On Easter Monday, between 1,000 and 1,500 Irish Volunteers and members of the Irish Citizen Army seized the General Post Office and other key locations in Dublin. The intention of their leaders, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, was to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent thirty-two county Irish republic. For a week battle raged in the Irish capital until the Rising collapsed. The rebel leaders were executed soon afterwards, though in death t...

The Second World War was a titanic struggle against totalitarianism. It involved civilian populations – in the production of ships and armaments and as victims of aerial bombardments – as never before. In this respect, Belfast played an important role. The more it became vital to the war effort the greater was the risk that it would be subjected to a blitz from the Luftwaffe. In spite of that, it remained woefully unprepared for attack. For Belfast, like Coventry, there was to be no gradua...

Until 1999 official British records of the fifteen trials that followed the Easter Rising of 1916 were kept a close secret. Further material released in 2001 included the trial of Countess Markievicz and important evidence about the 'shoot to kill' tactics used by the British Army. These records, the subject of heated speculation and propaganda for over eighty years, are clearly presented in this important new book. The complete transcripts are all here, together with fasc...

First published in 1999, this volume was the third in a trilogy on the 'problem' of Northern Ireland. It examines the political content of the unionist and nationalist 'ideologies' which have emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Ireland. The focus of the book is also to examine and assess the impact of unionist and nationalist thinking and commitment on political and economic life in the twentieth century.

‘Combines scholarly zest with novelistic flair. Jones serves his account hot, brave and reeking with gore’ THE TIMESRevolt and upheaval in medieval Britain by a brilliant new narrative historian, ‘Summer of Blood’ breaks new ground in its portrayal of the personalities and politics of the bloody days of June 1381.The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 is one of the most dramatic and bloody events in English history. Starting with village riots in the Essex countrysid...

?Michael Collins is one of the most famous figures in Irish history. He became the most wanted man in the British Empire, a minister in the first Irish government and Commander-in-Chief of the army. This is an action-packed biography of a great Irish hero.

When the Free State army captured Limerick city in mid-July 1922, Republican forces retreated south towards Cork and made their next determined stand around Kilmallock. This area barred the way to the heartland of the 'Munster Republic'. In one of the largest and most intense battles of the Irish Civil War, Free State and Republican troops fought for possession of Kilmallock, Bruree and Bruff, with the latter two towns repeatedly changing hands. The eventual Free State occupation of Kilmal...

The stories of these conflicts, with their scores of killings, torture, reprisals and long- lasting bitterness are told concisely in this book. &newpara;Easter 1916 – the rebellion which took place in Ireland 90 years ago was arguably the most momentous event in this country's history. &newpara;The War of Independence – the guerrilla war, characterised by marvellous courage and miserable cruelty. &newpara;The Civil War – few episodes in Irish history are as poignant, bloody and unnecessary...

This is the story of Mayo men and women active during the War of Independence and the Civil War, a story largely untold or forgotten. Throughout, there is an attempt at real insight into the lives of participants. The establishment and acceptance of the Garda Síochána and how Mayo adapted to peace while hundreds of Mayo men and women were still imprisoned is explored. The myth that little or nothing happened in Mayo during these troubled times is dispelled forever. • First factual account ...

In this new book, Liam Ó Duibhir charts the struggle for independence, both militarily and politically, in Donegal from before the events of Easter 1916 until the truce in 1921.Donegal has long been seen as one of the quietest counties during the War of Independence but this reputation belies an intriguing story of how republican sentiment grew in the county. From the first mention of Sinn Féin, through the conscription crisis and the success of the 1918 elections, Ó Duibhir charts the ris...

Australians have celebrated the Anzacs for nearly a century--but what do we really know of what war did to them? Charles Bean, historian of the citizen soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force, wrote that its history spanned 'the good and the bad'--but so far Australians have only looked at the good.Leading war historian Peter Stanley reveals the citizen soldiers the army regarded as its 'bad characters'. These were men who went absent and deserted, caught or concealed VD, got dru...

In a series of powerful accounts drawn from diaries, letters, sound archives and interviews recorded during the period of devastation, discovery and transformation that make the blitz such an outstanding event in Britain's recent past, "The Blitz" brings to life the intense experiences, as they happened all over Britain.The blitz proved to be a highly effective laboratory constructed out of necessity, and intense forcing house for change.Yet, compared to other great events ...