An Cosantóir

| 29 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE THE IRISH DEFENCE FORCES 1922-2022 The echoes of history are never far away and have been brought to the fore by the recent series of commemorations to mark the revolutionary period in which the new state was born in a veritable crucible of fire. It is therefore fitting that a major new work; The Irish Defence Forces 1922-2022 by Eoin Kinsella has been published to mark the centenary of the foundation of the Irish Defence Forces (DF). Kinsella as an author is immersed in Irish historiography, with a number of previous publications and also being Managing Editor of the Royal Irish Academy 's Dictionary of Irish Biography. This extensively researched work is further enhanced by an assistant editorial team convened by the Defence Forces with the additional active support of Military Archives and the extraordinary treasure- trove of historical records contained within. Following the Truce in July 1921 and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December the nascent state was effectively constituted under the Provisional Government in January 1922. In effect, the pro-Treaty IR A were now reconstituted as the National Army of the Irish Free State, with a lineage dating to the original foundation of the Irish Volunteers in 1913. A bitter Civil War ensued from June 1922 to May 1923. There were atrocities committed by both sides but the actions during the Month of March 1923, the penultimate month of the Civil War, saw some of its most brutal acts when "Kerry Command" of the National Army under Brigadier General Paddy O'Daly perpetrated the extrajudicial killings of republican prisoners at Ballseedy outside Tralee and other locations in Kerry; in what became known as "the terror month." These were amongst the many visceral scars that were to psychologically haunt Irish society and engender bitter political debate in the following decades. Following the Civil War Kinsella charts the failed Army Mutiny of 1924, partly predicated on the significant reduction of the army post the Civil war, entailing a reduction of 30,000 personnel. The threatened mutiny resurrected interrelated conflicts within the Government and Army, and also exposed a struggle between civil & military powers which took the identifiable form of a clash between Kevin O'Higgins, Minister for Home Affairs and later Justice and vice- president of the Executive Council and Richard Mulcahy, Minister for Defence. Kinsella sets in historical context how this often overlooked event was of paramount importance in establishing the democratic pillars of the state and ensuring that the army was always subordinate to the duly elected government, or O'Higgins declaration to the world that "neither he nor the institutions of the State would ever again take their stride from a soldier's boot." The historian Theo Farrell has argued that the Irish army post the revolution became arguably 'feeble' in two senses; politically it attracted exceptionally low level of government support & resources. Defence spending essentially collapsed from £11M in 1924 to £1M in 1932 and strategically, in that the state sought to defend itself in a manner that even its own planners advised against. Despite this a pivotal moment in the professionalization of the Defence Forces was the Military Mission sent to the United States in 1926, as a result training was placed on a proper footing with the establishment of a Military College, Corps and Service Schools. The Emergency Period of WW II saw an expediential increase in the military to deal with the threat of potential invasion. Under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Dan McKenna, Chief of Staff, two Divisions were raised, 1 Division (' Thunderbolt') under Maj. Gen. M.J. Costello and 2 Division ('Spearhead') under Maj. Gen. Hugo O'Neill, both combining to a force of 40,000 by early 1942. Parallel to this by 1941 the Marine and Coast Watching Service was established consisting of 10 craft (6 motor torpedo boats plus 4 assorted vessels) and about 300 active personnel. In 1942 the Service was renamed the Marine Service. It was in 1946 the Irish Naval Service as we now know it was formed. The Irish Air Corps also sought to develop its capacity but had a very limited capacity. Like the current conflict in Ukraine, the Emergency reminds us of how territorial threats can materialize. Britain, Nazi German and US all had plans to occupy Ireland at various stages-like Iceland. Kinsella notes how Military Intelligence (G2) with Col. Dan Bryan as Director of Intelligence played a pivotal counter-espionage role during the crisis. Here again the historian Eunan O'Halpin has acknowledged that G2's security and counterespionage success during the Emergency were considerable. They were due very largely to the men who successively ran the organization, firstly Liam Archer and then Dan Bryan. Both had the benefit while young men of working on the other side of the clandestine fence against the British, and Bryan had then become a consummate agent runner against the republican movement until the army was pulled out of domestic intelligence gathering in 1926. After the Emergency the DF underwent a 'managed decline.' The new Republic finally joined the UN as a member in 1955 and following this the 'discovery ' of the Peacekeeping role from 1958 fitted with Irish Foreign Policy values and identity-and still does. Following the deployment of Military Observers to South Lebanon in 1958, our first major troop deployment was part of the UN ONUC mission to the Congo from 1960-1964. The author narrates the tragic events of the Niemba ambush of November 1960 and the subsequent valiant defence of Jadotville by Comdt. Leo Quinlan and his troops of A Coy 35th Battalion. The author also charts the evolving DF involvement with subsequent peacekeeping missions in the following decades including the UNIFIL mission in South Lebanon from 1978 which became a core motif within our peacekeeping tradition, before moving forward to the modern era with the Kosovan, Liberian and Chadian deployments. The evolving role of the Nav y and Air Corps is also outlined and the former's involvement in humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean is highlighted. The period of the Troubles was particularly challenging for the DF in their role of Aid to the Civil Power (ATCP) in dealing with the nascent terrorist threat presented by the conflict in Northern Ireland. Parallel to this the lamentable state investment in infrastructure and facilities throughout this period is also explored and its often-detrimental effect on morale. This review has only allowed a brief segue into this comprehensively researched and richly illustrated work. To paraphrase Othello, Kinsella has done the Defence Forces some service in bringing to the uninitiated reader the noble and steadfast role that the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann has performed in the service of our republic of whom its citizens can be justifiably proud Provided by Dr Rory Finegan (Comdt. Retd) Author: Eoin Kinsella Publisher: Four Courts Press (2022) ISBN: 978-80151-036-3 Pages: 304 Price: €30.00

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