Photos by Pat Shortall
There was only one place where the book launch could take place. ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ – How the Free State won the Irish Civil War was launched at the Officer’s Mess at James Stephen’s barracks in Kilkenny. Reminders of the foundation and life story of Irish army life bedecked the walls. A photo of Michael Collins was centre stage.
Within the covers of Clear, Hold, Build, Dr. Gareth Prendergast explains the construct behind the Free State Strategy in the summer of 1922. He also scrutinises how the newly established National Army had to generate manpower and war fighting equipment in order to face down a violent insurgency primarily based in the ‘Munster Republic’. How a young, nascent Irish National Army achieved strategic success during the Irish Civil War deserves recognition and further examination. An awareness to rebuild the country; restore essential infrastructure; reinstate governance and repair a flailing economy is a very impressive but much ignored attribute of the first Free State government. This attribute and awareness certainly helped to ‘win’ the Irish Civil War, ending a decade of turbulence in Irish society.
Throughout his book, Prendergast, as a serving Colonel, explains in detail how the Civil War was fought and continually questions how the young leadership and newly elected government of the Free State had the compunction, realisation and complacence to follow up on hard military action with ‘Good Governance’. It is hoped that potential readers will take the opportunity to read this innovative examination of a contentious period in Irish history.
The author is Dr Gareth Prendergast, a serving Colonel in the Irish Defence Forces, He has completed seven tours of duty, including the Middle East, the Balkans and Mali. At home he has served in infantry battalions during the Troubles and has been appointed to various positions in the Command and Staff School and as Director of Logistics. He was awarded a Masters in Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and received his PhD from the History Department of UCC.
The book is on sale in all book shops and online on Amazon and Wordwell Books.
