Inspiring History...

Rebel Ireland: From Easter Rising to Civil War (Paperback) - Sean McMahon

We picked this book from the many available at Easons on Connell Street in Dublin. We probably know more than most about the troubles, I mean beyond movies Rebel Heart, the Devils Own and Michael Collins or fiction books like Trinity and 1916 but we were intrigued to learn more after seeing an exhibit of photographs at the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar, Witness to War by Journalist WD Hogan. It's hard if you have a passing interest in Irish history to not be struck by the immediacy of the fight with such heart breaking pictures. So we needed to know more.

So when we found ourselves in a bookstore we spent a lot of time in the Irish History Section. And were fairly lucky in our final choice.

This book is a quick read, originally published in three parts. It doesn't go too deeply into the reasons behind the conflicts but it does work to keep the many changing factions straight. The timelines move fast but the author is good at providing the tipping point (to use a modern term.) However, you do have to work out who's doing what and it does leave a bit left unsaid like the real affect of the orange card and the proposal of the north. So. It's a good start, a good reference and enough to make me want to read more.