This is the complete life of Tomas MacCurtain, murdered Lord Mayor of Cork.

Tomas MacCurtain, military and civic leader, was a manof courageand integrity. He needed these qualities in a high degree to fill with such distinction the offices to which he was called in the Ireland of his day. It was only a brave man, full of the justice of his cause, who would accept the leadership of Ireland's freedom fighters in and around Cork city before and after 1916; it was only a man of high principle who would accept the mayoral chain of Cork when clashes between his people and the British forces of occupation were inevitable.

As military chief and civic leader of Cork city he was at the head and front of the IRA and Sinn Fein organisations when his enemies marked him down for death.

This they accomplished in his own home, in the bosom of his family, through the medium of 'their eyes and ears', the Royal Irish Constabulary; on the night of 20 March 1920, the RIC with faces blackened moved unchallenged through the curfew-patrolled streets of Cork, to shoot him mercilessly.

This story of Tomas MacCurtain from cradle to grave is told by a writer who was most intimately associated with him. Major Florence O'Donoghue was Brigade Adjutant and Intelligence Officer to MacCurtain, the OC, Cork No. 1 Brigade, IRA, and was thus admirably positioned to know and appreciate the character of the man whose story he has told. Major O'Donoghue's knowledge and ability are utilised to the full in this life of his friend and leader.

Printed in the Republic of Ireland for Anvil Books by The Kerryman Ltd., Tralee