Book List for the 1916 Easter Uprising

So here is my annotated bibliography if you will, for my last post on the Easter Uprising.  I have read all of these and added a blurb about some of my favorites.  If you want to read more about the Uprising and/or the people involved, hopefully this list will give you a starting point.

1.)  Poems of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood edited by Padraic Colum and Edward J. O’Brien

This book is fun to read because it is the poetry of Padraic Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, and Thomas MacDonagh.  They were definitely writing their poetry to try and inspire nationalism among the Irish people.

2.)  1916: The Easter Rising by Tim Pat Coogan

Tim Pat Coogan is a noted Irish historian and this book gives a great in-depth look at everything from the events leading up to the Uprising, to the actual fighting, to the aftermath and executions of the leaders.  If you want a good overview of the Easter Uprising this is a great book to pick up.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday…or Monday As It Were.

I bet I can name 7  people you have never heard of, but who changed history…

1. Padraic Pearse
2. James Connolly
3. Eamonn Ceannt
4. Thomas MacDonagh
5. Joseph Plunket
6. Thomas Clark
7. Sean MacDiarmada

…unless you are Irish.

97 years ago yesterday (yes, I know, I am a day late getting this post out), the above seven men led a small force of men in rebellion against the British.  This rebellion was small and quite ineffective, but it did lay a foundation for the revolution and civil war just a few years later which would finally lead to Ireland’s independence from Great Britain.

I first should say that this post comes from months of research I did as a graduate student to write a paper on the legacy of the leaders of the Easter Uprising.  Being the anniversary of the rising, well, it gives me a chance to dust off the old paper and share some of my favorite research with you all.  Among the laughter and good times of Easter, this is why I send up a little thought to a small group of men who gave their lives for a cause they believed in that much.