Shamrocks Among The Poppies

First Runner Up for the 2025 Society for Army Historical Research Templer Medal Prize.

A harrowing account of the Siege of Musa Qal'eh, Afghanistan, in 2006, told in the words of the men who fought there. Shamrocks Among The Poppies recounts how a small band of Royal Irish Regiment and other soldiers – isolated and outnumbered – fought to hold a run-down, mud-brick compound against determined and well-armed Taliban insurgents who were intent on their destruction.

As well as providing a graphic description of life – and death – in the compound, during over five weeks of repeated, heavy Taliban assaults, the book sets out the controversial background to - and the consequences of - the UK's decision to shift its focus to Afghanistan while still heavily engaged in the US-led invasion of Iraq. It highlights the failures of intelligence and high-level political and military decision-making that resulted in the dispatch of a force that was too small and under-resourced for the tasks it faced, and how British troops found themselves scattered in penny-packets across Northern Helmand, fighting for their lives against a ferocious and fearless enemy, as they tried to shore-up a weak and frightened Provincial Governor.

Just as importantly, however, the author lifts the lid on the long-term effects of the prolonged, high intensity combat on the mental health of many of the men who were there, as well as the shameful failure of Government to ensure that the veterans of Musa Qal'eh could access the care they needed when they returned.

"This is a timely unit-level examination of how a Royal Irish Regiment battlegroup fought a Whac-a-Mole campaign against Taliban insurgents in the mud-brick compounds of Northern Helmand in 2006. In a sombre and justifiably angry book, Plews also highlights failures of intelligence and higher-level decision-making that resulted in the dispatch of an under-resourced team, their resultant losses, and the longer-term effects of on the mental health of those who were there." The Critic Magazine, Prof. Peter Caddick-Adams - included in the list of “outstanding non-fiction military and current affairs books of 2025”