Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

This book is the first comprehensive history of the Redmond political dynasty, its connections to Waterford and its contribution to national and local politics. For sixty years the Redmonds, John, his son William Archer and his daughter-in-law Bridget, dominated the politics of Waterford City. From 1891 to 1922, a Redmond represented Waterford at Westminster, and from 1923 until the death of Bridget Redmond in 1952, in Leinster House. John Redmond forged a bond with the people of Waterford, especially the workers there, a bond which transferred to William and to Bridget. In November 1891, John Redmond triumphed in a bitter electoral struggle in Waterford city against no less an opponent than Michael Davitt. He retained that seat and the loyalty of the people in Waterford until his death in 1918. Against the rising tide of Sinn FÃ?Â?Ã?Â(c)in, John's son William held the seat in a by-election in March 1918 and again in the General Election in December that year. That victory was the only one won by the Irish Parliamentary Party in the South of Ireland - a testimony to the enduring bond between the Redmonds and Waterford. After his sudden death in 1932 he was succeeded by his widow, Bridget. Her election was noteworthy at a time when the selection of the widow as a candidate was not the almost automatic choice it later became. This wide-ranging study offers a new insight into the political career of John Redmond and for the first time tells the story of William and Bridget Redmond. [Subject: 19th & 20th C. Studies, History, Irish Studies, Politics, Biography]

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.