This captivating book explores the significant events of 1916 and the War of Independence in Kilkenny and its neighboring Tipperary borderlands. It is an expanded and revised edition of The Flying Column West Kilkenny 1916-1921, originally published in 1987.

The new title honors the fact that much of the action detailed in the book unfolded against the backdrop of the iconic mountain. The edition is substantially larger than the original publication, boasting approximately 340 pages compared to the previous 210, and features 150 illustrations many of which have never been published previously. Enhanced content includes new chapters that delve into the 916 events in Kilkenny and the landmark by-election of 1917, where W. T. Cosgrave achieved a pivotal victory for Sinn Féin over John Magennis of the Irish Party, providing a national context to the narrative. Notable figures such as Roger Casement, Thomas MacDonagh, Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Countess Markievicz, and Cathal Brugha are intricately linked to Kilkenny during these revolutionary years.

Additionally, this edition presents new important chapters on the role of the Kilkenny People newspaper and its editor, E.T. Keane, in articulating nationalist opinion post 1916, the beginnings of Sinn Féin in Thomastown, and a list with biographical details of all those connected with County Kilkenny who lost their lives in 1916 and the War of Independence. The detailed accounts of the military engagements of the Flying Columns with British forces, at Hugginstown, Ninemilehouse, Friary Street, Garryricken and Knocknagress, remain as the core of the book.

Author Jim Maher hails from a Kilkenny family with a strong Republican tradition, and his commitment to recounting the stories of the young freedom fighters of the borderland was strengthened when he went to teach in Tullaroan National School and met many of those who participated in the encounter with British forces at nearby Knocknagress. He has travelled the byways of Kilkenny and Tipperary tracking down the quiet men and women who knew the days of the Flying Columns, Brigades, Battalions and Companies of the IRA and the members of Cumann na mBan. For Jim Maher it was a labour of love and this evocative book is a fitting tribute to the author and to the men and women who have passed into history.

Please note that this book has seen two successful print runs and is currently no longer available in hardcopy.