Dermot Bolger’s novel deals with the decline of the landed Anglo-Irish class, the rise and fall of Soviet-style Socialism in Ireland after the establishment of the Free State Continue reading
Tagged with James Connolly …
A Foot-soldier’s Misgivings about 1916
What is so refreshing about this narrative of the Easter Rising is its clear-eyed honesty about how ill-prepared the insurgents were to take on the British. Continue reading
Reflections on Poems of the Rising
The feelings expressed by the poets of the time brought home the anguish that drove these young men. All were at a pivotal point in their lives when they refused to ‘bow’ to a future under exploitative foreign domination Continue reading
A Socialist Insurgent
This is a thoughtful, well-balanced, sensibly structured and extremely well-written book. Supported by a ‘Timeline’ of Connolly’s life and times, a useful and clear map of central Dublin in 1916, a selection of interesting photographs (some of which were new to me) an extensive bibliography and a couple of short appendices containing some of Connolly’s writings (including a number of his ballads and poems) the author presents a really clear and concise introduction to Connolly. Continue reading
