The Aftermath of Revolution: Sligo 1921-23 [Paperback]

Michael Farry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

A fascinating study of the effects of the Irish Civil War in Sligo, a relatively quiet county, during the War of Independence, which proved to be one of the most troublesome areas for the Free State Army in the Civil War. For a long time, the west of Ireland had been largely overlooked in studies of the war. Farry discusses the social and economic effects of the war: the build-up to conflict, the progress and geography of the war, the disruption to the daily lives of citizens, education, transportation, law and order, also there is a chapter on how the Protestant community was affected. This is a highly successful marriage of political, social, and economic history. ""Solid and illuminating""--American Historical Review. ""Well-organized, clearly written, exhaustively researched and scrupulously documented.""--Irish Literary Supplement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a readable, informative and even entertaining study, a model of its kind." Richard Roche Irish Times Sept 2000 "A thorough-going and highly professional study of the civil war period in a part of the country not often spoken of in this context... The bibliography is impressive, and includes many interviews with survivors." Books Ireland Sept 2000 "a superb book that combines conventional political and military history with social history to provide a deep and enlightening analysis of a community at war with itself. Farry's book is a model both for local histories of national events and for histories of that notoriously difficult subject, guerrilla warfare." Amazon.co.uk Dec 2000 "The author's research uncovers the effects of the civil war on the social and economic life of the community and untangles the local politics as well as dealing with the military aspects. This is a thorough and careful study which undoubtedly expands our understanding of this period." Irish Democrat April/May 2001 "In reconstructing the period through a varied range of local and national archives, Michael Farry has produced a very comprehensive analysis. Those readers already familiar with the period will immediately recognise that Sligo serves as a microcosm of events at national level. This book should serve as a template for future local studies of the period." History Ireland Spring 2001 "Another handsome production by UCD Press this, whose artfully blurred cover cloaks a model of scholarly clarity and detail within. Michael Farry's new book is a substantial and timely intervention in a rapidly maturing set of debates on the Irish Revolution." Irish Studies Review 9 (3) 2001

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Univ College Dublin Pr (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1900621398
• ISBN-13: 978-1900621397
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb History of a Community at War with Itself, December 14, 2000

By 

David Leeson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aftermath of Revolution: Sligo 1921-23 (Hardcover)

With _The Aftermath of Revolution: Sligo 1921-23_, Michael Farry has provided us with a detailed social history of the Irish Civil War in Sligo, a county in north-western Connacht on Ireland's Atlantic coast. What makes this little-known county such an interesting subject is the contrast between its records in the War of Independence and the Civil War: like Mayo and Wexford, Sligo showed little fight during the struggle against the British from 1919-21, but fought bitterly against the Free State from 1922 to 1923; in fact, the resistance of the Anti-Treaty IRA was never overcome by the Free State Army. Farry explains the first part of this contradiction in his Introduction, which briefly describes the War of Independence in Sligo. According to Farry, the growth of the IRA in Sligo was retarded by the county's conservatism and parliamentarism: the people of Sligo were unusually attached to the old Irish Parliamentary Party and were reluctant to embrace Republicanism and revolution. As a result, the Sligo Brigade was slower than others to organize, gather arms and ammunition, and attack the RIC and the Army.

Despite its poor record in the War of Independence, the Sligo IRA emerged as the dominant organization in the County after the Truce of 11 July 1921. Ch. 1 of _The Aftermath of Revolution_ describes the five and a half months between the truce and the peace treaty of late December. "During this period," Farry concludes, "the IRA took charge in County Sligo, brooking no opposition, especially from mere politicians, and basked in the glory of a war won." (p. 35) This long afterglow was ended by the bitter dispute over the Treaty, which gave up the six counties of Northern Ireland and created an Irish Free State rather than the Republic that many IRA men had fought for. Chs. 2 and 3 describe how Sligo, along with the rest of Southern Ireland, drifted toward Civil War in the first half of 1922, as many Republicans refused to accept either the Treaty or the central authority that it created. Finally, after the Free State forces attacked Republican positions in the center of Dublin in July 1922, the Civil War began. In Ch. 4, Farry argues that the Republican "Irregulars" were as confused and ineffective in County Sligo as they were elsewhere. Instead of taking the offensive against the Free State army, they adopted a strategy of passive defense, and when the Free State forces attacked the IRA abandoned its positions and returned to a more familiar style of guerrilla warfare. What had worked against the British in an island united, however, did not work against their fellow countrymen in an island divided. Though the Free State never succeeded in defeating the Sligo Irregulars, it was clear long before the IRA's unilateral cease-fire of 24 May 1922 that the Republican cause in Sligo, as elsewhere, was lost.

Farry follows this narrative with two chapters on the 'structure' of the Civil War. Interestingly, in Ch. 5 he shows that while the IRA dominated inaccessible areas like the Ox Mountains, most of the fighting took place "in the areas of better land where towns with government posts were situated." (p. 114) The reason for this was simple but interesting: the Free State army had "fixed positions that were susceptible to attack" (p. 104), while the Republican Irregulars did not; when the Free State army swept through their remote and mountainous base areas, the IRA simply avoided fighting. Farry also concludes, surprisingly, that recruits for both sides came from every part of the county, but the biggest surprise in his book comes in Ch. 6, "Sligo County Participants." Most historians have agreed that the split over the Treaty reflected social class divisions as well as political and constitutional differences: the Treaty, they argue, was supported by the more prosperous and opposed by the less prosperous. Farry, however, examines the occupations, land valuations, and house valuations of the participants and concludes that "the Civil War division in County Sligo was not based on social standing or relative wealth." (p. 129)

Farry follows these revelations with three chapters on the impact of the Civil War in Sligo. In Ch. 7, he describes how "the disruption in communications together with the general lawlessness led to a major decline in the social and sporting life in the county," (p. 156) while the conflict made a bad economic situation even worse. Similarly, in Ch. 8 Farry shows how the decline in law and order that marked the War of Independence continued and worsened during the Truce, Treaty, and Civil War periods. "Agrarian unrest, intimidation of Protestants, robbery, petty crime and hooliganism became widespread," (p. 176), and after the outbreak of the Civil War wide areas of the county were reduced to anarchy. As the preceding quote suggests, Sligo's Protestants were especially vulnerable in such a situation, and though Farry finds no evidence of "a concerted anti-Protestant campaign" (p. 201) he does show in Ch. 9 that the fear and insecurity of the Civil War accelerated the decline of the county's small Protestant community. In each of these chapters, Michael Farry shows the strengths of the "war and society" approach to military history, by looking behind the movements and clashes of military units to show us a county torn apart by violence.

Michael Farry's _The Aftermath of Revolution: Sligo 1921-23_ is a superb book that combines conventional political and military history with social history to provide a deep and enlightening analysis of a community at war with itself. Farry's book is a model both for local histories of national events and for histories of that notoriously difficult subject, guerrilla warfare. By concentrating on a small area-one county in northwest Ireland-Farry's book illuminates some very large themes: his case study of insurgency and counterinsurgency is more instructive than any number of more general works on the same subjects. His writing is clear and readable and his use of evidence is both imaginative and judicious. Besides its value as a contribution to Irish history, his book is an important addition to the social history of war and the literature of low-intensity conflict and guerrilla warfare. Though intended for an academic audience, Farry's book should appeal to anyone with an interest in the subject matter, and I recommend it highly.