Southern Irish Loyalism, 1912-1949

This book bringstogether new research on loyalism in the 26 counties that would become theIrish Free State. It covers a range of topics and experiences, including theThird Home Rule crisis in 1912, the revolutionary period, partition,independence and Irish participation in the British armed and colonial serviceup to the declaration of the Republic in 1949. The essays gathered here examinewho southern Irish loyalists were, what loyalism meant to them, how theyexpressed their loyalism, their responses to Irish independence and theirexperiences afterwards.

The collectionoffers fresh insights and new perspectives on the Irish Revolution and the earlyyears of southern independence, based on original archival research. Itaddresses issues of particular historiographical and political interest duringthe ongoing ‘Decade of Centenaries’, including revolutionary violence,sectarianism, political allegiance and identity and the Irish border, but, rather than ceasing its coverage in 1922 or 1923,this book – like the lives with which it is concerned – continues into the firstdecades of southern Irish independence.

List of contributors: Frank Barry, Elaine Callinan, Jonathan Cherry, Seamus Cullen, Ian d'Alton, Sean Gannon, Katherine Magee, Alan McCarthy, Pat McCarthy, Daniel Purcell, Joseph Quinn, Brian M. Walker, Fionnuala Walsh, Donald Wood