History talks at the County Museum in Dundalk

The County Museum, Dundalk will host two very different but linked talks on 1920s Ireland next week. On Tuesday 30th September, Dr. Samuel Beckton will launch his new book 'The Unbroken Covenant: Could Ulster Unionists have controlled a nine-county Northen Ireland 1920-1945?'.

Whilst history deals with the facts of the past this book examines the ‘what-if’ of Irish history asking the question what would have happened if the entire province of Ulster had been partitioned? In doing so a variety of 'what if' scenarios are presented and examined including – if Ulster Unionists could have controlled a nine-county Northern Ireland, what would the knock-on effects have been on the border counties.

The book also looks at whether Border County Unionists could have returned representatives to Stormont and how a nine-county Northern Ireland might have influenced the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

The following evening, Wednesday October 1st, Dr. Gareth Prendergast will give a lecture on his new book, ‘Clear – Hold – Build: How the Free State won the Irish Civil War’.

In Mr Prendergast’s own words: “What was achieved by the Free State during the Irish Civil War was remarkable. Within a period of less than a year they raised and equipped a standing National Army of nearly 60,000 soldiers, defeating an insurgency by the anti-Treaty elements of the IRA. Using the counterinsurgency framework of Clear-Hold-Build and concentrating on the Civil War actions of the National Army in Munster. I will explain how the Free State managed to attain this remarkable achievement.”

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Mr Prendergast is a serving Colonel in the Irish Defence Forces and has completed seven tours of duty, including the Middle East, the Balkans and Mali.

Both events will commence at 7 p.m. with light refreshments being served. Admission to is free but prior booking is advised.
For more information contact the County Museum at 042 9392 999.