An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 37 Author: Okan Ozseker Publisher: Irish Academic Press (April 2019) www.irishacademicpress.ie ISBN: 978-1788550703 Pages: 272 Price: €19.95 County Donegal based author Okan Ozseker who completed his PhD in History in Ulster University in 2017 puts a new look on the period 1911 to 1925 in Donegal and Derry: "What had once been a distinct, unified, socio-economic and cultural area (to nationalists and unionists alike) became an international frontier or borderland, overshadowed by the bitter legacy of Partition. The region was the hardest hit by the implementation of Partition, affecting all levels of society". The book looks at the Nationalist County Donegal which was part of Ireland seeking Home Rule that was rising up against its neighbouring County Derry, which was considered a 'stronghold of hard-line unionism'. "In this time of immense political upheaval between these cultural and social majorities lay the deeply symbolic, religiously and ethnically divided, and potentially combustible, Derry City." This unbiased look at the North-West of Ireland provides a new interpretation on the divided counties, the border area, and looks at 'arguments in Irish history and the history of revolution, counter- revolution, feuds and state-building'. Chapters look at Politics in the North- West, 1910–191; the impact of the First World War on the North-West; Recruitment, Opposition and Apathy; Derry City 1919–1921; Donegal, the IRA and the War of Independence and the North-West from the Civil War to the Boundary Commission. Highly recommended reading, especially for those interested in this period in Irish history. WF FORGING THE BORDER DONEGAL AND DERRY IN TIMES OF REVOLUTION 1911–1925 Author: Lorcan Collins Publisher: O'Brien Press (May 2019) www.obrien.ie ISBN: 978-1-847179500 Pages: 288 Price: €16.99 HB / €9.99 eBook On the 21st January 1919, the opening shots of the Irish War of Independence were fired, plunging the country into a violent and bloody period of insurgency and counter-insurgency warfare. An untrained and inexperienced volunteer army took on the might of the British Empire, and through a series of ambushes and counter-intelligence actions, brought the British to the negotiating table in 1921. Ireland's War of Independence 1919-1921; The IRA's Guerrilla Campaign by Lorcan Collins is an excellent and meticulously researched study of that turbulent time in our nation's history. The opening pages examine the administrators in Dublin Castle, and also provides an invaluable timeline for the Irish War of Independence that takes the reader from the 1916 Rising and its aftermath to the opening shots of the Irish Civil War on the 28th June 1922. The main protagonists from both sides are listed and the differences between the various British forces are explained, an important factor that is often overlooked in books on the period. This is a somewhat unique work as it covers in an easily accessible volume, all aspects to do with the conflict. The book cannot only be read from cover to cover, but is also a handy reference guide, enabling the reader to access specific details, actions or persons relating to the period. The text is complemented throughout by black and white photographs This hardback volume should not be missed by anyone with an interest in Irish history, and with the festive season just around the corner, this work would make an ideal gift for the experienced historian or budding amateur in your life. Not to be missed. PO'B IRELAND'S WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1919-1921 THE IRA'S GUERRILLA CAMPAIGN Author: Robert Stedall Publisher: Pen and Sword; Reprint edition (February 2019) www.pen- and-sword.co.uk ISBN: 978-1526751614 Pages: 396 Price: €27 HB / €13 PB The Roots of Ireland's Troubles from accomplished historian Robert Stedall, has been reprinted to bring it to a new audience in 2019. Robert has numerous books published on subjects such as Mary Queen of Scots and the Ulster Plantation. His two-volume history of Mary Queen of Scots and her son James VI of Scotland, The Challenge to the Crown (Vol 1) published in June 2012 and The Survival of the Crown (Vol 2) published in February 2014 are considered to be groundbreaking. In The Roots of Ireland's Troubles Robert brings us down the middle, unbiased, factual representation of Ireland's turbulent history. The topics covered are varied in both geography and time. Beginning with the reformation and the impact it had in Ireland, the many rebellions throughout the years, leading up to the early 1900's shortly after the time of Charles Stewart Parnell and the struggle for Home Rule. The author depicts the political climate and battles in great detail with the development in parliament's at home and in London to strategic plans taken by the crown forces and rebels hundreds of years ago. A book like this should appeal to anyone with an invested interest in our history and wanting to further expand their knowledge and understanding to the roots of this nation. SG THE ROOTS OF IRELAND'S TROUBLES

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