Killing at its Very Extreme takes the reader to the
heart of Dublin from October 1917 to November 1920, effectively the first
phase of Dublin's War of Independence. It details pivotal aspects at the
outset, then the ramping up of the intelligence war, the upsurge in raids and
assassinations. Vividly depicting mass hunger-strikes, general strikes, prison
escapes, and ruthless executions by the full-time IRA 'Squad', amid curfews and
the functioning of an audacious alternative government. Intensity builds as
the reader is embedded into Commandant Dick McKee's Dublin Brigade to witness
relentless actions and ambushes.
The authors' unprecedented access lays bare many myths about key
players from both sides. The tempo escalates with deployment of the notorious
Black and Tans and Auxiliaries, as well as a host of cunning political and
propaganda ploys. Desperate plights and horrific reprisals are portrayed, the
effects of mass sectarian pogroms and killings. Tthe sacking of Balbriggan, the
killing of Sean Treacy, the death of Terence MacSwiney, and the capture and
execution of teenager Kevin Barry. As in the authors' previous works the pulsating tension,
elation, fear, desperation, hunger, the mercy and the enmity leap from the
pages. The harrowing circumstances suffered by those whose sacrifices laid the
bedrock for modern Ireland, and whose own words form the book's primary
sources, are recounted in unflinching detail.
