Meda Ryan is an Irish historian.
She has written extensively on the
Irish revolution of 1916–23. Among her books are ''The Tom Barry Story'' (1982)- later updated and revised as ''Tom Barry, IRA Freedom Fighter'' in 2003 - ''The Day Michael Collins was Shot'' (1998), ''Michael Collins and the Women in his Life'' (1998), ''Liam Lynch the Real Chief'' (2005) and ''Michael Collins and the Women who Spied for Ireland'' (2006).
She was involved in a dispute with historian
Peter Hart over questions he raised in his book ''The IRA and its Enemies'' over the
Kilmichael Ambush
The Kilmichael ambush () was an attack carried out on 28 November 1920 by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) near the village of Kilmichael, County Cork, during the Irish War of Independence. Thirty-six local IRA volunteers commanded by Tom Barr ...
in 1920 and the
Dunmanway killings in 1922. Ryan in her book ''Tom Barry, IRA Freedom Fighter'' disputed Hart's claims that at Kilmichael British
Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...
were killed after they had surrendered and that 13 Protestants killed around Dunmanway in April 1922 were targeted for their religion. Ryan argued that the Auxiliaries were killed after a false surrender and that those killed in 1922 were informers to British forces.
Bibliography
*''The Tom Barry Story'' (1982)
*
The Day Michael Collins was Shot' (1998)
*
Michael Collins and the Women in his Life' (1998)
*''Tom Barry, IRA Freedom Fighter'' (2003)
*
Liam Lynch the Real Chief' (2005)
*
Michael Collins and the Women who Spied for Ireland' (2006)
References
Living people
20th-century Irish historians
21st-century Irish historians
Irish women non-fiction writers
Irish non-fiction writers
Anti-Revisionism (Ireland)
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{Ireland-historian-stub