The Chosen Fews

In the early 1970s, Britain's then Northern Secretary Merlyn Rees disdainfully dubbed South Armagh "Bandit Country". The name stuck. Crossmaglen, a town with a peaceful past, was transformed into the most infamous "killing field" for British soldiers stationed in Northern Ireland. The British army presence in the town's fortress, known locally as "the Alamo", is regarded as crucial to security operations but was based on false premises and rash promises that the area would be brought into line. In this book, the author aims to set the record straight. The people of South Armagh are neither bandits nor gangsters and it is not a lawless peace. The book aims to evoke another south Armagh, far from the stereotype of "bandit country".