Blood on the Banner: The Republican Struggle in Clare

by Padraig Og O Ruairc

Overview

In May 1915, Ernest Blythe was appointed as an organiser for the Irish Volunteers by Volunteer headquarters and was sent to Clare to train the Cloonagh and Kilfenora Volunteers. The authorities were well informed about Blythe's activities in Clare. He established Irish Volunteer companies at Doolin and Liscannor and supplied the Crusheen company with seven rifles. Because of his success in organising and arming the Clare Volunteers, Blythe was arrested and deported a few weeks later, under the defence of the realm act.Fifty three republicans from Clare gave their lives in the struggle for independence, but the story of Clare republicanism goes much deeper than that. Padraig Og O Ruairc takes the story of Clare's republicans from the start of the twentieth century to the end of the War of Independence. In the process, he examines the course of the campaign, the events tragic, heroic and the victims, British and Irish. Featuring detailed descriptions of the battles and campaigns, Blood On The Banner offers a fresh perspective on events that shaped the county for decades to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781856356138
Publisher:	Mercier Press, Limited, The
Publication date:	09/11/2009
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Foreword 11

1 The Sacred Cause of Freedom: The Republican Struggle in Clare 1798-1867 13

2 Finishing What the Fenians Started: The Irish Volunteers in Clare 1913-1916 30

3 No Word, nor Sign of a Word: The 1916 Rising in Clare 41

4 I Die in a Good Cause 59

5 Hitting First: Making Clare Impossible to Police 1919-1920 88

6 Keeping Down the Irish 113

7 The Risen People 129

8 Another Black Page in British History 156

9 Down into the Mire 202

10 Freedom? 234

11 All Our Efforts Have Been in Vain 258

12 Our Dreams Like Rags About Us 282

Roll of Honour - Clare Republicans 1918-1925 325

Clare Civilians killed during the War of Independence 328

Free State army casualties in Clare 1922-1923 329

British casualties in Clare during the War of Independence 1919-1921 330

Claremen who joined the Auxiliaries 332

Claremen who joined the Black and Tans 333

Bibliography 335

Index 338