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A City in Wartime: Dublin 1914-18
In the years 1914 to 1918 Dublin was utterly transformed.
It was still recovering from the divisive class warfare of the 1913 Lockout when the First World War broke out. Twenty-five thousand men joined the British Army -- many of them never to return -- and the Easter Rising of 1916 transformed the city into a rebel stronghold.
This fascinating history looks at how the lives of ordinary Dubliners were affected by the changes wrought.
Padraig Yeates examines the motivations of those who fought on both sides in the Easter Rising, why so many working-class Dublin men joined the British Army, how civilians survived the war years, the impact of the war on music halls, child cruelty, prostitution, public health and much more.
Dublin as we know it was shaped in these years. This captivating book shines a new light on events and how they helped shape, not alone the city, but modern Ireland.
It was still recovering from the divisive class warfare of the 1913 Lockout when the First World War broke out. Twenty-five thousand men joined the British Army -- many of them never to return -- and the Easter Rising of 1916 transformed the city into a rebel stronghold.
This fascinating history looks at how the lives of ordinary Dubliners were affected by the changes wrought.
Padraig Yeates examines the motivations of those who fought on both sides in the Easter Rising, why so many working-class Dublin men joined the British Army, how civilians survived the war years, the impact of the war on music halls, child cruelty, prostitution, public health and much more.
Dublin as we know it was shaped in these years. This captivating book shines a new light on events and how they helped shape, not alone the city, but modern Ireland.
381 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 9, 2013
History/sociology of Dublin from the perspective of the people, not the personalities. Provides a good understanding of the underpinnings of events during the 1916 Easter Rising and then how the events taking place in Dublin would ultimately affect the people in their change to support for the Sinn Fein approach to nationalism during the coming the Treaty Crisis and Civil War which followed the WWI years. Well-researched, many footnotes. Particularly enjoyed Chapter 15, which summarizes the previous 14. Often, when you read something as detailed as this, you lose some grasp of the various topics covered. The summary chapter was very helpful in tying everything together and in refreshing my memory.
June 9, 2015
Hard to know if the War of Independence would have happened on the basis of the Easter Rising alone. World War 1 was having such an impact on ordinary lives in Dublin that there was a lot of anti-UK resentment already. The reaction by the authorities to the Easter Rising was just more fuel on an already large fire. Life was very hard in Dublin for a lot of people due to food and fuel prices rising and this book goes through all this in great detail. The levels of prostitution in Dublin in 1918/1919 were quite staggering.
May 29, 2016
Fascinating account of life in Ireland during the great war and the rising and the consequences of both. A must read for anybody who wants to feel their way through the lives of ordinary people during extraordinary circumstances. Without doubt the one book that gripped me from the start to the finish. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews