G2 : In defence of Ireland : Irish military intelligence 1918-45 / Maurice Walsh

Includes bibliographical references and index

The Irish Military Intelligence Service is often referred to as G2. Michael Collins was its first Director in the War of Independence when the IRA succeeded in the intelligence war against the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary. After the Civil War the Free State army was subjected to severe reductions - G2 was not spared. Only the efforts of successive Directors of Intelligence, Michael J. Costello, Liam Archer and Dan Bryan, ensured its survival. In a twist, as part of their role in the new state, they kept a close eye on the IRA and other subversives. During the Emergency, as the Second World War was known in Ireland, G2 was involved in counter-espionage, propaganda and maintaining Ireland's pro-Allied neutrality. Officers detained and interrogated IRA gunrunners as well as Nazi, British and American airmen and agents prior to imprisonment. The work of cryptologist Dr Richard Hayes was essential to the war effort as it ensured German codes were decrypted and passed to London. Drawing heavily on Irish intelligence records, many disclosed for the first time, this compelling book fills a gap in the history of Irish intelligence and some twists and turns in Anglo-Irish relations