The Ira: A History [Paperback]

Tim Pat Coogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

When people think of the centuries-old struggle for home rule in Northern Ireland, they generally think of the Irish Republican Army. Now comess an exhaustive history of one of the most feared and misunderstood paramilitary groups of all time--by an authority on Irish affairs. 32 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Coogan's authoritative study of the Irish Republican Army has been revised in light of the past year's events.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 554 pages
• Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Pub; 1ST edition (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879373998
• ISBN-13: 978-1879373990
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best IRA history book available, September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ira: A History (Paperback)

this book is truly the standard reference on the IRA and thier history, it shows how the provisional IRA has changed from simple revolutionaries to highly trained ruthless terrorists who commited many attrocities while also fighting for catholic rights and ultimately realizing that they could not be beaten, but also could not win through violence alone. shows the political savy of sinn fein and the only semi-succesfull attempt by protestent paramilitaries to counter the ruthlessness of the IRA and INLA. tim pat coogen is one of the best authors on the subject of northern ireland. easily surpassess the somewhat biased and not very accurate account of the last twenty five years of the conflict by Bowyer Bell in his revised book IRA the secret army

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Far from perfect but pretty darn good, June 24, 2003

By 

Sara (OK, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ira: A History (Paperback)

In typical form, Tim Pat Coogan can be labeled nothing if not thorough. Undoubtedly a 500 page book cannot cover each important event or key figure in the IRA's fascinating, tumultuous history, but I believe Coogan makes a true effort to write a piece worth reading. He divides the text into four basic parts: Beginnings to 1969, 1969-79, 1979-86, and 1986-94. There are also appendices, references, maps, b/w photos, and a useful glossary. In my opinion, Coogan balances his personal feelings about the IRA with a decent sense of journalistic objectivism. Having said that, however, I would affirm what other reviewers have noted regarding Coogan's clear support for (or, at the very least, distant admiration of) the IRA. If you are seeking a selection from a more critical ideological position, look elsewhere. I will also agree that the text itself is in need of serious editing. It seems that there are grammatical errors on every other page and though I hate to nitpick, those errors do detract from the overall credibility of the book. Nevertheless, if you are doing any type of academic research on the IRA, I would strongly suggest this title. Beware: it does presume a fair amount of knowledge from the start so choose it after you have already gained the basics of Irish/Northern Irish history.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy, now..., March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ira: A History (Paperback)

I disagree with the universal 5-star rating this book receives by other reviewers. Yes, this is definitely the "standard reference work on the topic," and it's a terrific book which is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon. But that may be simply because truly serious attempts haven't been mounted yet and don't seem likely to come soon, because Coogan has flooded the field. Coogan grinds his share of axes in the book (an anti-Conor Cruise O'Brien axe, for instance...which I personally agree with, but is axe-grinding nonetheless), and can be somewhat pompous.

Also, the whole last third to half of the book seems tacked-on. It seems that Coogan, after writing the initial version of this book many years ago, has fattened it up with occasional updates without re-reading the whole text cover-to-cover, as general readers do. Thus, he repeats himself at points, and fails to develop a context in other parts.

This is a very good book that would benefit from a top-to-bottom revisitation by a good editor.