Apologies GSS, I did read your post with interest. The author's POV is certainly plausible but I think I would have to read his book, before I could comment on the balance of probability.

The "De Valera the cowardly, incompetent, mentally unstable officer who deserted his troops" is certainly believable and borne out by the man's own actions.

Since the formation of the Irish Free State and the declaration of the Republic there have been two occasions where British Prime Ministers have offered their full support for union between the South and the North - on both occasions the offer has been refused in seconds.

I also apologise for apparently boring you with our squabble, but when Carroll persists in putting forward his cock-eyed Made-Up-Shit version of history to advance his Anglophobia, you can rest assured that I will draw his attention to details that tend to blow his dearly held myths clear out of the water.