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The Easter Rising
An accessible yet scholarly account of the most significant week in modern Irish history, updated with new information only recently released
On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, an estimated force of 1,000–1,500 Irish men and women under arms attempted to seize Dublin, with the ultimate intention of bringing to an end British rule in Ireland and creating an independent Irish republic, to include all 32 counties of Leinster, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught. Their leaders, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, knew that their chances of success were slight, yet they fought, and paid with their lives. This book seeks to explain why. Illuminating every aspect of that fateful Easter week, this account is based on an impressive range of original sources, and has been fully revised and expanded in the light of hundreds of witness statements only released by the Irish Bureau of Military History in 2004. It is a vivid depiction of the personalities and actions of the leaders on both sides, and provides an exceptional account of a city at war.
On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, an estimated force of 1,000–1,500 Irish men and women under arms attempted to seize Dublin, with the ultimate intention of bringing to an end British rule in Ireland and creating an independent Irish republic, to include all 32 counties of Leinster, Munster, Ulster, and Connaught. Their leaders, Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, knew that their chances of success were slight, yet they fought, and paid with their lives. This book seeks to explain why. Illuminating every aspect of that fateful Easter week, this account is based on an impressive range of original sources, and has been fully revised and expanded in the light of hundreds of witness statements only released by the Irish Bureau of Military History in 2004. It is a vivid depiction of the personalities and actions of the leaders on both sides, and provides an exceptional account of a city at war.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2025
For the layman this ticked enough boxes and gives a good account of this important moment in Irish history early in the 20th century, but I'd imagine for those looking for something more substantial works on the subject to look elsewhere. If, like me, you wanted to learn of this history having known hardly anything about it, then it's worth a read.
November 16, 2021
Superbly researched and well written - but I was left nearly as clueless about the big picture of the Easter Rising as I was when I started. If you're already familiar with the events of the Rising and you want an in-depth examination of individual storylines, this is the book for you.
October 9, 2018
Brilliant!
October 3, 2011
Written by a school teacher at Methodist College Belfast and a former pupil of the college, this is an accessible history that will find traction with secondary school audiences. Scholarly, yes; but it does not bring nearly the same academic rigour as Townshend or even Caulfield.
On the positive side, it presents the key events of the Rising in handy chapters dealing with each of the rebel positions in turn. This offers a degree of clarity that the day-to-day narratives followed by other histories do not (Particularly for one who is unfamiliar with the geography of early 20th Century Dublin).
On the negative, in striving for balance and impartiality, the authors have lost much of the brutality and horror and avoided the growing debates that surround the Rising and its place in Irish history.
A readable introduction, but far from being the 'standard work' that its endorsements suggest.
On the positive side, it presents the key events of the Rising in handy chapters dealing with each of the rebel positions in turn. This offers a degree of clarity that the day-to-day narratives followed by other histories do not (Particularly for one who is unfamiliar with the geography of early 20th Century Dublin).
On the negative, in striving for balance and impartiality, the authors have lost much of the brutality and horror and avoided the growing debates that surround the Rising and its place in Irish history.
A readable introduction, but far from being the 'standard work' that its endorsements suggest.
January 13, 2015
Full of stats and detail of the military strategy which gets too cumbersome. The best pieces are when the feeling and response of the people are described. No matter what your opinion on the Rising is, they were incredibly brave.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews