Description

They Put the Flag a-Flyin’: The Roscommon Volunteers 1916–1923 by Kathleen Hegarty Thorne is a major regional history of the Irish War of Independence and Civil War, focused primarily on County Roscommon, with wider coverage of neighbouring counties including Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Westmeath, Longford, and Galway.

The book reconstructs the revolutionary period through a combination of:

• Volunteer witness accounts
• Family archives and private papers
• Photographs and local documentation
• Military and historical records
• Oral history and community testimony

It provides a highly detailed account of Volunteer activity between 1916 and 1923, including ambushes, arrests, intelligence operations, local battalion organisation, and the transition from War of Independence to Civil War.

Structure and Content

The work is typically organised into multiple analytical layers:

• Narrative history section – chronological events and regional campaigns
• Timeline of conflict activity – month-by-month breakdown of operations
• Biographical index – extensive listing (2,000+ individuals) of Volunteers and associated figures
• Geographical coverage – Roscommon core with adjacent county operations
• Thematic material – intelligence, raids, reprisals, and community impact

The book also includes songs, commemorative material, and cultural memory elements reflecting how the revolutionary period is remembered within local communities.

Historical Value

This work is widely used as a local history reference source, particularly for:

• Irish War of Independence studies
• Civil War local studies
• Genealogy and family research
• Volunteer organisation structures in the West of Ireland

It is especially valued for preserving less-documented regional activity, providing granular detail on individuals and events often absent from national-level histories.