Wolfe Tone

by Sean McMahon

(Theobald Wolfe Tone was just thirty-five when he committed suicide, with none of his ambitions achieved. Yet his reputation is as the founding father of Irish republicanism. His name was used by Thomas Davis and Padriac Pearse almost as a mantra, and his grave at Bodenstown, County Kildare, is one of the most hallowed of republican sites.In spite of the often frustrating efforts he mounted for his country s independence, Tone retained his courage, wit and the sense of fun that made him a sterling firend and popular companion. One of the founders of the United Irishmen and an early defender of the rights of Catholics, he might have had many different careers if his early ambitions had been fulfilled.This short but comprehensive account of Tone s life and work shows him to have been a true patriot but also a much more complex character than the icon-makers would have us believe)

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001