One Man’s Ireland: Memoirs of Dan Mulvihill, Maverick Republican

Description In this unrepentant and revealing memoir, Dan Mulvihill, a leading figure in Irish republicanism recounts his fight for an Irish Republic over several decades and his central involvement in key events throughout the twentieth century. Dan Mulvihill was at the heart of many of the most iconic and tumultuous events during Ireland’s revolutionary years. He was an IRA volunteer who fought and killed in the name of Ireland, a loyal ally of Éamon de Valera – who he smuggled out of Dublin at the beginning of the Civil War – a vehement opponent of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a member of Liam Lynch’s staff in the anti-Treaty IRA, a prisoner and hunger striker, a spy and intelligence officer. In One Man’s Ireland, Mulvihill details his life story from 1916 to the early 1980s, describing the seminal events in the history of the country as well as the many key figures in republicanism in his native Kerry and nationally. A self-styled maverick and committed revolutionary, Dan Mulvihill was a largely forgotten figure in Irish history, until now. Contents Prologue: Brackhill Preface: ‘One Man’s Ireland’ 1. ‘Great fighters and men of splendid physique’ 2. ‘Calm before the storm’ 3. ‘The good houses’ 4. ‘Until he bled to death’ 5. ‘Mad to get the chance’ 6. ‘The Truce was on, and we could not believe it’ 7. ‘Things are getting worse every day’ 8. ‘The day the Split started’ 9. ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ 10. ‘We raided once a month’ 11. ‘Bitterly anti-Irish and anti-Catholic’ 12. ‘We are so fed up with charity’ Conclusion: ‘I am unchanged’ Praise for One Man’s Ireland: ‘One Man’s Ireland is a valuable addition to the books on the 1918 to the 1924 period. It is a concise insight into the mind of the “ordinary soldier”.’ – Irish Examiner ‘O’Shea’s contributions are equally critical to making this the fine, insightful book that it is. Having researched and written extensively on the War of Independence and Civil War in Kerry, O’Shea acts as a vital guide to understanding Mulvihill’s motivations and actions, to contextualising his viewpoints and decision-making, to plugging his informational gaps, to enlightening readers on the personalities and the politics of those with whom Mulvihill interacted and of whom he wrote, and to pointing to alternative (and in some cases more detailed) accounts of key incidents which Mulvihill chooses to either highlight or overlook.’ – Saothar: Journal of Irish Labour History About the Author Dr Owen O’Shea is the author of several books on history and politics in his native county of Kerry, including the highly-acclaimed No Middle Path: The Civil War in Kerry (Merrion Press, 2022), Ballymacandy: the Story of a Kerry Ambush (Merrion Press, 2021) and Heirs to the Kingdom: Kerry’s Political Dynasties (O’Brien Press, 2011). O’Shea currently works as Media, Communications and Customer Relations Officer with Kerry County Council. He holds a PhD from the School of History at UCD.