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The I.R.A.
An updated edition of this unique, bestselling history of the IRA, now including behind-the-scenes information on the recent advances made in the peace process.
Tim Pat Coogan’s classic The IRA provides the only fair-minded, comprehensive history of the organization that has transformed the Irish nationalist movement this century. With clarity and detachment, Coogan examines the IRA’s origins, its foreign links, the bombing campaigns, hunger strikes and sectarian violence, and now their role in the latest attempt to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
Meticulously researched, and backed up by interviews with past and present members of the organization, Tim Pat Coogan’s book is an authoritative and compelling account of modern Irish history from the point of view of one of its most controversial major participants.
Tim Pat Coogan’s classic The IRA provides the only fair-minded, comprehensive history of the organization that has transformed the Irish nationalist movement this century. With clarity and detachment, Coogan examines the IRA’s origins, its foreign links, the bombing campaigns, hunger strikes and sectarian violence, and now their role in the latest attempt to bring peace to Northern Ireland.
Meticulously researched, and backed up by interviews with past and present members of the organization, Tim Pat Coogan’s book is an authoritative and compelling account of modern Irish history from the point of view of one of its most controversial major participants.
832 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
87 people are currently reading
2466 people want to read
About the author
Tim Pat Coogan
49 books242 followersTimothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987. Today, he is best known for his popular and sometimes controversial books on aspects of modern Irish history, including The IRA, Ireland Since the Rising, On the Blanket, and biographies of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 58 reviews
March 19, 2011
The first edition of this book was published in 1969, and the pre-1969 text takes up slightly more than half of my fourth edition from 1994. This earlier core is an excellent historical analysis of a paramilitary movement which had at one point been central to Irish politics and had steadily been moved more and more to the fringes, as decade after decade crucial members of the leadership either defected to democratic politics or died (often through violence). Coogan has got deeply into his subject and assembled names, dates, numbers (though I can't quite believe that the I.R.A. still had 30,000 members by the late 1920s - they would surely have had more of an impact if that were the case) and has a detailed picture of who the I.R.A. were and also why it didn't really matter that much in the context of how politics developed in the Irish Free State, and eventually the Republic of Ireland.
Unfortunately the book is probably more often bought and read for the second half, the post-1969 story, which has several very serious flaws.
First, from the narrative point of view, Coogan skips over the 1969 split between the Provos and the Stickies with indecent haste and almost no detail, in stark contrast to the chapter and verse he gave for the divisions between the 'mainstream' I.R.A. and other micro-groups in the previous four or five decades. It means that the subsequent description of the activities of the Provisionals and the Officials is almost without context of why they became two separate organisations. There are other gaps, but this is the most serious one and it is pretty huge.
Second, from the analytical point of view, Coogan has the Dublin journalist's tin ear for Northern politics. He makes little of the differing agendas of the British Government, the mainstream Unionists, and the Loyalist paramilitaries. The 1974 power-sharing executive and Brian Faulkner are barely mentioned. In the short paragraph on the 1982 Assembly, almost every detail is wrong apart from the name of the body and the year in which it was elected. This persistent indifference to accuracy on such points may well reflect the interests of his subject matter and core readership as well as his own preferences, but it means that the casual reader expecting to find guidance on the wider Northern Irish political situation here will be not only disappointed but misled.
Third, from the organisational point of view, the claim on the back cover that the fourth edition has been 'completely updated and revised' is simply incorrect. While the earlier material is clearly the work of a historical thinker presenting his material in a careful structure, the successively bolted-on chapters for the later editions are poorly organised and sometimes repetitious, with no pause for global reflection.
Fourth, from the moral point of view, the missing element - for those of us who are not in Coogan's core audience, the readership in the Republic, who may be more likely to have an instinctive understanding of this issue - is any serious analysis of how and why opinion in the Twenty-Six Counties swung both against and in favour of the Republican agenda over the years. I remember vividly both the H-Block demonstrations of 1981, and the post-Warrington demonstrations of 1993. Coogan gives many other examples of popular support for Irish prisoners but deep popular disapproval of the barbarous acts that they have committed, going back over the decades. I'd love to read some decent unpacking of how and why the plain people of Ireland have been able to discriminate between men and method in this way, and am disappointed that Coogan, well-placed to do so, has not provided it.
Having said all that, there are some other interesting points in the second half. I hadn't realised that Greek Cypriots were so closely involved with the arming of the Provos - not only as middle-men for Arab suppliers (as is to be expected given the geography and geopolitics) but, Coogan suggests, directly as well. More recently, Coogan's analysis of the correspondence between the I.R.A. and the British government in the early 1990s is detailed and useful, though unfortunately lacks a balancing perspective from the British side (not that there is likely much that could be added, but the gap is there). More tellingly than perhaps intended, his profile of Gerry Adams betrays hypnotised fascination with his subject rather than any real unpacking of said subject's political agenda.
Anyway. There are many better books than this about Irish history since 1969 (and in fairness Coogan may have written one or two of them himself). But the first half is an excellent micro-study of a dangerous fringe movement. And I'm grateful to him also for quoting one of my own father's best lines, regarding a small rabid Catholic movement of the 1950s: "Perhaps it was only a lunatic fringe, but it was still of interest as a symptom. One can learn something of the tendencies in a society by observing on which particular fringe of it the lunatics break out."
Unfortunately the book is probably more often bought and read for the second half, the post-1969 story, which has several very serious flaws.
First, from the narrative point of view, Coogan skips over the 1969 split between the Provos and the Stickies with indecent haste and almost no detail, in stark contrast to the chapter and verse he gave for the divisions between the 'mainstream' I.R.A. and other micro-groups in the previous four or five decades. It means that the subsequent description of the activities of the Provisionals and the Officials is almost without context of why they became two separate organisations. There are other gaps, but this is the most serious one and it is pretty huge.
Second, from the analytical point of view, Coogan has the Dublin journalist's tin ear for Northern politics. He makes little of the differing agendas of the British Government, the mainstream Unionists, and the Loyalist paramilitaries. The 1974 power-sharing executive and Brian Faulkner are barely mentioned. In the short paragraph on the 1982 Assembly, almost every detail is wrong apart from the name of the body and the year in which it was elected. This persistent indifference to accuracy on such points may well reflect the interests of his subject matter and core readership as well as his own preferences, but it means that the casual reader expecting to find guidance on the wider Northern Irish political situation here will be not only disappointed but misled.
Third, from the organisational point of view, the claim on the back cover that the fourth edition has been 'completely updated and revised' is simply incorrect. While the earlier material is clearly the work of a historical thinker presenting his material in a careful structure, the successively bolted-on chapters for the later editions are poorly organised and sometimes repetitious, with no pause for global reflection.
Fourth, from the moral point of view, the missing element - for those of us who are not in Coogan's core audience, the readership in the Republic, who may be more likely to have an instinctive understanding of this issue - is any serious analysis of how and why opinion in the Twenty-Six Counties swung both against and in favour of the Republican agenda over the years. I remember vividly both the H-Block demonstrations of 1981, and the post-Warrington demonstrations of 1993. Coogan gives many other examples of popular support for Irish prisoners but deep popular disapproval of the barbarous acts that they have committed, going back over the decades. I'd love to read some decent unpacking of how and why the plain people of Ireland have been able to discriminate between men and method in this way, and am disappointed that Coogan, well-placed to do so, has not provided it.
Having said all that, there are some other interesting points in the second half. I hadn't realised that Greek Cypriots were so closely involved with the arming of the Provos - not only as middle-men for Arab suppliers (as is to be expected given the geography and geopolitics) but, Coogan suggests, directly as well. More recently, Coogan's analysis of the correspondence between the I.R.A. and the British government in the early 1990s is detailed and useful, though unfortunately lacks a balancing perspective from the British side (not that there is likely much that could be added, but the gap is there). More tellingly than perhaps intended, his profile of Gerry Adams betrays hypnotised fascination with his subject rather than any real unpacking of said subject's political agenda.
Anyway. There are many better books than this about Irish history since 1969 (and in fairness Coogan may have written one or two of them himself). But the first half is an excellent micro-study of a dangerous fringe movement. And I'm grateful to him also for quoting one of my own father's best lines, regarding a small rabid Catholic movement of the 1950s: "Perhaps it was only a lunatic fringe, but it was still of interest as a symptom. One can learn something of the tendencies in a society by observing on which particular fringe of it the lunatics break out."
May 2, 2021
A heavily detailed and thoroughly researched history of the Irish Republican Army. Full of details (maybe too many) on the start from the issue of Home Rule, Irish Republican Brotherhood, the start of the IRA, the Provisional IRA, the Troubles, and ending with the Downing Street Declaration ceasefire of 1993. This edition was published in 1994.
Something I found interesting was the author's reproduction of their issued Green Books I and II. Green book I is a breakdown of their (the IRA's) military doctrine, their purpose, and necessity. Then Green Book II is similar to a military Code of Conduct as it talks about code of conduct during capture (interrogation and how to avoid being broken, humiliation, psychological torture, etc.).
This is for someone looking for the origins of the IRA and its history up until the early 1990s.
Something I found interesting was the author's reproduction of their issued Green Books I and II. Green book I is a breakdown of their (the IRA's) military doctrine, their purpose, and necessity. Then Green Book II is similar to a military Code of Conduct as it talks about code of conduct during capture (interrogation and how to avoid being broken, humiliation, psychological torture, etc.).
This is for someone looking for the origins of the IRA and its history up until the early 1990s.
February 9, 2018
I found myself living in Toledo, Ohio during the early 1980s. One of the things I read daily was “The Toledo Blade”, the only major newspaper in town. A furious debate was raging between readers of the paper and sometimes, the Blade’s editorial staff. It was about the Irish, and specifically Clan na Gael, an organization headquartered in Toledo that supported the reunification of Ireland, and that raised funds for humanitarian aid to the people of Northern Ireland.
The Blade’s editor suggested the CNG was sending more than bandages, medicine and food to Belfast. The Blade suggested that guns were going there too, an accusation hotly denied by the group’s spokesmen.
And since I seldom met a controversy that didn’t interest me, my voice was soon raised also, on the side of CNG. My husband and I had no money at all, but somehow we managed to buy a ton of their literature, and were spellbound during the hunger strikes. We went to hear Bernadette Devlin speak at University of Toledo, and I won a wheelbarrow full of whiskey in a Clan na Gael raffle. And while I only remained in the Midwest for a few more years, my interest in the Irish Struggle followed me home to the Pacific Northwest when I left.
I found this tome on the Irish Republican Army during one of my annual pilgrimages to Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon. The book is a meal, over 800 pages of dense, small print. Coogan was present during the years of the bombings and the hunger strikes, and his scholarly devotion has ferreted out an immense store of information on the things that occurred before he was born. His treatment of the organization is less sympathetic than I had imagined, but it’s enormously readable and full of memorable vignettes, some of them funny, some of them painful, and some a strange combination of the two.
If you think you want this book, you’re going to have to search for it. For those that aren’t ready to dive into all 800+ pages, there is a clearly labeled section on the period mentioned above, which is most likely the period readers want to know about. It’s also a fine addition to a home library. I’m certainly keeping my copy. For those fond of Google as the fount of all knowledge, it’s also worth noting that these events unspooled prior to the satellite era. I’m not saying you can’t find any information online, but it won’t be as useful—and probably not as accurate—as what’s in this book. Highly recommended to those seriously interested in the subject.
The Blade’s editor suggested the CNG was sending more than bandages, medicine and food to Belfast. The Blade suggested that guns were going there too, an accusation hotly denied by the group’s spokesmen.
And since I seldom met a controversy that didn’t interest me, my voice was soon raised also, on the side of CNG. My husband and I had no money at all, but somehow we managed to buy a ton of their literature, and were spellbound during the hunger strikes. We went to hear Bernadette Devlin speak at University of Toledo, and I won a wheelbarrow full of whiskey in a Clan na Gael raffle. And while I only remained in the Midwest for a few more years, my interest in the Irish Struggle followed me home to the Pacific Northwest when I left.
I found this tome on the Irish Republican Army during one of my annual pilgrimages to Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon. The book is a meal, over 800 pages of dense, small print. Coogan was present during the years of the bombings and the hunger strikes, and his scholarly devotion has ferreted out an immense store of information on the things that occurred before he was born. His treatment of the organization is less sympathetic than I had imagined, but it’s enormously readable and full of memorable vignettes, some of them funny, some of them painful, and some a strange combination of the two.
If you think you want this book, you’re going to have to search for it. For those that aren’t ready to dive into all 800+ pages, there is a clearly labeled section on the period mentioned above, which is most likely the period readers want to know about. It’s also a fine addition to a home library. I’m certainly keeping my copy. For those fond of Google as the fount of all knowledge, it’s also worth noting that these events unspooled prior to the satellite era. I’m not saying you can’t find any information online, but it won’t be as useful—and probably not as accurate—as what’s in this book. Highly recommended to those seriously interested in the subject.
July 12, 2020
Three things got me interested in this book. One, my recollection of the events which are now history but at one time were a major part of the newscasts of my youth: bombings, shootings and hunger strikes in Ireland. Two, my interest in revolutionary movements - what leads to their success and what leads to their failure. Three, what links are there from this book to our contemporary times - are there lessons to be learned in general? Some context may be helpful to readers unfamiliar with these events.
At the risk of oversimplifying, let’s say it all started, “In the early 1600s [when] England confiscated all the lands in what are now the six northern counties in Ireland and opened them for settlement by mainly Protestant Scots.The ensuing centuries of rebellion and massacre, when Protestant fought Catholic, were as much an effort by the native Catholic landowners to win back their land from the usurping English and Scots as they were religious wars, but they imparted to Irisih affairs an all-pervasive tint of religion.” (p 4) This continued for centuries and in 1801 Ireland became part of the United Kingdom through the “Acts of Union”. After World War I a war of secession was fought by Ireland and the island was divided with the six northern counties with Protestant population forming Northern Ireland, which to this day is part of the United Kingdom.
The Irish Republican Army was a name originally given to volunteers formed to defend “Home Rule” - a split from England. These volunteers were made up of members of two organizations, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Sinn Fein. (p. 18) Each had their roots in Irish nationalism with a general goal of a unified nation of Ireland which included the six Ulster counties that were under the control of a Protestant hegemony. The original Irish Republican Army constitution was written in 1923, (p 32-33) about two years after the end of the Anglo-Irish war. Over the decades the IRA underwent many splits,leadership changes, reorganizations, alliances with other like-minded groups and eventually became an organized force whose asserted goal was the unification of all the counties of Ireland under a single Irish government. As I was reading, splits within the Republican movement happened with such regularity that once a new organization appeared in the struggle, waiting for the inevitable split was like waiting for the high-wire walker to take her next step. (Chapter 13 is even named Splits in the Ranks).
Even though I liked this book, some words of caution for any prospective reader. Details, lots and lots of details. Oftentimes it was difficult to see the prairie for the grass. The major sweeps of the history got bogged down in details and the circling back to explain the lives of some of the individuals. Keeping track of who was doing what required a lot of effort. At times it felt like each person alive in Ireland today might be able to get a glimpse of distant and recent ancestors' lives. Here the author benefited and was simultaneously handicapped by knowing so much about his subject. If you are a student of the history of Northern Ireland, this is the book for you. Inasmuch as Ireland and Northern Ireland are historically one nation, much of the history of Ireland since about 1800 is contained in this book too.
One’s perspective affects the way one looks at any situation. I can imagine an Englishman who feels no sympathy for members of the IRA; considering them to be nothing but terrorists who killed innocent people. I can also imagine a member of the IRA who felt like one interviewee, “‘I genuinely wish,’ he said, ‘that there were other ways of dealing with repression, but I believe it is the only way. Therefore I do what has to be done and don’t think about it thereafter. I take no pleasure whatever in it as some people would like to suggest.’” (410). I am not like either of these hypothetical individuals so I tried to look at Mr.Coogan’s book dispassionately - because frankly there was a lot of killing on both sides of the political divide.
I vividly remember the images of the IRA prisoners on hunger strike. I am sure at the time I did not understand at all what the hunger strikes were about, except for a vague notion of a dispute between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. This book reminded of the hunger strikes and for the first time I became truly aware of what motivated them. Moreover, I was more profoundly moved by the determination needed to literally starve oneself to death for a cause. Of the ten hunger strikers I remembered clearly Bobby Sands’ name. Why did they do this? What could motivate them with such fanatic zeal? It was not Catholicism. It was a belief in “The moral position of the Irish Republican Army, its right to engage in warfare, is based on: (a) the right to resist foreign aggression’ (b) the right to revolt against tyranny and oppression.” (p. 420) As such, the hunger strike was raised in order to, essentially, establish the rights of IRA members to be treated as political prisoners (known as Special Category Status). The United Kingdom would not budge and ten men went to their deaths. It may seem tedious, and while a Google search would provide as much information I am going to share these mens’ names and demands because I want to memorialize them before turning to the issue of revolution.
The five demands: the right to wear their own clothes, the right not to do prison work, free association with fellow prisoners, full 50% remission of their sentences and normal visits, parcels, education and recreational facilities. The ten hunger strikers were:
Bobby Sands
Francis Hughes
Raymond McCreish
Patsy O’Hara
Joe McDonnell
Martin Hurson
Kevin Lynch
Kieran Doherty
Tom McElrea
Mickie Devine
These men represented each of the 6 counties of the North and each was an outstanding figure within the Republican movement. Their deaths brought further international attention to the problems of Northern Ireland. (pp. 373-9)
Insurrection, rebellion, revolt, terrorism - these are words that are bandied about with relative ease in our times but always the idea of revolution is a disruptive one. For some the disruption seems essential to overthrow oppression; for others it is an immoral means of dissension against an established order. What were some of the things that happened in Northern Ireland and is there a common thread with other revolutions in history? Early in the book Mr. Coogan explained, “Religion is just a means of keeping the working class divided: ‘The [Orange] Order became such a force in northern life that its included in job, politics and religion is commonly held to be all-pervasive, and at all times its intent is to divide Catholic from Protestant so that the working classes of either sect will never unite to overthrow. . . .” the privileged Protestent class in the north. (p 6) So it was not a religious war per se, but a conflict in which the Unionists (favoring the United Kingdom) were predominantly Protestant who held all the political power and exercised it to ensure Catholics were kept out of jobs, education and housing benefits. So as with other revolutions a common theme here was oppression of one group by another. The Republicans were predominantly Catholic and were engaged in what they saw as a civil rights struggle; a human rights struggle. Even the British saw it this way.
At one point the United States appeared to be leaning toward having United Nations observers come to Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom objected. “The British essentially said, ‘This is a civil rights issue, domestic to the UK. You have civil rights issues too, domestically. If international observers are admitted to the UK’s domestic affairs a precedent will have been set and you will have UN observers, possibly Russian and Chinese, in Selma . . .do you want that?”(253) As an aside, this was not the only time racism weakened the United States’ international moral authority, a problem which still exists for it today.
So in many ways this was a working class struggle which had historical roots in politics (the six counties of Northern Ireland were a political entity) and religion. The IRA came about to fight against oppression by Britain and its proxy Protestant paramilitary organizations. Of course the old “chicken and egg” argument could be raised that the Protestant paramilitary organizations came about to defend against the IRA. Mr. Coogan explains, “But the way the force [Royal Ulster Constabulary - Northern Ireland police force]] was founded and operated for years meant that Protestants regarded it as being an instrument of ‘their law’ and ‘their order’ - the means of imposing a Unionist policy which, in plain language, came down to an Irish version of apartheid. The evils of that system generated the ‘troubles’ and turned the force into a counter-insurgency weapon, with the result that, to the IRA, the police became ‘legitimate targets’. The absence of a political resolution of the conflict has kept them in the firing line.” (461) Earlier the author said, “Wherever the truth lies, the development of the UDR [Protestant paramilitary Ulster Defense Regiment], the subsequent onslaught on it and its involvement with episodes like the Miami affair and the Butchers' activities help to illustrate yet again why, to Catholics in the ghetto the term ‘law and order’ has to be defined as whose law and whose order.” (348) It reminded me of Malcolm X’s words,"Our motto is by any means necessary...I just don't believe that when people are being unjustly oppressed that they should let someone else set rules for them by which they can come out from under that oppression. . . .So we reserve the right to do anything necessary to bring a halt to this unjust condition from which our people are suffering in that country - anything - any means..."
This revolutionary language was consistent in the lives of IRA recruits in the 1980s. The IRA was guided by what was called “The Green Book”. A couple of excerpts will stand to illustrate the position of the IRA at that time:
“The recruit learns from Day One that,’The Irish Republican Army, as the legal representatives of the Irish people, are morally justified in carrying out a campaign of resistance against foreign occupation forces and domestic collaborators.’ (418) Furthermore, “IRA recruits were taught that the organization, ‘stands with our Celtic brothers and the other subject nations of Europe, and with the neutral and non-aligned peoples of the Third World' it seeks a third, socialist alternative which transcends both Western individualistic capitalism ad Eastern state capitalism, which is in accordance with our best revolutionary traditions as a people.” (419)
In the same vein, the IRA also stated its intention, “The IRA promises a democratic and socialist state, ‘A government system which will give every individual the opportunity to partake in the decisions which affect him or her: by decentralizing political power to the smallest social unit practicable where we would all have the opportunity to wield political power both individually and collectively in the interests of ourselves and the nation as a whole. Socially and Economically we will enact a policy aimed at eradicating the Social Imperialism of today, by returning the ownership of the wealth of Ireland to the people of Ireland through a system of cooperativism, worker ownership an, and control of industry, Agriculture and Fisheries.’”(421)
Lofty goals indeed. This book was published before the final peace in Northern Ireland was hammered out. We can easily determine that a unified Ireland never did come about and a lot of people died for something that never occurred. Northern Ireland is still a part of the United Kingdom. So in that respect there never was a “democratic and socialist state”. Why that failed to come about is not definitively answered in the pages of this book. It seems that people finally got tired of all the violence and killing and made a compromise. Of course we could go outside of the context of this book to find out - if you want to know how the story has apparently moved on. Some resolution of what the author referred to as the “Irish apartheid” must have come about so that conditions for armed struggle no longer existed. Even though I was hoping to find out why the revolution failed the answer did not come from this book. I am reminded of Maurice Bishop and the New Jewel Movement of Grenada. I know the forces that were arrayed against the Grenadian socialist and democratic movement - so I suspect a little investigation would bear witness to some similar counter force in the case of Northern Ireland and the IRA. I do see links between the ideas propounded by the IRA and other revolutions and I wonder if those ideas are not due for a rekindling around the world.
I am always digging through books and finding other books I want to read and this book was no different. In an interview of a victim of British military torture Mr. Coogan refers to a book that I would like to read one day: “How did you manage to get through it all, I asked him? ‘I kept thinking of “The Last Words,” and I thought of what those men went through and I said to myself, sure what am I getting - nothing! So I stuck it out.” (“The Last Words” is a book about the last words and writings of the executed 1916 leaders. It is doubtful if any political science course includes it on its reading list, but such works have more relevance to the making of a revolutionary than the learned tomes that are written about them afterwards)” (336) I will be trying to get my hands on that book but I think it may be lost in the deep well of the past.
What then of laws, of nations who wish to claim a moral high ground, who point at countries like Cuba and accuse them of excesses and political prisoners and other manner of alleged abuses? Much like the moral vacuum that existed during the Jim Crow era and how the United States hypocrisy was exposed by the civil rights movement - the United Kingdom does not have much of a leg to stand on. I leave this final example to illustrate that true wisdom would be living up to purported values rather than saying one thing and doing another.
“Subsequently, at cabinet level in Mrs. Thatcher’s government, a judicial murder was decided upon. On March 2, 1988, an SAS ‘hit squad’ was flown to Gibraltar with instructions to kill the IRA party. . .On March 6, the unarmed IRA unit carried out yet another reconnaissance mission into Gibraltar. They were shadowed to the border by Spanish security who were in radio contact with their British opposite numbers. As in Loughhall, they drove not into an arrest, but an ambush. They were shot dead on the streets of Gibraltar.”(440) They were unarmed, they could have been arrested, they were killed instead. Sound familiar?
Tiocfaidh ár lá
Our day will come
At the risk of oversimplifying, let’s say it all started, “In the early 1600s [when] England confiscated all the lands in what are now the six northern counties in Ireland and opened them for settlement by mainly Protestant Scots.The ensuing centuries of rebellion and massacre, when Protestant fought Catholic, were as much an effort by the native Catholic landowners to win back their land from the usurping English and Scots as they were religious wars, but they imparted to Irisih affairs an all-pervasive tint of religion.” (p 4) This continued for centuries and in 1801 Ireland became part of the United Kingdom through the “Acts of Union”. After World War I a war of secession was fought by Ireland and the island was divided with the six northern counties with Protestant population forming Northern Ireland, which to this day is part of the United Kingdom.
The Irish Republican Army was a name originally given to volunteers formed to defend “Home Rule” - a split from England. These volunteers were made up of members of two organizations, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Sinn Fein. (p. 18) Each had their roots in Irish nationalism with a general goal of a unified nation of Ireland which included the six Ulster counties that were under the control of a Protestant hegemony. The original Irish Republican Army constitution was written in 1923, (p 32-33) about two years after the end of the Anglo-Irish war. Over the decades the IRA underwent many splits,leadership changes, reorganizations, alliances with other like-minded groups and eventually became an organized force whose asserted goal was the unification of all the counties of Ireland under a single Irish government. As I was reading, splits within the Republican movement happened with such regularity that once a new organization appeared in the struggle, waiting for the inevitable split was like waiting for the high-wire walker to take her next step. (Chapter 13 is even named Splits in the Ranks).
Even though I liked this book, some words of caution for any prospective reader. Details, lots and lots of details. Oftentimes it was difficult to see the prairie for the grass. The major sweeps of the history got bogged down in details and the circling back to explain the lives of some of the individuals. Keeping track of who was doing what required a lot of effort. At times it felt like each person alive in Ireland today might be able to get a glimpse of distant and recent ancestors' lives. Here the author benefited and was simultaneously handicapped by knowing so much about his subject. If you are a student of the history of Northern Ireland, this is the book for you. Inasmuch as Ireland and Northern Ireland are historically one nation, much of the history of Ireland since about 1800 is contained in this book too.
One’s perspective affects the way one looks at any situation. I can imagine an Englishman who feels no sympathy for members of the IRA; considering them to be nothing but terrorists who killed innocent people. I can also imagine a member of the IRA who felt like one interviewee, “‘I genuinely wish,’ he said, ‘that there were other ways of dealing with repression, but I believe it is the only way. Therefore I do what has to be done and don’t think about it thereafter. I take no pleasure whatever in it as some people would like to suggest.’” (410). I am not like either of these hypothetical individuals so I tried to look at Mr.Coogan’s book dispassionately - because frankly there was a lot of killing on both sides of the political divide.
I vividly remember the images of the IRA prisoners on hunger strike. I am sure at the time I did not understand at all what the hunger strikes were about, except for a vague notion of a dispute between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. This book reminded of the hunger strikes and for the first time I became truly aware of what motivated them. Moreover, I was more profoundly moved by the determination needed to literally starve oneself to death for a cause. Of the ten hunger strikers I remembered clearly Bobby Sands’ name. Why did they do this? What could motivate them with such fanatic zeal? It was not Catholicism. It was a belief in “The moral position of the Irish Republican Army, its right to engage in warfare, is based on: (a) the right to resist foreign aggression’ (b) the right to revolt against tyranny and oppression.” (p. 420) As such, the hunger strike was raised in order to, essentially, establish the rights of IRA members to be treated as political prisoners (known as Special Category Status). The United Kingdom would not budge and ten men went to their deaths. It may seem tedious, and while a Google search would provide as much information I am going to share these mens’ names and demands because I want to memorialize them before turning to the issue of revolution.
The five demands: the right to wear their own clothes, the right not to do prison work, free association with fellow prisoners, full 50% remission of their sentences and normal visits, parcels, education and recreational facilities. The ten hunger strikers were:
Bobby Sands
Francis Hughes
Raymond McCreish
Patsy O’Hara
Joe McDonnell
Martin Hurson
Kevin Lynch
Kieran Doherty
Tom McElrea
Mickie Devine
These men represented each of the 6 counties of the North and each was an outstanding figure within the Republican movement. Their deaths brought further international attention to the problems of Northern Ireland. (pp. 373-9)
Insurrection, rebellion, revolt, terrorism - these are words that are bandied about with relative ease in our times but always the idea of revolution is a disruptive one. For some the disruption seems essential to overthrow oppression; for others it is an immoral means of dissension against an established order. What were some of the things that happened in Northern Ireland and is there a common thread with other revolutions in history? Early in the book Mr. Coogan explained, “Religion is just a means of keeping the working class divided: ‘The [Orange] Order became such a force in northern life that its included in job, politics and religion is commonly held to be all-pervasive, and at all times its intent is to divide Catholic from Protestant so that the working classes of either sect will never unite to overthrow. . . .” the privileged Protestent class in the north. (p 6) So it was not a religious war per se, but a conflict in which the Unionists (favoring the United Kingdom) were predominantly Protestant who held all the political power and exercised it to ensure Catholics were kept out of jobs, education and housing benefits. So as with other revolutions a common theme here was oppression of one group by another. The Republicans were predominantly Catholic and were engaged in what they saw as a civil rights struggle; a human rights struggle. Even the British saw it this way.
At one point the United States appeared to be leaning toward having United Nations observers come to Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom objected. “The British essentially said, ‘This is a civil rights issue, domestic to the UK. You have civil rights issues too, domestically. If international observers are admitted to the UK’s domestic affairs a precedent will have been set and you will have UN observers, possibly Russian and Chinese, in Selma . . .do you want that?”(253) As an aside, this was not the only time racism weakened the United States’ international moral authority, a problem which still exists for it today.
So in many ways this was a working class struggle which had historical roots in politics (the six counties of Northern Ireland were a political entity) and religion. The IRA came about to fight against oppression by Britain and its proxy Protestant paramilitary organizations. Of course the old “chicken and egg” argument could be raised that the Protestant paramilitary organizations came about to defend against the IRA. Mr. Coogan explains, “But the way the force [Royal Ulster Constabulary - Northern Ireland police force]] was founded and operated for years meant that Protestants regarded it as being an instrument of ‘their law’ and ‘their order’ - the means of imposing a Unionist policy which, in plain language, came down to an Irish version of apartheid. The evils of that system generated the ‘troubles’ and turned the force into a counter-insurgency weapon, with the result that, to the IRA, the police became ‘legitimate targets’. The absence of a political resolution of the conflict has kept them in the firing line.” (461) Earlier the author said, “Wherever the truth lies, the development of the UDR [Protestant paramilitary Ulster Defense Regiment], the subsequent onslaught on it and its involvement with episodes like the Miami affair and the Butchers' activities help to illustrate yet again why, to Catholics in the ghetto the term ‘law and order’ has to be defined as whose law and whose order.” (348) It reminded me of Malcolm X’s words,"Our motto is by any means necessary...I just don't believe that when people are being unjustly oppressed that they should let someone else set rules for them by which they can come out from under that oppression. . . .So we reserve the right to do anything necessary to bring a halt to this unjust condition from which our people are suffering in that country - anything - any means..."
This revolutionary language was consistent in the lives of IRA recruits in the 1980s. The IRA was guided by what was called “The Green Book”. A couple of excerpts will stand to illustrate the position of the IRA at that time:
“The recruit learns from Day One that,’The Irish Republican Army, as the legal representatives of the Irish people, are morally justified in carrying out a campaign of resistance against foreign occupation forces and domestic collaborators.’ (418) Furthermore, “IRA recruits were taught that the organization, ‘stands with our Celtic brothers and the other subject nations of Europe, and with the neutral and non-aligned peoples of the Third World' it seeks a third, socialist alternative which transcends both Western individualistic capitalism ad Eastern state capitalism, which is in accordance with our best revolutionary traditions as a people.” (419)
In the same vein, the IRA also stated its intention, “The IRA promises a democratic and socialist state, ‘A government system which will give every individual the opportunity to partake in the decisions which affect him or her: by decentralizing political power to the smallest social unit practicable where we would all have the opportunity to wield political power both individually and collectively in the interests of ourselves and the nation as a whole. Socially and Economically we will enact a policy aimed at eradicating the Social Imperialism of today, by returning the ownership of the wealth of Ireland to the people of Ireland through a system of cooperativism, worker ownership an, and control of industry, Agriculture and Fisheries.’”(421)
Lofty goals indeed. This book was published before the final peace in Northern Ireland was hammered out. We can easily determine that a unified Ireland never did come about and a lot of people died for something that never occurred. Northern Ireland is still a part of the United Kingdom. So in that respect there never was a “democratic and socialist state”. Why that failed to come about is not definitively answered in the pages of this book. It seems that people finally got tired of all the violence and killing and made a compromise. Of course we could go outside of the context of this book to find out - if you want to know how the story has apparently moved on. Some resolution of what the author referred to as the “Irish apartheid” must have come about so that conditions for armed struggle no longer existed. Even though I was hoping to find out why the revolution failed the answer did not come from this book. I am reminded of Maurice Bishop and the New Jewel Movement of Grenada. I know the forces that were arrayed against the Grenadian socialist and democratic movement - so I suspect a little investigation would bear witness to some similar counter force in the case of Northern Ireland and the IRA. I do see links between the ideas propounded by the IRA and other revolutions and I wonder if those ideas are not due for a rekindling around the world.
I am always digging through books and finding other books I want to read and this book was no different. In an interview of a victim of British military torture Mr. Coogan refers to a book that I would like to read one day: “How did you manage to get through it all, I asked him? ‘I kept thinking of “The Last Words,” and I thought of what those men went through and I said to myself, sure what am I getting - nothing! So I stuck it out.” (“The Last Words” is a book about the last words and writings of the executed 1916 leaders. It is doubtful if any political science course includes it on its reading list, but such works have more relevance to the making of a revolutionary than the learned tomes that are written about them afterwards)” (336) I will be trying to get my hands on that book but I think it may be lost in the deep well of the past.
What then of laws, of nations who wish to claim a moral high ground, who point at countries like Cuba and accuse them of excesses and political prisoners and other manner of alleged abuses? Much like the moral vacuum that existed during the Jim Crow era and how the United States hypocrisy was exposed by the civil rights movement - the United Kingdom does not have much of a leg to stand on. I leave this final example to illustrate that true wisdom would be living up to purported values rather than saying one thing and doing another.
“Subsequently, at cabinet level in Mrs. Thatcher’s government, a judicial murder was decided upon. On March 2, 1988, an SAS ‘hit squad’ was flown to Gibraltar with instructions to kill the IRA party. . .On March 6, the unarmed IRA unit carried out yet another reconnaissance mission into Gibraltar. They were shadowed to the border by Spanish security who were in radio contact with their British opposite numbers. As in Loughhall, they drove not into an arrest, but an ambush. They were shot dead on the streets of Gibraltar.”(440) They were unarmed, they could have been arrested, they were killed instead. Sound familiar?
Tiocfaidh ár lá
Our day will come
February 24, 2008
See my review of Coogan's book Michael collins. Coogan proves to be even a clumsier writer here than in his other book. But once agin, the sublect matter, the IRA, makes it worthwhile to read.
Today Ireland is gorged with prosperity and the EEC makes one wonder what all the fight was about. In any event the Irish catholics in Ulster will win the issue of unification in the bedroom as the Prods become a minority over time even in the area that they gerrymandered to continue Protestant ascendency.
Today Ireland is gorged with prosperity and the EEC makes one wonder what all the fight was about. In any event the Irish catholics in Ulster will win the issue of unification in the bedroom as the Prods become a minority over time even in the area that they gerrymandered to continue Protestant ascendency.
April 13, 2007
i would call this an exhaustive study of the history of the IRA. seemed like it took a whole year to read. i wanted to learn more about this century long struggle and now i know about every god damn bombing or botched attack that ever happened. ask me something about the IRA. anything.
June 26, 2023
Fuck me I never want to read a book that long again. Coogan is amazing though. Comprehensive and witty. Great book.
December 11, 2017
This is a fundamental book to anyone trying to understand the Irish fight for freedom and in general the Irish history in the 20th century. With the eye of a journalist and the mind of a historian, Coogan manages not only to explain the several phases of the Irish Republican Army history, but also to enter their motives, strategies and mindset.
The book was originally published in 1969, at a moment when the civil rights campaign seemed to take over from the physical force, and the IRA seemed to be close to its last moments. However, by the time the book hit the bookstores, the repression against the civil rights movement started a whole new life for the organization, entering its most active phase since the Civil War. Therefore, further editions evolved from a history book to a work of investigative journalism.
Don't expect impartiality, however. On part 1, Coogan makes clear from the beginning he is against any form of violence, taking a critical view of the group's actions. It changes dramatically from part 2, published in 1977, on: now the journalist cannot pretend he doesn't understand the upsurge of violence, and though keeping a careful approach that still favours peace, he turns his outlook completely in benefit of the the fighters he is chronicling.
This "real-time history", so to say, is one of the strengths of the book, but also one of its weaknesses. Coogan often assumes the reader is familiar with events, places and dates that were on the news shortly before each new release. Thirty or fourty years later, those events may have faded from most memories and say nothing to someone who not only isn't Irish (or British), but who wasn't even born at the time, like me. In that sense, The IRA didn't age so well. On the other hand, Coogan has the ability of turning even the most intrincated concepts into something accessible - he can explain in a single phrase a concept I was struggling for two years to reach.
The book, from the 1977 edition, comes to a conclusion: the only definitive way of ending all kinds of trouble in Ireland is eliminating once and for all the British presence in the island. Ending partition is the only thorough solution. Fourty years later, and in Brexit times, that conclusion is still relevant, and highlights the book's importance.
The book was originally published in 1969, at a moment when the civil rights campaign seemed to take over from the physical force, and the IRA seemed to be close to its last moments. However, by the time the book hit the bookstores, the repression against the civil rights movement started a whole new life for the organization, entering its most active phase since the Civil War. Therefore, further editions evolved from a history book to a work of investigative journalism.
Don't expect impartiality, however. On part 1, Coogan makes clear from the beginning he is against any form of violence, taking a critical view of the group's actions. It changes dramatically from part 2, published in 1977, on: now the journalist cannot pretend he doesn't understand the upsurge of violence, and though keeping a careful approach that still favours peace, he turns his outlook completely in benefit of the the fighters he is chronicling.
This "real-time history", so to say, is one of the strengths of the book, but also one of its weaknesses. Coogan often assumes the reader is familiar with events, places and dates that were on the news shortly before each new release. Thirty or fourty years later, those events may have faded from most memories and say nothing to someone who not only isn't Irish (or British), but who wasn't even born at the time, like me. In that sense, The IRA didn't age so well. On the other hand, Coogan has the ability of turning even the most intrincated concepts into something accessible - he can explain in a single phrase a concept I was struggling for two years to reach.
The book, from the 1977 edition, comes to a conclusion: the only definitive way of ending all kinds of trouble in Ireland is eliminating once and for all the British presence in the island. Ending partition is the only thorough solution. Fourty years later, and in Brexit times, that conclusion is still relevant, and highlights the book's importance.
July 21, 2021
A book that has a divided opinion, whether that's bias or not or whether they have something against the author or not is probably up for debate. However, having read many books on Irish History and the IRA, I can safely say that this is the most comprehensive on the subject. The author, draws upon his own incredible repertoire of contacts and sources, something that others authors who have written on this subject don't have. That, combined with his own research and access to government (UK & Irish) files, make this "The book to read" on this subject. The time range covers the history of the IRA from inception in the War of Independence up to the Good Friday Agreement.
I cannot understand why this book gets so many negative reviews, but judging by the location of some the nay-sayers on here, a lot seem to be USA based Irish republicans, whom I've founded to have a slanted view on Irish history and the troubles and seem to think that the IRA should be shrouded in glory. The IRA and the history of the IRA is one born out of blood, whether through necessity or blood lust, the primary victims of the troubles were in the most part ordinary civilians.
I cannot understand why this book gets so many negative reviews, but judging by the location of some the nay-sayers on here, a lot seem to be USA based Irish republicans, whom I've founded to have a slanted view on Irish history and the troubles and seem to think that the IRA should be shrouded in glory. The IRA and the history of the IRA is one born out of blood, whether through necessity or blood lust, the primary victims of the troubles were in the most part ordinary civilians.
August 17, 2025
I've read this book four times already.
Whilst Art Spiegelman is neither an instrument, nor a man, nor is he art, and therefore, he's a liar and a useless piece of shit... I can't say the same about Tim Pat Coogan.
This is a thick book. It is divided into four sections: Ireland before independence and therefore, the origins of the Irish independence movement which led to the eventual establishment of the Irish Republican Army; the post-independence era IRA where it was adapting to their situation in both the Republic and the "Occupied Territories" which is far more nuanced because it emphasizes the core issues that eventually formed in Northern Ireland resulting in the 1969 Bloody Sunday incident; the era of the Provisional IRA, "The Troubles", and it provides an overview of that entire era. The Hunger Strikes, Bobby Sanders, The London Bombing, the Brighton Hotel Bombing, all the major deaths which occurred at both British and Irish ends, a substantial documentation analysis of how recruitment worked and how their overall "cell" structure was adapted; it concludes with early 2000, by providing an insight about how the 1998 "Blessed Sunday" agreement came about, the overall changes which happened as a result of that agreement, and the schisms within the IRA itself, including the decommissioning of the Provisional IRA.
However, think of this as more of an overview text rather than the chapter and verse portrayal of the IRA. You have to read it in the context of the remainder corpus of works Tim Pat Coogan has written. This includes
On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest
Eamon de Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland
1916: The Easter Rising
Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora
MICHAEL COLLINS: The Man Who Made Ireland
The Irish Civil War
It is a very nuanced topic and you need to have the background and the backdrop in mind when you are considering the actual circumstances which had led to the eventual creation, and slow diminishing influence, of the 'RA.
It also becomes important because without this knowledge, this book is only focused on the actual Irish Republican Army, including their interviews, their documentation, the reports from both British and Irish perspectives. It is fair in that regard, and does not shirt away from emphasizing stupidity from both fronts - the evolution of Ireland and how the Irish actually became better at managing their country, especially when contrasting with the Northern Ireland area.
This is an important book to go through, if you want to just get the views of the IRA. However, as books go, this is a good stepping stone towards appreciating Ireland, even the evolution of the Irish character and how it went about impacting the area.
Whilst Art Spiegelman is neither an instrument, nor a man, nor is he art, and therefore, he's a liar and a useless piece of shit... I can't say the same about Tim Pat Coogan.
This is a thick book. It is divided into four sections: Ireland before independence and therefore, the origins of the Irish independence movement which led to the eventual establishment of the Irish Republican Army; the post-independence era IRA where it was adapting to their situation in both the Republic and the "Occupied Territories" which is far more nuanced because it emphasizes the core issues that eventually formed in Northern Ireland resulting in the 1969 Bloody Sunday incident; the era of the Provisional IRA, "The Troubles", and it provides an overview of that entire era. The Hunger Strikes, Bobby Sanders, The London Bombing, the Brighton Hotel Bombing, all the major deaths which occurred at both British and Irish ends, a substantial documentation analysis of how recruitment worked and how their overall "cell" structure was adapted; it concludes with early 2000, by providing an insight about how the 1998 "Blessed Sunday" agreement came about, the overall changes which happened as a result of that agreement, and the schisms within the IRA itself, including the decommissioning of the Provisional IRA.
However, think of this as more of an overview text rather than the chapter and verse portrayal of the IRA. You have to read it in the context of the remainder corpus of works Tim Pat Coogan has written. This includes
On the Blanket: The Inside Story of the IRA Prisoners' "Dirty" Protest
Eamon de Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland
1916: The Easter Rising
Wherever Green is Worn: The Story of the Irish Diaspora
MICHAEL COLLINS: The Man Who Made Ireland
The Irish Civil War
It is a very nuanced topic and you need to have the background and the backdrop in mind when you are considering the actual circumstances which had led to the eventual creation, and slow diminishing influence, of the 'RA.
It also becomes important because without this knowledge, this book is only focused on the actual Irish Republican Army, including their interviews, their documentation, the reports from both British and Irish perspectives. It is fair in that regard, and does not shirt away from emphasizing stupidity from both fronts - the evolution of Ireland and how the Irish actually became better at managing their country, especially when contrasting with the Northern Ireland area.
This is an important book to go through, if you want to just get the views of the IRA. However, as books go, this is a good stepping stone towards appreciating Ireland, even the evolution of the Irish character and how it went about impacting the area.
March 25, 2021
Tim Pat Coogan is a liar.
While some may think that's an overly-sentimental approach to historiography, that he was limited by the socio-political circumstances of the young Irish Republic, or that he has simply explored a singular narrative.... I'd venture to say even in the 'revised' version' he displays the tendencies of a bold-faced liar with absolutely no sense of academic integrity.
Not only does he fail to cite a massive amount of the 'key' pieces of information his emotionally charged arguments are based on, he went as far as to fabricate entirely false information to support an inaccurate narrative that fed into traditionalist loyalties to republican historiographies. Any amount of time spent reading the Bureau of Military History witness statements referred to by Coogan will demonstrate his gross manipulation of those accounts, if he can even summon the energy to cite them at all.
To cut a long story short, Coogan argues that the IRA were formed from the Irish Volunteers in reaction to the failures of constitutionalism headed by John Redmond. Wrong. The Irish Volunteers were seized from the hands of its cross-party leadership by the separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood who committed it to an entirely different set of objectives than what it was set up to fulfill. This was not the natural manifestation of the nationalist Ireland, this was the actions of a select group of oath-bound secret society men who employed select narratives to garner public support.
I understand why this is necessary. The ROI was a young nation when it was written, and every group of people with a fledgling sense of self needs national myths to bind them together. Still, if you want an account of these events that explores and challenges preordained narratives in the pursuit of accurately representing a highly divisive and multi faceted chapter of history, you'd gain more valuable insight from staring at a brick wall.
While some may think that's an overly-sentimental approach to historiography, that he was limited by the socio-political circumstances of the young Irish Republic, or that he has simply explored a singular narrative.... I'd venture to say even in the 'revised' version' he displays the tendencies of a bold-faced liar with absolutely no sense of academic integrity.
Not only does he fail to cite a massive amount of the 'key' pieces of information his emotionally charged arguments are based on, he went as far as to fabricate entirely false information to support an inaccurate narrative that fed into traditionalist loyalties to republican historiographies. Any amount of time spent reading the Bureau of Military History witness statements referred to by Coogan will demonstrate his gross manipulation of those accounts, if he can even summon the energy to cite them at all.
To cut a long story short, Coogan argues that the IRA were formed from the Irish Volunteers in reaction to the failures of constitutionalism headed by John Redmond. Wrong. The Irish Volunteers were seized from the hands of its cross-party leadership by the separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood who committed it to an entirely different set of objectives than what it was set up to fulfill. This was not the natural manifestation of the nationalist Ireland, this was the actions of a select group of oath-bound secret society men who employed select narratives to garner public support.
I understand why this is necessary. The ROI was a young nation when it was written, and every group of people with a fledgling sense of self needs national myths to bind them together. Still, if you want an account of these events that explores and challenges preordained narratives in the pursuit of accurately representing a highly divisive and multi faceted chapter of history, you'd gain more valuable insight from staring at a brick wall.
September 11, 2024
Pg. 355 "The IRA tradition is one of physical action and separatism. It is not an intellectual one, which is why I have carefully refrained in the book from discussing events or personalities which some historians might feel were influential in the Republican story: the constitution of 1937 or the declaration of a Republic in Ireland in 1948, for examples on the political side, or the writings of Sean O'Faolain or of Brendan Behan on the literary one. These are not important to Republicans of the 'physical force' school. Deaths, commemorations, holding firm with the past - these are and will be the preoccupations that nourish the IRA."
Pg. 172. "The IRA exists as a tradition rather than as a cohesive movement."
Pg. 42 "I found in my interviewing that it was always safer to ascribe IRA strength or influence to a particular leader, or to a local tradition, than to the formal organizational title held by a member of the organization... Whatever work was done in any given district depended on one good man."
A phenomenal book, which I was originally skeptical of. The author does a phenomenal job describing culture, grassroots movements, and the reality of history. Most history books focus on dates, weaving a picture of order, imparting a belief that with hindsight all events were predictable. Tim Pat Coogan does the best job of writing about individuals and what they felt and were doing at each event, discarding the future's orderliness and false certainties of historians. I had to change how I "read" the book, as too many names were mentioned to keep straight. Once you understand the names are important, but not needing to be remembered, you can more easily digest the book.
Pg. 172. "The IRA exists as a tradition rather than as a cohesive movement."
Pg. 42 "I found in my interviewing that it was always safer to ascribe IRA strength or influence to a particular leader, or to a local tradition, than to the formal organizational title held by a member of the organization... Whatever work was done in any given district depended on one good man."
A phenomenal book, which I was originally skeptical of. The author does a phenomenal job describing culture, grassroots movements, and the reality of history. Most history books focus on dates, weaving a picture of order, imparting a belief that with hindsight all events were predictable. Tim Pat Coogan does the best job of writing about individuals and what they felt and were doing at each event, discarding the future's orderliness and false certainties of historians. I had to change how I "read" the book, as too many names were mentioned to keep straight. Once you understand the names are important, but not needing to be remembered, you can more easily digest the book.
April 7, 2018
I...did not like this book, which was disappointing since the history of the IRA and Irish history is of interest to me and a professor had said this was one of the best books to read about the IRA. However, the book was so full of minutiae that it was hard to see the big picture. Despite this being the first edition made available to American audiences, Coogan does not explain certain elements of British and Irish politics/politicians and historical events that Americans might not be familiar with, and assumes that readers know what he is talking about when he references certain people or things. I also found the writing to be not great, the sentences were long and rambling (and often confusing) and the incessant typos were distracting.
I did find some of the chapter topics incredibly interesting and I wish he had spent more time on them, such as the IRA's connection with the Nazis during World War II and the Hunger Strikes of the 80s/Bobby Sands. I would love to read a better written book about this topic.
I did find some of the chapter topics incredibly interesting and I wish he had spent more time on them, such as the IRA's connection with the Nazis during World War II and the Hunger Strikes of the 80s/Bobby Sands. I would love to read a better written book about this topic.
June 7, 2024
I genuinely don’t even know how long this took me to read. Has it been six months? Longer? This book could have used a better editor as spelling mistakes and typos abound, along with quite a lot of repetition and jumping around chronologically, the latter of which I found particularly poorly done. There is also an absurd number of exclamation points, oddly. All of this in a book that was in its fourth edition in 1994, having first been published in 1969.
Suffice it to say the detail is incredible and the story fascinating but the way it is written is not totally to my taste. I do feel very well informed on who built what bombs and brought them where to do what, which is really something. And as others have said, the first half is a more comprehensive read than the second, more dramatic (and perhaps romantic?) half of the story.
As this is the first book on the subject that I have read, I will withhold my judgement regarding its place amongst other books on Irish history for the time being.
Suffice it to say the detail is incredible and the story fascinating but the way it is written is not totally to my taste. I do feel very well informed on who built what bombs and brought them where to do what, which is really something. And as others have said, the first half is a more comprehensive read than the second, more dramatic (and perhaps romantic?) half of the story.
As this is the first book on the subject that I have read, I will withhold my judgement regarding its place amongst other books on Irish history for the time being.
Want to read
December 8, 2017Can anyone recommend a good book about the contemporary history of the Irish-English conflict? Reading about Brexit makes me realize I don’t know much about that at all. ~ Dave Ritchie
Best book I've read is Tim Pat Coogan's The IRA. Just finished this, which is excellent though not that accessible if you're not a giant nerd like me, but the author is a sociologist from Belfast whose research revolves around The Troubles and so I'd bet some of his other work is more so. ~ Sarah Jaffe
Otherwise, though not a book, I would recommend Sarah Jaffe's three pieces on the centenary of the Rising, and contemporary Irish nationalism. Links below:
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/unexecu...
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/irish-e...
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/austeri...
Best book I've read is Tim Pat Coogan's The IRA. Just finished this, which is excellent though not that accessible if you're not a giant nerd like me, but the author is a sociologist from Belfast whose research revolves around The Troubles and so I'd bet some of his other work is more so. ~ Sarah Jaffe
Otherwise, though not a book, I would recommend Sarah Jaffe's three pieces on the centenary of the Rising, and contemporary Irish nationalism. Links below:
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/unexecu...
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/irish-e...
* https://thebaffler.com/latest/austeri...
June 22, 2018
My review here is about the early 1990s edition published by Rhinehart before the Good Friday Agreement and Omagh Bombing. Firstly, the text is incredibly small and hard to read. Secondly, the book itself needs a context, I believe. If you've read say, Coogan's "The Troubles" first, you'll then be able to better understand this one. As a reader with a sufficient understanding of Irish history, even some of this text's players, dates, and legislative references went over my head. I'm going to read Coogan's "The Troubles" and come back to "The IRA." I hope my rating will change.
April 19, 2019
I didn't know much about the history of Ireland and I was a little lost with the names of politicians or of activists, of treaties or of groups I had never heard of. There's a little list of names at the end, which certainly helps but still I had to do some research. I knew of the IRA only from the various movies I saw, which are mostly set in the 1970's, when the IRA got stronger again. I had no idea that people had lost interest and faith in them in the 1960's and that it was about to dissolve.
August 13, 2023
If you're interested in the provos era of the IRA maybe not the best place to start. I read the third edition which includes two additional parts after the initial publication covering "the troubles" era and they are ok, but not as comprehensive as part one. Part one is excellent, extremely thorough, balanced, and well researched work which offers some great insights. Not the book to start with if you want a linear blow-by-blow accounting of IRA activity, and I'm glad this wasn't the first thing I read on contemporary Irish history.
October 11, 2020
Incredible undertaking to document such a long tumultuous history and this book would be a must for anyone studying the IRA although, for me, there was so much detail that I had trouble following along and retaining information.
April 19, 2022
Incredibly engorging read that details the integrity and determination of the Irish people. The feelings in this book resonant even in the current year (04/18/2022), and Coogan's prose is easy to read.
October 10, 2022
A fascinating look at the extended history of this organization. The writing is quite dense in places and it is certainly not the easiest book. However for every dense section there is another that is engaging and interesting.
October 31, 2024
Per Coogan it is chock full of facts, names, dates and particulars you would expect from a journalist turned historian. I can't think of another popular historian whose books contain this volume of information. If only we could absorb it all.
February 6, 2018
Martin McGuinness was in the RA!??
June 7, 2018
A must read for those interested in Irish history.
September 21, 2018
Very detailed, great source on the subject.
July 7, 2020
Worthwhile to read to gain a great understanding of the era, and the political climate surrounding Ireland.
November 10, 2021
The writing style was….tough. I struggled to read more than 5 pages in a sitting. Super informative though.
August 21, 2022
a dense historical explanation of The Troubles
July 17, 2025
the GOAT
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