Tom Garvin

By and large it is a very well written and argued book as one would expect from Garvin. It is obviously written from a pro-Treaty perspective, however, and so there is a desire to place the blame for starting the Civil War. De Valera features prominently as he does in other books by Garvin as a result. There are some statements in the book that are extremely difficult to support. For example, the Blueshirts were solely a movement to protect free speech - many would disagree.

Garvin's book is very well written and argued. The author's focus is on the period between the demise of Parnell to the coming of independence in 1922. He attempts to analyse the disparate factors influencing those who would become in his words the "elite" of the revolutionary era. In my personal opinion chapters 5 and 6: assessing the role of the Gaelic League and Irish language and ideological themes and chapter 7: analysing republican opinion post-1922 defeat are the most interesting.

I would agree highly with the review below from Barry Andrews in that this book is a complement to previous biographies of Lemass. Garvin does clearly point out that he regards John Horgan's biography "Seán Lemass: The Enigmatic Patriot'' as the definitive account of the man. This book does contain excellent source material, beautiful images and is excellently written and presented with a well-argued thesis. It should encourage enthusiasts of Lemass to read more about the great man.