Books published by The Mercier Press

This book provides fresh insights into the causes, development, and enduring legacies of the Irish Civil War. Understand the divisions sparked by the Anglo-Treaty and the pursuit of complete Irish independence. Delve into the conduct on both sides, the bitter remnants left behind, and the role of key IRA figures who opposed the Treaty.

Follow up to Killing at its Very Extreme, Dublin: October 1917 - November 1920, Someone Has to Die for This, Dublin: November 1920 - July 1921 wrenches the reader into the final frenetic months of Dublin's War of Independence, in uncompromising, unflinching, and unprecedented detail. RRP EURO19.99 GBP16.99

In May of 1970, two government ministers were dismissed from Cabinet for allegedly purchasing guns for the IRA. The Taoiseach Jack Lynch disavowed any knowledge of the plot. Few believed him. Charles Haughey, Minister for Finance, a captain in Irish military intelligence along with two others were put on trial. All were acquitted. Haughey refused to talk about the crisis for the rest of his life. Fianna Fail endured decades of splits, turmoil and leadership heaves. Until now, no one has revealed the pivotal role of an IRA informer in the affair. The part he played became the best-kept State secret of the last half-century. The book also reveals a dirty tricks campaign by Britain's Foreign Office to conceal the ancillary role of a British agent called Capt. Markham-Randall in the murder of Garda Richard Fallon on the eve of the eruption of the Arms Crisis.

In this collection of Christmas tales, John B. Keane gives us stories of romance, love, fairies and wise men from the East to entertain and enlighten during the festive season.

Nothing will stop Vonnie from trying to win the affections of her darling man - soon leaving Clooney's career, reputation and heart in tatters.

This tongue-in-cheek sweep across the two nations is aimed at Irish people, wherever they live, not to mention the 10 million English people who move over here after Brexit. With our neighbour losing its marbles, there has never been a better time to exact revenge for the two most despicable things that England has ever inflicted on the Irish

An IRA brigade commander's gripping description of the struggle for freedom. RRP EURO19.99

Keane: Origins charts Keane's journey from an economically-ravaged Cork to a spectacular three-season spell under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest via a memorable stint on a government-funded training scheme and brief spell in the League of Ireland.

A random collection of tales of human tragedy, eccentrics, crime and punishment, hanging and rioting on ‘The Green’. ‘The Green’ for several hundred years was effectively the killing fields of Dublin, where the city''s criminals were taken to be hanged. Within these pages you will find tales of high-profile executions and lesser-known ones such as the hanging of the brothel-keeper Darky Kelly and the barbaric execution of Mary Fairfield the last person to be hanged there [1784]. Also included are Dan ''The Liberator,'' who fought a battle with his love rival at Harcourt Fields, the champion archer Celia Betham, and Bridget Hitler, sister-in-law of Adolf. Tales of rioting on the Green, a race in the Iveagh Gardens between a man and a horse called Rover and a host of characters and incidents that you won''t find in any guidebook.

The special magic of the Irish imagination shines forth in these fourteen authentic folktales.

The RIC are often portrayed as the villains of the War of Independence, Irishmen who betrayed their country. Police Casualties in Ireland 1919 - 1922 records in detail the deaths of over 500 police casualties during the war including the RIC, Dublin Metropolitan Police, the Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and Ulster Special Constabulary.

What was a mark? Livery of seisin? Letters patent? This remarkable Dictionary of Irish Local History will be able to tell you. Entries are fully cross-referenced and come replete with full biographical paraphernalia to enable readers to engage in further reading. Primarily intended for local historians, but the interconnectedness of the local and wider worlds is recognised by the inclusion of a range of entries relating to national institutions, religion, archaeology, education, land issues, lay associations and political movements. It is an indispensable work, which will enable local historians to make better sense of the evidence for the past.

Brilliant satire on the Gaeltacht and lugubrious Gaeltacht memories.

The final installment of the acclaimed Nine Lives trilogy, sequel to 'The Book of Learning' and 'The Book of Shadows'.

Personal accounts by people of all political colours from these islands and the wider world who met and interacted with Martin McGuinness at different points in his life: some over a lifetime, others more briefly.

Story of the assassination of the Number One administrator of the British government in Ireland and his Number Two. 06 May, 1882, the Number One administrator of the British government in Ireland and his Number Two are assassinated by men wielding deadly surgical knives while the pair are walking in the Phoenix Park. The killings are witnessed from the Viceregal Lodge, now Aras an Uachtarain, the official residence of her majesty's representative in Ireland. One of the dead men is Lord Frederick Cavendish - who is married to the niece of the prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone. The other man is Thomas Henry Burke, the head of the Irish Civil Service, a man denounced by Nationalists as the leading 'Castle Rat' in the British 'occupation'. The British government must solve this crime. But there are no clues. The witness descriptions are inconclusive and the local police do not know where to begin...

The IRA in their own, unedited words

The captivating story of Charles Stewart Parnell's sister, one of Ireland's unsung heroines, feared by both the British government and Irish Republicans as she was considered too militant. Anna became a threat to the Republican movement itself and there was only one man who could silence her: Her brother, Charles Stewart Parnell. And he did.

A rare collection of Coroner's Reports from post-Famine Ireland, 1856-1876, which re-veal for the first time a glimpse into life at that time, through the eyes of death.