THE IRISH Civil War ended in 1923. Eighty years on, author and documentary-maker Tom Hurley wondered if there were many civilians and combatants left from across Ireland who had experienced the years 1919 to 1923, their prelude and their aftermath. 

What memories had they, what were their stories and how did they reflect on those turbulent times?

In early 2003, he recorded the experiences of 18 people, conducting two further interviews abroad in 2004. Tom spoke to a cross-section (catholic, protestant, unionist and nationalist) who were in their teens or early twenties during the civil war.

The chronological approach he has taken to his book spans 50 years, beginning with the oldest interviewee’s birth in 1899 and ending when the Free State became a republic in 1949.

Ballyagran native William Geary and Seán Clancy of Clonlara, Co Clare who attended secondary school in Limerick were among the people that Tom spoke to for his book in 2003. Both were centenarians at the time and were mines of information on the 1919-23 revolutionary years and indeed their own involvement.

The topics William Geary  discusses include his home at Cloonee Cottage, attending wireless school, a 1920 voyage, joining the IRA, black and tans, treaty, joining the gardaí, Dublin Castle, Collins’ death, postings to Clones, Ballybay, Carrickmacross, Newport, Templemore, Kilrush and his emigration to America in 1928.

100 years after the Civil War ended, these 20 interviews recorded by Tom Hurley come together to create a unique oral account of the revolutionary period and the tensions that were brewing in the run-up and aftermath.

Together, theirs are the Last Voices of the Irish Revolution.

Last Voices of the Irish Revolution by Tom Hurley is available in bookshops throughout the country and is  available online.