Twice a Hero: From the trenches of the Great War to the ditches of the Irish Midlands 1915 - 1922 - Tapa blanda

Twice a Hero is the true story of George Adamson, a young Irish patriot and rebel, who started his quest for freedom by joining the Irish Volunteers in Moate, Athlone, in the Irish Midlands. Then, on the promise of Home Rule for Ireland at the war's end, he enlisted in the British Army and fought in two forgotten conflicts, the Great War, Salonika & Palestine. Decorated for bravery, he returned home to Ireland after four years of war to find that Home Rule was not forthcoming. He rejoined the National Volunteers, which later changed its name to the Irish Republican Army. Now a wanted man, he went on the run, living off the land during the two years of the Irish War of Independence. Following the signing of a treaty with Britain, he joined the National Army with the rank of Commandant. During the Irish Civil War that followed he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the Midland Division of the Irish Army. His life came to an end when he was murdered on a street in Athlone. He died from his wounds on his 25th birthday. The title of the book reflects the fact that he was a decorated hero in the Great War and again in the Irish War of Independence, where he was promoted to Brigadier General in the Irish Army. The book cover reflects the end of 700 years of conflict as the Irish National flag was raised over Athlone Castle, a national monument to, and a concrete symbol of, the centuries of tyrannical imperial rule. My research uncovered the history of conflict, ethnic cleansing and oppression denied to me by the educational system in Ireland during my school days. I would encourage my fellow Irishmen, the Irish of the great Diaspora and in particular Irish/Americans, to read the book and be proud of their ancestors who fought and died for the freedom and prosperity that Ireland now enjoys.

At the urging of my children, all born and raised in England, I ventured into the genealogy of our Irish family. Eventually I came to the maternal line, the Adamsons of Moate, Co. Westmeath. I remembered little of the stories told to me by my grandmother, her sister Lucy and my great grandmother about my grand uncle George who had fought in The Great War and the Irish War of Independence. Other than that, and the obvious pride the family had in his achievements, I never got to know much more about him. I regretted not having listened attentively to accounts of their thoughts, and subsequent feelings. By now, 2008, the story of Uncle George seemed to be beyond reach, for he had faded into the wallpaper of life. My enquiries in the area eventually led me to his burial place in the disused and Godforsaken Dunegan Cemetery in Mount Temple, just outside Moate. Unable to find any trace of his grave in the wilderness I was confronted with, I resolved to find out about this man, my own kith and kin, this obscure ancestor of mine and, if possible, write his story before it was lost forever to my children, family and history. According to the great Russian writer Tolstoy, a drama does not tell us the whole of a person’s life - what it does is place it in particular situations. Then, from the way the person deals with the situations, his character is revealed to us more fully. The following account is of a heroic young Irishman, a gallant soldier, patriot and rebel, why he fought, where, when, and how. The conditions he fought under and the men who lived and died beside him. It covers the seven hundred years struggle for a free and independent Ireland, two forgotten theatres of war in Salonika and Palestine, The Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.