The War of Independence of January 1919 to July 1921 was a political and military conflict between the newly-formed Dáil Éireann, the Irish Volunteers and Cumann na mBan, which strove to establish and maintain an independent Irish Republic, and the British Government and Crown forces, which sought to keep Ireland within the United Kingdom and British Empire. Galway City Museum’s book, ‘The War of Independence in Galway, 1920-21’ comprises a series of stand-alone articles that recall some of the incidents that took place in Galway – city and county – between October 1920 and July 1921, when the Anglo-Irish Truce came into effect, paving the way for the negotiations that eventually led to the foundation of the Irish Free State.

Researched and written by Brendan McGowan, Education Officer at Galway City Museum, the highly illustrated, bilingual, 222-page book features a foreword by Prof. Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, and includes tables of those who died in Galway during the War of Independence and of Galway people who died in other parts of the country during the conflict. It was first produced as a limited print run by the Museum, as part of Galway City Council’s Decade of Centenaries Programme 2021, but due to popular demand it is being reprinted.  

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