The birth of the Irish Republic that we know today began in 1916. The leadership and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (forerunners of the Irish Republican Army) decided that the British parliament had delayed Irish home rule long enough. It was time for action. On Easter weekend in 1916 a group of approximately 1,600 armed rebels seized key locations in Dublin and proclaimed separation from Britain and established the Irish Republic. From the steps of the General Post Office a proclamation was read that announced the birth of a sovereign, self-determined Irish Republic. The proclamation established a legislature, a government, a court system, and a police force. At the same time, the Irish Volunteers, a military organization established in 1913 by Irish nationalists, became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA). For the next three years the IRA targeted the British forces in Ireland with deadly guerrilla strikes. On January 21, 1919, a bloody incident occurred that precipitated what became known as the Irish War of Independence. This short war ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty covering 26 of the 32 Irish counties. It was signed on December 6, 1921, and approved by the Irish parliament on January 7, 1922. The subject of this book review, The Irish Artillery Corps Since 1922, begins at this point.

"The birth of what is now the Irish Artillery Corps can be traced to Tuesday evening, 27 June 1922, when a group of four National Army officers from Beggar's Bush Barracks in Dublin arrived at the British-held Marlborough Barracks…to collect two 18-pdr field guns and ammunition." Thus begins the latest volume in Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) Green Series, The Irish Artillery Corps Since 1922. The author, Ralph A. Riccio, chronicles a wonderfully illustrated history of the Irish Republic's artillery corps from its beginnings in 1922 to the present day. The author covers the operations and equipment of the corps from their first 18-pdrs used in the troublesome early days of Independence to the modern weapons used in today's peacekeeping operations in Chad.

The reader will find a chapter on artillery unit names and numbering conventions – a necessary ingredient to understanding any artillery corps. There are chapters on air defense and coastal artillery. The chapter on artillery equipment covers nomenclature and detail descriptions of every piece of artillery used, with line drawings of the piece and tables of specifications. A book on artillery would not be complete without a discussion on the ways and means of moving the piece. The author again has provided detail descriptions of the trucks and other equipment that tow the guns. Each chapter is profusely illustrated with period black & white photographs as well as recent color pictures. There are approximately 380 photographs total. Line drawings, tables, and equipment specifications accompany these.

Anyone interested in the study of military history or an artillery enthusiast will find this book to be extremely useful. Due to the details found in the photographs and drawings, the modeler will also find this book to be very helpful.

My sincere thanks goes to Mushroom Model Publications for providing this wonderful book to IPMS/USA and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.