The Fighting Irish
The Story of the Extraordinary Irish Soldier
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
For hundreds of years, Irish soldiers have sought their destiny abroad. Stepping aboard ships bound for England, America, or Europe, young Irishmen have been hungry for adventure, a self-made fortune or the means to carry on a cause back home. Wherever he has travelled, whichever side of the battlefield he has stood, the tales of his exploits have never been forgotten.
The Irish soldier has always been in the thick of the fight. Leaving his birthplace, he travelled with hope, sometimes wanting to bring a liberating revolution to his fellow countrymen. Often seeking adventure, the Fighting Irish have been found in all corners of the British Empire, winning new territories, gaining a reputation as fearless soldiers. Some sailed to America and joined in frontier fighting or demonstrated their loyalty to their new homeland in the bloody combats of the American Civil War. Others took the opportunity to carry on their home-borne disputes with campaigns against the British Empire in Canada and South Africa.
The Irish soldier has been in the thick of war during the twentieth century-facing slaughter at the Somme, surviving prison camps in Korea, desperate last-stands in the Congo-and continuing sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Fighting Irish, acclaimed historian Tim Newark tells their tales in the dramatic words of the soldiers themselves, gathered from diaries, letters and journals from archives-and interviews with veterans-in Ireland and across the world.
Praise for Highlander:
"Tim Newark is a remarkably gifted storyteller." The Scotsman
"At last, the Highland soldier has the history he richly deserves. Tim Newark tells the dramatic tale with some startling new stories and superbly researched detail." Andrew Roberts.
"Highlanders have long been among the most feared soldiers in the world and Tim Newark's book admirably tells their stirring tale. A great read!" Bernard Cornwell.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Irish soldiers constitute "the largest group of servicemen born outside the United States" to receive the Medal of Honor (many have also won Britain's highest honor, the Victoria Cross), and while Newark's exhaustive chronicle of their exploits on the battlefield makes that superlative no surprise, the veteran military historian is less successful in uncovering the complex origins of the trope of the fighting Irish. His investigation into Gaelic bellicosity mostly takes the form of description, and Newark's (Highlander: The History of the Legendary Highland Soldier) continuous talk of the "fight for freedom" quickly becomes anodyne. But his wide-ranging history does showcase the remarkably diverse causes that Irish forces have rallied behind. They dressed in red while furthering Britain's Victorian empire, but they wore Union Blue during the American Civil War. They've fought for South American rebel groups, South Africa's Boers, and as mercenaries in the Congo. Irish deserters from the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War were considered by Mexico to be "national heroes," and modern warriors continue to put bite to bark in the harrowing hills of Afghanistan. Newark's newest is no grand, rousing narrative, but it is a testament to Irish soldiers throughout modern history. 8-page b&w photo insert.
