Sean Treacy and the Irish Tan War

By Joe Ambrose

A re-evaluation of the events and personalities of the War of Independence in Tipperary – where the opening shots of the war were fired by the South Tipperary Brigade. The opening shots of the War of Independence were fired by the Third Tipperary Brigade of the IRA, led by the charismatic Seán Treacy. He was a gifted guerrilla fighter and an inspirational leader. This book is a major re-evaluation of Treacy and of the personalities and events which kick-started Ireland’s march towards freedom. Joe Ambrose brings a new perspective to the Tan War, suggesting that the roots of Tipperary’s militancy went back to the nineteenth century when the Young Irelanders and Fenians fought romantically in the hills and valleys of the county. He shows how the indecision which governed Tipperary’s participation in the 1916 Rising gave way to out-and-out conflict and war. Seán Treacy and the Tan War covers the exploits of the Flying Columns, IRA intelligence gathering, the role of women in the fight, and the horrors of Croke Park’s ‘Bloody Sunday’ recalled for the first time by a man who witnessed the carnage at first hand as a member of the Tipperary team.

Joe Ambrose is the author of nine books including Dan Breen and the IRA and two novels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mercier Press
• Release date: Sep 30, 2007
• ISBN: 9781781170809

Joe Ambrose

Joe Ambrose is the author of nine books including Dan Breen and the IRA and the novels, Serious Times and Too Much Too Soon which were praised by The Guardian as being 'unputdownable'. A native of Tipperary, where as a child he knew many of the leaders of that county's IRA campaign, he now divides his time between London, Ireland, and Morocco. He has broadcast with RTÉ, BBC World Service, Lyric FM, and Channel 4. His books include two novels for Pulp Books, Serious Time (1998) and Too Much Too Soon (2000); a punk rock book for Omnibus Press Moshpit Culture (2001); an investigation of covert punk culture from inside the moshpit, Gimme Danger (2004); a biography of punk icon Iggy Pop.