An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 45 THE FORGOTTEN FALLEN Author: James Langton Publisher: Kilmainham Tales Teo (November 2019) www.kilmainhamtales.ie ISBN: 978-1-908056-39-9 Pages: 400 Price: €30 HB plus P&P As we approach the centenary of the Irish Civil War, we as historians, must examine all aspects of this brutal conflict in order to understand its causes and outcome. The Forgotten Fallen is a comprehensive and invaluable work on National Army casualties during this period. Historian James Langton has trawled through archives, newspaper reports and official documents to list in detail the names, the deaths and burial places of National Army soldiers who lost their lives in action and other circumstances during the Civil War. This is the first time that such a detailed book has been written listing these casualties. Sergeant John Byrne was shot and killed by a sniper as he moved out from Limekiln Lane near Harold's Cross Bridge on 8th July 1922. Many of these soldiers lost their lives in places that are familiar to us all and such deaths bring home the ferocity of this conflict that affected every county in Ireland. The book is complemented throughout with black and white photos of the conflict. Langton is to be commended for this work, both his research and his writing, for recording these casualties and presenting them in a way that the reader has easy access and an understanding of how they were killed and where they are interred. The book has a few extras, such as a plan of graves as well as a list of soldiers who died on UN service. An excellent read as well as a great reference book, this work is also beautifully produced by Kilmainham Tales and with Christmas just around the corner this book would make an excellent gift. Part 2 is due in out in 2020 and will deal with anti-treaty forces, while Part 3 is expected in 2021 and will cover the non-military deaths. The book is highly recommended and is available directly from the publisher. PO'B THE BATTLE OF CLONMULT THE IRA'S WORST DEFEAT (REVISED EDITION) Author: Tom O'Neill M.A. Publisher: The History Press (October 2019) www.thehistorypress.co.uk ISBN: 978-0-7509-9222-0 Pages: 160 Price: €12.30 (RRP: €17.50) 'The Battle of Clonmult: The IRA's worst defeat' centres around the IRA's East Cork flying column who were surprised when they came across a British Army patrol at the village of Clonmult near Midleton in County Cork on 20th February 1921. Tom explains, "this was the IRA's greatest loss of volunteers in a single engagement against the Crown Forces". The British Army patrol was later reinforced by Auxiliary Police, resulting in twelve IRA men being killed, seven after they had surrendered, and another two from the eight that were captured being executed later. Only one IRA man managed to escaped. This revised edition contains an extra 40-pages, after exhaustive research by Tom. This new primary source material including the original prisoner statements in the military court files from 1921. This added information makes this edition more accurate and allowed Tom to analyse the battle more. He looks at the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself including the aftermath, the trials, executions and reprisals. Highly recommended reading, for the Irish historian in all of us during this decade of centenaries. Comdt Tom O'Neill served 32-years with the Irish Prison Service and 34-years in the Army Reserve. While in the military he completed courses in the military college, which enabled him to analyse the battle from a military perspective. He has prepared and presented lectures of a military nature to historical societies. He lives in Midleton, Co. Cork. WF THE SHADOW WAR: MICHAEL COLLINS AND THE POLITICS OF VIOLENCE Author: Joseph E.A. Connell Jnr Publisher: Wordwell Books (October 2019) www. wordwellbooks.com ISBN: 978-1916137509 Pages: 528 Price: €18.99 Michael Collins could be considered one of the great guerrilla leaders of the last one hundred years. He understood that political and psychological warfare became more important than the traditional terms of warfare. After generations of failed rebellions, this came to the fore in the War of Independence. The IRA's primary tasking's during the war was to cripple the British governments ability and will to govern in lieu of gun-to-gun and hand-to-hand combat. This is a great read by Joseph, he has written a number of books and articles on this period, on Michael Collins, and the guerrilla tactics used by the IRA. With that in mind we delve into what lessons could be taken from past failures, not just for the Irish but also military leaders from the Caribbean to operations in World War II. Highly recommended reading. Joseph E.A. Connell Jnr is the author of Dublin Rising 1916 and Who's who in the Dublin Rising 1916, published in 2016 by Wordwell. He writes a regular column in History Ireland and is a regular contributor to Newstalk's Talking History programme and An Cosantóir magazine. SG

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