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The Singing Flame
1978 Anvil Books Ltd. Appears to have had very little use. Spine is uncreased. Ink date (Oct 6, 1979) and location (New York City) in top right corner of half title page. Slight tanning of edges with small smudge on side edge. No marks, notations or other marks found. Book is very square for its age. Proceeds benefit Oro Valley AZ Public
Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 15, 2009
O'Malley is definately the best writer amongst all the post revolutionary soldiers who went on to publish memoirs. Interestingly, this book is about his experience in the Civil War, there aren't many memoirs for this period, most published memoirs talk about the war of independence and then stop at the start of the civil war. Very sad.
December 3, 2025
Second volume of Ernie O’Malley’s recollections as an Irish republican, this time during the Irish Civil War (1922-23).
“We all knelt down. Some of the men gripped their rifles instead of joining hands; others held their revolvers. We were dedicating our weapons as well as our lives. Then he made the sign of the cross over us. ‘Say an act of Contrition now.’ The disjointed murmur of voices. ‘O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee;’ then the priest pronounced the absolution. Ego te absolvo. A pause when he had finished. We’ll say now an Our Father and three Hail Marys for Ireland.”
“We all knelt down. Some of the men gripped their rifles instead of joining hands; others held their revolvers. We were dedicating our weapons as well as our lives. Then he made the sign of the cross over us. ‘Say an act of Contrition now.’ The disjointed murmur of voices. ‘O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee;’ then the priest pronounced the absolution. Ego te absolvo. A pause when he had finished. We’ll say now an Our Father and three Hail Marys for Ireland.”
December 5, 2025
Unfortunately, and despite how hard I tried to like this book, ultimately, I just couldn't. I'm not all together sure on why I didn't either.
Generally, ever since, as a teenager, I first picked up, read and absolutely adored Brendan Behan's, 'Borstal Boy', I've loved my Irish Republican history, but here, not so much. I dunno, perhaps it's because the author seems to try and be all things, to all men with the book, in that it blurs the lines between being a memoir, a biography and an historical novel. Where the resulting confusion detracts from the book’s overall message as a significant first hand account of a particularly grim period of time, in a country that is already somewhat overcrowded with sustained periods of dissidence and strife in the grimmest of realities.
It seemed to me, to come across like if David Beresford had written his excellent book about the 1981 hunger strikes, ‘Ten Men Dead’ in the style of Roddy Doyle’s, ‘A Star Called Hendry’. And I’m afraid, for me at any rate, it just didn’t work. But, I’m not even sure if this is in fact, the specific reason that I just couldn’t get into it to much degree?!
Another reason could be, and despite the fact that I'd very much have been on the side of the 'Republicans' against the 'Free Staters' ('Take it down from the mast, Irish traitors, The flag we Republicans claim. It can never belong to Free Staters. You brought on it nothing but shame!’ Etc, etc), and the fact that the Irish Civil War 1922-23 was basically a 'class war', where the Free Staters were on the side of landowners, landlords, large farmers, press barons and big business, regardless of all that however, I just don't like this egregious period of Irish history at all. Where Republican fought Republican and brother against brother, exactly where the British wanted them. And just like the Civil War of the ’Troubles’, 1968-98 approximately, I despise the Brits for making it necessary. So, given the subject matter, perhaps my consciousness was dead set against the book from the very start, and I was cognitively unprepared to accept its narrative, who knows?
However, the best I can sum up this book, a book that I wanted to like, and perhaps, should have liked, but for some indefinable quality, just couldn't like to any degree, is to quote the Republican bulletin, Sinn Fein, which constantly made reference to author Ernie O'Malley and his dangerous state of health, from the start to the end of the hunger strike, and beyond. On 31 October, the front page gave him special prominence:
Ernie O'Malley T.D.
Ernie O'Malley, one of the bravest soldiers who ever fought for the Independence of Ireland, is now lying at deaths door. Since the declaration of independence was signed at Easter 1916, this man has received no less than 17 wounds in the fight to uphold it. During the war against the Black and Tans, he endeared himself to the people by his great bravery. His famous escape from Kilmainham Jail with Frank Teeling (at the time due for the gallows) and his adventures in a lorry from Kilkenny to Dublin, when he was taken out on the road twice to be hanged, are still spoken of with bated breath. In the six months proceeding the Truce, he was mainly responsible for holding the 2nd Southern Division IRA together. He is a man admired and loved even by his enemies. And now lying once more in Kilmainham Jail, with his former comrades for captors, with his wounds opening again from the low state of his health, Ernie O'Malley only says that his body is "crocked" and will always be, and so he is willing to die, especially if by so doing he may save the lives of the other men. This is in keeping with his letter to the late Liam Lynch, Chief of Staff, IRA, when he remarked of his pending execution that "Another bit of lead won't do me any harm." Such bravery surely cannot be defeated even by death. At the recent elections in the North Dublin constituency , 9785 First Preference votes were cast for the principles for which Ernie O'Malley is now giving his valuable life. It must be obvious to his jailers that should he die, these people have to be reckoned with.
Amen.
Generally, ever since, as a teenager, I first picked up, read and absolutely adored Brendan Behan's, 'Borstal Boy', I've loved my Irish Republican history, but here, not so much. I dunno, perhaps it's because the author seems to try and be all things, to all men with the book, in that it blurs the lines between being a memoir, a biography and an historical novel. Where the resulting confusion detracts from the book’s overall message as a significant first hand account of a particularly grim period of time, in a country that is already somewhat overcrowded with sustained periods of dissidence and strife in the grimmest of realities.
It seemed to me, to come across like if David Beresford had written his excellent book about the 1981 hunger strikes, ‘Ten Men Dead’ in the style of Roddy Doyle’s, ‘A Star Called Hendry’. And I’m afraid, for me at any rate, it just didn’t work. But, I’m not even sure if this is in fact, the specific reason that I just couldn’t get into it to much degree?!
Another reason could be, and despite the fact that I'd very much have been on the side of the 'Republicans' against the 'Free Staters' ('Take it down from the mast, Irish traitors, The flag we Republicans claim. It can never belong to Free Staters. You brought on it nothing but shame!’ Etc, etc), and the fact that the Irish Civil War 1922-23 was basically a 'class war', where the Free Staters were on the side of landowners, landlords, large farmers, press barons and big business, regardless of all that however, I just don't like this egregious period of Irish history at all. Where Republican fought Republican and brother against brother, exactly where the British wanted them. And just like the Civil War of the ’Troubles’, 1968-98 approximately, I despise the Brits for making it necessary. So, given the subject matter, perhaps my consciousness was dead set against the book from the very start, and I was cognitively unprepared to accept its narrative, who knows?
However, the best I can sum up this book, a book that I wanted to like, and perhaps, should have liked, but for some indefinable quality, just couldn't like to any degree, is to quote the Republican bulletin, Sinn Fein, which constantly made reference to author Ernie O'Malley and his dangerous state of health, from the start to the end of the hunger strike, and beyond. On 31 October, the front page gave him special prominence:
Ernie O'Malley T.D.
Ernie O'Malley, one of the bravest soldiers who ever fought for the Independence of Ireland, is now lying at deaths door. Since the declaration of independence was signed at Easter 1916, this man has received no less than 17 wounds in the fight to uphold it. During the war against the Black and Tans, he endeared himself to the people by his great bravery. His famous escape from Kilmainham Jail with Frank Teeling (at the time due for the gallows) and his adventures in a lorry from Kilkenny to Dublin, when he was taken out on the road twice to be hanged, are still spoken of with bated breath. In the six months proceeding the Truce, he was mainly responsible for holding the 2nd Southern Division IRA together. He is a man admired and loved even by his enemies. And now lying once more in Kilmainham Jail, with his former comrades for captors, with his wounds opening again from the low state of his health, Ernie O'Malley only says that his body is "crocked" and will always be, and so he is willing to die, especially if by so doing he may save the lives of the other men. This is in keeping with his letter to the late Liam Lynch, Chief of Staff, IRA, when he remarked of his pending execution that "Another bit of lead won't do me any harm." Such bravery surely cannot be defeated even by death. At the recent elections in the North Dublin constituency , 9785 First Preference votes were cast for the principles for which Ernie O'Malley is now giving his valuable life. It must be obvious to his jailers that should he die, these people have to be reckoned with.
Amen.
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