Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh [Paperback]

Toby Harnden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2000

South Armagh was described as "Bandit Country" by Merlyn Rees when he was Northern Ireland Secretary, and for nearly three decades it has been the most dangerous posting in the world for a British soldier. Toby Harnden has stripped away the myth and propaganda associated with South Armagh to produce one of the most compelling and important books of the Troubles. Drawing on secret documents and interviews in South Armagh's recent history, he tells the inside story of how the IRA came close to bringing the British state to its knees. Additionally, for the first time, the identities of the men behind the South Quay and Manchester bombings are revealed.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Toby Harnden was appointed Irish Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph in 1996, after first joining the newspaper as a reporter in London. He was one of the first journalists at the scene of the IRA's Docklands bomb and, after moving to Belfast, reported on the second IRA ceasefire, the Good Friday Agreement and the Omagh bombing as well numerous explosions, shootings, riots, marches and political crises. He grew up in Manchester and was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he took a First in Modern History in 1988. Recently appointed the Daily Telegraph's bureau chief in Washington, this is his first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340717378
• ISBN-13: 978-0340717370
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting account, relatively unbiased, April 13, 2000

By 

John Collins (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bandit Country (Paperback)

The idea of a Daily Telegraph journalist - Toby Harnden - writing an account of the IRA's campaign in South Armagh during the last 30 years of the Irish "Troubles" may not seem promising to those of an Irish Republican disposition. The Daily Telegraph is a notorious organ of the British establishment. However, after reading the book, one feels Harnden has written a dispassionate account, and even that he has come to underset the minset of those he has spoken to in the course of his research. The book essentially details the IRA's campaign of bombings, shootings and abductions and the war of attrition being fought against the British Army over the period. While essentially chronological in order, the book also deals with certain subjects on a thematic basis - the role of informers, the SAS, and so on. The role is a slightly uneven narrative. However, in total, the book provides a good starting point to those with an interest in this most recent, unresolved period of Irish history. As noted earlier, Harnden does not take the non-thinking option of dismissing the IRA as maniacal killers, but rather as protagonists in a historically situated conflict, albeit one where the methods and motivation of boths were very often less than honourable

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, but a little disorganized, July 9, 2005

By 

William Whyte (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh (Paperback)

An terrific description of the IRA's history and recent operations in South Armagh, one of the most notorious areas of Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Admirable both for its attention to technical and tactical detail -- what makes a good sniper's rifle, how do the IRA stage a sniper's attack (it takes up to 20 people), the meticulous care that went into some of their ambushes -- and for its ability not to take sides, even though the author's newspaper would clearly be associated with the British establishment. It really makes you feel what it was like to be on the ground, and gives you a great understanding of how the region's history of ungovernability relates to the events of the Troubles.

I have two criticisms, neither of them major. First, although it's a gripping read and each paragraph seems to follow from the previous one, on a chapter-by-chapter scale it's a bit disorganized. One chapter, dealing with the Kingsmill massacre and other events over the course of several years, is entitled "A long-awaited day", but never identifies which day in particular it's talking about. Second, it's all about military operations by the IRA in South Armagh and doesn't attempt to deal with the internal politics of Sinn Fein or the IRA. Given the huge temperamental and historical differences between South Armagh on the one hand and the Belfast and Derry brigades, you leave the book surprised that Tom "Slab" Murphy and Gerry Adams were ever in the same organisation, let alone that South Armagh stuck with the Adams/McGuinness leadership through the change to a political approach.

But these are quibbles. This is an excellent book, unsurpassed as a description of the war on the ground. Recommended.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last something that leaves the cities, October 19, 2001

By 

C. Forrester (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh (Paperback)

OK, so the main battles that resulted in political breakthroughs were in the cities, but nonetheless, the county of South Armagh played an important role in the Northern Ireland Conflict. Reading books about the city operations in Belfast and Derry tends to get the reader more involved in the politics of the conflict than the actual day-to-day operations that the British Army and the IRA were involved in. By looking at this particular county, we can see how its fierce republicanism has helped to shape the conflict as a whole. This was where many of the British troops in Northern Ireland were killed and it became one of the most dangerous places to serve in in the British Army. This book gives a balanced view from all sides and even includes views from the SAS and undercover RUC units. A must read!