The Irish Revolution in Tyrone, 1912-23

During the period 1912–23, Tyrone was at the centre of the conflict between nationalism and unionism, the evolution of partition and the emergence of two Irish governments. The fate of Tyrone shaped that of Ireland itself. McCluskey has produced the first comprehensive and meticulously researched study of Co. Tyrone during the Irish Revolution. He offers fresh perspectives on how Tyrone men and women engaged in a range of unionist, nationalist, republican and trade union activities. Intent on resisting home rule, the county’s sizable unionist minority, led by the local aristocracy and back-boned by the Orange Order, mustered eight thousand members of the UVF. The forced acceptance of partition in 1914 shattered nationalist confidence and apparent unanimity. This occasioned a dramatic reorientation of nationalism in Tyrone as Sinn Féin eclipsed the Irish Parliamentary Party. The nature of the two-year conflict between IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary, a force based firmly on the UVF, is carefully analysed by McCluskey. The work charts the prominence of Tyrone during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations and examines Michael Collins’ incongruous attempts to achieve a middle ground between the treaty and the republic through the abortive joint-IRA northern campaign of 1922. By this time, Tyrone’s position under a northern administration had solidified. The book concludes that the British government’s stance on Tyrone confirmed its role as an imperial power determined to bolster unionism and thwart the republican demand. Richly detailed, this ground-breaking study represents essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Irish revolution. This book is part of The Irish Revolution, 1912–23 series (Mary Ann Lyons & Daithí Ó Corráin, series editors).

Fergal McCluskey holds a PhD from Queen's University Belfast and is author of Fenians and Ribbonmen: the development of Republican politics in east Tyrone, 1898–1918 (2012). He now teaches at Coláiste Feirste.

‘This book is a well-researched and argued study of a key county in the revolutionary period’, Peter Mulready, Irish Sword (Summer 2015).

‘Fergal McCluskey is ideally placed to tell the story of County Tyrone in these years … he carries on the story of nationalists, republicans and their divisions but also broadens it out very successfully to encompass developments within unionism. It is this breadth of coverage which will mark out the story in the North from much of the rest of Ireland’s counties … Chapter 2 in the book offers a picture of opposition to Home Rule in 1912–1914 that is essential reading … [McCluskey’s] use of private papers is excellent … The events of the period are all dealt with in turn and this narrative is skilfully done … This book sets a high standard for the county histories to follow and more than meets the aims of the editors to deal with not only the events of the period (political and military) but to look at the labour movement, the role of women and the class politics which McCluskey shows to be very important’, Eoin Magennis, Seanchas Ard Mhacha (2015).