Rebels

by Fearghal McGarry

In 1947 the Bureau of Military History was established by the Irish government to record the experiences of those who took part in the fight for independence. In 1959, the results of this research - including 1,773 'witness statements' - were placed in 83 steel boxes and locked into a strongroom in Government Buildings. Rebels, edited by one of Ireland's top young historians, brings the best of the surviving accounts of the Easter Rising together into a comprehensive, accessible and thrillingly readable telling of that much-debated insurrection, the first in a series of events that brought about Irish independence. From the witnesses' recollections of their schooling and other childhood influences to their accounts of what happened at Easter 1916, Rebels tells this famous story in a new and exhilarating way.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ireland

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the first hand accounts collected by the Irish government, Fearghal McGarry brings together a narrative that tells the story of the 1916 Easter Rising. From the men’s perspectives leading up to the Rising, the confusion of the event itself, and the story of the Irish as they dealt with the aftermath, the narrative presented by McGarry is easy to follow and insightful.

I happened to be in Ireland during the 2016 celebrations of the 1916 Rising, even though I had no idea what it was about. So, I borrowed this book from my housemate and set out to educate myself. The look into the men’s perspectives was a great way to present a story that probably would have bored me otherwise. It reminded me a lot of Howard Zinn’s Voices of a People's History of the United States. Although I did frequently skip over the identifying information of the people whose stories were collected in this volume, I appreciated that it was not a researcher looking back and telling me about what happened in 1916, but the men who were involved (and, occasionally, women!).

If you’re interested in history, especially if you’re interested in first-hand accounts, I highly recommend this book.

[Bob Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Easter Rising began 100 years ago today...