Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh

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The author cites successive examples of the area being an extremely dangerous place for the Royal Irish Constabulary, the pre-partition British police force, and of course, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), post-partition. While the book is based on a lot of interviews and a fair amount of secondary reading (as evinced by the bibliography), it is not properly referenced.

includes references and comments from British army officials, sínn feín officials and members of the provisional IRA. However, in total, the book provides a good starting point to those with an interest in this most recent, unresolved period of Irish history.From a point of history it is interesting to read how troubled this period was and how much things seem to have moved on. It also includes information from informers’ statements to British military intelligence at Bessbrook Mill, an informer’s statement to a UDR handler, reports of British Army Intelligence Commanders and even publishes montage photographs of ‘IRA suspects’ and RUC photographs of an ‘IRA unit’. Famously described as ‘Bandit Country’ by Merlyn Rees when he was Northern Ireland Secretary, for nearly three decades South Armagh was the most dangerous posting in the world for a British soldier.

He also directly accuses several people who were never convicted of any specific event, which I found a little odd but he has the evidence to back up his accusations.Many commentators and authors, (although in fairness, probably not Harnden) fail to really comprehend why the 'Queen's Writ' is not warmly received, in much of Ireland, for very real historical reasons.