'The Sniper' By Liam O'Flaherty. Critical evaluation

A short story I have read and enjoyed recently is 'The Sniper' by Liam O'Flaherty. This is a war story, which focuses on civil war, violence and self-sacrifice as the theme, but the main theme is the waste of civil war. The story is set during long June twilight in the Irish city of Dublin, in the period of a civil war in the 1930's. . The short story starts by introducing the main character, a …

…was dark, so there was a slight mystery and tension to it, also, at points, I was trying to breathe slowly to avoid the sniper being shot again, that made it enjoyable to me. I found the theme of the story particularly interesting because I have never really thought about civil wars, but now I am more aware of them and I feel I have learned from the story that civil wars must be avoided.