Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

I've always had dificulty understanding the situation in Ireland, but Mr. Ward's slender book does an excellent job of summarizing the history that has led to so much conflict. He explains briefly the history of Ireland, from the earliest Norman settlers and the colonialism of England, and it's attempts to gain greater control through settlement and land reform, and how Catholicism and Protestantism play into that mix. He also discusses the various forms of nationalism - Constitutional, Revolutionary, and Romantic - and how each has contributed to the political makeup over the years. Mr. Ward sees the 1916 Easter Rising, although not especially successful at the time, as a pivotal point in Ireland's history, galvanizing those in the Catholic south to push for their independence, and fortifying those in the Protestant north in their allegiance to the British crown. He also explains the consequences of the Rising and how it has shaped conditions since then. Especially interesting was learning how America and the many Irish who immigrated have had such a profound effect on the situation in Ireland.

Although the actual discussion of the Rising itself is cursory, the history discussed is very enlightening in helping to understand such a complex situation. My initial impulse to read this book came from listening to U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (particularly the "Rattle & Hum" DVD version) and to better understand the sentiments expressed. But I immediately found myself fascinated with the complex history of Ireland and started digging back into my family genealogy to find which counties my few Irish ancestors came from, giving me a greater feeling of connection to their lives. But mostly, it gave me a greater understanding of the reasons behind the conflicts I remember hearing about on the news when I was a kid back in the 70s and 80s. The book is perhaps a bit too academic and scholarly in it's focus to be considered casual reading, but it's short and not difficult.

EDIT: After discussing this book with others more knowledgeable of Irish history I've learned that Mr. Ward greatly minimizes the extent of British culpability for the problems in Ireland. By sanitizing the history in this way, I feel that it can't possibly provide an accurate understanding of the reasons behind the violence and conflicts.