Limerick's Fighting Story, 1916-21


Book Description

Eyewitness and first hand accounts of the Irish revolution. Originally published by The Kerryman in the 1940s, this is one of the four titles in the Fighting Stories Series. It records the events of the War of Independence in the words of the people who fought it and those who wrote about it at the time. Amongst the gripping episodes recorded are: Limerick's heroes of 1916, the execution of an enemy spy in West Limerick, Limerick's Night of Terror, Cumann na mBan in Limerick and the destruction of Killmallock Barracks. Featuring reports of the ambushes, battles, successes and failures, Limerick's Fighting Story is a treasure trove of information and intriguing detail.




Kerry's Fighting Story, 1916-21


Book Description

Almost a century ago a small body of men engaged in combat with the armed forces of an Empire. Militarily they were weak. Their strength lay in their faith in their cause and in the unflinching support of a civilian population which refused to be cowed by threats or by violence. This new edition of Kerry's Fighting Stories features stories and reports from every aspect of the conflict, from the formation of the Volunteers in Kerry early in the twentieth century, through the first casualties as the Easter Rising took its toll and on to the campaigns in the East and West of the county during the war of Independence itself. With barracks attacks, ambushes, shootings and even engagements with warships, it brings to life a conflict that is fading from the collective memory of the county and country. This classic account, with a new introduction by Professor J.J. Lee, offers a fascinating insight into the struggle for independence in Kerry from the perspective of those who took part in the actions themselves.




Spiritual Wounds


Book Description

This book challenges the widespread scholarly and popular belief that the Irish Civil War (1922–1923) was followed by a ‘traumatic silence’. It achieves this by opening an alternative archive of published testimonies which were largely produced in the 1920s and 1930s; testimonies were written by pro- and anti-treaty men and women, in both English and Irish. Nearly all have eluded sustained scholarly attention to date. However, the act of smuggling private, painful experience into the public realm, especially when it challenged official memory making (or even forgetting), demanded the cautious deployment of self-protective narrative strategies. As a result, many testimonies from the Irish Civil War emerge in non-conventional, hybridised and fictionalised forms of life writing. This book re-introduces a number of these testimonies into public debate. It considers contemporary understandings of mental illness and how a number of veterans – both men and women – self-consciously engaged in projects of therapeutic writing as a means to ‘heal’ the ‘spiritual wounds’ of civil war. It also outlines the prevalence of literary representations of revolutionary sexual violence, challenging the assumptions that sexual violence during the Irish revolution was either ‘rare’ or ‘hidden’.




16 Dead Men: The Easter Rising Executions


Book Description

Sixteen men were executed in the aftermath of the Easter Rising in Ireland, 1916: fifteen were shot and one was hanged. Their deaths changed the course of Irish history. But who were these leaders who set in motion events that would lead to the creation of an independent Ireland? The executed leaders of the Easter Rising were a diverse group. This book contains fascinating accounts of the life stories of these men and recounts the events that brought each of them to rebellion in April 1916.




The Glorious Madness – Tales of the Irish and the Great War


Book Description

From tragic generals to nuns on the run – the extraordinary stories of the Irish on the frontlines of the First World War that you've never heard before Based on first-hand accounts of the First World War, The Glorious Madness is a collection of character portraits and stirring anecdotes that brings to life the hopes, fears and ambitions that defined the generation of Irish men and women lost to the catastrophe of the first great modern war. From the generals and field commanders through to the troopers and nurses on the front lines, from the trenches of the Somme to the beaches of Gallipoli, the Irish served at every turn in the Great War. Popular historian Turtle Bunbury is renowned for uncovering important forgotten stories from our past. Here he reveals many never-before-heard tales of the Irish heroes and heroines whose lives coincided with one of the most brutal conflicts our world has ever known – including nuns, artists, sportsmen, poets, aristocrats, nationalists, nurses, clergymen and film directors. From the dramatic story of the nuns of Ypres and their escape to Ireland to found Kylemore Abbey, to the multiple-escapist who became the one-legged nemesis of Michael Collins, and the five tragic, rugby-loving pals from the same Dublin team massacred at Gallipoli, the stories that Turtle Bunbury unearths about Irish men and women offer a new and timely perspective on Irish participation in the Great War. An important book, by turns poignant, enlightening, whimsical and darkly comic, this is history as it should – free-wheeling and finely tuned to the rhythms of the human heart. Reviews [In The Glorious Madness] Turtle continues the wonderful listening and yarn-spinning he has honed in the Vanishing Ireland series, applying it to veterans of the First World War. The stories he recreates are poignant, whimsical and bleakly funny, bringing back into the light the lives of people who found themselves on the wrong side of history after the struggle for Irish independence. This is my kind of micro-history. John Grenham, The Irish Times A wonderful book packed with great individual stories and pictures which bring the Irish participation in the Great War vividly alive. Sean Farrell, Irish Independent Based on first-hand accounts of the conflict, this collection of character portraits and stirring anecdotes brings to life the hopes, fears and ambitions that defined Ireland's 'lost generation'. Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic Turtle Bunbury's book about the Great War is a great read, a dramatic confection of remarkable stories about remarkable events and individuals slapped together with great dexterity and professionalism. ... This is military history as entertainment on a scale we have not seen since, well, the First World War ... This is one book that can be judged by its cover. Pádraig Yeates, Dublin Review of Books The impressively versatile Turtle Bunbury is known for his sensitively written, well-observed Vanishing Ireland series of books and his appearance on RTE's Genealogy Roadshow. He also toured this year as one of the lecturers in the Great War Roadshow, headed by Myles Dungan. Now, also marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, Bunbury marches into what once would have been a no-man's land for historians. There is much to enjoy here. Bunbury has an eye for irony and pathos and a fluid attractive writing style. It's packed with personalities and stories of courage under fire amid truly unimaginable slaughter, of mind-boggling military incompetence and of individuals emotionally afflicted by reports of courage in another cause at home. Emmanuel Kehoe, Sunday Business Post




Everyday Violence in the Irish Civil War


Book Description

This book provides an innovative study of the violence experienced by non-combatants during the Irish Civil War of 1922-3. The author surveys the function and frequency of violent acts ranging from arson, intimidation and animal maiming, to assault, murder and sexual abuse that transpired amongst civilians and revolutionaries throughout the period of conflict.




The GAA and Revolution in Ireland 1913–1923


Book Description

The decade between the labour conflict (the 'Lockout') of 1913 and the end of the Civil War in 1923 was one of seismic upheaval. How the GAA – a major sporting and national body – both influenced and was influenced by this upheaval is a rich and multifaceted story. Leading writers in the field of modern Irish history and the history of sport explore the impact on 'ordinary' life of major events. They examine the effect of the First World War, the 1916 Rising and its aftermath, the emergence of nationalist Sinn Féin and its triumph over the Irish Parliamentary Party, as well as the War of Independence (1919–21) and the bitter Civil War (1922–23). This is an original and engrossing perspective through the lens of a sporting organisation. Contributors: Eoghan Corry, Mike Cronin, Paul Darby, Páraic Duffy, Diarmaid Ferriter, Dónal McAnallen, James McConnel, Richard McElligott, Cormac Moore, Seán Moran, Ross O'Carroll, Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh, Mark Reynolds, Paul Rouse




Ireland's 1916 Rising


Book Description

In light of its upcoming centenary in 2016, the time seems ripe to ask: why, how and in what ways has memory of Ireland’s 1916 Rising persisted over the decades? In pursuing answers to these questions, which are not only of historical concern, but of contemporary political and cultural importance, this book breaks new ground by offering a wide-ranging exploration of the making and remembrance of the story of 1916 in modern times. It draws together the interlocking dimensions of history-making, commemoration and heritage to reveal the Rising’s undeniable influence upon modern Ireland’s evolution, both instantaneous and long-term. In addition to furnishing a history of the tumultuous events of Easter 1916, which rattled the British Empire’s foundations and enthused independence movements elsewhere, Ireland’s 1916 Rising mainly concentrates on illuminating the evolving relationship between the Irish past and present. In doing so, it unearths the far-reaching political impacts and deep-seated cultural legacies of the actions taken by the rebels, as evidenced by the most pivotal episodes in the Rising’s commemoration and the myriad varieties of heritage associated with its memory. This volume also presents a wider perspective on the ways in which conceptualisations of heritage, culture and identity in Westernised societies are shaped by continuities and changes in politics, society and economy. In a topical conclusion, the book examines the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to the Garden of Remembrance in 2011, and looks to the Rising’s 100th anniversary by identifying the common ground that can be found in pluralist and reconciliatory approaches to remembrance.




Wolfe's History: A Family Story


Book Description

Wolfe's History, by the author of Finding Bix (2017), wraps its arms around a single, sprawling Irish and American family. In an opening essay, Wolfe introduces a cast of larger-than-life characters-from an Old West barkeep and a Gold Rush pharmacist to an IRA fugitive and a British recruit whose loyalties are tested during the Easter Rising. Together these fast-talking, writerly cousins live intricate lives that move quickly between past and present-complete with periodic and sudden outbursts of violence. A man is set ablaze on the prairie. A Jesuit is tortured in Dublin Castle. In the author's sure hands, their stories are converted into something broader and more searching than just a single family's journey. He wonders what binds the Wolfes together in the first place and whether the experiences of his own immediate family subvert the connections he feels with his ancestors. A biographical dictionary and fifty pages of family trees complete this impressive volume.




Patrick Pearse


Book Description

On 24 April 1916, as President of the Provisional Government, Patrick Pearse appeared under the GPO Grand Portico on Dublin's O'Connell Street and read aloud the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Nine days later, he was the first of the rebel leaders to be executed. Pearse was born in Dublin on 11 November 1879, to an English father and an Irish mother. Considered the face of the 1916 Easter Rising, for many he was also its heart. In this definitive biography, using a wealth of primary sources, Dr Ruán O'Donnell establishes as never before the significance of Pearse's activism all across Ireland, as well as his dual roles as Director of Military Operations for the Irish Volunteers and member of the clandestine Military Council of the IRB. On 3 May 1916, Pearse was executed in the Stonebreakers Yard at Kilmainham Gaol, at the age of thirty-six.