Seán MacDiarmada: the mind of the revolution Gerard MacAtasney (Drumlin Publications, €20) ISBN 1873437315 Seán McDermott—or MacDiarmada, as he styled himself—stands out as one of the key architects of the 1916 Rising, which was to lead to an independent Irish state in 1922. Yet, as Gerard MacAtasney claims in this excellent biography, his contribution to … Read more
James Connolly: ‘a full life’ Donal Nevin (Gill and Macmillan, ?29.99) ISBN 0717139115 Posterity has been oddly kind, even condescending, to James Connolly. While the motives and performance of many of his rebel contemporaries and successors have been subjected to ever more pitiless scrutiny, Connolly has never lost the aura of a romantic revolutionary. He … Read more
‘Through the eyes of 1916’ RTÉ, 10–17 April 1966 Insurrection Directed by Louis Lentin and Michael Garvey by Brian Lynch Early in 1965, the director-general of Telefis Éireann, Kevin McCourt, selected a group of senior production and administrative staff to arrange a programme scheme for the 1966 golden jubilee of the Easter Rising. In addition … Read more
Since our report on the threatened demolition of 16 Moore Street, the final HQ of the 1916 leadership (HI 11.2, Summer 2003), the building has remained standing. However, despite a lengthy campaign by conservationists, historians and a growing number of public representatives, its future is still uncertain. Late in 2005 a special report commissioned by … Read more
‘At the request of the Easter Week Memorial Committee, a number of persons who participated in the Easter Week Rising, 1916 . . . undertook the task of preparing an authentic list . . . of those . . . who served in this post during the Rising. This task . . . was a … Read more