Field of Fire

Unlike the more urban Dublin locations of the 1916 Rising, the rural battlefield at Ashbourne is not easily found. Yet it was there that forces of the Royal Irish Constabulary were defeated in a bloody conflict during Easter Week, 1916. A complicated and bloody battle, The Battle of Ashbourne, 1916 was an integral part of the Rising, and also a template for the future tactics and strategies employed by Republican forces during the Irish War of Independence. In the book, O'Brien questions the strategy employed by the police, and explores the controversy that surrounds the number of casualties they suffered and if they could have been avoided while exploring the military competence of the Irish Volunteers during The Battle of Ashbourne, 1916 and how they managed to pull off one of the greatest victories of the 1916 Rising.