From Easter 1916 until the bitter end of the Civil War, Kerry was embroiled in bloody conflict. Now, for the first
time in published form, many of the county's main participants in the struggle tell their own stories. These were
narrated to Ernie O'Malley in the late 1940's and early 1950's. During their lifetimes, these men were reluctant to
recount their exploits, even to their own families, but were willing to speak to Ernie O'Malley, a respected and
legendary IRA leader during the War of Independence and Civil War.
Working from his father's notebooks, Cormac O'Malley, with local Kerry historian, Tim Horgan, has produced the
only comprehensive first hand accounts of the War of Independence and the Civil War in Kerry. Many of the bloody
and controversial incidents of the period are brought vividly to life through the words of the participants. The
extensive footnotes enrich the original interview text and the work is complemented by a photographic sectiion which includes previously unpublished photographs of the time.