Tom Barry was born in 1898. In June 1915 he joined the British Army, not to secure home rule for Ireland or to fight for Irish freedom or for freedom of small nations - just to see what war was like. While fighting in Mesopotamia he heard of the 1916 Rising taking place at home. After the war he returned home and with some difficulty persuaded the IRA to trust him and to make use of his military experience. In the summer of 1920 he became training officer to the Third (West) Cork Brigade. Tom Barry fought on the republican side of the Civil War, was imprisoned and escaped. In the late 1930s he was Chief of Staff of the IRA. He died in 1980.
Admired by Che Guevara, feared by the British Army, loved by the
people he led.
Tom Barry, legendary Commander of the West Cork Flying Column
survived the War of Independence to tell his incredible story.
Guerilla Days in Ireland is Barry's compelling first-hand account
of the struggle for independence in County Cork, the Rebel
County.
Barry led a volunteer army in a victorious hide-and-seek campaign
of Guerilla warfare matching wits against an enemy of overwhelming
strength and power.
"Seven weeks before the truce to the Anglo-Irish War of July, 1921,
the British presence in County Cork consisted of 8,800 front line
infantry troops, 1,150 Black & Tan soldiers, 540 Auxiliaries, 2,080
machine gun corps, artillery and other units -- a total of over
12,500 men. Against these British forces stood the Irish Republican
Army whose "Flying Columns" never exceeded 310 riflemen in the
whole of County Cork. Men, moreover, with "no experience of war. .
. untrained in the use of arms. . . with no tactical training. . .
practically unarmed. . . ". These "flying columns" were small
groups of dedicated volunteers, severely commanded and disciplined.
Constantly on the move, their paramount objective was merely to
exist; to strike when conditions were favourable, to avoid a
disaster at all costs. In Guerilla Days in Ireland: A Personal
Account of the Anglo-Irish War, which has been one of the classics
of the Anglo-Irish War since its first publication in 1949, Tom
Barry describes the setting up of the West Cork Flying Column, its
training, and its plan of campaign. Guerilla Days in Ireland is the
extraordinary story of the fight between two unequal forces, which
ended in the withdrawal of the British from twenty-six counties. In
particular, it is the story of the West Cork Flying Column under
Tom Barry, a commander of genius and a national hero."
Ask a Question About this Product More... |