T. Ryle DwyerRecensioni

This book proves the saying "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter".
Squad formed by Michael Collins during the Irish War of independence was formed with sole purpose in mind - execute British intelligence and police personnel in order to sow terror and scare the British authorities and most importantly (or most frighteningly - depends on how much you think that means justify the end) push British government into spiral of blood and huge civilian casualties all resulting in increase of popular support for IRA.

Did the British make wrong moves - absolutely and they made not one but numerous errors. Inclusion of paramilitary forces that went tit-for-tat against the IRA and Collins' Squad, indiscriminate shootouts, burning and pillaging of entire cities, atrocities against civilian population (targeted killings, kidnaps, torture and disappearances) all pushed public support not only in Ireland but in rest of the world to IRA side.

But to instigate all of the above and watch your people literary burn to achieve common goals but through your means (since Collins seems to considered others incapable) is mark of a cynic and in my opinion not a patriot. Because what makes any fight against oppression count? People, not land. For all means and purposes Collins was more a gang leader. Was he audacious? Sure. Was he loyal to his friends? Sure. Was he loyal to his people - for me this is questionable. If you are willing to sacrifice your folk knowingly to gain public support through actions that are more akin to gang-style murders against public officials and their families makes you [definitely] a scary man but very very cynical and narcissist person that sees oneself as one and only messiah while all the others are just incompetent buffoons. And even worse he never ceased with killings until he was finally relieved of command of Squad in late 1921, early 1922.

Events described in the book don't give much insight into Collins' own death but I think all parties wanted him gone. For a simple reason - man wielding this much power, running assassination squad that worshiped him and was ready to go through hell and back for him, could never find his place in peace-time and in debates with people he always considered inferior in both political views and approaches. He would be a dangerous person to keep around and most definitely his violence would surface again in such a way that new Irish republic would always be on a brink of internal strife.

And yet with all being said Collins was not different from any radical revolutionary of the period - they all ended more or less in a same way as Collins did. In the shadows, under not very clear circumstances.

Collins and his squad were product of their times, tools of war that lost their humanity while engaged in constant guerilla war against British forces, fighting a battle where everyone is a eligible target. While their actions were terrorist in the nature (no doubt about it) - very cold and intentional yanking of the chains of a huge lion [British military and police] in order to provoke disproportionate response and backlash against civilians - they did fight bravely for their country and most definitely played a huge role in wearing down British forces in a way that finally brought peace to Ireland (at least the Republican part, Northern Ireland remained troubled land for long years after).

They just could not survive move to the peace-thriving era because it would be completely unnatural for them.

Excellent book and very important for our times (together with excellent [b:In the Heart of the Whore: The Story of Apartheid's Death Squads|759233|In the Heart of the Whore The Story of Apartheid's Death Squads|Jacques Pauw|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1419864557l/759233._SX50_.jpg|745342] by [a:Jacques Pauw|401031|Jacques Pauw|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]) because it shows that constant irregular conflict and militarization of population and police apparatus can have far reaching consequences - in civilian casualties that could be averted and most importantly because basic humanity gets lost very soon in all the participants of the conflict because having it is considered as sign one is "weak" in actions against ones enemies.

I have consistently been a fan of Dwyer’s previous books and enjoyed this one also. It is typically well written, referenced and researched. Unlike some authors Dwyer has always had an open mind when writing about both Collins and de Valera and their mutual relationship. This pattern emerges again here in this book. Both individuals are analysed critically and given a fair assessment. The main reason I acquired the book was for the information about the IRA’s invasion of the North and Collins’ involvement in the various initiatives during that time. Dwyer does not spare the reader any details and shows how Collins readily played both sided of the fence with his Government colleagues, the British and the IRA. The final chapter is also very good in my opinion.

This is a book about a very complex and convoluted period in Irish history. Eamon de Valera, already a giant (and controversial) figure in the founding of the Irish Republic fights another war - with the Axis and Allied powers to keep Ireland neutral throughout WW2. Ireland, in no position to defend itself, played a perilous diplomatic game, but under the real threat of invasion by Germany, the United Kingdom, and even at one stage the United States of America. While Irish attempts to bargain with, and eventually to pressure the United States to support the integration of Northern Ireland into the republic failed, simply maintaining neutrality turned out to be de Valera's considerable achievement. One of the interesting aspects of the history is that very early in the war de Valera had entered into secret agreements with the United Kingdom to defend the republic against a German invasion. This is a good history of a fairly obscure (unless you are Irish) part of history, but it adds significantly to an appreciation that WW2 was as much a diplomatic war as a military one.

This is a well written book. Dwyer has published books in this area before and is something of an authority on relationships between the Allies and the Irish Government during World War Two. This book augments previous works of the author's with new research material he has acquired and new reference material from recently published relevant biographies. He highlights the extremely benevolent nature of Ireland's neutrality towards the Allies and the correspondingly hostile political relationship between David Grey, the US Ambassador, Churchill and Roosevelt, towards de Valera aand the Irish Government who were working together to damage Ireland in the post-War world.½

In my opinion this is a very readable and worthwhile book for anyone interested in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. As interested observers would know County Kerry saw the Civil War play out harder than anywhere else in what became the Republic of Ireland and the conventional history has been that the Anti-Treaty forces were not very active during the years 1919-21 when the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries were present to augment the British forces. Dwyer argues that this greatly overlooks the significant contribution that several commandants made during the War of Independence and that this narrative needs to considerably revised as a result. This book can be seen as a starting point.

While this book may appear a bit old now it is important to point out that it has been added to rather than surpassed by others. Dwyer's father served in the US Army during WW2 and Ireland's role during the years of The Emergency has been his main area of interest. The book is extremely well written and he has written a number of additional books on this topic in recent years. His interviews with US diplomats portray a highly different picture regarding the perception as to how Ireland's regime was seen in the US at this time compared to that portrayed by David Gray. They also portray an extremely difficult man to work with. The fact that a diplomat would put such credence into séances to influence his views is incredulous but that he had the support of FDR in doing so is all the more so.

An unbiased review of Lynch. Unlike some recent biographers of the man Dwyer pulls no punches and reviews the good and the bad points of Lynch's career. The book should be read as an accompniment to Arnold's biography of Lynch which is very biased toward Lynch.