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New Book on the East Waterford Brigade 1912-1921 by Pat McCarthy

Historian Dr. Pat McCarthy has written a new book “Waterford City The East Waterford Brigade I.R.A. & The Struggle for Independence 1912-1921”. The book gives a history of the political situation in Waterford from 1912 to 1921 and charts the development of the East Waterford Brigade from the Irish Volunteers to the establishment and formation of companies, through actions and ambushes and its amalgamation with the West Waterford Brigade.

Author, Pat McCarthy says “During the War of Independence, each county and each brigade was different. The East Waterford Brigade faced a unique problem as one of the few constituencies where Sinn Féin had failed to win the political struggle in 1918 and in the book I explore how the local I.R.A. faced the consequence of this difference and contributed to the armed struggle. I hope that this book gives people the opportunity to learn more about this struggle and the sacrifices that were made in Waterford”

The book gives a comprehensive picture of the people and politics of Waterford during the period and of the struggles of the members of the East Waterford Brigade to contribute to the fight for independence. The book is dedicated to “…the men and women of Waterford City and East Waterford who played their part in the struggle for independence and in particular to the four men who made the ultimate sacrifice: James Power, Michael McGrath, Thomas O’Brien and Seán O’Rourke.” The book acknowledges the contributions made by all members of the Brigade and members of Cumann na mBan by providing in its appendices the list of names of the members from the nominal rolls which recorded the membership at the point of the Truce on 11th July 1921 and were gathered together in the 1930s and are held by the Military Archives.

Michael Farrell, Chairman of the Waterford Commemorations Committee said  “The Commemorations Committee is dedicated to supporting a programme of publications to document the Decade of Centenaries in Waterford so that we have a lasting legacy of scholarship and research into this most important period in our history.”

This project was supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Decade of Centenaries 1913-1923 Programme and the Waterford Commemorations Committee.

Deatils of the programme of projects for 2022 will be available soon on the Waterford Council website www.waterfordcouncil.ie or https://bit.ly/32yD0PV

The book is available at a cost of €15 from the Book Centre in Waterford or from Waterford County Museum in Dungarvan.

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