Binding: Paperback
Date Published: 08 Jan 2026
‘A determined effort to stamp out this dangerous body, versed as it has always been in murder and intrigue, might have cost many lives but would have freed Ireland from a terror whence no good thing can come …'
This description of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) by the head of the Irish post office after the 1916 Rising encapsulates the importance of an organisation without which there would have been no Rising, no IRA and no War of Independence. Yet its legacy remains obscured by the intense secrecy under which it operated.
In The Irish Republican Brotherhood 1914–1924, John O'Beirne Ranelagh lifts the veil on the fascinating story of the IRB at the time it had its most profound impact on Ireland's political landscape. With a father who was one of its members, he had unique access to the generation of men who populated its ranks, many of whom refused to be interviewed by anyone else. Using testimonies from key figures, such as Vinnie Byrne and Moss Twomey, as well as newly available documentation, Ranelagh unravels the true influence of the only oath-bound society to which Michael Collins pledged his loyalty.
An enthralling exploration of secret societies, political manoeuvres and personal sacrifices, this bookcasts new light on a pivotal chapter in Ireland's quest for independence.