The Ballycotton Job by Tom Mahon
This is the story of the most astonishing act of piracy carried out in Ireland in the last two hundred years. It was an operation that changed the course of the Irish Civil War. The Ballycotton Job brings this long forgotten story dramatically back to life.
‘The pacy narrative…is a great read’ * Irish Times *
‘A lively and enjoyable story’ 'A story that could make a riveting film.’ ‘The capture of the Upnor is told in graphic and exciting detail.’ ‘The writing is lively’. ‘I very much enjoyed reading the book.’ * Books Ireland Magazine *
'Superbly researched and written to read like a thriller. Yet contains details that put context into a fascinating period in our history. Highly recommended.' Pat B 'Researched and recorded in detail but written with all the excitement of a great adventure story.'
'The British warship Upnor was carrying huge quantities of arms and ammunition from Cobh (then Queenstown) to Woolwich in March 1922 and its capture by the anti-Treaty IRA was masterminded by Seán O’Hegarty, commandant Cork No 1 Brigade. His men commandeered a Royal Navy tugboat from Cobh, while simultaneously hijacking more than 80 trucks and lorries all over Cork. The tugboat towed Upnor into Ballycotton, where the munitions were loaded on to the waiting lorries, which distributed them to secret arms dumps. The daring venture supplied much of the weaponry used by the anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War, thus significantly affecting that conflict. The pacy narrative, conveyed mainly from the perspectives of O’Hegarty and Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt (head of the Royal Navy in Ireland), is a great read.' -- Brian Maye * The Irish Times *
‘A lively and enjoyable story’ 'A story that could make a riveting film.’ ‘The capture of the Upnor is told in graphic and exciting detail.’ ‘The writing is lively’. ‘I very much enjoyed reading the book.’ * Books Ireland Magazine *
'Superbly researched and written to read like a thriller. Yet contains details that put context into a fascinating period in our history. Highly recommended.' Pat B 'Researched and recorded in detail but written with all the excitement of a great adventure story.'
'The British warship Upnor was carrying huge quantities of arms and ammunition from Cobh (then Queenstown) to Woolwich in March 1922 and its capture by the anti-Treaty IRA was masterminded by Seán O’Hegarty, commandant Cork No 1 Brigade. His men commandeered a Royal Navy tugboat from Cobh, while simultaneously hijacking more than 80 trucks and lorries all over Cork. The tugboat towed Upnor into Ballycotton, where the munitions were loaded on to the waiting lorries, which distributed them to secret arms dumps. The daring venture supplied much of the weaponry used by the anti-Treaty IRA during the Civil War, thus significantly affecting that conflict. The pacy narrative, conveyed mainly from the perspectives of O’Hegarty and Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt (head of the Royal Navy in Ireland), is a great read.' -- Brian Maye * The Irish Times *
Tom Mahon has spent years researching the story of The Upnor – scouring archives and libraries on three continents and visiting numerous historical sites. Referred to on 'Newstalk' as 'a really brilliant historian’ his previous ‘ground breaking’ book Decoding the IRA is described as a ‘masterful work’ (The City of Strangers, Michael Russell).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781781174432 |
| ISBN 10 | 1781174431 |
| Title | The Ballycotton Job |
| Author | Tom Mahon |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | The Mercier Press Ltd |
| Year published | 2022-04-12 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |