An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 37 authors: Robert W. White publisher: Merrion Press (May 2017) www.merrionpress.ie iSBn: 978-1-785370939 pages: 500 price: €24.99 This work is divided into five parts, with part one giving a brief history of Ireland's struggle against British rule from 1170 to 1923. This is brief but concise. The second part of the book gives an oral history of the organisation that stems from 1923 up to 2005 that covers the aftermath of the Civil War and the years that followed. Out of the Ashes notes how attacks on civil rights campaigners in the 1960s brought a new generation into the ranks of the Republican Movement. Through a series of interviews that cover those founding figures of the organisation such as Sean Mac Stiofain, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Joe Cahill, the author builds up an excellent history of the early years of the organisation and of those involved. As the movement progresses, a new generation emerges and work their way through the ranks. The author interviews leading members from this period also with well known figures such as Martin McGuinness, Danny Morrison and Brendan Hughes among others. Part three covers the aftermath of the Peace Process and reflects on activism and the armed struggle. Part four looks at activism since 2005 with the different republican groups that split from the main organisation and are still active today. The final part of the work is a sociological summary of the Republican movement and makes for interesting reading. This is a pioneering history that definitely breaks new ground in defining how the provisional movement operated, caused worldwide condemnation and were subsequently transformed by constitutional politics. P.C. oUT of THE ASHES, An oRAL HISToRY of THE PRoVISIonAL IRISH REPUBLIcAn MoVEMEnT UVf BEHInd THE MASk authors: Aaron Edwards publisher: Merrion Press (June 2017) www. merrionpress.ie iSBn: 978-1- 785370878 pages: 444 price: €17.99 This excellent new work from historian and author Aaron Edwards recounts the turmoil of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in Northern Ireland and the re-establishment of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in 1965, and their reign of terror in the decades that followed. The book relates the history of the UVF mainly through interviews with its members, many of them high-profile leaders such as Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson and Gary Haggarty to name but a few. The author delves into the grisly and sadistic killings carried out by the organisation and its members such as McGurk's Bar, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Miami Showband massacre and the killing spree by the Shankill Butchers. The work also reveals how members of the group considered shooting David Ervine, the best known of the group who contributed to the peace process, as well as Republican Martin McGuinness, another key figure in the peace negotiations. If these men had been shot, well, the ending would have been very different than what we have now. Belfast born Aaron Edwards who lectures at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst has written a number of books and is a very gifted individual as he, with this book and his others, has the ability to take a highly complicated, controversial and often overlooked subject and write a highly readable and authoritative study. This is an excellent addition to the written history of the troubles. Well worth getting. P.O'B THE dUBLIn LockoUT 1913: nEW PERSPECTIVES On CLASS WAR & ITS LEgACy authors: Conor McNamara & Padraig Yeates publisher: Irish Academic Press (July 2017) http://irishacademicpress.ie iSBn: 978-1-911024781 pages: 272 price: €24.99 PB – €44.99 HB It's great to see that the 1913 Lockout is still being remembered and this latest work is testament to that. The Dublin Lockout 1913 recounts and re- examines the narrative of Dublin workers who stood up to the greed of their Irish employers with profound consequences. Beyond the animosity and immediate impact of the industrial dispute are its enduring lessons through the First World War, the Easter Rising, and the birth of the Irish Free State; its legacy, real and adopted, instructs the surge of activism currently witnessed, but to what effect? The book features an exemplary list of contributors such as Donal Fallon writing on the Dublin's Newsboys in Challenging Times, Peter Collins on the dispute in Belfast, Meridith Meagher on the American perspective and Conor McNamara writing on the Citizen Army to name but a few. Of interest to note is that this work highlights that little has changed in industrial relations over the years, with zero-hour contracts, later retirement age, workers representative bodies ignored or denied by employers, both then and sadly, still evident today. This authoritative work, which encompasses local, northern, British and American aspects, is a key edition to the literature about this era. P.O'B

• Cover