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The Yank: The True Story of a Former US Marine in the Irish Republican Army
1975: A young Irish-American man joins an elite US Marine unit to get the most intensive military training possible — then joins the Irish Republican Army, during the days of some of the bloodiest fighting ever in the Irish-British conflict . . .
The Irish "Troubles" were at a murderous fever pitch when John Crawley volunteered for the IRA. Bloody Friday, Bloody Sunday, the bombing of the British Houses of Parliament, and other deadly incidents had recently unfolded or were about to ... Civilian casualties were common as British soldiers, Republican militants (who wanted the UK out of Northern Ireland) and Unionist police and militants (who wanted to remain in the UK), engaged in gun battles and car bombing throughout Northern Ireland. The death toll numbered over 1,000.
The IRA split over how to react between the old-line IRA, and the new Provisional IRA — the Provos, mostly impassioned young men who were not hesitant to resort to violence.
In a powerful, brutally honest, no-holds-barred recounting of his experience, John Crawley details, first, the grueling challenges of his Marine Corps training, then how he put his hard-earned munitions and demolitions skills to use back in Ireland in service of the Provos. It is a story that will see him running guns with notorious American mobster — and secret IRA fundraiser — Whitey Bulger; running, under cover of night, from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside, one step ahead of British troops; being captured, imprisoned, and being part of a mass escape attempt; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA; and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's electrical system.
Along the way, Crawley is blisteringly candid about the memorable people he worked with, including behind-the-scenes portrayals of revered IRA leader Martin McGuinness, and of the psychopathic Whitey Bulger, as well as others in the Boston IRA support network. There are vivid portraits of colleagues and enemies, and Crawley is unflinching in his commentary on IRA leadership and their tactics, both military and political.
Through it all comes the steadfast voice of a man on a mission, providing an evocative, detailed, and passionate recounting of where that mission led him and why — as well as why, to this day, he remains ready to serve.
The Irish "Troubles" were at a murderous fever pitch when John Crawley volunteered for the IRA. Bloody Friday, Bloody Sunday, the bombing of the British Houses of Parliament, and other deadly incidents had recently unfolded or were about to ... Civilian casualties were common as British soldiers, Republican militants (who wanted the UK out of Northern Ireland) and Unionist police and militants (who wanted to remain in the UK), engaged in gun battles and car bombing throughout Northern Ireland. The death toll numbered over 1,000.
The IRA split over how to react between the old-line IRA, and the new Provisional IRA — the Provos, mostly impassioned young men who were not hesitant to resort to violence.
In a powerful, brutally honest, no-holds-barred recounting of his experience, John Crawley details, first, the grueling challenges of his Marine Corps training, then how he put his hard-earned munitions and demolitions skills to use back in Ireland in service of the Provos. It is a story that will see him running guns with notorious American mobster — and secret IRA fundraiser — Whitey Bulger; running, under cover of night, from safe house to safe house in the Irish countryside, one step ahead of British troops; being captured, imprisoned, and being part of a mass escape attempt; fending off a recruitment offer from the CIA; and being one of the masterminds behind a campaign to take out London's electrical system.
Along the way, Crawley is blisteringly candid about the memorable people he worked with, including behind-the-scenes portrayals of revered IRA leader Martin McGuinness, and of the psychopathic Whitey Bulger, as well as others in the Boston IRA support network. There are vivid portraits of colleagues and enemies, and Crawley is unflinching in his commentary on IRA leadership and their tactics, both military and political.
Through it all comes the steadfast voice of a man on a mission, providing an evocative, detailed, and passionate recounting of where that mission led him and why — as well as why, to this day, he remains ready to serve.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2022
19 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 31, 2024
I can't say this came as an entirely 'pleasant' surprise, but I found this memoir a cut above the many which, especially a generation ago, related derring-do tales from British squaddies, double-agents, spies, and loyalist, nationalist, republican, and peace-seeking activists. Plus prisoners, politicians, paramilitaries, and pundits. I've finished a lot from such a stack, but John Crawley, by his formative years going back and forth with his family between NYC and Ireland, took advantage of his dual-status. Vowing to fight for the freedom of his partitioned homeland, he first pragmatically trained in special forces in the shadowy sections of the U.S. Marines.
However, he found out once he served Uncle Sam and gained his training under rigorous, planned, and professional circumstances, that the IRA he next volunteered for lacked proper knowledge of weapons, tactics, missions, and discipline. And this is quite the understatement. John tries to do what he can, but as his American attitude clashes with certain leaders who resent his expertise at the cost of their own egotism and sheer ignorance of how to conduct a successful guerrilla campaign using quality ammunition, trustworthy arms, and truly prepared combatants, the scales are tipped against his Yank know-how. But he manages to work his way into Whitey Bolger's sinister circle, as he smuggles arms back.
Not only his own career as an operative, but his decade in prison, his troubled relationship with an appealing woman, his determination to return to the Cause after he's done his time enrich this storyline. Particularly noteworthy is his political science degree earned behind bars. For this gives the intellectual grounding for his analyses of the reasons why the movement failed to obtain what he argues were obtainable objectives.
Much must remain unspoken, and more hinted at, in such an exposé. But let's admit that early on in his enlistment, John's unease about certain higher-level figures in the IRA ranks was prescient. The telling of this experience can feel jumbled, hesitant, or awkward at times, but generally the book proceeds roughly in line with how the IRA fared from the Eighties to the supposed decommissioning of weapons caches by 1998.
However, he found out once he served Uncle Sam and gained his training under rigorous, planned, and professional circumstances, that the IRA he next volunteered for lacked proper knowledge of weapons, tactics, missions, and discipline. And this is quite the understatement. John tries to do what he can, but as his American attitude clashes with certain leaders who resent his expertise at the cost of their own egotism and sheer ignorance of how to conduct a successful guerrilla campaign using quality ammunition, trustworthy arms, and truly prepared combatants, the scales are tipped against his Yank know-how. But he manages to work his way into Whitey Bolger's sinister circle, as he smuggles arms back.
Not only his own career as an operative, but his decade in prison, his troubled relationship with an appealing woman, his determination to return to the Cause after he's done his time enrich this storyline. Particularly noteworthy is his political science degree earned behind bars. For this gives the intellectual grounding for his analyses of the reasons why the movement failed to obtain what he argues were obtainable objectives.
Much must remain unspoken, and more hinted at, in such an exposé. But let's admit that early on in his enlistment, John's unease about certain higher-level figures in the IRA ranks was prescient. The telling of this experience can feel jumbled, hesitant, or awkward at times, but generally the book proceeds roughly in line with how the IRA fared from the Eighties to the supposed decommissioning of weapons caches by 1998.
September 13, 2022
John Crawley is an extremely intelligent man. At eighteen, he was informed that he had the highest score on a language aptitude test taken by 19,000 Marine recruits. John credited his French and Latin instructors at his Irish schools. He qualified for Jump, Scuba, and Ranger certification at the Recon school of the Marines. The training described is beyond brutal, both physically and mentally. John left the Corps after four years as a sergeant. He was born in New York but moved to Chicago with his Irish immigrant parents. At fourteen, John and his family moved back to Ireland. Neither his mother or his father encouraged him to join the IRA. He describes his mom as a Fox News watching conservative who was unhappy with his radicalism. While working as a laborer, John made connections and became an IRA volunteer between 1980-1984. His first encounter with the Brits is heart stopping. He later ran arms from America. Whitey Bulger was quite helpful in raising both cash and arms but John did not trust him. The list of weapons is impressive. An Atlantic Ocean journey reminded me of A Perfect Storm. The difference being that this crew survived. Informers are rampant, the worst being IRA members who betray their brethren. Crawley's prison experience was long and difficult, but he used his cell time to read as much history and philosophy as possible. The Good Friday Agreement remains controversial, as Britain has retained control over the six Northern Counties of Ireland. The author is a vehement opponent of the deal. John Crawley is a passionate writer and great storyteller and The Yank is a very good read.
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October 27, 2025Pretty good if you're up on your republican stuff.
October 19, 2022
John Crawley is an interesting character and his story offers both a unique take on and a riveting account of some key moments in the most recent phase of conflict in Ireland. However he is somewhat an unreliable narrator. His claims that the IRA were disorganised, poorly trained and ad-hoc to the point of recklessness simply do not stand up to any historical scrutiny. Crawley is either Naive or has a severely overblown opionion of his talents, his training in the USMC and his proposed tactics for the IRA. He is also politically naive in the extreme, like many veterans of the armed struggle who feel that a republic not achieved at the point of a gun is a somehow lesser Republic. To expect the unionist and loyalist population of the six counties to simply dissappear, or get the boat back to britain in the eventuallity of the establishment of a 32 county Republic or indeed the possibility that any such Republic could be established by solely military means without the political phase we are now in, is folly at best and sectarian bitterness at worse. Crawley I'm sorry to say seems to be afraid that the political leadership of the Republican movement might actually achieve the Republic he and the rest of the Anti GFA veterns want to continue to fight for. That said the book is an enjoyable read and I have absolutely no doubt that John Crawley was a brave and dedicated volunteer for whoms service and sacrifices I am extremely grateful and respectful of. It would be nice if he could be equally as respectful to those to whom the torch as now passed
September 22, 2022
John Crawley is quite a guy.
His life reads like a fictionalized version of one man's life.
United States Marine Corps member, chef, IRA soldier, gun runner, friend to IRA bigwigs and famous gangsters, and so much more.
This book is definitely interesting and worth a read. Anyone who is interested in IRA history should definitely pick up a copy of this book.
4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.
His life reads like a fictionalized version of one man's life.
United States Marine Corps member, chef, IRA soldier, gun runner, friend to IRA bigwigs and famous gangsters, and so much more.
This book is definitely interesting and worth a read. Anyone who is interested in IRA history should definitely pick up a copy of this book.
4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.
November 22, 2022
interesting
Passionate warrior fighting for what he believes in and not fearful of the consequences. He is very bright and articulate. This book can be a “hard read” for some, but, it does have historical value.
Passionate warrior fighting for what he believes in and not fearful of the consequences. He is very bright and articulate. This book can be a “hard read” for some, but, it does have historical value.
December 20, 2024
Such an interesting perspective of the fight throughout the Troubles, especially after visiting Northern Ireland. A true insider perspective from a volunteer and someone looking to fight for the Republic. Very interesting!
February 6, 2025
A thrilling read, breakneck pace. Really enjoyable. Not sure how reliable a narrator he is, as clearly and early he aligns himself with the anti gfa person's in the story. A nice addition to any IRA book collection
October 25, 2022
This was a really good account of one man's life in the IRA. It was very well written, too and had a nice pace to it.
I'd thoroughly recommend it
I'd thoroughly recommend it
November 24, 2022
3.5 / 5 Stars
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews