Mossie Hartnett
Victory and Woe:
The West Limerick Brigade in the War of Independence
A fascinating
account of life at the grassroots during the Irish War of Independence and the
Civil War by the Officer Commanding, 2nd Battalion, West Limerick Brigade of
the Irish Volunteers. Mossie Harnett (1893-1977), who fought on the Anti-Treaty
side in the Civil War, describes his early life on a farm in Tournafulla in the
southwest corner of Limerick, his enrolment in the Irish Volunteers in 1915,
and his involvement in the conflict until his release from a Free State prison
in 1923.
In an appendix,
the British troops' little-known and short-lived practice of taking hostages in
order to protect themselves is vividly described by Mossie's cousin, Dr Edward
Harnett, who was taken hostage in spring 1921.
Mossie Harnett (1893-1977) was a
farmer in Limerick and a Limerick County Councillor before moving to Dublin in
1939.
James H. Joy, who wrote the
introduction, is Mossie Harnett�s son-in-law, and Adjunct Professor of History
at
UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE DUBLIN PRESS (2002)
ISSN 1393-6883