An Irish Guerrilla Commander and "The Murder Machine"

Update: 2025-12-01

Description

An Irish Guerrilla Commander and "The Murder Machine"

What This Episode Covers

In this episode of Undercover Irish, we dig beneath the legendary image of Tom Barry — the famed guerrilla commander of Kilmichael whose tactics are still studied in British and US military circles — and uncover the deeper story hiding in plain sight within his autobiography Guerilla Days in Ireland.

We explore how Barry's early life, shaped by the British National School system founded in 1831, reveals the psychological core of colonial rule: the dismantling of Irish national consciousness through language suppression, historical erasure, and identity engineering.

Along the way, we examine:

Tom Barry's own admission that he "knew no Irish history and had no national consciousness."
The British-run national school system and its tools of anglicisation — the bata scóir, the tally stick, and enforced English-only learning.
John Montague's devastating poem "A Grafted Tongue" and how it captures the emotional cost of linguistic oppression.
Pádraig Pearse's warnings in "The Murder Machine" about how schooling can kill a nation's soul.
The infamous classroom recitation: "I thank the goodness and the grace… that made me a happy English child."
How the 1916 Rising became a counter-education movement, awakening Barry and a generation to Irish identity.
What this history still means for Ireland today.

If you're interested in the intersection of identity, education, language and colonialism — this is a foundational episode.

Discover the hidden story behind Tom Barry's transformation from a British-educated WWI soldier to Ireland's most iconic guerrilla leader.

This episode reveals how colonial education shaped Irish identity, how language was weaponised through the national schools, and why Barry's autobiography still matters today.

We draw on extracts from:

Guerilla Days in Ireland by Tom Barry
A Grafted Tongue by John Montague
The Murder Machine by Pádraig Pearse
Language, Resistance and Revival by Dr. Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh

Perfect for listeners interested in Irish history, colonial studies, the Irish language, national identity, cultural revival, and the politics of education.

🔗 Links & Resources

📚 Books Mentioned

Tom Barry – Guerilla Days in Ireland (Mercier Press)
👉 https://www.mercierpress.ie/irish-books/guerilla_days_in_ireland/
Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh – Language, Resistance and Revival
👉 https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745331253/language-resistance-and-revival/
John Montague – "A Grafted Tongue" (Poem text)
👉 https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/poems/poem/103-18844_A-Grafted-Tongue