The recent Decade of Commemorations has produced a considerable number of books on the 'Tan War' AKA Irish War of Independence or Anglo-Irish War. Some bad, some boldly lazy, and, thankfully, many wonderful treatises of this formative period in Ireland's recent past.Few though, match the uniqueness of Tomas Mac Conmara's The Time of the Tans: an oral history of the War of Independence in County Clare.The Time of the Tans is an oral history, based on two decades' worth of research and over 400 interviews in County Clare.A labour of love and dedication, Mac Conmara's work is based on two decades' worth of research. During which, he conducted over 400 interviews, recording the echoes of the Irish Revolution in his native Co. Clare. This impressive collection of testimony is bolstered by privileged access to private family collections, and official contemporary records.A remarkable feature of this work is the relationships between past and present, memory and personal identity; almost all of which are underpinned by a strong sense of place. In many ways, this book is a collection of memories. Memories of a formative time and place within the recent history of Ireland.Many of the interviewees recall in great detail exactly where they were, what they were doing, and at what time they heard a gunshot in the dark, the hum of an engine in the distance, or the sound of strange footsteps marching on the road outside.Long forgotten colloquial place and familial names are recalled, further adding a personal depth and connection to the past, and indeed to the land. As Mac Conmara writes: 'These sites of memory are all the more powerful due to their relationship to the local oral tradition and their historical relevance to the local community'. It is clear, from the reminisces contained within this book, the impact which these events impressed upon the local communities in the county.The inclusion of intonation, phrases, and colloquialisms adds a richness to the text. Carrying on the Irish folk tradition of the seanchai, Mac Conmara beautifully captures the styles of speech and gestures that were peculiar to his native Clare. Numerous colloquial shibboleths are explained within the text so as conveying the context and meaning of their use to unfamiliar readers.The book is organised thematically into seven chapters - plus an appendix. Each dealing with different facets of the experience of revolution in the county. The first chapter, 'Criminals of England: Stories of Memory' is a testament to the longevity of the trope of rife criminality among the backgrounds of the Black and Tan and Auxiliary recruits to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) who were deployed in Ireland to take the war to the IRA.Hyperbolic assertions of British criminals and jailbirds set loose to wreak havoc in Ireland are present, alongside more tempered, nuanced commentary from the author. It is worth noting that such hyperbole is not, however, the preserve of folk memory, and is often found repeated in the testimony of former veterans of the conflict; many of whom were more than content to propagate this myth.Ahistoricity aside, what is striking is the sheer terror invoked by the mention of these corps among the interviewees of this text. Moreover, while the supposed background of the Tans and Auxies was in many ways a figment of their imagination, the dread, anxiety, and distress of those who experienced their behaviour and suffered at their hands was indeed very real. Even decades after the events, the raw power of emotion and intensity of memory is striking.The recollections of the interviewees may not be strictly accurate, but they rather convey the experience and perceptions of those who lived through the 'troubled times' of the 1920s'Chapter two 'Run for it: Stories of Experience' details the near misses and lucky escapees of Clare Volunteers during the revolutionary period. Again, the lingering scars of past experience are evocatively recalled, most notably in t