The War of Independence of January 1919 to July 1921 was a political and military conflict between the newly-formed Dáil Éireann, the Irish Volunteers and Cumann na mBan, which strove to establish and maintain an independent Irish Republic, and the British Government and Crown forces, which sought to keep Ireland within the United Kingdom and British Empire. Galway City Museum’s new book, The War of Independence in Galway, 1920-21, explores the conflict from a local perspective.
Researched and written by Brendan McGowan, Education Officer at Galway City Museum, the highly-illustrated, bilingual, 222-page book recalls some of the incidents that took place in Galway – city and county – between October 1920 and July 1921, when the Anglo-Irish Truce came into effect, paving the way for the negotiations that eventually led to the foundation of the Irish Free State. It features a foreword by Prof. Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, and includes tables of those who died in Galway during the War of Independence and of Galway-born people who died in other parts of the country during the conflict. It was produced by the Museum, as part of Galway City Council’s Decade of Centenaries Programme 2021, thanks to funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
The book is a limited edition and is not for general sale, but will be available in hardcopy format from local branch libraries across Co. Galway by the end of the month. However, courtesy of Galway City Council and Galway City Museum, you can browse the book ONLINE or download your own PDF copy, free of charge here THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE IN GALWAY, 1920-21.
The Museum will run a giveaway competition on Facebook in the coming weeks with ten books up for grabs to lucky participants. Follow us on Facebook to be in with a chance to win!
