Book based on 2nd Batallion of the Fermanagh UVF to be launched this week

The book titled 'For God and Ulster', written by Iris Humphreys with contribution by Gordon Lucy, will be launched at Maguiresbridge Orange Hall in County Fermanagh at 8pm on Wednesday evening.

The formation of the UVF in January 1913 was intended to resist any attempts by the British government to impose Home Rule on Ulster.

As such, many Ulster Protestants and Irish unionists feared being governed by a nationalist Catholic-majority parliament in Dublin and losing their links with Great Britain.

Later that year, Irish nationalists formed a rival militia, the Irish Volunteers to safeguard Home Rule.

A total of three Ulster battalions were raised in County Fermanagh during this time.

However, the book focuses on the 2nd battalion which covered the south of the county and various companies such as Maguiresbridge, Lisnaskea, Crom, Derrylin, Newtownbutler and Aghadrumsee.

The book is derived from material preserved in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and gives information not only on leadership, but also the rank and file.

Moreover, the context is in part documented by extensive use of articles and accounts of UVF activity as recorded by local newspapers and provides detailed biographical material.

Additionally, there is use of extracts made from Jack Sears' fascinating notebooks which convey a sense of the progress made by various units during the period.

Sears, a former NCO, was the county instructor for Fermanagh and cycled 'furiously' around the county in 1913 and 1914 inspecting, drilling and training the Fermanagh volunteers.

The names of local commanders and leaders are occasionally mentioned in Sears' notes, but his focus is primarily on the progress of volunteer training, their time-keeping, general appearance, attitude, ability and attendance.

The book also examines the Enniskillen Horse, the role of women including Monica Massy Beresford and the Ulster Women's Unionist Council, the outbreak of the Great War, enlistment, the heavy casualties and the emergence of the post-war world.

'For God and Ulster' is set to be of keen interest to genealogists.