Ambush at Central Park: When the IRA Came to New York
By Mark Bulik
()
About this ebook
A compelling, action-packed account of the only officially sanctioned I.R.A attack ever conducted on American soil.
In 1922, three of the Irish Republican Army’s top gunmen arrived in New York City seeking vengeance. Their target: “Cruxy” O’Connor, a young Irishman who kept switching sides as revolution swept his country in the wake of World War I. Cruxy’s last betrayal dealt a stunning blow to Ireland’s struggle for independence: Six of his IRA comrades were killed when he told police the location of their safe house outside Cork. A year later, the IRA gunned him down in a hail of bullets before a crowd of horrified New Yorkers at the corner of 84th Street and Central Park West.
Based primarily on first-hand accounts, most of them never before published, Ambush at Central Park is a cinematic exploration of the enigma of “Cruxy” O’Connor: Was he really a decorated war hero who became a spy for Britain? When he defected to the IRA, did his machine gun really jam in a crucial attack? When captured, did he give up his IRA comrades only under torture? Was he a British spy all along? Or was he pursuing a decades-old blood feud between his family and that of one of his comrades?
A longtime editor at The New York Times, author Mark Bulik delved through Irish government archives, newspaper accounts, census data, and unpublished material from the families of the main actors. Together they add to the sensational story of a rebel ambush, a deadly police raid, a dinner laced with poison, a daring prison break, a boatload of tommy guns on the Hoboken waterfront, an unlikely pair of spies who fall in love, and an audacious assassination plot against the British cabinet.
Gravely wounded and near death, Cruxy refused to cooperate with the detectives investigating the case. And so, the spy who stopped spying and the gunman who stopped shooting became the informer who wouldn’t inform, even at death’s door. Here is a forgotten chapter of Irish and New York history: the story of the only officially authorized IRA attack on American soil.
Mark Bulik
Mark Bulik is an assistant news editor at the New York Times. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and lives with his wife and two children in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
Related to Ambush at Central Park
Related ebooks
A Dream Fulfilled Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Glory and the Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind Lady Liberty's Right Shoulder! Women of Courage: In the Explosions At Black Tom Island and Kingsland, New Jersey: 1916-1917 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith De Valera in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5George Washington and the Irish: Incredible Stories of the Irish Spies, Soldiers, and Workers Who Helped Free America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDe Valera Volume 1: Rise (1882–1932) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daniel Morgan: Revolutionary Rifleman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manifest Destiny's Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Historical Cities-San Francisco, California Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Paul Martin's Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat the Eyes Can't See: Ralph Northam, Black Resolve, and a Racial Reckoning in Virginia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJFK in Ireland: Four Days that Changed a President Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5JFK : The Life and Death of a President Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Historical Cities-Chicago, Illinois Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Nathaniel Philbrick 's Travels with George Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLIFE Explores the Roaring '20s Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 1926 Orland Park Murder Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlleged Pirate, The Legend of Captain John Sinclair of Smithfield and Gloucester, Virginia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiami Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5America on the Eve of the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMile High Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Authentic Chicago: The Fairway Flapper, the Lincolnwood Lone Ranger, the Wandering Church and Other Quirky History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecollections of a Virginian in the Mexican, Indian, and Civil Wars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode Or Not": A Collection of Legends, Lies, & Cherished Myths of American Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Criminals & Outlaws For You
Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grilling Dahmer: The Interrogation Of "The Milwaukee Cannibal" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mein Kampf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The League of Lady Poisoners: Illustrated True Stories of Dangerous Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMonster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Night Stalker: The Disturbing Life and Chilling Crimes of Richard Ramirez Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Mother, a Serial Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Girls: The Unsolved American Mystery of the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer Murders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5H. H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wiseguy: The 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Abandoned Prayers: An Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession, and Amish Secrets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manhattan Cult Story: My Unbelievable True Story of Sex, Crimes, Chaos, and Survival Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Many Lives of Mama Love (Oprah's Book Club): A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wicked New Orleans: The Dark Side of the Big Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cruel Deception: A True Story of Murder and a Mother's Deadly Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fred & Rose: The Full Story of Fred and Rose West and the Gloucester House of Horrors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Ambush at Central Park
0 ratings0 reviews