" Richard Mulcahy was architect of the guerrilla war that forced the British to grant Dominion status to Ireland and the guiding spirit behind the civil war that ensured the survival of the new state. In this illuminating portrait, Maryann Valiulis uses Mulcahy's career as a focus for reexamining Ireland's transition from colony to nation state between 1916 and 1924. Contrary to traditional interpretation, she argues, Mulcahy and General Headquarters Staff played a crucial role in setting ethical boundaries for the guerrilla war, in ensuring that the war of independence did not degenerate...