Description

On Wednesday 2 August 1922, Free State troops landed at Fenit pier in the first of a series of seaborne landings on the Cork and Kerry coast. This was a risky and ambitious strategy for the Free State government, whose aim was to surprise the staunchly anti-Treaty republicans in Kerry. By attacking them from an unexpected direction, the government hoped to shorten the war and force the republican forces into a quick capitulation. However, despite the initial success of the landings, the republicans quickly recovered the initiative and over the months of August and September mounted a series of counter-attacks against the Free State army.

In this book Tom Doyle looks at the various successes and failures of both sides in Kerry during the summer campaign of 1922, and how the superior resources of the Free State army and the lack of support from the people for the republicans allowed the Free State to build up a strong presence in a crucial part of the republicans' heartland.