The Easter Rising of 1916 had a lasting effect upon Ireland, with many viewing it as a watershed in the history of modern Ireland and concurring with Yeats that a «terrible beauty was born». Seeking to clarify the state of nationalist opinion in the period before the Rising, Genesis of the Rising is as much an undertaking in social psychology as it is a social and political history. It strives to debunk many longstanding theories, most significantly the turning of the tide thesis, which asserts that British blunders in the wake of the failed Rising turned the tide in public opinion toward the course envisioned by the Rebels. Genesis of the Rising contends that as early as 1912, with the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill, through the start of the Great War, and right up to Easter 1916, the tide in nationalist opinion had been turning, albeit silently, and that the Rising was a catalytic force that accelerated an already ongoing process. It reveals a dichotomy in nationalist opinion between covert views and misleading, overt opinion when it suggests that it was the Rising and the executions that subsequently forced nationalist opinion to show its true colors. In effect, the tide had begun to turn long before Easter 1916; and constitutional nationalism, as represented by the Third Home Rule Bill and the Irish Parliamentary Party, was giving way to some aspect of physical-force nationalism.

On Easter Monday, between 1,000 and 1,500 Irish Volunteers and members of the Irish Citizen Army seized the General Post Office and other key locations in Dublin. The intention of their leaders, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, was to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent thirty-two county Irish republic. For a week battle raged in the Irish capital until the Rising collapsed. The rebel leaders were executed soon afterwards, though in death their ideals quickly triumphed. lluminating every aspect of that fateful Easter week, The Easter Rising is based on an impressive range of original sources. It has been fully revised, expanded and updated in the light of a wealth of new material and extensive use has been made of almost 2,000 witness statements that the Bureau of Military History in Dublin gathered from participants in the Rising. The result is a vivid depiction of the personalities and actions not just of the leaders on both sides but the rank and file and civilians as well. The book brings the reader closer to the events of 1916 than has previously been possible and provides an exceptional account of a city at war.

No organization was more central to the history of Ireland in the 20th century than the Irish Volunteers. This is the first authoritative history of that body from its inception in November 1913 to its rebranding as the IRA in 1919. Against a backdrop of seemingly imminent Home Rule, the example and form of the Ulster Volunteer Force inspired a nationalist equivalent in Dublin. This book traces the daunting challenges which confronted the Irish Volunteers, from lack of resources and expertise to the efforts of the Irish Parliamentary Party to seize control in June 1914. Without the First World War, the 1916 Rising would have been inconceivable. John Redmond's endorsement of the war effort fractured the Volunteers and led to the establishment of rival National and Irish Volunteer forces. The waning fortunes of the National Volunteers are surveyed. Energized by the threat of wartime conscription, the Irish Volunteers survived, while a secret IRB coterie planned an insurrection. This was militarily doomed but those who took part fought tenaciously. As Irish public opinion was transformed in the aftermath of the Rising, the Irish Volunteers re-emerged on a better organized military footing. This book assesses the relationship between them and the revamped Sinn Fein party in the lead up to the 1918 general election and the increasingly violent action that resulted in the War of Independence.

A generously illustrated popular history of Ireland's Easter Rising and Revolution.

This book is a selection of 40 articles from the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of Irish Biography, dealing with 42 people whose careers, in one way or another, were deeply involved with the Easter rising of 1916.The biographies include insurgents, women involved, nationalist leaders and figures in the British military and administration.