Most discussions on the life of Lord French end with his removal from command of the British Expeditionary Forces during the First World War but after this event he would have a dramatic effect on the course of Irish history. In command of the Home Forces during the 1916 Rising, he would support the executions carried out by Sir John Maxwell and later as Lord Lieutenant he would use largely unsuccessful coercive measures, first in an attempt to force through conscription and later to combat the IRA. His reign was eventually brought to an end in May 1920 with a massive reorganisation of Dublin Castle and the deployment there of men who were prepared to accept a peaceful solution to the Irish Question.
References:
James McMahon - https://dib.cambridge.org/viewReadPage.do;jsessionid=339E7E35B7104353BF6C0887E7B63341?articleId=a5258
Richard Holmes - “The Little Field Marshal”
William Sheehan - “Hearts & Mines”
Paul McMahon - “British Spies & Irish Rebels”
D.M. Leeson - “The Black & Tans”
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/theirishnation
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishNationLives/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirishnationlives/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/theirishnationlives
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-irish-nation-lives
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/maniacalinc
Main Sources:
Military Archives - http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie
Century Ireland - https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland
Diarmuid Lynch, Irish Revolutionary - http://diarmuidlynch.weebly.com/
Atlas of the Irish Revolution
Maurice Walsh - “Bitter Freedom”
Charles Townshend - "The Republic"
Michael Hopkinson - ”The Irish War of Independence”
Diarmuid Ferriter - “A Nation and not a Rabble”
Richard Abbot - “Police Casualties in Ireland 1919 - 1922”
Photos:
Military Archives
NLI Flickr account
Wiki Commons