Hm. Thanks Tim. Looked it up online; looks excellent. Blurb says Adams a very complex figure. (Rrmmph. Complex *this*. Still simmering down, here...)

Somwhere in the rubble I have an old one, "The Secret Army: A History of the I.R.A., 1916-1970", by J. Bowyer Bell; London: Sphere Books, 1972 -- I had to lookit up too, canna find my copy. Apparently there was an update making it 1916-1979, published 1989 by Poolbeg Press, Dublin. / But as I *recall* (?), the 1916-1970 study was difficult to slog through; dry, not-very-well-written, & biased (pro), not neutral. Folks correct me if I'm wrong on it.