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.
Rebels: Voices from the Easter Rising
The Easter Rising
On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, a force of Irish men and women under arms, estimated at between 1,000 and 1,500, 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 thirty-two 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, The Easter Rising is based on an impressive range or 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 description of the personalities and actions of the leaders on both sides, and provides an exceptional account of a city at war.
1916: The Easter Rising
Coogan has written an outstanding account…enhanced by well-chosen historic photographs, maps and documents."–Celtic Connection
On April 14, 1916, it all began–and 6 short but bloody days later, true Irish independence emerged from the ruins. Coogan's outstanding account of this seminal event provides a testament to a turning point in Irish history and to those who perished in the struggle. Born of the thwarted, democratically expressed desire for Home Rule–as well as political confusion–the Easter Uprising started when rebels seized a number of strong points in Dublin. The subsequent executions of the leaders, along with the arrest, court-martial, and detention of 3500 people, won the insurgents sympathy and resulted in an overwhelming desire for freedom among the public.
The Enigmas of Easter Island
Easter Island, an unimaginably remote volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, produced one of the most fascinating and yet least understood prehistoric cultures, a people who vanished but left behind the giant statues known around the world. Who were these people and where did they come from? Why, and equally intriguingly, how did they erect the giant stone statues found all over the island?
Paul Bahn and John Flenley tackle these and a host of other questions, introducing us, along the way, to the bizarre birdman cult found in the island's art, and the only recently deciphered Rongorongo script engraved on wooden panels. The Enigmas of Easter Island combines a wealth of new archaeological evidence, intriguing folk memories and the records of Captain Cook and other early explorers, to reveal how the island's decline may stem from ecological catastrophe. The result is a fascinating portrait of a civilization that still retains many of its mysteries. This book provides a wealth of new material, including much information only recently discovered and not available in any other book for general readers.
One of the most mysterious places on the planet, Easter Island has been an object of intense fascination since rediscovered by European explorers. Attractively illustrated with numerous photographs throughout the book, The Enigmas of Easter Island is the finest volume ever written on this inscrutable and tantalizing isle, the latest word on one of the world's great conundrums.
