The Outrages 1920–1922: The IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the Border Campaign

By Pearse Lawlor

'The Outrages' gives an account of the major incidents, now slipping from local memory, as the War of Independence escalated from attacks on RIC barracks into internecine atrocities. The many lives lost in each border county are chronicled with factual accounts of attacks and reprisals, the impact these events had in Westminster and how Churchill, Craig and Collins reacted. Included are the events leading to the creation of the Ulster Special Constabulary and an in-depth account of the shooting of Specials at Clones railway station, the slaughter of eight unionists in a single night in south Armagh, the cover-up after Specials left three innocent nationalists dead and two wounded in Cushendall, and the litany of reprisal killings from Camlough to Desertmartin. Details of attacks on the Great Northern Railway and other networks, not previously published, provide a unique insight into the problems faced by railwaymen and by the government. A must read for anyone interested in this period of Irish history and a treasury for genealogists.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mercier Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781856359665

Reviews for The Outrages 1920–1922

[thegeneral_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an interesting book. The author details, in journalistic style, a catalogue and a brief description of the main events that occurred throughout Ulster and the Border counties during the War of Independence and the Civil War. Sensibilities are not spared and gruesome details about killings, murders and sectarian acts are analysed. The book is also well referenced and well written throughout with a lot of useful source material referred to in newspapers in particular for other researchers to utilise.