Defying the IRA? Intimidation, Coercion and Communities during the Irish Revolution, by Brian Hughes

Examining the grass-roots dynamics of the Irish Revolution emphasises the difficulty of defining revolutionary activity in neat or binary terms. Only a small minority operated at either end of a scale of allegiance or compliance while the majority are to be found in a massive and fluid middle-ground. The IRA surely relied on the support of the general population in conducting its guerrilla campaign (whether that support came actively or passively, willingly or unwillingly) but if taken too generally the idea of widespread civilian assistance becomes an oversimplification, missing many of the complexities and nuances inherent in individual and communal behaviour. Civilian behaviour was regularly motivated by concerns over personal safety or economic survival and could also be influenced by greed, jealousy, or rivalry. Minority groups were not necessarily targeted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) specifically as a result of identity markers like religion, politics, or social standing but these remained important identifiers, variously competing with or complementing other local and national factors.

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The Liverpool-Irish and the Irish Revolution

Irish, Catholic and Scouse ◽

10.5949/upo9781846313363.013 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 263-296

Author(s):

John Belchem

Keyword(s):

Irish Revolution

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Introduction

The Legacy of the Irish Parliamentary Party in Independent Ireland, 1922-1949 ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9781789620306.003.0001 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Martin O'Donoghue

Keyword(s):

Political Culture ◽

Public Memory ◽

Party Politics ◽

Free State ◽

Primary Sources ◽

Irish Revolution

The introduction sets out the book’s main arguments—assessing the Irish Party’s rise and fall, the Irish revolution and how members and supporters experienced it, and finally how its leaders and supporters have been remembered. Key findings such as the number of former Irish Party figures who emerged in the Free State and the percentage of them which joined Fine Gael are outlined along with reference to the major features of commemoration. The evolution of writing on the party is also analysed and common perceptions of the party and its leaders are identified alongside themes prevalent later in the book. In so doing, the introduction clearly situates the book within the historiography as well as pointing to the contributions it can make to knowledge in the areas of party politics, Irish political culture; Treatyite history; public memory and commemoration in the Irish state. Finally, the introduction establishes the range of primary sources used and the nature of each as well as the methodologies employed in the book and a brief outline of each chapter.

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