This reissued classic - edited by historian F.X. Martin in 1963 and
originally published by James Duffy & Co - contains unique documents and
essays that were written by leading members of Irish nationalism during
a period when the Irish people witnessed social and cultural changes
that were as radical as anything seen in Irish history. This 50th
anniversary commemorative edition coincides with the 2013 centenary of
the foundation of the Irish Volunteers, a military organization. The
Volunteers - encompassing a new generation of Irish men and women -
oversaw the development of a new and re-energized movement, free from
much of the party/political machinations and interference that had
hindered Irish Nationalist attempts at self-determination in previous
decades. As described in the book's essays, the Volunteers were a 'broad
church' encompassing members of the Gaelic League, the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, and Sinn Fein. Secretly, they also included many thousands
of members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a not-insignificant
number of supporters from both the civil and ecclesiastical realms. With
the Irish Citizen Army, Cumann na mBan, and Fianna Eireann included in
this unified coalition, something new and unprecedented occurred in
Irish history - a movement which we are only now beginning to understand
in terms of its great and distinctive legacy a full century later. This
new edition is edited by Ruan O'Donnell and Micheal O hAodha, with a new
Foreword by Eamon O Cuiv. It is a unique historical record of the
Volunteer movement, and it includes original letters, reports, speeches,
editorials, military and administrative instructions, members' lists,
and tables.
