A Nation and Not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-1923

by Diarmaid Ferriter

Overview

The renowned Irish historian delivers “an excellent scholarly reevaluation” of the 1916 Easter Rebellion and the turbulent decade that followed (Library Journal).

On Easter Monday of 1916, the Irish Republican Brotherhood launched an armed uprising against British rule that would continue for six days. But Easter Rising was only the beginning of an ongoing revolutionary struggle. In A Nation and Not a Rabble, Diarmaid Ferriter presents a fresh look at Ireland from 1913-1923, drawing from newly available historical sources as well as the testimonies of the people who lived and fought through this extraordinary period.

Ferriter highlights the gulf between rhetoric and reality in politics and violence, the role of women, the battle for material survival, the impact of key Irish unionist and republican leaders, as well as conflicts over health, land, religion, law and order, and welfare.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781468315417
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc. (Ignition)
Publication date:	02/21/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	687
Sales rank:	46,051
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at University College, Dublin. He has written a number of books on Irish history, including The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000, Occasions of Sin: Sex&Society in Modern Ireland, and Ambiguous Republic: Ireland in the 1970s. In 2010 he presented the RTE TV series The Limits of Liberty.
Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at University College, Dublin. He has written a number of books on Irish history, including The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000, Occasions of Sin: Sex & Society in Modern Ireland, and Ambiguous Republic: Ireland in the 1970s. In 2010 he presented the RTE TV series The Limits of Liberty.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

Part I In Search of the Rabble

1 Opening the Witness Accounts 17

2 Who Owned the Revolution? 24

3 The History Wars 28

4 The Fighting Stories 37

5 Closing Young Minds? 44

6 Keepers of the Revolutionary Flame 51

7 Broadening the Interpretations and the Sources 56

8 New Scepticisms, New Revisions and the Shadow of the Troubles 65

9 Labour, Gender and the Social Perspective 76

10 The Politics of Peace and the Twenty-first Century Perspective 86

Part II Revolutionary Ireland, 1913-23

11 An Evolving Nationalism 99

12 Ulster Prepared With One Voice? 1910-14 122

13 Labour, Nationalism and War: 1913-16 137

14 1916: An Idea 'Essentially Spiritual'? 150

15 The Perfect Patriots 162

16 1917-18: Bonfires and Ballots 170

17 War of Independence (1): 1919-20: Catching the Waves 185

18 The Chivalrous Soldier and the Cruel Killer 200

19 Governing, Social Realities and Justice 214

20 Land for the People? 229

21 War of Independence (2): 1921-2: The Juggernaut of Politics 236

22 Truce and Treaty 245

23 The Drift to Civil War 257

24 Civil War 269

25 Stone Hearts 279

26 Ulster's Wounded Self Love 294

27 The Tyranny of the 'Special' 306

Part III Legacy and Commemoration

28 'In danger of finding myself with nothing at all' 319

29 'For the life of my heroic son' 328

30 Homes Fit for Heroes? 341

31 Scrambling for the Bones of the Patriot Dead 348

32 'He knew as much about commanding as my dog' 358

33 Commemoration During the Troubles and the Peace Process 367

34 Remembering the First World War and Welcoming the Queen 376

35 Invoking Revolutionary Ghosts as the Celtic Tiger Dies and Fianna Fáil Collapses 387

36 New Commemorative Priorities, Sacred Cows and the Status of History 397

Notes 409

Bibliography 457

Index 479

Editorial Reviews

With an unrivaled command of the sources, Ferriter offers a brilliant analysis of the formative decade in modern Irish history. In powerful prose brimming with the new insights of social history, he reveals the multiple fault-lines within the standard political narrative of Irish freedom. Ferriter’s analysis has important implications not only for how we interpret Irish history but also for how, on that basis, we make sense of Irish society and politics today.

Kevin Kenny

With an unrivaled command of the sources, Ferriter offers a brilliant analysis of the formative decade in modern Irish history. In powerful prose brimming with the new insights of social history, he reveals the multiple fault-lines within the standard political narrative of Irish freedom. Ferriter’s analysis has important implications not only for how we interpret Irish history but also for how, on that basis, we make sense of Irish society and politics today.” — Kevin Kenny, Professor of History at Boston College and author of The American Irish: A History

“Ferriter has written an excellent scholarly reevaluation of the historiography and events of the Easter 1916 nationalist rising in Dublin, Ireland. Highly readable and deeply researched, this book guides readers through the intricacies of the rising along with the historical use of each precipitating event and how these events impacted relations in Ireland during the remainder of the 20th century...Accessible to a general audience and of great interest to an academic one, this book will be a welcome addition to any collection on Irish history.” — Library Journal

From the Publisher