Louth historian publishes book on Eoin O'Duffy

A Haggardstown  historian has just launched his first book General Eoin O’Duffy: The Political Life of an Irish Firebrand.

Jack Traynor holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in history from Trinity College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast respectively. He is currently an Irish Research Council-funded PhD candidate in the Department of History in Trinity College Dublin, researching the intellectual development of the republican movement in the 1930s.

General Eoin O’Duffy: The Political Life of an Irish Firebrand, was published by the US-based independent academic publisher McFarland & Co. in January 2024. It can be purchased online.

“O’Duffy was a highly important figure in the struggle for independence, enjoying the patronage of Michael Collins,” Traynor said.

O’Duffy is often seen as a controversial figure as following his dismissal as Garda Commissioner after eleven years in the job, he became involved in politics as head of the Blueshirts movement in 1933. 

When the Blueshirts merged with Cumann na nGaedheal and the National Centre Party, he became the inaugural president of Fine Gael. But his career in Fine Gael was short-lived; he resigned in 1934 due to disagreements with his colleagues principally over his support for an illegal campaign to withhold annuities payments during the Economic War.

According to Traynor: "His final throw of the dice was to establish an Irish brigade to fight alongside Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. He didn’t cover himself in glory during the Spanish campaign and the effort fizzled out by early 1937. His last years were largely dedicated to sports administration until he died in 1944.”

Traynor says he believes his book is a fair appraisal of O’Duffy, stating:

“It gives due consideration to his significant achievements whilst not skirting away from criticising his decisions and views. It draws on new evidence related to the nature of his international links with fascism and how they have been somewhat misinterpreted in past studies. 

“The book further examines the developments in society from the Easter Rising until the ‘Emergency’ in Ireland during the Second World War by tracking these changes through O’Duffy’s experiences.”