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Why Did They Lie? by Jack Kiernan

– The Irish Civil War, The Truth, Where and When it all Began –

posted 25 Apr 2018, 12:22

On this day (25 April) in 1922, gun battles took place on the streets of the Irish midlands town of Mullingar that a new book by author Jack Kiernan contends, mark the beginning of the Irish Civil War (1922-23). His recently published Why Did They Lie? uncovers shadowy events that took place, shedding important light on the very origins of that conflict, where and when it all began.

He also offers an assessment that challenges certain assumptions about the course of events, the personalities and leadership dynamics involved in a conflict that itself took place against the backdrop of a very turbulent period of Irish history.

Most people, with any knowledge of Irish history, know that hostilities in the Irish Civil War commenced with the move by the Provisional Government to take the Four Courts in Dublin (held by anti-Treaty forces), towards the end of June 1922. Most people would be wrong, however! That is the view of Jack Kiernan, who sets out to investigate the roots of a tragic and bitter conflict, that proceeded apace with the emergence of independent Irish statehood.

Growing up in an Irish Midlands town, Kiernan remembers being told by his teachers that "if anything of importance happened in Mullingar, it would have been recorded."

Bullet holes remnants in the walls of prominent local buildings seemed to give lie to these bland assertions, as did the recollections of older neighbours, alluding to "the shooting of unarmed prisoners during the Civil War."

What he only discovered, much later, was that events of, not just local but national significance had taken place in the town where he grew up. What's more, they had been recorded, only to be buried deep within the archives – almost as if they had been deliberately covered up!

The evidence that he reveals here, confirms that open hostilities between pro- and anti-treaty forces were already in place throughout the country early in 1922 and prior to the events in Dublin. Furthermore, gun battles took place in the town of Mullingar during the month of April 1922, resulting in deaths (the first casualties of the Irish Civil War). Evidence also suggests that British forces, though officially withdrawn, may have fired the first shots.

The events of the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) have cast a long shadow over Irish life. This book sheds important light on a dark chapter in Irish history; a contribution towards the debate that surely must accompany the centenaries of these events, which are now just around the corner.

Why Did They Lie? by Jack Kiernan is published by The Manuscript Publisher and available to buy online, as well as from certain bookshops. For further information, visit the author's website.