The period from 1913 to 1923 in Ireland's history of rebellion is undoubtedly the most significant. The period takes in the revival of interest in all things Irish around 1913, the heroic Easter Rising of 1916, the bloody War of Independence 1919-1921, and the bitter Civil War of 1922-1923. Here for the first time are images of those episodes, the people, the places, city and country, with insightful commentary describing the context of each photograph. This book gives the reader glimpses of this exciting time in Ireland through contemporary photographs.
Padraig Og O Ruairc is originally from Co. Clare. His first book was Blood On The Banner: The Republican Struggle in Clare 1913-1923 and he has contributed to Mercier's Military History of the Irish Civil War series with The Battle for Limerick City.
REVIEW
'1913-1923 was a period of great conflict, drama and change for Ireland at every level of society. There was the gradual, then sudden move from an aim of home rule, to a full republic, the partition at first only a mental one between the south and the north, then legal partition. Deaths, atrocities and heroism took place, sometimes all at once in the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War.
Through it all journalists, police, rebels and even professional photographers in rare cases took photographs, capturing a moment in time. All had different objectives, some for the sake of history, others for propaganda, there was also those taken to recognise potential rebels. These are now a valuable resource for historians and researchers.
Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc took on the task on sorting out the pictures to tell the story of the timeframe. He trawled through the archives, picking out the most relevant, most interesting and most historic. Then researched them, telling us about the people in the pictures, why it was taken, when and in what context.
Ó Ruairc managed to be as varied as possible with his selection, showing many historical figures and events instead of just focusing on the core characters such as De Valera and Collins, and the key events such as the Easter Rising. Lesser known men/women get their picture shown, and less publicised events have their place too. The ordinary people, get a mention too, sometimes watching the drama, other times participating. We have often seen in modern times how haunting a picture of an innocent child can be in the midst in tragedy and war, it is no different in this context. What was most striking however, was the inclusion of people from the RIC and Auxiliaries, despite their reputation for a lack of morals, they too played a role in Irish history.
Those who have had relatives involved on any of the sides of the events of the book should take a careful look to see if they can find a familiar face or two that might have been forgotten, or lost due to the passage of time. Also people who are interested in how their village or town looked during those ten years might well find a street, or shop that they recognise.
For a book that contains very little writing, there is a wealth of information within it. From biographies of men/women who are in the pictures, to a brief outline of an event, very useful for anyone wanting a quick, accurate summary without the time or motivation to delve deep into the material.
There are two ways of reading A Photographic History of Revolutionary Ireland 1913-1923. The first is to read the text and glance over the pictures. However, this is not the best way. Readers should take their time with the book; they should look at a picture, read the text, and then look at the picture again. Take in the historical significance of each one, look at expressions and hidden details, only then will the book make more sense and the pictures be valid. This reviewer started by using the first method, before taking his time and went back over the pictures later more carefully and as a result, learned a lot more but also had a far different experience with it.
Mercier Press and Ó Ruairc have done a wonderful job with this book; the pictures are tasteful, relevant and honest. The text is nonbiased, easy to understand for non-historians while at the same time, both interesting and informative for historians. A very welcome addition in explaining the most important years in Ireland of the twentieth century'.
Andrew Haworth 2011