HISTORY: The spark that lit the Civil War subject of history talk in Offaly

'Ireland's Sarajevo' is the title of a lecture to be presented by Irish Times journalist and author, Ronan McGreevy in Tullamore on Monday night next.

The lecture is presented in person and online through Zoom at Offaly Histry Centre, Bury Quay at 8p.m.
For the Zoom link, please email info@offalyhistory.com.
 ‘Ireland’s Sarajevo: How the assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP changed the course of Irish history’ is the full title of this talk.

The assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP on June 22, 1922 was the critical event which led to the breakout of the Irish Civil War just six days later.

How did the gunning down of the former head of the British army lead to the Provisional Government shelling of the Four Courts and the beginning of the Civil War?

What might have happened if Wilson had not been killed?

What role did Michael Collins have in this calamitous event?

Based on his bestselling book 'Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP', the speaker will attempt to address one of the enduring mysteries of Irish history.
Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter and videographer with The Irish Times. He is the author of the book Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front.

He was made a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his work on remembrance and the First World War.

He is the editor of Centenary: Ireland Remembers 1916, the official state book recalling the commemorations of 2016.

His most recent book is Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP and was an Irish bestseller.

It was chosen by the Sunday Business Post as their history book of 2022 and was also chosen by The Daily Telegraph as one of its history books of 2022.