History has a short memory for the humble. While the names of statesmen are etched in bronze- the ordinary men and women of west Cork – the farmers and the sons of the soil have been consigned to the shadows. They stood against the full majesty of the British Crown and won, yet they sought no laurels. They performed extraordinary deeds and returned to the silence of their fields, their names left out of the grand narratives. Theirs is a peculiar silence in the history of 1919 - 1921.

From a detailed background, the authors guide the reader through the ideological shift from the idealism of the 1916 Rising to the brutal warfare of 1919-1921. With a narrative driven by primary sources - many from the handwritten witness statements of the Florence Begley Archive and others drawn from the recently released records of the Bureau of Military History, the work captures the fear, the idealism, and the strategic complexities of those who fought. Many of the accounts have never been seen before.

The true brilliance of this volume lies where the author moves from the broad strokes of revolution to the razor-edge focus of West Cork. Begley, Collins and O'Farrell meticulously set the scene for the most significant military engagement of the War of Independence: The Battle of Crossbarry.

Using meticulous research, the book dissects Deasy's and Barry's brilliant decision to ambush the encircling forces rather than flee. The reader is brought into the chilling pre-dawn darkness of a rural crossroads, and the battle that took place on 19 March 1921. . The analysis brings to light key details often skipped by lesser histories:

·         The Tactical Layout: How the Flying Column was deployed in a rough horseshoe shape, facing south, west, and east, utilizing the terrain to negate the enemy’s superior numbers.

·         The extra stories:  The build up to the battle - the night before - the accounts of what happened. The poignant, almost surreal role of Florence Begley, the brigade piper, who played martial airs on his war pipes while the fighting raged, acting as a force multiplier for morale. And so much more.

·         The Breaking of the Encirclement: A blow-by-blow account of how, at roughly 7.15 AM, the ambush party engaged the convoy from Bandon, resulting in a fierce firefight where survivors reported being attacked with grenades and intense rifle fire.

What sets the Journey to Irish Independence apart is its understanding of the context of 1921. Crossbarry was not just an ambush - it was a response to a British plan to break the West Cork IRA, spearheaded by Major Percival. The book portrays the aftermath: the long retirement and the sombre, slow march behind the coffin of Charlie Hurley, one of the IRA's best officers, killed just before the ambush.

What began as a modest attempt to gather a few stories and sources has grown into something far more substantial – a 440-page exploration of Ireland’s journey to independence. With images and text that have never been in the public domain, this book will be of interest to many.