To date all books published about the war of independence have concentrated on the purely military aspect. This book is the first to describe the active resistance of the people. A form of resistance that was later used by the French during the Second World War. The farmers, labourers, carpenters, the man in the street, all were involved and as General Tom Barry said: 'Were it not for the resistance of the people themselves the war could not have been won'.

Kathleen Keyes McDonnell leaves nothing out: we feel the tension of a community divided against itself, the hatred and suspicion engendered by the presence of an alien Army of Occupation. She deals with Easter Week in West Cork, Prison Treatment, Terrorism and Murder, the Sack of Bandon, the Signing of the Treaty, the elections and the activities of the hated Essex Regiment in Bandon.

 The Author

Kathleen Keyes McDonnell was born in Bandon. Her father was one of the Healys of Donoughmore. She was educated in the Ursuline Convent, Blackrock, Cork, and went to a finishing school in Upper Bavaria. A keen sports woman she joined the Muskerry Hunt on leaving school. She studied the piano under Frau Tilly Fleischmann.