The Irish Citizen Army

The Irish Citizen Army was originally established as a defence corps during the 1913 Lockout, but under the leadership of James Connolly its aims became more Republican and the IRB, fearing Connolly would pre-empt their plans for the Easter Rising, convinced him to join his force with the Irish Volunteers. During the Rising the ICA was active in three garrisons and the book describes for the first time in depth its involvement at St Stephen's Green and the Royal College of Surgeons, at City Hall and its environs and, using the first-hand account of journalist J.J. O'Leary who observed the scene, on Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) throughout the week. The author questions the much-vaunted myth of the equality of men and women in the ICA and scrutinises the credentials of Larkin and Connolly as champions of both sexes. She also asserts that the Proclamation was not read by Patrick Pearse from the GPO, but by Tom Clarke from in front of Nelson's Pillar. She provides sources to show that the Proclamation was not, as has always been believed, printed in Liberty Hall, and that the final headquarters of the rebels was not at number 16 Moore Street, but somewhere between numbers 21 and 25.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements 9 Abbreviations 11 Introduction 13 1 From Defence Corps to Citizen Army, 1913 19 2 The Second and Third Phases of the ICA, 1914–1915 35 3 Preparation for Revolution 58 4 Rebellion 81 5 `The Republican Flag Floats over its Centre: O Destiny of My Country! Quo Vadis?’ 104 6 The Courts Martial 134 7 The Power of Money 148 8 Decline 1917–1921 158 9 Civil War and its Aftermath 1922–1927 171 10 Demise 178 11 R. M. Fox and the Muffler Aristocrats 184 Appendix 1 Irish Citizen Army Membership, 1916 188 Appendix 2 ICA Boy Scouts, 1916 212 Appendix 3 Women’s Section, ICA, 1916 213 Appendix 4 Female Members of the South Dublin Unit 215 Appendix 5 Members from the War of Independence Period to the Civil War 216 Appendix 6 Women in the ICA 223 Endnotes 225 Bibliography 242 Index 246

About the Author :
Ann Matthews is the author of 'Renegades' (2010), 'Dissidents' (2012) and 'Kimmage Garrison 1916' (2010) and a play 'Lockout' staged in 2013. Originally from Dublin, she now lives in Kildare where she lectured at NUI Maynooth. She has contributed chapters to several book and had articles published in the 'Journal of Irish Military History' among other publications.

Review :
Splendid A comprehensive and balanced account Bound to stir up controversy... we could end up with a new perspective on the Rising A well-researced monograph