An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 37 Author: Jeffrey Leddin Publisher: Irish Academic Press (March 2019) www. irishacademicpress.ie ISBN: 9781788550741 Pages: 304 Price: €24.95 PB Jeffrey Leddin's latest book looks at the formation of the Irish Citizen Army, which was born from the Dublin Lockout of 1913, and straight into the 1916 Easter Rising. The author looks at the established of the Irish Citizen Army in the latter end of 1913, where famous names like James Connolly, James Larkin and Jack White are leading the way. This is an extensive survey of this troubled decade in Irish history, where the Irish Citizen Army, along with the Irish Volunteers raised up against our English masters to establish a new nation of proud revolutionaries and republicans through the War of Independence and into a Civil War – which split families and communities. The Labour Hercules also dissects the Irish Citizen Army's association with the Anti-Treaty republicans in the Irish Civil War. This is highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the birth of this nation or in revolutionary warfare in Ireland. Jeffrey Leddin was awarded a PhD by the University of Limerick in 2017, where he is currently a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He was the editor of volume 15 of History Studies, Ireland's oldest post-graduate history journal. WF THE LABOUR HERCULES THE IRISH CITIZEN ARMY AND IRISH REPUBLICANISM, 1913–23 GHOST FLIGHT Author: Bear Grylls Publisher: Orion (June 2015) ISBN: 978-1409156833 Pages: 464 Price: €4.60 eBook / €9.80 PB Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognised faces of survival and outdoor adventure. Born in Donaghadee, Co Down in Northern Ireland, before moving to the UK at an early age Bear went on to serve in the BA and most notable in 21 SAS. He has written numerous books on survival and his adventures around the world. He ventured into fiction a few short years ago with his Adventures series aimed at young children and teenagers, now with his Will Jaeger series, he's hitting a serious adventurer to adults. Like the author, Will Jaeger is a former soldier and was a member of the SAS. The series starts with Will working in an African island called Bioko as an English teacher, he's been there for three years following the disappearance of his wife and son. Will is imprisoned on the Island because of being suspected of involvement in a coup d'etat but is rescued by an old friend and brought back to the UK. Here Will is propositioned to lead an expedition team deep into the Amazon jungle to find and retrieve a lost Nazi World War II secret warplane. The expedition is to be filmed for a documentary and has their full financial backing. The team is made up of international persons male and female who have military service experience as well as the film crew. What awaits them on the ground from the jungle wildlife to rainforest tribes with poisonous darts and the mysterious mercenaries on their tale – they won't all get out of this alive! So far Bear has three books in this series, Burning Angels (June 2016) and The Hunt (May 2018) follow the excellent Ghost Flight. WF Author: Padraic Kennedy Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 2018) ISBN: 978-1724668479 Pages: 119 Price: €18.50 PB Former gunner Padraic Kennedy produces a detailed study of the Infantry Mortar from the start of the First World War 1915 to the end of the Second World War 1945. As the book states "from the mud and trenches of the Western Front" to the up-close and more personal war that took place from 1939-45, which saw the mortar develop and be mass produced. I found the book to be clearly laid out, bright pages with clean text and colourful illustrations, although the book is of an academic nature it looks modern and is easy to pick up and read through. Having served in the infantry and in the Defence Forces for nearly 30-years I had never trained or used the infantry mortar – so I only have the book as my guide to the development and use of the infantry mortar. The book starts by explaining the Stokes Mortar 1915-18, designed by an Englishman to provide a lightweight, simple and effective support weapon – the 3-inch Stokes Mortar was revolutionary and simple to manufacture, it was easily manhandled by a three- man crew. The book finishes on the Brandt Clones, which were an 81mm mortar which was copied under license to produce their own or used the main tech aspects. Frenchman Edgar Brandt designed his pneumatic mortar in 1915. There is a wealth of knowledge for the military historian or weapons enthusiast in this concise history of the Infantry Mortar. Well done to the author for getting this personal project to print. WF INFANTRY MORTARS 1915 - 1945: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INFANTRY MORTAR

• Cover