Book Review: Atlas of the Irish Revolution

Authors: John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil and Mike Murphy John Borgonovo
Affiliation: University College Cork
Publication Year: Hardback September 2017
Pages: 984
Size: 299 x 237mm

ISBN: 9781782051176

Price 59 euros

This landmark publication covers the Irish revolution 1913-23 in one thousand pages with contributions from over one hundred historians. Featuring over three hundred original maps it details how topology and location played such an important part in this complex conflict. This book places the Irish revolution in its international context with telling use of several hundred illustrations, and reproductions of rarely seen key documents. It analyses the political and social changes which shaped modern Ireland and details the unspectacular aspects of ordinary Irish life. It will have wide appeal to a specialist and popular readership. 

'Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger

They’ll take me out at dawn and I will die…’

The ballad or narrative song has played an influential role in both the shaping of popular memory and the humanising of key historical events. ‘Grace’ was jointly composed in 1985 by the brothers Frank and Seán O’Meara and popularised subsequently the singer Jim McCann. It tells the story of the marriage of the marriage of Joseph  Mary Plunkett and Grace Gifford in Kilmainham Gaol shortly before Plunkett’s execution. The tenderness and poignancy of that moment is captured in lyrics that have resonated with the public ever since. Joseph’s love for Grace is manifest in a letter (above) written in Moore Street on the ‘sixth day of the Irish Republic’ where he leaves all his possession to her. Their short and intense courtship would be brought to a dramatic end by the events of Easter Week. The centenary commemoration of the Rising showed a willingness by the public to engage with and understand the 1916 participants on their own terms.

So how many active volunteers were there in Dublin during this period? Oscar Traynor who took over the brigade on the deaths of McKee and Clancy, put the number at 1,250. The approximate strength of the various Battalions in early 1921 was 1^st Battalion: 250; 2^nd Battalion: 250; 3^rd Battalion: 250; 4^th Battalion: 300; 5^th, or Engineers’, Battalion: 100. This was the active membership ‘or the strength that was given by the Battalions as being on parade each month’. The 5^th Battalion looked after other specialist activities, such as engineering, logistics and first aid. The most common form of transport for arms was the lowly handcart, notwithstanding  folklore about pregnant women, prams and hearses. By the time of the Truce, every ASU included trained medical orderlies. Volunteers’ membership of the St. John’s Ambulance and the Dublin Fire Brigade provided useful logistical and intelligence resources, as did the large number of Volunteers working in Dublin Port and the railways. It was through this network that the Volunteers were able to ambush trains on which troops were travelling to and from the city.          

The O'Rahilly Easter Rising Stories

Directed and edited by Marcus Howard, independent film maker. Proinsias O'Rathaille is the grandson of The O'Rahilly who was shot in Moore Street and the son of Bridie Clyne, who was in Cumann Na mBan. He is attached to the Save Moore Street Campaign, Concerned Relatives of the Signatories to the 1916 Proclamation and the 1916 Relatives Centenary Initiative Group.

Easter Rising Stories is an independent series of films by Marcus Howard, an independent film maker. The videos are not for profit but rather for educational means. The aim of the series is to try to capture the recollections of relatives of the Easter Rising of 1916 as well as to document events and stories relating to the Easter Rising. If you are interested in getting in touch please contact:
easterrisingstories@gmail.com

Book Review We Bled Together: Michael Collins, The Squad and the Dublin Brigade

Irish History Book Review

We Bled Together: Michael Collins, The Squad and the Dublin Brigade

By Dominic Price

Hardback

€24.99

https://www.collinspress.ie/ 

This thrilling account of the daring espionage and killings carried out by both sides on Dublin’s streets during the War of independence is vividly brought to life by Dominic Price using eyewitness testimonies and war diaries. Price reveals their meticulous research into guerrilla tactics employed by the Cubans in their War of Independence, the 2^nd Boer War and General von Lettow-Vorbeck against the British in east Africa. He shows Collins and the Dublin Brigade’s desperate methods; improvised explosive devices, chemical weapons.  Their sacrifice and determination to bring to birth Irish freedom is well recorded in this intimate and poignant book.   

Extract:

‘The Squad never questioned Collins’ reasons for having someone killed. Mick Collins, as far as members of the squad were concerned, ‘was the kind of man it was easy to trust’ … The risks and danger experienced by his operatives affected Collins greatly and he could visualise their suffering. Eamon Broy, who spent a lot of time with the Director of Ira intelligence, related how Collins described events:

        

Collins had such a remarkable power of description that, listening to him, one could form a        

vivid mental picture of the occurrences he described. For instance, in his account of the tortures of  

Hales and Harte in West Cork, the impression he created was a vivid as if one actually saw the 

pliers being used to tear the flesh from the victim. These tortures were inflicted by the British

Army long before the Black and Tans came to the country. As a result of his treatment Harte went insane.’

Molly O'Reilly Easter Rising Stories

Directed and edited by Marcus Howard, independent film maker. Constance and Clare Cowley recount the story of their relative Molly O'Reilly, who hoisted the flag at Liberty Hall before the 1916 Easter Rising at the request of James Connolly. Molly was also involved in spying for Michael Collins after 1916 as well as being one of the first female hunger strikers in 1923. Constance and Clare also give their thoughts on how 2016, the 100th anniversary of the Rising, should be commemorated. At the Easter 2015 celebrations, Constance Cowley was present at the hoisting of the flag outside Liberty Hall organised by the Dublin North Inner City Folklore Project. The event was filmed by her daughter Clare and Marcus.

Easter Rising Stories is a series of films by independent film maker Marcus Howard. The videos are not for profit but for educational purposes. The aim of the series is to capture the recollections of relatives of the Easter Rising of 1916 as well as to document events and stories relating to the Easter Rising. If you are interested in getting in touch please contact:
easterrisingstories@gmail.com

The Elizabeth O'Farrell Story

Directed by Marcus Howard. The remarkable story of Elizabeth O'Farrell is recounted by her great grand-niece Donna Cooney. This video tells of her journey to Moore Street, the surrender with Pearse and delivering the surrender to de Valera at Boland's Mill. Elizabeth O'Farrell was an Irish nurse and member of Cumann na mBan. Filmed and edited by Marcus Howard and Jean O'Donnell.

Easter Rising Stories is a series of films by independent film maker Marcus Howard. The videos are not for profit but for educational purposes. The aim of the series is to capture the recollections of relatives of the Easter Rising of 1916 as well as to document events and stories relating to the Easter Rising. If you are interested in getting in touch please contact:
easterrisingstories@gmail.com