Tyrone: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23

In Ireland, during the period of 1912-1923, County Tyrone was at the center of the conflict between nationalism and unionism, the evolution of partition, and the emergence of two Irish states. The fate of Tyrone shaped that of Ireland itself. In this book, author Fergal McCluskey has produced the first comprehensive and meticulously researched study of County Tyrone during the Irish Revolution. The book offers fresh perspectives on how Tyrone men and women engaged in a range of unionist, nationalist, republican, and trade union activities. Intent on resisting home rule, the county's sizable unionist minority, led by the local aristocracy and backed by the Orange Order, mustered 4,000 members of the UVF. The forced acceptance of partition in 1914 shattered nationalist confidence and apparent unanimity. This occasioned a dramatic reorientation of nationalism in Tyrone as Sinn Fein eclipsed the Irish Parliamentary Party. The nature of the two-year conflict between IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary, a force based firmly on the UVF, is carefully analyzed. The book charts the prominence of Tyrone during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations and examines Michael Collins' incongruous attempts to achieve a middle ground between the treaty and the republic through the abortive joint-IRA northern campaign of 1922. By this time, Tyrone's position under a northern administration had solidified. The book concludes that the British government's stance on Tyrone confirmed its role as an imperial power determined to bolster unionism and thwart the republican demand. Richly detailed, this ground-breaking study represents essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Irish revolution. *** McCluskey's examination of Tyrone's political culture is illuminative of broader British and Irish political ideologies." - Irish Literary Supplement, Vol. 35, No. 1, Fall 2015 (Series: The Irish Revolution, 1912-23) [Subject: History, Irish Studies]