Armed Struggle

The History of the IRA

By: Richard English

Narrated by: Roger Clark

The IRA has been a much richer, more complexly layered, and more protean organization than is frequently recognized. It is also more open to balanced examination now - at the end of its long war in the north of Ireland - than it was even a few years ago.

Richard English's brilliant audiobook offers a detailed history of the IRA, providing invaluable historical depth to our understanding of the modern-day Provisionals, the more militant wing formed in 1969 dedicated to the removal of the British Government from Northern Ireland and the reunification of Ireland. English examines the dramatic events of the Easter Rising in 1916 and the bitter guerrilla war of 1919-21, the partitioning of Ireland in the 1920s, and the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. Here, too, are the IRA campaigns in Northern Ireland and Britain from the 1930s through the 1960s. He shows how the Provisionals were born out of the turbulence generated by the 1960s civil rights movement, and examines the escalating violence that introduced British troops to the streets of Northern Ireland. He also examines the split in the IRA that produced the Provisionals, the introduction of internment in 1971, and the tragedy of Bloody Sunday in 1972.

©2003, 2004, 2012 Richard English (P)2020 Tantor

Good over view of all sides

Good overview of the personal cost of the conflict for all parties. Some times difficult to follow while driving because it immediately goes into abbreviations without any reminders of what the abbreviations stand for.

Dense, but worth it

A dense, scholarly, seemingly very fair history. The narrator did a great job, especially with pronouncing some of the more intimidating names and phrases in the book. A chore to get through at times, but very informative and definitely worth the effort if you're interested in a scholarly history of the IRA.

Well narrated.... good from beginning to end...

I have a knack for Ireland's struggle so this book didn't disappoint.. Connected by this and other books to better grasp the past and it's message

Very detailed and compelling.

My mother lived in Belfast as a Catholic. This really helped me to understand the ‘troubles’.

A dense but thorough account.

Make no mistake, this book isn't easy to get through for multiple reasons. It's dry, but precise and thorough in it's accounts. To my knowledge, it does not seem either pro nor anti IRA, taking a middle road account or as much as you can be in such a case. It describes in detail the history of the struggle and the troubles, from the beginning to the good friday agreement.

The narrator does a fantastic job of presenting the information and pronunciation.

A deep dive into “The Troubles”

Roger Clark narration of this very studious and in depth book on Northern Ireland including players in the IRA, loyalists, and Great Britain is an excellent read.

Amazingly details the journey of the IRA.

The details in this book are amazing. The author’s breakdown is truly a trip into history. From Michael Collins to Gerry Adams and all those in between. A history lesson of great worth.

Dry but valuable

It's not going to remotely hold your attention similar to something like Say Nothing. It doesn't use the modern mode of broad histories where little micro-biographies along the way introduce and humanize the people. Don't expect a retelling of the story of the IRA as much as a scholarly study of the IRA

Good but very LONG

This isn’t a particularity long book per say as measured in hours, but it feels long. It’s so dense, making it feel about twice as long as it really is. It’s a very interesting subject, but one could possibly do without this much excruciating detail. It is as balanced as it can be given the subject matter. The IRA doesn’t lend itself to unbiased views generally. It also doesn’t focus on any one time period over another. It’s very generalized. For a focused read, a book liked “Say Nothing” is what one would want to read. Roger Clark does his usual outstanding job.

Long and Repetitious

Most of the information given in early chapters was repeated in later chapters, almost word for word. I wish I could get my credit back. This book did nothing to educate me about The Troubles.