. If even half of what Moloney says in the book is true, Gerry Adams might be one of the most skilled, clever politicians of our time. The book certainly suggests that Mr. Adams and elements in the IRA have not been fairly credited for their roles in negotiating a "peace" in Northern Ireland that seems to be holding eight years on.

Only a minimal understanding of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland is necessary as Moloney gives lots of good background information about the history of the IRA, the rise of the Provisional IRA and its transition from terror organization to a something of a "legitimate" political organization. Moloney does not glorify the IRA or justify its actions, but gives it due credit (at least certain of its members) for kick-starting a peace process which has eased centuries of sectarian strife.

How the IRA moved from an uncompromising demand for a unified (socialist republic) Ireland, to be won by armed struggle, to acceptance of a divided island (albeit one more responsive in the North to the needs of its Catholic/Republican/Nationalist citizenry) is what this book is really about. That this major shift in IRA policy came about due to the actions of one of the group's (former) hardliners is utterly fascinating.

Anyone that is interested in Irish politics or history - or even politics generally - should read this book!

Not a good book.......2005-12-15

I didnt like this book at all.First of all, when the author chose the title Secret History he wasnt kidding. There's just to much secret history in this book is exhausting to read it all.The author just gives too many details that is hard to follow who's who and who is following what or who.I know Irish history is complicated by nationalism, religion and a lot of other things but the author just goes trhu so many histories and details that you feel the need to take a breather once in a while.I felt overwhelmed by this book.

Cloak , Dagger and Armalite.......2005-10-01

Ed Moloney's controversial new book suggests that Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to achieve peace in our time in Northern Ireland. He also suggests some compelling reasons why Adams, who has always denied ever being a member of the IRA, should be tried as a war criminal.
Chief among these is the horrific case of Jean McKinney, a Protestant widow with ten young children, who was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1972 because she gave a dying British soldier a glass of water. For more than twenty five years, the IRA denied that they were responsible for her abduction and subsequent murder. Jean McKinney's body lay in an unmarked grave for over 25 years as the IRA peace negotiators munched on their their prawn sandwiches with their British counterparts.

Moloney alleges that Adams authorized McKinney's murder as well as scores of others. He also hints that IRA activists sympathetic to Adams sabotaged key IRA operations and even helped the British Special Air Service (SAS) eliminate their most lethal and dangerous colleagues. The most notorious of these were the eight IRA men under the command of Jim Lynagh who were lured into a SAS ambush at Loughall. The SAS killed all eight, pumping twelve hundred high caliber bullets, an average of 150 bullets each, into the IRA men in the process. Moloney alleges Lynagh's squad was sacrificed to enable Adams to sell the Peace Process to the others.
Yes and no! Adams was playing his games, running with the IRA hares and hunting with the British hounds nad doubleagents like Stakeknife. But Lynagh and his crew were going around demolishing police barracks all over East Tyrone. So the SAS may have just staked out Loughall waiting for the IRA to show up. In the John Le Carre world of international terrorism and subterfuge, who can really tell what side the political players - Orwell's social climbers with bombs - are really on?

There is plenty more in that vein. The book is riddled through with the webs of intrigue and tales of sordid betrayal we normally associate with John Le Carre's Cold War thrillers. Although the book is, on the surface, a tale of how one Irish terrorist, Gerry Adams, came in from the cold and ended up dining in the White House with US President Bill Clinton, it is, at heart, an engrossing account of how devious and disreputable a game the politics of peace making is.

Although Moloney might like to believe that Adams and his closest confidents deserve the Nobel Prize for taking some of their guns out of Irish politics, there is another side to all this that Moloney's book could have dealt with at greater length. The IRA has meted out unjustifiable violence to the Irish people, most of whom will never forgive or forget their nefarious deeds. That being so, the Adams inspired peace process cannot ever fully succeed. That fundamental reality apart, Moloney has accurately depicted Northern Ireland's Troubles as the dirty, squalid war that it was, where secretive, amoral groups, often working through informers and double agents, had no qualms about spilling the blood of uninvolved innocents or, for that matter, of their factional rivals.

Perhaps Adams should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution; others, after all, have been awarded Nobel Prizes for less. Far better would it be if the lies, duplicity and double dealing, which Moloney contends were the hallmark of Adams and his IRA colleagues, were to disappear forever from the face of the earth. The strength of Moloney's book is that he so accurately catalogues the IRA's use of the lie and the double cross. The weakness is that he does not explain how habitual liars and double crossers can be trusted to guarantee a lasting peace.

Because the moral price for bringing Gerry Adams in from the cold has been so high, the neutral reader must almost certainly feel that Northern Ireland's non combatants have been short changed. Although peace has always to be preferred to war, Moloney gives the strong impression that not even Gerry Adams could explain what all the violence was for in the first place. The upward social mobility of a few Provo Taigs apart, I'm damned if I know what it was all for.

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Suspect Devices
very objective book...
A Biased but fact packed account
A Book that "Fills the Gaps"
The IRA is a legitimate fighting organization

Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA
Richard English
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Revolutionary | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

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General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0195177533

Book Description

The IRA has been a much richer, more complexly layered, and more protean organization than is frequently recognized. It is also more open to balanced examination now--at the end of its long war in the north of Ireland--than it was even a few years ago. Richard English's brilliant book offers a detailed history of the IRA, providing invaluable historical depth to our understanding of the modern-day Provisionals, the more militant wing formed in 1969 dedicated to the removal of the British Government from Northern Ireland and the reunification of Ireland. English examines the dramatic events of the Easter Rising in 1916 and the bitter guerrilla war of 1919-21, the partitioning of Ireland in the 1920s, and the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. Here, too, are the IRA campaigns in Northern Ireland and Britain from the 1930s through the 1960s. He shows how the Provisionals were born out of the turbulence generated by the 1960s civil rights movement, and examines the escalating violence that introduced British troops to the streets of Northern Ireland. He also examines the split in the IRA that produced the Provisionals, the introduction of internment in 1971, and the tragedy of Bloody Sunday in 1972. He then discusses the struggle over political status, culminating in the Hunger Strikes of the early 1980s and describes the Provisionals' emergence as a more committed political force throughout that decade, a politicization that made possible the peace process that has developed over the last decade. English offers a dazzling synthesis of the motives, actions and consequences of the IRA. Neither romanticizing the IRA nor condemning them outright, this is a balanced, definitive treatment of one of the world's leading revolutionary movements.

Customer Reviews:

Suspect Devices.......2007-05-05

For such a small organization, one engaged in a low-grade civil war on a small island, the Irish Republican Army has snatched an inordinate amount of attention. The Provisionals, in particular, have been dissected ad nauseum. Additionally, images of Irish gunmen, their shark eyes staring out from balaclavas (see book cover), are routinely splashed across the silver screen where they utter blarney, concoct explosives, and speed away in stolen cars. As Richard English aptly observes, these packaged gunmen come in one of three forms: the psychopath, the romantic freedom fighter, or the troubled loner. Who then are the real recruits of the IRA? What makes an Irishman become a nationalist guerilla/terrorist in an environment that is anything but Third World? At its core, this exhaustive study examines the motivation and political shape-shifting of the republican movement.

ARMED STRUGGLE is no primer. Rather, the author's willingness to plum complexities, to see the IRA as both a visceral and political animal, make the book essential reading for anyone keen to wrestle with the mind-bending paradoxes of the Northern Ireland troubles. English honors the ideology of Republican spokesmen like Gerry Adams but reserves the right to point out gross hypocrisies and flabby thinking. He also recognizes the allure of this secretive organization with its promise of adventure for working-class men who face a future of numbing banality. In essence, the IRA is a well-organized gang, its fraternal bonds strengthened by prison experience. It's a gang undergirded by an elaborately constructed cause, one reduced for clarity's sake to the reunification of Ireland. The Catholic dimension of the IRA, unfortunately, is all but ignored here. English admits that others, like Padraig O'Malley in his fine BITING AT THE GRAVE, can more satisfactorily examine the symbolism of suffering (ie. crucifixion) appropriated by the IRA during hunger strikes (passive aggression has always been a highly effective tool of Irish resistence). The long conclusion of English's book offers an extremely satisfying appraisal of the IRA and thus serves as a stand-alone essay to be revisited again and again.

very objective book..........2006-08-25

This is a substantial, dense, and very objective book which helps to understand of Irish conflict. Having been born in Belfast Richard English approaches the IRA with simple assumptions and provides complex details. He ties major events in the PIRA history with the organization's philosophies and objectives. He argues for both sides Nationalist and Unionist as well as IRA's own justifications for its war against Britain supporting through extensive research. Drawing on the books, articles, TV broadcasts, newspapers, interviews, he provides Northern Ireland recent history and IRA's ideology from beginning of 1900's to the current century.

A Biased but fact packed account.......2004-01-10

This very good and very sweeping account of the IRA and its offshoots helped bring the reader inside the IRA's war against the English. It illuminates the conflict and brings to life the many pivotal portions of the struggle, from Bloody Sunday to the hunger strikes and the final peace deals that have finally taken the gun out of Irish politics, something Michael Collins dreamed of long ago.

The largest problem and greatest fallacy of this book is that it is terribly biased and one sided which one could probably gather from its name. An example of this can be seen in the chapter on Bloody Sunday, a seminal event which mirrored Americas own Kent State protests that resulted in the deaths of students. The problem is the author, after having written that the marchers threw `rocks' and `bottles' at the Police, then goes on to call the marchers `non-violent'. Wait a sec! Nonviolent means not being violent it doesn't mean throwing rocks and bottles. This is just one of the many examples where the IRA is portrayed as fighting for civil rights while at the same time they are blowing up civilians. What happened to the civil rights of those civilians. If you want a less biased account I would recommend Tim Pat Coogan's `The IRA'. This book has its merits in that it works hard to distinguish between the Provisional IRA and the other branches within the framework. An interesting account, but not the most fair in telling the truth of the conflict.

Seth Frantzman

A Book that "Fills the Gaps".......2003-12-25

This is by far one of the best books that I have read on The Troubles. English, an Irish Protestant raised in England, doesn't just write a 'history' of the events of those years, but he also writes the book in a political and philosophical way as well.

English says at the beginning of his book that he "wants to fill in the holes that other books fail to do." And English does this well. When talking about the birth of the Provos, he doesn't just say that the split between the Provos and Stickies was because of political differences or the need to increase violence. He talks about how different events, from the Battle of the Bogside, Bloody Sunday, and the need for someone to protect the Catholic community, merges together to not only form the Provos, but destroy any faith that Catholics had in the Unionist government. He doesn't just do, as I said previously, give a list of the history of the Troubles, but he has really done research on the subject. He is also one of the only writers on the subject that give logical reasoning into why things happen (due to his extensive research). He doesn't give a black and white answer to everything like other writers do, but always blends a combination of events that makes the reader think that there is more than just the average answer.

He also talks about the start of the IRA and the early history of the conflict (from 1916 to the 1960s). He does this in great detail (almost too much detail).

There were only two things about the book that I didn't like. First was that he really didn't talk about the Official, Continuity or the Real IRA that much. I feel most book fail to talk about these organizations more in depth. I know there isn't too much anyone can say about these organizations (esp. CIRA and RIRA). Most books on the IRA talk about the Provos, and thus their title should state that. I was wanting to know more about the Real and Official IRA, but was disappointed. The best book I have read about the Official IRA is, oddly enough, "The Provisional IRA", but Patrick Bishop.

Second, English uses a lot of what I would call 'text soundbites'. He uses a lot of one line quotes from prominate people involved in The Troubles. Though some of the quotes make his argument stronger, sometimes I wonder why he even put in a quote at all (meaning that his argument was already strong). I think the book could have been 50 pages lighter if he took out the quotes that I think shouldn't have been in there.

Overall, it was a really good book (even with these minor flaws). This is the book you want to read if you want a "deeper understanding" of The Troubles. I think English wrote this book for people who already know about The Troubles. If you are wanting to learn about The Troubles and have never studied it before, this might not be the best book to start with, it might overwhelm you. If you are a beginner, the first part of the book (from 1916 to 1969) would not overwhelm you and would be benefitial to read, as it gives an extremely good, non-complicated look into early Irish Republicanism. But the rest of the book (from the birth of the Provos on) deals with alot of thought and theories, which might be too much.

But for those who have been studying and reading about The Troubles for a while, this is a perfect book to tie loose ends.

The IRA is a legitimate fighting organization.......2003-07-16

I've taken a look at this book at a local library in West Jerusalem, and I must say that it's one of the best books I've ever read of the troubles in Northern Ireland and the Irish Question. I also must say that as a researcher in the field of Irish History, the IRA and Sinn Fein are a legitimate fighting body that want a unified homeland, for they've been oppressed by the British ruling class and the Loyalists who I can't imagine them to be Irish at all!! They're like Paracites, just like the Zionists who eat up Palestine day by day. If they consider themselves British, why the hell don't they go back to the British mainland???!!!

Fifty Dead Men Walking: The True Story of a British Secret Agent Inside the IRA

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Save your Money...........
Linda (A Scot In U.S.A)
Outstandingly gripping.
Outstandingly gripping.
McGartland leads an exciting double life

Fifty Dead Men Walking: The True Story of a British Secret Agent Inside the IRA
Martin McGartland
Manufacturer: Hastings House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0803894074

Book Description

Memoir of a young Irishman. For more than 4 years, Martin McGartland lived a dangerous double life.

Customer Reviews:

Save your Money..................2006-05-31

Was it worth it Martin? Hero is no word for a hood turned tout.

Recommended reading would be a book called "Ten men Dead" about real men and real heroes who suffered at the hands of Thatchers Government and the RUC, a far more truthful account of the troubles.

Linda (A Scot In U.S.A).......2005-02-27

Tremendous book . I had Read It Several Years ago , When i was in the Uk, saw it on Amazon , and read it again .
Martin Mc Gartland is a tribute to the Irish People .
A young man who became an agent for the special branch, knowing that if he was found out by the IRA it would mean Torture , then certain Death.....
He was known as 'agent Carol' and gave vital information which saved many lives both protestant and catholic.
His title of the book "Fifty Dead Men Walking" is an understatement , i truly believe he saved alot more than fifty.
It is an essential read, and also to read his second book "dead Man Running" Thankyou Martin , for all you have sacrificed.....

Outstandingly gripping........2001-04-01

The moment I started to read this book I couldn't put it down. I read it in a day and even now months later I remember it like I read it yesterday. The images Martin McGarland created will stay with me for a very long time. This book is not only an education into the troubles in Ireland it is also a testament to the strength and courage of an amazing man. I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone.

Outstandingly gripping........2001-04-01

McGartland leads an exciting double life.......2000-01-30

I liked this one! It shows how McGartland, an intelligent soul, was plucked from his lifestyle by British Intelligence to became "Agent Carol", the government's best informant in Ulster for decades.

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Guardedly told but intriguing story from "old IRA" vet

Joe Cahill : A Life in the IRA
Brendan Anderson
Manufacturer: O'Brien
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0862788366

Product Description

Joe Cahill passed away in July, 2004. Born in Belfast in 1920, he was an IRA activist all his life. In this extensive authorized biography, he gives his full and frank story, his viewpoint, and his experiences This extraordinary journey mirrors the growth, changes and development of the republican movement as a whole through more than sixty years of intense involvement. His experiences range from Northern Irish prison cells of the 1940s, surviving a death sentence, to Washington when the Good Friday Agreement was being negotiated. He tells of his arms deal with Gaddafi, and the fateful voyage of the Claudia; Bloody Sunday and the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin; the high-drama helicopter escape of IRA prisoners from Portlaoise Jail, and his rise through the ranks of the organization and deportation to the U. S.

Customer Reviews:

Guardedly told but intriguing story from "old IRA" vet .......2005-12-18

This book plays out as if a sports broadcast, with journalist Brendan Anderson as the anchorman and Joe Cahill the "color commentary"--for those readers familiar with 20c Irish republicanism, necessarily there's a lot already familiar. Anderson efficiently tells the story of the IRA's campaign during the 1940s through Cahill's own involvement in the shooting of Frank Murphy, a policeman in their native Belfast, and for which Joe Williams, 17, was executed. Much of this narrative, in fact, takes place from prison, where Cahill spent considerable time over the next few decades, as he was also instumental as a senior leader trusted by the generation of Provos who would revive the old IRA that had nearly become extinguished to fight again as the "Troubles" flared again at the end of the 60s.

Cahill here reveals that very early on, he insisted upon a politically adept as well as blunt "physical-force" strategy. This did not mean, however, that he would cast his lot with the "Official IRA" Marxist faction; he dismissed their ideology and in this book you sense the disdain that Cahill had for his colleagues who, in his opinion, were misled under Cathal Goulding into espousing communism as Ireland's savior. Cahill offers that Goulding, in prison, may have been influenced by Klaus Fuchs, who had been jailed for Soviet espionage by the British.

Prison life here is explored; you learn how "comms" were transmitted, how early tricks of evasion and communication that had been learned in the 40s at Crumlin Road jail or in the 50s or 60s or 70s--all of these decades saw him incarcerated for long stints prepared the tactics that would inspire those later IRA men at Long Kesh to resist and plot with similar dexterity.

The later part of the book suffers by comparison. The halfway point of the story comes precisely at the 1969/70 split in the IRA between the leftists and the more traditional supporters, and the pages that follow tell of more previously and thoroughly documented events that lack the freshness of the previous scenes. Still, Cahill offers new insights from his legal and then illegal visits to the US as fundraiser and liaison for IRA support during the 70s and 80s. You learn too that in his later 70s Portlaoise term, he inspired Martin McGuinness as did veteran Frank Steele his protege Gerry Adams in another prison, and how the gradual evolution of the two-pronged approach to the ballot box and the armalite took hold among the Northern Command.

Cahill was emphatic that the squandered campaigns of the 1950s that failed, as well as what he regards as the futility of the radical Officials attempt to paint Ireland red would be avoided by the newer republicans. He adds that if Sinn Fein had been in place on a wide scale during the Bobby Sands strike and the ensuing island-wide nationalist revulsion against the British rule under Thatcher that followed his death, that SF could have taken power in the 26 counties and brought a quick end to the partition of Ireland.

I concluded this book sadly. Many of its revelations are necessarily cloaked in parts in anonymity and sources that will never be revealed, such is the nature of any account of republicanism today. But this tangential quality is not the book's only distinction from many other biographies. The absence of a counterbalance to so much planning and plotting leaves a void. You end this efficiently written study having learned a lot about Cahill, but nothing about his wife Annie and their seven children, who do not even receive names here. You do see a picture of six daughters lined up--as if one was born each year for a period of, say seven or eight years!--around the happy parents, and you only wonder what life was like for them while Cahill was jailed, on the run, in hiding, or in far off America for so much of his long life. The personal costs of his devotion to the Cause, as McGuinness alludes to them also in a brief afterword, are barely addressed by Cahill or Anderson. While this may be for privacy or security reasons, it does leave one saddened.

The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda

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The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda
Jerrold M. Post
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1403966117
Release Date: 2007-12-10

Book Description

When confronted with trying to understand why terrorists do what they do, most people assume that they must be insane. However, as Jerrold M. Post, a professor of psychiatry and political psychology shows, the psychological make-up of a terrorist does not distinguish him or her from the average person on the street. To understand this revelation, he explores the different types of terrorists, from national-separatists like the Irish Republican Army to social revolutionary terrorists like Shining Path and the Weather Underground, as well as religious extremists like Al Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo, to discover the real motivations behind what drives these "normal" people to kill. Most psychological components are often dismissed in favor of focusing on political, social, and economic concerns terrorists profess, damaging our ability to truly understand the terrorist mentality. In The Mind of the Terrorist, Post uses his expertise to explain how the terrorist mind works and how this information can help us to combat terrorism more effectively.

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Thank god this group was put under control
Blessed are the peacemakers. . .

A Secret History of the IRA
Ed Moloney
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 014101041X

Customer Reviews:

Thank god this group was put under control .......2006-12-15

The IRA is a controversial group that has been decried as terrorists, freedom fighters and a modern day mafia. All of these descriptions are true and Moloney makes it a fascinating tale in his book. It is well written and helps to explain how the IRA developed. For those interested in law enforcement, terrorism or politics this book offers something for everyone. Very enjoyable!

Blessed are the peacemakers. . ........2006-04-13

The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict between the IRA and British Intelligence

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No concept; tough reading
The boys will always come out on top
An excellent account of the IRA's triumph over British/Unionist oppression
Short-term view of a long war
How the British defeated the sectarian killers

The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict between the IRA and British Intelligence
Tony Geraghty
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0801871174

Book Description

In The Irish War military veteran and historian Tony Geraghty reveals the sinister patterns of action and reaction in this generations-old domestic conflict. Drawing on public and covert sources, as well as interviews with members of British Intelligence, the security forces, and the Irish Republican Army, he brings to light the disturbing inner workings of an organized terrorist group and its military opposition.

Customer Reviews:

No concept; tough reading.......2007-08-24

When you are familiar with all of the details of the Irish War you might be able to find this book valuable. To this day I have been unable to determine what the author's intention was when he wrote this book. It cannot be considered a history of the Irish War and the sub-title "The Hidden conflict between the IRA and British Intelligence" is totally misleading. The author rushes through history like a fast train that stops only at a few, yet insignificant locations. At times he concentrates on personal observations that have not much to do with what was written before or after. There is no concept or structure in this book and that makes this work a very tough reading.

The boys will always come out on top.......2005-10-07

This book clearly gives a proper insight how the IRA have outdone the British "intelligence" of which I can only assume William King was a participating element in considering how he lacks in that department. But this is an opportunity for me to give my opinion on such a fascinating book. Let it be said that Ireland has bore many saints and scholors and while I am not saying that the IRA are saints they certainly are portrayed as extremely sharp and intellectual people who outwitted the level of British intelligence while trying to balance it with the passion that burned within. It has to be said though that the bringing of the British intelligence to its knees is not something that is infantile, it goes back to the days of the big man himself, Collins. It is a good book to read to show the level of intelligence on both sides and without being biased how sharp the British intelligence is also. To be read by both sides of the coin. Beidh an bua againn go foill.

An excellent account of the IRA's triumph over British/Unionist oppression.......2005-09-27

This book details the long war the IRA waged against the British army, and the expert tactics of both sides.

The IRA comes out as the clear winner, managing to fight off everything the British threw at them.
The author takes great pains to show the superior battle tactics of the IRA, as opposed to the mostly amateurish tactics of the "Loyalist" terrorists of the UDA and UVF.

One interesting thing in the book details how the IRA was able to kill over 100 UDA and UVF members, where as the UDA/UVF killed less then 30 IRA members. The Author cliams that this was the reason why 90% of the hundreds of murders commited by the UDA/UVF were of Catholic civillians, as they feared IRA retaliation.

The Autor also gives a good reason as to why the IRA declared a ceasefire. The Author contends that contrary to the Loyalist view, the IRA was not losing the war when it declared it's cesefire in 1994.
The facts he presents are very persuasive that the IRA was in fact winning the war and that the British knew this, which is why they made Sinn Fein such a great political deal. When the British tried to renege on their offer to Sinn Fein, the IRA launched a devestating bomb campaign against Britian which forced the British to comply with IRA demands.

All and All this is a fair and balanced book filled with facts that many unionists won't like, but they can't ignore the truth.

Short-term view of a long war.......2004-12-23

I think this books deserves to be labeled "good" only if you take the bare tactical or military approach.
I red a lot of NI conflict stuff in the past, and I see this one as the best source both in terms of tactics (from all sides) and warfare analysis (the most completed I ever found about the republican war machine). There are at least four whole chapters dedicated to describe the PIRA weaponry, its making, its smuggling an its use (or misuse)by the organisation. I also reccomend chapter IX, where Mr. Gherarty makes a reflexion about the survellaince and intelligence sistems developed by the British State during the "Troubles" and the aftermath and consequences to the British people such a "Big Brother" policy could have. I also should mention part III of the book, an interesting pre-independence historic account.
Put the rest to rest.
Erratic writing and typos (at least in the edition I have) match a biased and short-term vision. As an example, at some point the author states that in 1979 there were just 13 (¿?) trouble-related deaths in Ulster and that this reflected a sharp decline of violence in the province. Anybody who has ever red the basics about the NI conflict knows that August 27 1979 was one of its bloodiest days, with the killing of 23 people,18 soldiers plus 5 civilians, including Lord Mountbatten.There were almost 50 fatalities just among the security forces that year. Another biased statistic management appears in the 1972 death account: for Gherarty, ALL the civilians killed in NI this year (323) were victims of the PIRA. Indeed, as it was for the entire war, loyalist paramilitaries killed more innocent people (106) than the republican ones (88) in 1972.
Some conclusions also show the wishfull thinking judgment of Mr. Gherarty. His quotes about the PIRA as a "defeated army", regarding all the concessions they won throughout the conflict, are laughable. Yes, you can say that NI is still a part of the UK; but a part whose political system, policing, security and justice were negotiated with another country (namely the Irish Republic). Had the PIRA been effectively vanquished, all this would prove to be unthinkable. Republicans certainly failed to meet the unrealistic goal of an United Ireland under their own terms, but through the GFA, they gained full access to a non less certain road to a de facto integration between North and South. I believe the troubles were, from the military point of view, a stalemate, as acknowledges Mr. Gherarty in other chapters of his book. But a real stalemate is produced by the parity of strength between two contestants; when this parity doesn't exist, and there is still a no-winner situation; should you call that an stalemate, or a defeat of the stronger force?

How the British defeated the sectarian killers.......2003-11-28

This book demonstrates how the IRA were defeated by the British Army. The role of the Loyalist self-defence forces such as the UVF and UFF is also shown and the role they played in bringing the PIRA to their knees. Although there is not much coverage of the sectarian tactics employed against the brave Protestant population, Geraghty shows how the IRA tried to fool the world about their true nature. He shows how they rose from a few ill equipped troops to becoming well-armed but still aiming at killing women and children because they were Protestant. The book details that ruthless war they waged against normal law-abiding people in Northern Ireland. Thoroughly outmaneuvered by the famous SAS and running scared of the mid-Ulster UVF and C company UFF the IRA put their hands up and eventually gave in, begging for mercy from the loyalists. This is an excellent book about how the Protestant population of Northen Ireland took on the tyranny of the PIRA and defeated them soundly.

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The Truth is a Knife and it cuts Deep.....
Apologist for murderers
Better books out there
Good reference for film and fiction on Ireland
Good reference for film and fiction on Ireland

IRA Man: Talking with the Rebels
Douglass McFerran
Manufacturer: Praeger Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0275955915

Book Description

This is the compelling story of a former Jesuit who traveled to Ireland in order to better understand the IRA, its widespread support among Irish Catholics, and the country's continuing civil unrest. Author Douglass McFerran, an American, made many key contacts in Northern Ireland, enabling him to gain unprecedented access to republican groups. He met with members of the Orange Lodge and the heavily armed Royal Ulster Constabulary; he had tea with leaders of Sinn Fein; and he participated in the annual Internment March on the streets of Belfast. In this book he provides a history of the conflict in Northern Ireland and goes beyond the propaganda on both sides to understand the causes of today's violence and explore what would be necessary to end it. McFerran wrote this book at the suggestion of individuals within the Irish republican community. During its writing he had the cooperation of several Sinn Fein leaders and past and present members of the IRA. McFerran came to believe that the violent situation in Northern Ireland can best be explained by considering the manner in which the English government, through genocide and civil repression, attempted to eliminate Irish resistance to English rule. The failure of the Anglo-Irish War to achieve a united Irish government brought on a republican movement with a political expression in Sinn Fein and a military expression in the guerrilla activities of the Irish Republican Army. The continued failure of the English government to negotiate with Irish nationalists can be attributed to a desire to maintain the political support of predominantly Protestant unionists, who since 1913 have pledged armed resistance to any effort to allow a Catholic-led government to rule over them.

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The Truth is a Knife and it cuts Deep............2005-10-25

I picked up this book after returning from a monthlong trip to the North of Ireland. I was absolutely shocked and compelled by its accuracy and how a book written a decade ago could completely mirror what I myself observed during my stay there. The rampant racism of the Unionists and blatant media distortion of their crimes that have long been fed to the public by British and American journalists is appalling. No wonder there have been so many cover-ups. If the general public had ever gotten wind of English and Unionist crimes perpetrated on the Irish Nationalist community the IRA would have had the support to humiliate the English out of their country years ago.

If you are the type of person who is allergic to the facts and are uncomfortable with any book that might make you question your safe, fashionable and politically correct(read:English-biased) opinions about the conflict in the North of Ireland, then don't bother reading this book. The real "terrorists" are the English and the American public that so rabidly swallows their lies. The volunteers of the IRA are heroes who would have made our early American freedom fighters(Washington, Jefferson, etc.) proud.

Apologist for murderers.......2003-12-18

Another book written seeking to find reasons for IRA terrorists planting bombs in public places ie Oxford Street Bus Depot,La Mon House Restaurant,Enniskillen Rememberance Day,Shankill Fish Shop.
This seems to be a book that gives excuses for murder,torture,maiming and hate.

Better books out there.......2001-12-23

I agree with those who found this book not very informative. McFerran talked to far too few people, wasted about a quarter of the book retelling Irish history, and frankly rathered embarrassed me with his naive viewpoint. (How impressed he was that there were well-paved roads in Ireland, for instance.) He's certainly sincere and well-intentioned, but read Toolis, Coogan, Adams, Belfrage and many others for far more thorough interviews, detail, and analysis.

Good reference for film and fiction on Ireland.......2000-09-07

Prof. Doug McFarren's book is the travelogue of an ethics professor with an empirical bent of mind. It's not enough for him to judge the violence wrought by the IRA without learning about it first hand, first from American activists and then from as many who will talk to him in Ireland. Along the way he delivers some of the convoluted history of this troubled nation in dense, readable narrative that serves as good introduction to a complex topic. He also provides wonderful references to and discussion of recent film and fiction representing the Troubles, that make this book a fine resource for the classroom -- especially for ethics professors who might want to devote a lesson to the complex moral issues of insurrection and civil strife.

Good reference for film and fiction on Ireland.......2000-09-07

Prof. Doug McFarren's book is the travelogue of an ethics professor with an empirical bent of mind. It's not enough for him to judge the violence wrought by the IRA without learning about it first hand, first from American activists and then from as many who will talk to him in Ireland. Along the way he delivers some of the convoluted history of this troubled nation in dense, readable narrative that serves as good introduction to a complex topic. He also provides wonderful references to film and fiction that make this book a fine resource for the classroom -- especially for ethics professors who might want to devote a lesson to the morality of insurrection and civil strife.

Pocket History of The IRA: O'Brien (Pocket History)

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Pocket History of The IRA: O'Brien (Pocket History)
Brendan O'Brien
Manufacturer: O'Brien
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Product Description

An accessible, clearly-written account of the IRA from its beginnings to today. It covers the origins and history of the organisation, its aims, the political and military thinking which has driven its activities, and the major personalities who have shaped the direction of the movement down through the years.

Killing for Ireland: The IRA and Armed Struggle (Political Violence)

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Killing for Ireland: The IRA and Armed Struggle (Political Violence)
Rogelio Alonso
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415396115

Book Description

The IRA is one of the longest-established terrorist organizations in the world and conducted a ferociously violent campaign for almost 30 years. Now deeply enmeshed in the Northern Ireland peace process, this new book asks how one of the bloodiest terrorist movements of our time decided to swap weapons for the ballot box?

Killing for Ireland presents an unparalleled investigation of the motives and opinions of Irish republican activists. Based on over seventy interviews conducted with former and existing members of the IRA, the author also provides a rigorous evaluation of the personal and political consequences of the IRA's campaign of violence. The analysis of these interviews radically challenges the dominant academic analysis of Irish terrorism. This book includes a strong criticism of the armed struggle constructed around the discourse of those who waged it and answers the question faced by many armed revolutionary movements: "Was the war worth it?"

Translated from the critically acclaimed Matar por Irlanda and available in English for the first time, this volume provides a provocative and new approach to understanding the IRA. It is essential reading for readers and researchers with an interest Irish politics and history, terrorism and political violence.

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