Description
Book Synopsis Most of the prominent figures from Ireland''s revolutionary generation have been endlessly profiled and commemorated but the controversial General Eoin O''Duffy remains a pariah. Despite reaching the heights of leadership in the republican movement during the Irish revolutionary period--and subsequently becoming a key state-builder in early independent Ireland as head of the national police force--O''Duffy''s legacy retains a whiff of sulphur. It has been tarnished by his controversial political career in the 1930s, including his leadership of the fascistic Blueshirts and his pro-Franco involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
Using a blend of well-charted and previously overlooked or unavailable material, this book examines the tumultuous periods of Ireland''s struggle for independence and the early Irish Free State. It foregrounds O''Duffy''s place within pro-treaty Irish nationalism. A militarist and supporter of Michael Collins, he became a safe pair of hands relied upo
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Beginnings
- 2. Eoin O'Duffy's War
- 3. From Truce to Treaty
- 4. The Treaty
- 5. The Civil War
- 6. Building the Guards
- 7. Leading the Blueshirts
- 8. In Politics
- 9. National Corporate Party
- 10. The Spanish Civil War
- 11. The Emergency
- Epilogue
- Postscript
- Acknowledgments
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
