Product Description

The story of Tom Barry's life, peppered by his battles with the State and Church, and his constant endeavours to obtain an All Ireland Republic makes him a unique and important figure of Irish history. In 1949 when he addressed huge crowds in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston, his voice rang out - 'My one aim is to unite the Irish people - one race...The Border will not fade away, or the Partition will not be ended until such time as the united strength is used in a supreme effort to get rid of it.' It details his involvement on the fringes of the Treaty negotiations; his Republican activities during the Civil War; his engagement in the cease-fire/dump-arms deal of 1923; his term as the IRA's Chief-of-Staff and his participation in IRA conflicts in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s right up to his death in 1980.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #442880 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

About the Author
Meda Ryan is a native of Bandon in West Cork and now lives in Ennis, Co. Clare. Her new biography of Tom Barry throws light on this important and controversial figure in Irish history. Her published books include Michael Collins and the Women in his Life, The Day Michael Collins was Shot, and The Real Chief - the Story of Liam Lynch.

Customer Reviews

An essential antidote to flawed history
The great strength of this book is its criticism of the analysis and reporting of Peter Hart, who made controversial claims with regard to (a) the Kilmichael ambush of November 28 1920, and (b) the killing of loyalists in violation of a Truce amnesty in April 1922. Ryan's command of source material, and her access to Tom Barry's papers, suggested that Hart had made many claims that could not stand up to scrutiny. Ryan tends to be very careful in her approach, and does not conclude without evidence. A lesson for academic historians and for students of Irish history. A good companion volume, which examines how sophisticated British propaganda then continues to affect history writing, is Brian P Murphy's 'The Origin and Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland in 1920'.

Intentionally One Sided
I enjoyed this read. His unpolished writing style complemented the book. Barry was a republican, a soldier, a leader and a killer. This is his story, how he saw it and felt about it when the book was first written - in the 1950's if I recall. it starts with his transformation from British soldier to Irish republican after 1916. Inclusion of expressions of self doubt after loosing men in combat I though brought a humanity to the story. Overly fair treatment of captured British soldiers reflects the naiveté and idealism that existed in the day. Equally his hatred for a particular regiment because of their brutality, tells the reader the behaviour was unacceptable to someone that had been their peer. It also exposes the inhuman side of conflict. I appreciated the brief inclusion of his experience during the civil was because its not particularly accurately reflected in Irish history books (at least it wasn't - I cannot speak for the current books).

Jaundiced portrait of a flawed man
The book is well written but one cant help but feel that the authors own republican sympathies prejudice her writing and prevent her from penning a real critical account of Barry.

Barrys fame emanates from an ambush conducted on open ground when over a dozen Britiish servicemen were killed some in questionable circumstances. No prisoners were taken and there is still a whiff of controversey which Ryan never explains about the treatment of prisoners.

There is no explanation either of why he sought to conduct an ambush on open ground, risking his men against much superior well armed, highly trained forces.

The rest of the Barry life consisted in seeking a 32 county republic while he gamely ignored the plight of his people who were condemened to migration in order to have a decent way of life.

Barry could never reconcile himself to the one million unionists in Northern Ireland and seemed dazzled by 32 county republic. That said he was a brave man and Ryan does cast some new light on his earlier life but in some respects Barry remains a mystery, the former British soldier who joined the other side to kill his former comrades.

His story could be seen as a metaphor for Irelands, the former British soldier now a republican stalwart whose life always harked back to his deeds at the Kilmichael ambush but whose own account of the battle is far from clear.