This book is sub-titled "Clare from the fall of Parnell to the Great War, 1890-1918", and is the debut work of Daniel McCarthy.

Although each of the 500 plus war war dead of County Clare is listed in an Appendix and there is an excellent chapter dealing with the war experiences of some of them, this is not just a book about the Great War and its effects on one of the rural counties of Munster.

This work assesses the economic, political and social changes affecting the county in the thirty years before the Armistice. Drawing on many published works, theses and analysis, the author paints a picture of a most complex set of circumstances and forces acting upon the Irish nation when it came to war.

County Clare was predominantly an agricultural region, with few areas of urban development. Socially, it was a mix of labourers, farmers and small tradesmen, with not a few wealthy families among the larger landowners; strongly Roman Catholic. Politically Ireland was of great complexity, with a mix of Nationalists some of whom believed that Home Rule was hard-won, was desirable and to be defended, and some desired and eventually fought for independence; with (to modern eyes) a surprising percentage of unionists too.

Some remarkable and noteworthy figures play a part in the tale. Clare had two Westminster MPs: Australian-born Arthur Lynch, who had fought on the side of the Boers in South Africa and who wrote the inflammatory "Ireland - Vital Hour" in 1915; and Willie Redmond (brother of John, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party) who lost his life when serving with the British Army in Flanders. Eamon de Valera, the only surviving commandant of the Easter 1916 Rising, gained Redmond's East Clare seat for Sinn Féin by a wide margin in 1917. John Holland, a Clare man who designed the first gasoline-powered submarine but did not live to see its effects in war - he died in August 1914.

The book covers in some considerable detail the pressures for and against army recruitment, and later in the war, rising resistance to the possible imposition of conscription. It also deals with the events of Easter 1916 and the harsh reaction by the British Government, which served to add fuel to a long-smouldering fire.

Men of Clare served in many units of the forces, but their "home" regiment was the Royal Munster Fusiliers. I certainly did not know before reading this book that the 8th (Service) Battalion was effectively reserved for Nationalists. As part of the 16th (Irish) Division, it saw much action especially on the Somme and at Messines. Given the pressures not to respond to the call and join the army, a very large number of Clare men did, and Britain has even more than the usual reason to remember their courage and sacrifice.

The 1st and 2nd Battalions suffered grievous losses at Gallipoli and Etreux respectively before the war was too many months old. Clare responded by the establishment of many prisoner and soldiers care funds.

Although I did not find this an easy book to read - perhaps because as an Englishman I found myself having to be reminded of some of the party acronyms and what their position was - I learned a great deal from it. McCarthy is to be congratulated on a fine work that will be essential reading for anyone interested in the Irish contribution to the British Army in the Great War, as well as adding to our greater understanding of the forces that created modern Ireland.

Daniel McCarthy is a native of Lissycasey, County Clare. He holds an MA in History from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

You can obtain a copy direct from Daniel, by writing to him at Boru Cultural Enterprises, Cragbrien, Darragh, Ennis, County Clare, Eire. Hardback is Euro29.95; softback Euro19.95. Postage for a single copy is Euro3 for Ireland, 3.50 for UK, 5.70 for Europe, and 5.00 elsewhere by surface mail.