In the early 2000s, Tom Hurley wondered if there were many still alive who’d experienced the events of the momentous, formative 1919-1923 period in Ireland. This led to him interviewing 20 people (16 men and four women) who were in their teens or early twenties during that time; 10 were active in the War of Independence, six in the Civil War (three on each side), two were from Belfast and unionist backgrounds. He thought it remarkable how receptive and talkative they were about the period, its prelude and aftermath, found them good storytellers with sound memories and he’s done his utmost to verify what they told him. “The content of the book is focused more on the militaristic side of things rather than the political, but ordinary, everyday life is a prominent theme too.”
As 1919-1923 has been exhaustively written about, especially during the recently concluded “decade of centenaries”, what can this book possibly offer that’s new? Hurley skilfully situates his interviewees’ memories within some of the major events that occurred and using their own words brings a great sense of immediacy to those now-distant events: ambushes, raids, funerals such as Terence MacSwiney’s, encounters with some of the most active and well-known combatants, internment, life on the run, etc. Anecdotes such as Black and Tans shooting cows on the street because they wouldn’t move, a howling cat being rescued by a fireman during the burning of Cork, a man being grateful that a policeman had been shot because he’d booked him for no light shortly before also give unusual and personal insights, as do reactions to the introduction of the teaching of Irish in schools.
There’s also vivid insight into sectarian clashes in Belfast. Examples are having to lie on the floors of trams when passing certain areas because of the danger from snipers’ bullets, bombs being thrown into workmen’s tramcars and Catholic workmen in the shipyard being drowned in the River Lagan in reprisal. Very detailed memories of the Civil War are recorded, concerning which conflict few would disagree with Michael Casey (who fought on the anti-Treaty side): “Shocking. It was a pity it ever happened.”
Hurley’s youngest interviewee was 92, the eldest 105, and 13 were 100 or more; he has done a great service capturing their memories.
