Irish Political Prisoners 1848-1922: Theatres of War

by Sean McConville

Overview

This is the most wide-ranging study ever published of political violence and the punishment of Irish political offenders from 1848 to the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. Those who chose violence to advance their Irish nationalist beliefs ranged from gentlemen revolutionaries to those who openly embraced terrorism or even full-scale guerilla war.
Seán McConville provides a comprehensive survey of Irish revolutionary struggle, matching chapters on punishment of offenders with descriptions and analysis of their campaigns. Government's response to political violence was determined by a number of factors, including not only the nature of the offences but also interest and support from the United States and Australia, as well as current objectives of Irish policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415219914
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/28/2002
Pages:	828
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Seán McConville is Professor of Criminal Justice and Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London. He has published widely on imprisonment and related political and legal issues, including work on Britain, Europe and the United States of America.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 THE YOUNG IRELANDERS; Chapter 2 GENTLEMEN CONVICTS; Chapter 3 THE FENIANS; Chapter 4 THE FENIANS IN PRISON; Chapter 5 AMNESTY; Chapter 6 THE CONVICT MICHAEL DAVITT; Chapter 7 THE DYNAMITADS; Chapter 8 THE DYNAMITARDS IN PRISON; Chapter 9 THE EASTER RISING; Chapter 10 INTERNMENT; Chapter 11 IMPRISONMENT; Chapter 12 ROGER CASEMENT; Chapter 13 SINN FÉIN, 1917–19; Chapter 14 ‘FRIGHTFULNESS’; Chapter 15 BANG AND WHIMPER, 1919–22;

Editorial Reviews

"[A] scholarly and immensely readable account of three-quarters of a century of British experience of Irishmen - and very occasionally women - in their prisons."- Dr Garret FitzGerald, The Guardian

"Sean McConville graphically recounts both sides of this story - and does so with an even-handedness and objectivity that must command the respect of all his readers, whatever side of the Irish Sea they may be on." - Dr Garret FitzGerald, The Guardian

"A magnum opus in terms of its size, scope, extensive source base and the contribution it makes to our understanding of Irish political violence from 1848 to 1922... [it] rates as a 'must read'source for anyone interested in the Irish struggle for national self-determination" John Ainsworth, History

"[A] scholarly and immensely readable account of three-quarters of a century of British experience of Irishmen - and very occasionally women - in their prisons."- Dr Garret FitzGerald, The Guardian

"Sean McConville graphically recounts both sides of this story - and does so with an even-handedness and objectivity that must command the respect of all his readers, whatever side of the Irish Sea they may be on." - Dr Garret FitzGerald, The Guardian

“McConville has not shrunk from the challenge of an account that demands deep understanding of the political and administrative histories that shaped responses to the problem of political violence over long periods in Ireland and Britain. More than this, he embraces the work of capturing the modes of thinking, and the ways of living, of prisoners caught in the web of carceral institutions that made manifest those responses. These histories of the long saga of political imprisonment will remain a formidable testament to an era we may only hope we have now lost.” - Mark Finnane, Griffith University, 10:1 law&history

 

From the Publisher