The I.R.A. and Its Enemies

What is it like to be in the IRA - or at their mercy? This study explores the lives and deaths of the enemies and victims of the County Cork IRA between 1916 and 1923 - one of the most powerful and deadly branches of the IRA during one of the most turbulent periods in 20th-century Ireland.;These years saw the breakdown of the British legal system and police authority, the rise of republican violence, and the escalation of the conflict into a full-scale guerilla war, leading to a wave of riots, ambushes, lootings, and reprisal killings, with civilians forming the majority of victims in this unacknowledged civil war.;Religion may have provided the starting point for the conflict, but class prejudice, patriotism, and personal grudges all fuelled the development and continuation of widespread violence.

Using a range of sources - many of them only recently made public - Peter Hart explores the motivation behind such activity. His conclusions not only reveal a hidden episode of Ireland's troubled past but provide valuable insights into the operation of similar terrorist groups today.;This book is intended for scholars and students of Irish history and politics, especially those interested in the I.R.A.

Military historians and social scientists interested in revolutionary and terrorist activities, especially guerilla warfare.