Clear, Hold, Build: How the Free State won the Irish Civil War

What was achieved by the Free State during the Irish Civil War was remarkable. Within a period of less than a year they raised and equipped a standing National Army of nearly 60,000 soldiers, defeating the anti-Treaty elements of the IRA. Using the counterinsurgency framework of Clear-Hold-Build, the author examines, analyzes and explains how the Free State managed to attain this remarkable achievement.

Outnumbered at the start of the fighting, the Free State overcame an IRA insurgency by ut...