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Irish Civil War: A History from Beginning to End

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Discover the remarkable history of the Irish Civil War... Free BONUS Inside! The Irish War of Independence which ended in July 1921 led directly to the agreement of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, an agreement that provided Ireland with a measure of independence. The Irish Free State was created, and Ireland was granted a level of autonomy it had not enjoyed for more than one hundred years. However, the treaty contained a clause which was to divide Ireland, literally and politically. The six counties in the north which formed Ulster were allowed to opt-out and to remain a part of the United Kingdom. The island of Ireland became two separate countries for the first time—The Irish Free State in the south and west and Northern Ireland in the north. This division caused bitterness among many Irish people who had fought for independence. Some even viewed the signing of the treaty and the creation of a separate Northern Ireland as a betrayal of all they had fought for. Others accepted that the treaty was not perfect but saw the creation of the Free State as an important first step on the road to complete independence for Ireland. In late June 1922, growing animosity between Pro and Anti-Treaty factions erupted into armed conflict in the center of Dublin. For the next ten months, the Irish Free State was wracked by a bitter, bloody, and brutal civil war between those who sought to protect the new government and those who wished to destroy it. This is the story of the Irish Civil War, its origins, and its consequences. Discover a plethora of topics such as The War of Independence and the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Attack on the Four Courts Civil War Breaks Out The Deaths of Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins Executions and Assassinations The End of the Civil War And much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the Irish Civil War, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2020

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Hourly History

697 books861 followers
At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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5 stars
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4 stars
169 (33%)
3 stars
94 (18%)
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20 (3%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Profile Image for Murray.
Author 149 books748 followers
October 1, 2023
broken dreams, broken unity

🔥”The Irish Civil War came close to tearing apart the newly created Irish Free State. Instead of unifying Ireland, the Anglo-Irish Treaty created divisions between Northern Ireland and the Free State and between pro and anti factions within the Free State.

“The issue was the same one which would dog Irish politics for the next one hundred years - how to reconcile the desire of many people in the south and west for independence with the wishes of people in the north to remain a part of the United Kingdom. The outcome was a compromise which created as many problems as it solved.”

A succinct and detailed overview of a war and its legacy that continues to haunt Ireland and the UK 🇮🇪🇬🇧
Profile Image for Anil Swarup.
Author 3 books721 followers
April 2, 2020
The complexities of the Irish Civil War have been brought forth in a manner that they become intelligible to those that are not fully conversant with the background of this internal strife in Ireland during the 1920s. Hourly History do it quite well. As usual.
Profile Image for Eva.
12 reviews
April 3, 2022
Yes it took me this long to read this book. I couldn’t get past some of the glaring issues, the same ones I had with the previous Irish History books.
Ulster is not synonymous with Northern Ireland and I’m disappointed that this mistake could be made over multiple books. Clearly not researched well enough.

It is still an interesting topic and a good summary, but the issues stated above have brought my rating down.
1 review
October 1, 2020
Poorly researched

Ulster is a province made up of nine counties, N Ireland is Six counties within Ulster. Ulster and N Ireland are not the same. Munster is a province not a county as described in this book. These are basic facts you can see on a map. Disappointed that a history book got this wrong.
6,233 reviews40 followers
March 4, 2020
There's been a lot in the news about Ireland in relation to Brexit and what will happen at the border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland. I decided to read a book about the Irish Civil War to get some background on how things ended up this way.

Back in 1172 the Pope of the time 'gave' Ireland to England. Such was the power of the Church at the time that it could get away with something that absurd. In 1798 there was a rebellion (which failed) and from 184 5 to 1849 there was the Great Famine where the potato crop failed and 25% of the Irish either died or left to go elsewhere.

The book then goes into the various organizations that formed to either break Ireland off from England and become totally independent and organizations that did not want that to happen. Things, of coures, went from arguing to shooting and the book covers a lot of examples of this happening. The book also explains how Northern Ireland became separate.

There was a lot of shooting and a good bit of executing people and killing people that weren't even fighting.

The book does a good job of covering all of this. I think it's important to understand that some problems that still exist can go back hundreds (if not thousands) of years and haven't yet been solved.
Profile Image for William O. Robertson.
265 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2022
Excellent overview of the reasons for the conflict between the English and Irish and of the Protestant Irish of Ulster and the Catholic Irish of Éire.

It is important to note one of the main conflicts between Éire and England was the central issue of Protestant England ruling over Catholic Ireland for several centuries and of the fact that the English appropriated Irish land for themselves during the period of English rule. For these and other reasons, Ireland gained its independence from Britain in the 1920s after a hard fought civil war that in some respect still breeds resentment on all sides.

Nevertheless, with independence, Northern Ireland (Ulster) remains under the British Crown. Differences of opinion in regard of Northern Ireland and the status of Brexit between the whole of Ireland and the European Community is on-going.
Profile Image for Jon Lisle-Summers.
59 reviews
April 13, 2021
A bloody start to Irish independence

Ireland's history is steeped in blood and the difficult birth of the nation was no exception.
This short exposition of the painful beginning of what became the Republic does a good job of making it clear why there remains so much intense emotion over the unfinished business that remains to this date.
All civil wars are complicated to explain, often consisting of small local actions rather than grand campaigns. This war was several layers of complications deep and fighting was sporadic but very nasty.
This is a good introduction to an especially complex period of Irish history.
6 reviews
April 25, 2025
Another sorry tale of what happens when true believers and fanaticism take hold of societies that really can't afford it. So much brutality, so much hatred. I don't think either side can really be proud to hold up either side of this story. As always, these things are always accompanied by criminal elements and shadowy agendas fuelling the endless rage. The Troubles of the 70s and 80s were a direct result of this time and I don't believe for a second that Gerry Adams, the IRA, the Ulster mob, weren't at least being played by higher hidden players. The UK has been at war with itself for a long time.
73 reviews
August 15, 2021
A Brief Explanation of a War Largely Forgotten

May people believe the War of Independence in Ireland and The Irish Civil War are the same conflict. This book does an excellent job describing and separating each conflict. The leaders of the Irish Free State were in an untenable situation in that they did not wish to repress and often kill
the Anti-Treaty faction but had to do so to prevent British intervention. This was an excellent history of this time in history.
Profile Image for Rafaela.
71 reviews
September 1, 2025
The more I flipped the pages, the more it escalated. When I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.

I assume this was also the sentiment shared by most of the Irish citizens. Assuming the worst is gone when greater contempt is actually waiting around the corner.

What a sad story founded on imperialist oppression! Friends and family divided over such matters! I only hope the best for Ireland.

Sometimes tha side chick ain’t even a chick it’s the gorgeous and proud nation of Ireland
Profile Image for Neil Brunton.
109 reviews1 follower
February 28, 2020
Friends v Friends

Civil war is anything but civil ,it's cruel and barbaric but most of all its sad and very emotive. This book gives the reader a decent synopsis of the Irish civil war.
As with most of hourly history books it is a great starting point if you love history but are unsure if the subject is something you would like to pursue further.
Profile Image for woodswit .
153 reviews5 followers
October 26, 2020
This needed a bit more pausing to summarize & reframe throughout; it's a complex situation with a LOT of acronyms that are easy to mix up when you're listening. Otherwise, a decent overview of the conflict, though I think it would have been more powerful to include more commentary on how this conflict set the stage for modern Ireland.
1 review
January 27, 2022
Quick and informative read

I enjoyed this book as a good introduction to a very deep subject. I had known the names of many of the historical figures involved but did not know the details of their role. The book has definitely lead me to do a deeper dive on several of the more notable figures.
Profile Image for Donald Harwick.
65 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2022
Short and Sweet

The read was fast and easy to follow although I had to retrace my steps several times in relation to personal and party names.
The grammar and editing left a bit to be desired, but I will definitely reread this so the information might “stick” better.
I very much enjoyed this and will look for more from this author, and “Hourly History “.
103 reviews1 follower
January 13, 2025
Good, succinct description of Ireland's growth to independence

Despite being of Irish heritage, I knew nothing of the Irish civil war. This book corrected that and helped place in the historical context so that its significance and even its rationale for occurring helps understand Ireland and the Irish better.
Profile Image for Nic Benson.
5 reviews
February 10, 2020
I found this book to be informative and succinct.
It took a complex subject and reduced it to an understandable narrative.
I found it particularly interesting to understand the formation processes of the 3 primary political parties as well as the 2 military wings.
56 reviews
February 11, 2020
Eye opening

Many of the things i related to the war of independence was actually the civil war and vice-versa. A visit to Belfast recently still hatred and deceit was prevalent to my outsider eyes. Please read.
13 reviews2 followers
December 13, 2020
It is a brief but concise book for the events leading up to the civil war and all the way to total independence of Southern Ireland. It gave me all i wanted to know. I enjoyed reading it and recommend reading this book.
Profile Image for Richard.
53 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2021
This is an intentionally short book covering the Irish Civil War that followed the creation of the Irish Free State. It covers the most significant aspects but doesn't delve deeply into any point or event. It is a good overview and piques the interest for further study.
1 review
July 4, 2023
Irish civil war

Nice concise summary of a confusing and conflicted time in Irish history. Easy to read with nice background that set the scene. I would recommend reading the companion book about the Irish famine.
Profile Image for James Hugie.
12 reviews
March 26, 2025
Not as comprehensive as the title suggests

It’s a super short, quick overview of the Irish Civil War. Not a bad book to get your feet wet, but it certainly is not comprehensive and there isn’t much detail.
37 reviews
April 21, 2025
Good Introduction

I have been leading about European history recently, particularly Ireland. Without any previous knowledge I found this book to be a good introduction to that period of time in Ireland's history.
Profile Image for Bev.
32 reviews5 followers
May 14, 2020
An amazing book to learn about Irish, history
Profile Image for Harold Harkin.
50 reviews
October 14, 2020
Great Book

Really enjoy reading this book about Ireland history an subject close to my heart. Looking forward other books in series.
54 reviews
May 24, 2021
An opportunity to understand

I am glad I read this short and concise history. The whole Irish fighting in the twentieth century was something I never fully understood.
1 review
February 28, 2022
Well researched and written.

Concise but covers all of the essential people and facts regarding another troubling event in the sad history of Mother Ireland.
31 reviews
April 6, 2022
Book review

Finally !! A decent book from hourly history that doesn't push a one sided view or anti American view. Decent book with accurate facts - thanks for a good read!
Profile Image for D.M. Fletcher.
Author 2 books3 followers
August 4, 2023
Civil war

This is a neat account of the Irish Civil War of a hundred years ago.
It explains much.
A worthwhile read.
7 reviews
September 7, 2023
Excellent book

A very good read, about a tragic part in Ireland's history, packed full of important information, but sadly very short.
15 reviews
March 18, 2024
Easy read

I enjoyed reading this book about the Irish civil was. It was concise and informative. I did not get lost in a lot of detail and I actually learned a few new things
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews

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