Eoin O'duffy: A Self-made Hero - Couverture rigide

McGarry, Fearghal

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0199276552 ISBN 13 : 9780199276554

Editeur : Oxford University Press, 2005

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Eoin O'Duffy was one of the most controversial figures of modern Irish history. A guerrilla leader and protégé of Michael Collins, he rose rapidly through the ranks of the republican movement. By 1922 he was chief of staff of the IRA, a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood's Supreme Council, and a Sinn Féin deputy in Dáil Éireann. As chief of police, O'Duffy was the strongest defender of the Irish Free State only to become, after his emergence as leader of the Blueshirt movement in 1933, the greatest threat to its survival. Increasingly drawn to international fascism, he founded Ireland's first fascist party, and led an Irish Brigade to fight under General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. He died in wartime Dublin, a Nazi collaborator, and a broken man. This study, the first ever biography of Eoin O'Duffy, draws on unpublished archival and personal papers to trace his journey from revolutionary republicanism to fascism. It examines the importance of cultural forces, including the legacy of the Irish-Ireland movement, Catholicism, anti-communism, and O'Duffy's ideas on sports, morality, and masculinity to explain his descent into extremism. McGarry peels away the public persona to reveal a complex picture of the motives which drove this extraordinary career. A crusading moralist and advocate of teetotalism, obsessed with the need to counter public immorality, who was at the same time a closet homosexual and alcoholic, O'Duffy's remarkable life was characterised by self-aggrandisement, fantasy, and contradiction. This fascinating biography explores themes as diverse as cultural nationalism, violence, sectarianism, militarism, and masculinity to shed new light on Irish republicanism and the politics of interwar European fascist movements. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of culture, politics, and society in interwar Ireland.

Revue de presse :

A very good book indeed. McGarry is a talented writer. His exposition is always clear, his quotations and illustrations are always well-chosen and he has an understated and elegant style. This isn't a short book but it is very readbale: nicely paced, packed with illuminating detail and full engaged with its subject. (Peter Hart, Irish Times)

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Oxford University Press
• Date d'édition: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0199276552
• ISBN 13: 9780199276554
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 470