Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter

by Meda Ryan

The story of Tom Barry's life, peppered by his battles with the State and Church, and his constant endeavours to obtain an All Ireland Republic makes him a unique and important figure of Irish history. Tom Barry chronicles the action-packed life of the Commander of the Third West Cork Flying Column and one of the great architects of modern guerrilla warfare in Ireland's fight for freedom. The ""False Surrender"" controversy during the decisive Kilmichael ambush, is brought into sharp focus in this book, so also is the controversy regarding sectarianism during the 1920-22 period. It details his involvement on the fringes of the Treaty negotiations; his Republican activities during the Civil War; his engagement in the cease-fire/dump-arms deal of 1923, and his term as the IRA's Chief-of-Staff.

Genres: Ireland, History, Biography, Irish Literature, Nonfiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

MEDA RYAN, historian and author, is a native of West Cork and now lives in Ennis, Clare; she has participated in television and radio documentaries and has had articles published in a wide variety of history magazines and journals, plus national and local newspapers.
She was was widowed when her Husband, Donal Ryan, passed away in Ennis, Clare in 2013, who was also a native of Cork.

Ryan developed a strong interest in the Irish revolutionary period, and interviewed many veterans of the old IRA. For this reason, she has a huge amount of respect for these individuals and famously was involved in a dispute with Canadian historian Peter Hart on IRA Commandant Tom Barry. This prompted Ryan to write an extended biography of Tom Barry. Her fist Biography of Tom Barry, The Tom Barry Story was written in 1982 for the Mercier Press. Following the dispute with Hart, in 2003 She wrote her extended Biography entitled Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter

Her published books include Tom Barry: IRA Freedom Fighter; The Day Michael Collins Was Shot; Liam Lynch: The Real Chief and Michael Collins and the Women Who Spied for Ireland.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Individualism, like Tom Barry's is going to be challenged, and is a virtue.

A lot of words, and worth the effort.

[Terry Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meda Ryan delivers another great bio. For anyone fascinated with Barry's own autobiography (Guerilla Days), here is the complete picture, i.e., what happened next and Tom Barry's place in history.