An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 37 LIAM MELLOWS: SOLDIER OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC, SELECTED WRITINGS 1914-1922 Author: Conor McNamara Publisher: Irish Academic Press (August 2019) www.iap.ie ISBN: 9781788550789 Pages: 230 Price: €18.95 PB On the 8th December 1922, Liam Mellows and fellow Republicans Rory O' Connor, Joe McKelvey and Richard Barrett were taken from their cells in Mountjoy Prison and executed by firing squad. The Free State government had ordered these killings as a reprisal for the shooting of TD Seán Hales. This action sent a shock wave throughout the country and brought the ruthlessness of the Civil War to a new dimension. Historian Conor McNamara has conducted a landmark study of the life of Irish Republican Liam Mellows. The work brings together letters, speeches, political writings and captured IRA documents that enable the reader to explore and examine in detail Mellows short but dramatic life. Mellows was at the forefront of the republican movement in Ireland from its inception. Following the Easter Rising he spent four years as an IRA representative in New York. During the Irish War of Independence, Mellows was responsible for the importation of arms for republican forces. Later, Mellows was bitterly opposed to the Anglo Irish Treaty and became an implacable opponent to Michael Collins. He was a major instigator in the formation of the anti-Treaty IRA in 1922 that contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. Chapters cover Mellow's writings on the History of Na Fianna Éireann (1917), The True Story of the Galway Insurrection as well as Civil War Writings, 1922, to name but a few. McNamara also examines in the last chapter of the book the Battle for the Soul of Liam Mellows, as political groups lay claim to the man's work and memory. This is a well- researched, well written and an excellent read. P O'B THE IRISH CIVIL WAR: LAW, EXECUTION AND ATROCITY DEFENDING TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, EASTER 1916: ANZACS AND THE RISING Author: Seán Enright Publisher: Merrion Press (August 2019) www.irishacademicpress.ie ISBN: 9781785372537 Pages: 200 Price: €18.95 PB During the Irish Civil War it is estimated that eighty- three executions were carried out by the National Army of the emerging Free State Government, including four prisoners not tried or convicted of any charge. A further 125 prisoners were killed in the custody of the state, shot at the point of capture or killed while in custody. The words 'Shot while trying to escape' became an all too familiar press release. Sean Enright's latest work The Irish Civil War. Law, Execution and Atrocity examines new material unearthed from the Military Archives on this dark period in our nation's history. After the Civil War trial records were destroyed and the execution policy became a bitter memory that was and until now rarely discussed. In this groundbreaking work, Enright examines how a climate emerged in which prisoners could be tried by rudimentary military courts and then executed, and how many other prisoners were killed without trial at all. While the author looks at specific cases there is also a very useful chapter on key events and the main protagonists that enable the reader to travel through this period understanding the time and of those involved on all sides. This is an excellent read and highly recommended. PC Author: Dr Rory Sweetman Publisher: Four Courts Press (May 2019) www. fourcourtspress.ie ISBN: 9781846827846 Pages: 176 Price: €17.95 PB Kildare-born New Zealander Dr Rory Sweetman, who holds history degrees from both Trinity College Dublin and Cambridge University has released his latest work, Defending Trinity College Dublin, Easter 1916: Anzacs and the Rising. His previous book Bishop in the Dock: The Sedition Trial of James Liston in New Zealand (Dublin, 2007), won the Sir Keith Sinclair Prize for History. This topical story on the action that took place in and around Trinity College during the 1916 Easter Rising has been mooted in history publications for a good number of years, but this is the first time I've seen it put into a book on its own. "Most commentators march past Trinity as determinedly as did the Irish Citizen Army on its way to St Stephen's Green, with at most a sideways glance at what one rebel referred to as the intellectual centre of West Britonism." Dr Sweetman's book revels the story of the 5-man squad of New Zealanders, who as British colonial troops provided a vital shield to protect the college from attack or capture. The book contains numerous letters from these New Zealanders to their homeland which gives a fresh insight into the aspects surrounding the insurrection and answer some questions previously asked by historians. Defending Trinity College Dublin, Easter 1916: Anzacs and the Rising is explored further in this month's history section, but the book is highly recommended as Dr Sweetman poses many other interesting aspects of The Rising, like: how close did Trinity come to being a central battleground in the Rising? How and why did it escape this grisly fate? And – not least – what might have happened but for the timely intervention of the colonial troops? WF

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