Against a tapestry of safe houses and mountain hide outs, people fell in love, raised families and laid the foundations of the country we live in now. We read the story of Galwayman Michael Feerick, who rode his white horse through the streets of Dunmore, shouting 'blackguards' at the Black and Tans. We meet the two Mollys, Dublin street traders and runners for Michael Collins, who sewed bullets into the hems of their long skirts.

We relive the attack by the Black and Tans on the home of gamekeeper John Vahey and we hear from the Kavanagh family who were offered GBP1 for every year of the life of their 19-year-old daughter, Mary Ellen, shot dead in Buncrana. And, memorably, 107-year-old Mairin Hughes shares fascinating recollections of being kept in school in Killarney when there was an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.