The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism (Crofts Classics) [Paperback]

Alan J. Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1987 | ISBN-10: 0882958038 | ISBN-13: 978-0882958033

A balanced account of the 1916 Easter Rising and its place in Irish and British history. Professor Ward pays particular attention to three kinds of Catholic nationalism--constitutional, revolutionary, and romantic--to their counterpart, Protestant Unionism; to the defects of Home Rule as a solution to the Irish problem; and to the role of Irish-Americans in the struggle for Irish independence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Harlan Davidson (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882958038
• ISBN-13: 978-0882958033
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,114,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Revisionist view of Irish history, May 11, 2008

By 

Chesapeake - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism (Paperback)

This is a "revisionist" view of Irish history. This book was first published in 1980 at the height of the "revisionist" wars in Irish history. Some historians at that time were fearful that the violence in NI was being fed by nationalists interpretations of Irish history and a toning down was needed. This revisionist movement led to a slue of books which sought to minimize the British presence in Ireland but especially their culpability in the situation that was then out of control.

If you read the intro Ward actually says that Irish history has not been "interpreted" the correct way and has therefore got to be reinterpreted. Ward is therefore going to put a different "spin" on things - and he does. He refers to the Elizabethan wars as "rebellions" in Ireland. Well, what was actually going on was Elizabeth I sent in huge armies into Ireland to dispossess the native Irish. The native Irish were forced off their traditional lands by force of these armies. Ward completes glosses over this and refers to O'Neill and O'Donnell as "rebels". Rebels who were trying to keep their own lands! But he fails to say this.

As to 1916 - Ward gives as the reason why the British sent in a huge army to put down the Rising - hold secret trials and shoot the leaders and arrest thousands - was a fear the Brits had of a German landing because of WWI. That is a huge stretch but one that Ward had to make to "explain" the atrocities that the Brits committed during the Rising including the random shooting of civilians on Dublin streets. But how does this "threat" of a German landing explain what continued to be a brutal British reaction after the Rising? The Black and Tan slaughter of civilians and the burning of towns throughout Ireland that followed was the worse period in all of this - all of which Ward again glosses over. The Black and Tans arrived in Ireland two years after WWI so trying to claim that the reason why the British reacted so violently in Ireland was because of concerns from Germany is a completely false assertion.

Ward also claims that Sinn Fein did not win a mandate from the Irish people in the 1918 elections. Nonsense. This is another false claim by Ward. In fact, Sinn Fein won 73 out of a possible 100 seats and set up a parliament in Dublin on a firm mandate from the Irish people - the present Dublin Dail is a direct descendant of this electoral mandate. So what is Ward talking about?

One typical aspect of the revisionists view was to claim that most of the egregious laws passed by the British in Ireland over their 800 year presence on the island were "not enforced" and to soft peddle them this way. Ward does this over and over again in this book. This argument has not held water - the anti-Catholic laws were quite effective in fact - and since the late 1990s another wave of historians are re-claiming the high ground and the "revisionists" view has been discredited to a large extent.

I don't recommend this book.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just the Title, December 24, 2000

By 

Caroline Blanchard - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism (Crofts Classics) (Paperback)

This book is much more than just the Easter Rising. The first chapter explains the Rising rather simply, making it easy to follow along. The following chapters explain everything from the causes of the Rising (Unionists, Republicans, Consititutionalists, Home Rulers, Romantics). It goes back more than a hundred year, giving a quick overview of Irish Colonialism by the English and focusing on the 19th century after the Act of Union in 1800. It includes political, popular, literary, and even sporting movements. Then it explains the imediate events of the Risings and goes on to explain the after effects, including Sinn Finn, etc. This book is really a short history of Anglo-Irish relations. It's written in a manner that anyone can pick it up and set it back down with a well rounded knowledge of the events. It even includes a chapter that explains the effects of Americans on Irish relations. This is a wonderful secondary source sutable for anyone wanted to gain some basic knowledge of the problems in Ireland or wanting to just get a solid background before going on to do any more reading.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small But Informative, December 12, 2003

By 

David Troter (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism (Crofts Classics) (Paperback)

This book does a great job explaining the politics before and after the Easter Rising of 1916. When I first saw the book, I though it was going to be a book about the events of those days in 1916. But only the first chapter really talks about the actual Easter Rising. So, if you are looking for a book that only does the chronology of Easter 1916, you will be disappointed. But Ward does a great job explaining the difference between Constitutional Nationalist and the militant republican movement. He also does a great job in explaining the cultural differences, and how the Irish republicans used these cultural tools to their advantage. Finally, he ends the book by talking about the increase in Sinn Fein's political participation, due to the events of 1916.

Again, if you are looking for a book purely on Easter 1916, this isn't it (I wish the book did go more in depth into Easter 1916, Pearse, Connolly, and others, that is why I only gave it four stars). But if you are looking for a book that tells the cause and effect of Easter 1916, this is a great book.