An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 33 author: Comdt Seán A. Murphy Retd Publisher: Four Roads Publishing (November 2014) iSBn: 978-0993116407 Price: PB €22.50 / HB €27.50 (inc. P&P) Pages: 250 On November 28th 1920, in the desolate countryside between Macroom and Dunmanway, Tom Barry's West Cork Flying Column wiped out an 18 strong patrol of Auxiliary police. Though the action was over after an intensive forty minute gun battle, the controversy of what happened during that short engagement was just beginning. Tom Barry wrote his own account of the battle in his book, Guerrilla Days In Ireland, claiming that the Auxiliaries, knowing they were outgunned and surrounded, feigned surrender in order to get the Volunteers to leave cover. Once out in the open, the Auxiliaries drew their weapons and shot dead two Volunteers. Barry ordered his remaining Volunteers to open fire, killing all the police Cadets. Did the Auxiliaries really pretend to surrender or did Barry use the story of a false surrender to justify and subsequently cover up the massacre of a group of men that had officially surrendered? Kilmichael, A Battlefield Study by former Commandant Seán A. Murphy is a detailed analysis of the events that took place that day. Using a military analysis tool known as METTS, the author examines the events of that day, breaking down the myths that have arisen and puts forward a new and gripping theory about the Battle of Kilmichael. How was it possible that an elite unit of the British crown was wiped out by an untrained civilian force? Did the Auxiliaries die fighting to the last man or did Tom Barry order the executions of his prisoners? Were all the republican casualties shot by the Auxiliaries or were they the result of defective weapons planted by British intelligence? These are some of the questions posed in this objective study and the author's forensic analysis of the pros and cons of the engagement make highly informative and thought provoking reading. www.kilmichaelbattlefield.com PO'b KilMiChael: a BaTTleField STudy the Politics oF MeMoir and the northern ireland conFlict Seal TeaM SiX: a nOvel #6 author: Chuck Dixon Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment (July 2014) Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc. iSBn: 978-1606905586 Price: €2.84 eBook Pages: 212 Book #6 in Chuck Dixon's action packed US Navy SEAL Team 6 series sees them sent in to the current boiling pot that is the Syrian Civil War. Tasked with retrieving a biological weapon, its location unknown, but if unleashed could change the rules of war. The team go disguised as foreign fighters as they make their way through the shattered towns and cities left in the wake of this unsympathetic chaos. Their contact is dead, lost to the war, but his young teenage son, now older than his years after spending his last childhood years on the battlefield playground aids them in their search. The team meet the unlikeliest of allies in search of a common goal, whilst an enemy agent is hell bent on retrieving it for himself. Shortly after entering an enemy stronghold to retrieve the WMD, they get compromised - what ensues is an action-packed no holds barred battle for survival as the team makes their escape - heavily outnumbered and against all odds. A good enjoyable read about a special-forces mission in probably the bloodiest civil war battle in modern history. WF author: Stephen Hopkins Publisher: Liverpool University Press (reprint May 2014) www. liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk iSBn: 978-1846319426 Price: €100 Pages: 252 The Troubles in Northern Ireland have produced a wide and diverse range of memoirs from across both the political spectrum, but also from former paramilitaries and security forces personnel, both police and army. This excellent compendium by Stephen Hopkins for the first time brings together an analysis of these memoirs and the collective lessons that can be distilled from them in trying to come to terms at this remove with the events of the Troubles that led to such loss of life and devastation. Hopkins argues that it should not be forgotten the period of relative peace that now exists in Northern Ireland rests on an uneasy calm, and that the peace process will inherently remain a work in progress. Hopkins goes to great pains to differentiate between those memoirs that seek to act as a self justification for the actions or perceived lack of same from some authors with others that have been genuinely self-critical. He views memoir writing as fulfilling an important role absent the Irish equivalent of a 'truth and reconciliation' process. This study goes some way in providing the first comprehensive analysis of a major resource for readers in helping comprehend not only the causes of the conflict but also its almost stubborn endurance over the course of some twenty-five years. RF

• Cover