Sir,—I read with interest this fine article by Eoin McLaughlin and Paul Sharp (HI 26.4, July/August 2018) and would like to advise readers that further details on this economic dimension to the Troubles in Kerry is included in my book on the military career of Thomas McEllistrim, The call to arms (Tralee, 2016). There, McEllistrim’s pivotal role in the fight for independence is examined, from his involvement in events in Kerry in 1916 and his consequent detention in Frongach, through to his military career in the War of Independence and Civil War. This underlying agrarian dispute centring on the supply of milk within Ballymacelligott is detailed. Additionally, the involvement of British military intelligence, usually not a feature of the rural conflict, is noted, specifically regarding the attack on the co-operative creamery in Ballymacelligott immediately prior to the events of Bloody Sunday in Dublin in November 1920. Thank you for including this lesser-known economic dimension in your recent publication.—Yours etc.,
MARTIN MOORE
Blennerville
Co. Kerry