The Irish War of Independence in Kildare

By James Durney

The Kildare IRA was heavily outnumbered by crown forces and had neither the manpower nor weaponry to seriously challenge them. With about 300 activists in County Kildare, and only about a third of them ready to take to the field at one time, they faced nearly 6,000 troops and hundreds of police and Black and Tans. However, the county was an important axis for intelligence gathering and communications to the south and west, and it is here Kildare made its greatest impact.

The open flat plains of Kildare militated against ambushes, while its proximity to the capital also inhibited the Kildare Volunteers. Nevertheless there was a strong revolutionary element in the county. The book looks at the group of Volunteers who followed the railway track into Dublin to partake in the 1916 Rising and details attacks at Greenhills, Maynooth and Barrowhouse. The author also examines the Rath internment camp in the Curragh, reaction in the county to the Truce and Treaty, and the eventual split in the republican movement in the lead up to civil war.

This comprehensive account will be a valuable addition to literature on this formative period in Ireland's history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mercier Press
• Release date: Jul 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781781172292

James Durney

James Durney is a graduate of NUI Maynooth and an award-winning author of twenty-two books on Irish history. He works in Co. Kildare's Local Studies, Genealogy and Archives Department, based in Newbridge Library, and was Historian in Residence for Co.Kildare’s Decade of Commemorations Committee from 2015 to 2017.

Reviews for The Irish War of Independence in Kildare

[thegeneral_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book follows the pattern of a number of recent local studies of the War of Independence and the Civil War in a specific Irish county. The book is very well written and argued. It is particularly informative because, as the author explains, the War of Independence in Kildare was not particularly extensive due to the heavy presence of British garrison forces and the topography of the county which made it unsuited to ambushing. Regardless those involved in both Sinn Féin and the IRA throughout this time are identified, going back to the Easter Rising. The majority of the focus of the book is on the Civil War period where significant conflict did occur within the county and this is analysed in detail. Furthermore interesting anecdotes relating to several assassinations which occurred throughout Ireland at this time are also explored. The book is well referenced throughout and there is a useful reading list for those who want to read further on the subject.