The Irish Citizen Army

by Ann Matthews

Overview

The Irish Citizen Army was originally established as a defence corps during the 1913 Lockout, but under the leadership of James Connolly its aims became more Republican and the IRB, fearing Connolly would pre-empt their plans for the Easter Rising, convinced him to join his force with the Irish Volunteers. During the Rising the ICA was active in three garrisons and the book describes for the first time in depth its involvement at St Stephen's Green and the Royal College of Surgeons, at City Hall and its environs and, using the first-hand account of journalist J.J. O'Leary who was on the scene, in the battle around the GPO. The author questions the much-vaunted myth of the equality of men and women in the ICA and scrutinises the credentials of Larkin and Connolly as champions of both sexes. She also asserts that the Proclamation was not read by Patrick Pearse from the steps of the GPO, but by Tom Clarke from Nelson's Pillar. She provides sources to suggest that the Proclamation was not, as has always been believed, printed in Liberty Hall, and that the final headquarters of the rebels was not at number 16 Moore Street, but somewhere between numbers 21 and 26.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781173084
Publisher:	Mercier Press
Publication date:	09/05/2014
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Ann Matthews is the author of 'Renegades' (2010) and 'Dissidents' (2012) and a play 'Lockout' staged in 2013. Originally from Dublin, she now lives in Kildare where she lectures at NUI Maynooth.She has contributed to the 'Journal of Irish Military History' and 'The Irish Archive Journal', among other publications.
Ann Matthews is a historian. Originally, from Dublin she now lives in Kildare. She currently lectures at NUI Maynooth on Women and War and Republican women and iconography. She has contributed to The Journal of Irish Military History and The Irish Archive Journal among others.She has also contributed chapters to The Impact of the 1916 Rising: Among the Nations, (ed) Ruan O Donnell (2008) and Associational Culture in Ireland and Abroad (eds) Jennifer Kelly R.V Comerford Eds) (2010). She is the author of Renegades (2010) and The Kimmage Garrison 1916: Making Billy Can-Bombs at Larkfield (2010).

Read an Excerpt

The Irish Citizen Army was originally established as a defence corps during the 1913 Lockout, but under the leadership of James Connolly its aims became more Republican and the IRB, fearing Connolly would pre-empt their plans for the Easter Rising, convinced him to join his force with the Irish Volunteers. During the Rising the ICA was active in three garrisons and the book describes for the first time in depth its involvement at St Stephen's Green and the Royal College of Surgeons, at City Hall and its environs and, using the first-hand account of journalist J.J. O'Leary who was on the scene, in the battle around the GPO.

The author questions the much-vaunted myth of the equality of men and women in the ICA and scrutinises the credentials of Larkin and Connolly as champions of both sexes. She also asserts that the Proclamation was not read by Patrick Pearse from the steps of the GPO, but by Tom Clarke from Nelson's Pillar. She provides sources to suggest that the Proclamation was not, as has always been believed, printed in Liberty Hall, and that the final headquarters of the rebels was not at number 16 Moore Street, but somewhere between numbers 21 and 26.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgementst9 Abbreviationst11 Introductiont13 1tFrom Defence Corps to Citizen Army, 1913t19 2tThe Second and Third Phases tof the ICA, 1914–1915t35 3tPreparation for Revolutiont58 4tRebelliont81 5t'The Republican Flag Floats over its Centre: tO Destiny of My Country! Quo Vadis?'t104 6tThe Courts Martialt134 7tThe Power of Moneyt148 8tDecline 1917–1921t158 9tCivil War and its Aftermath 1922–1927t171 10tDemiset178 11tR. M. Fox and the Muffler Aristocratst184 Appendix 1tIrish Citizen Army Membership, 1916t188 Appendix 2tICA Boy Scouts, 1916t212 Appendix 3tWomen's Section, ICA, 1916t213 Appendix 4tFemale Members of the South Dublin Unitt215 Appendix 5tMembers from the War of Independence ttPeriod to the Civil Wart216 Appendix 6tWomen in the ICAt223 Endnotest225 Bibliographyt242 Indext246