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Ambush at Central Park: When the IRA Came to New York
A compelling, action-packed account of the only officially sanctioned I.R.A attack ever conducted on American soil.
In 1922, three of the Irish Republican Army’s top gunmen arrived in New York City seeking vengeance. Their “Cruxy” O’Connor, a young Irishman who kept switching sides as revolution swept his country in the wake of World War I. Cruxy’s last betrayal dealt a stunning blow to Ireland’s struggle for Six of his IRA comrades were killed when he told police the location of their safe house outside Cork. A year later, the IRA gunned him down in a hail of bullets before a crowd of horrified New Yorkers at the corner of 84th Street and Central Park West.
Based primarily on first-hand accounts, most of them never before published, Ambush at Central Park is a cinematic exploration of the enigma of “Cruxy” O’ Was he really a decorated war hero who became a spy for Britain? When he defected to the IRA, did his machine gun really jam in a crucial attack? When captured, did he give up his IRA comrades only under torture? Was he a British spy all along? Or was he pursuing a decades-old blood feud between his family and that of one of his comrades?
A longtime editor at The New York Times , author Mark Bulik delved through Irish government archives, newspaper accounts, census data, and unpublished material from the families of the main actors. Together they add to the sensational story of a rebel ambush, a deadly police raid, a dinner laced with poison, a daring prison break, a boatload of tommy guns on the Hoboken waterfront, an unlikely pair of spies who fall in love, and an audacious assassination plot against the British cabinet.
Gravely wounded and near death, Cruxy refused to cooperate with the detectives investigating the case. And so, the spy who stopped spying and the gunman who stopped shooting became the informer who wouldn’t inform, even at death’s door. Here is a forgotten chapter of Irish and New York the story of the only officially authorized IRA attack on American soil.
In 1922, three of the Irish Republican Army’s top gunmen arrived in New York City seeking vengeance. Their “Cruxy” O’Connor, a young Irishman who kept switching sides as revolution swept his country in the wake of World War I. Cruxy’s last betrayal dealt a stunning blow to Ireland’s struggle for Six of his IRA comrades were killed when he told police the location of their safe house outside Cork. A year later, the IRA gunned him down in a hail of bullets before a crowd of horrified New Yorkers at the corner of 84th Street and Central Park West.
Based primarily on first-hand accounts, most of them never before published, Ambush at Central Park is a cinematic exploration of the enigma of “Cruxy” O’ Was he really a decorated war hero who became a spy for Britain? When he defected to the IRA, did his machine gun really jam in a crucial attack? When captured, did he give up his IRA comrades only under torture? Was he a British spy all along? Or was he pursuing a decades-old blood feud between his family and that of one of his comrades?
A longtime editor at The New York Times , author Mark Bulik delved through Irish government archives, newspaper accounts, census data, and unpublished material from the families of the main actors. Together they add to the sensational story of a rebel ambush, a deadly police raid, a dinner laced with poison, a daring prison break, a boatload of tommy guns on the Hoboken waterfront, an unlikely pair of spies who fall in love, and an audacious assassination plot against the British cabinet.
Gravely wounded and near death, Cruxy refused to cooperate with the detectives investigating the case. And so, the spy who stopped spying and the gunman who stopped shooting became the informer who wouldn’t inform, even at death’s door. Here is a forgotten chapter of Irish and New York the story of the only officially authorized IRA attack on American soil.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published April 25, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 11, 2023
Irish history can be especially difficult to understand at times. Many people know the IRA but don’t know the many splinter groups and internal turmoil. The premise of this book is pretty simple, though. The IRA didn’t like to commit violence on U.S. soil to avoid bad PR. They only sanctioned one hit, one time. The target of that hit was “Cruxy” O’Connor who got 6 of his fellow IRA members killed when he talked to the British authorities.
The book is going to be especially interesting to those of Irish ancestry, but Bulik writes it so well that anyone can enjoy it. There are a ton of universal themes and Bulik doesn’t shy away from showing how much gray area there was in the battle for Irish independence. Ironically, the ambush in the title takes up very little page count but the book does not suffer for it. All the events leading up to the assassination attempt are actually the most important parts. Was Cruxy always a spy or just a guy who got tortured into talking? Read and find out.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Fordham University Press.)
The book is going to be especially interesting to those of Irish ancestry, but Bulik writes it so well that anyone can enjoy it. There are a ton of universal themes and Bulik doesn’t shy away from showing how much gray area there was in the battle for Irish independence. Ironically, the ambush in the title takes up very little page count but the book does not suffer for it. All the events leading up to the assassination attempt are actually the most important parts. Was Cruxy always a spy or just a guy who got tortured into talking? Read and find out.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Fordham University Press.)
February 17, 2024
This is another great book about the IRA. It was well researched and written. This is a book you could knock out quite quickly too as it’s only like 145 pages. I didn’t even know the IRA came to the US (more importantly New York) and caused trouble there. I don’t know why but I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the IRA and The Troubles. It wasn’t until recently though that I have started reading books about it, most things before were things I read online or what I saw on TV. So far both the books I’ve read, this one and There Will Be Fire were big winners. If you are interested in it I think this is a good place to start, because it’s short in length but it does tell a rich history.
September 6, 2023
This is an incredible true story that spans two continents. In 1922 the IRA in Cork crossed the Atlantic ocean to shoot an informer who had fled to New York city. Ambush at Central Park is a fast paced narrative full of unlikely twists and turns, although based on meticulous historical research. Mark Bulik is equally at home writing about intrigue among the IRA in Ireland as he is about Irish-American gun runners and shady politicians. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which is a great read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews