Peadar Cowan Maverick

November Book of the Month

In association with the GAA Museum Book Club

Peadar Cowan (1903 – 62): Westmeath GAA administrator and political maverick

By Tom Hunt

Published by Four Courts Press

Written by Tom Hunt and published by Four Courts Press as part of the Maynooth Studies in Local History series, ‘Peadar Cowan (1903 – 62): Westmeath GAA administrator and political maverick’ tells the intriguing story of Peadar Cowan.

Cowan was imprisoned during the War of Independence, before serving as an officer in the Irish army until 1931. He had a varied political career both on the fringes and later as an independent TD. He was involved in the Republican Prisoners’ Release Association and was a founding member of Clann na Poblachta in 1946.

In the 1950s Cowan’s personal and professional life unraveled and he served a prison sentence. Upon his release he wrote Dungeons Deep, a searing analysis of the Irish prison system.

On the sporting side Cowan was heavily involved in the Westmeath Gaelic Athletic Association.

GAA Museum Book Club Author Interview 

Coming soon - Tom Hunt, author of Peadar Cowan (1903 – 62): Westmeath GAA administrator and political maverick in conversation with the GAA Museum Team.