It is 1916 and Europe is at war. From the poverty of the Dublin slums twelve-year-old Jimmy Conway sees it all as glorious, and loves the British Army for which his father is fighting. But when war comes to his own streets Jimmy's loyalties are divided. The rebels occupy the General Post Office and other parts of the city, and Jimmy's uncle is among them. Dublin's streets are destroyed, business comes to a halt. In an attempt to find food for his family, Jimmy crosses the city, avoiding the shooting, weaving through the army patrols, hoping to make it home before curfew. But his quest is not easy and danger threatens at every corner.

Townshend traces the dramatic events of the Easter Rebellion in Dublin in 1916, the actions and aims of the rebels, the British response to the revolt and the consequences, politically and culturally, of the uprising.

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.

When the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918) delayed home rule for Ireland, a faction of Irish nationalists - the Irish Republican Brotherhood - decided to take direct action and infiltrated a number of other nationalist and militia outfits. On Easter Monday 1916, whilst armed men seized key points across Dublin, a rebellion was launched from the steps of the General Post Office (GPO) and Patrick Pearse proclaimed the existence of an Irish Republic and the establishment of a Provisional Government. The British response was a military one and martial law was declared throughout Ireland. Over the next five days they drove the rebels back in violent street fighting until the Provisional Government surrendered on April 29. Central Dublin was left in ruins. The leaders of the rising were tried by court martial: 15 of them were summarily executed and a further 3,500 'sympathizers' imprisoned. Although the majority of the Irish population was against the rebellion, the manner of its suppression began to turn their heads in favor of those who would call for independence from Britain 'at any cost.' Covering in detail this important milestone in the ongoing Anglo-Irish struggle, bestselling author Michael McNally thoroughly examines the politics and tactics employed, to provide a well-researched study of the roots and outcome of this conflict. Furthermore, the array of unique photographs depicting this calamitous event help to bring to life one of the key episodes that shaped Irish history.

After the Rebellion, came the trials. 3,226 men and women were rounded up and brought to Richmond Barracks in Dublin, where they were screened for trial, deportation or release. In the following three weeks of May 1916 nearly 2,000 men and women were deported and interned. 160 prisoners were tried by Field General Courts Martial. These trials were held in camera - no press or public were admitted. None of the prisoners were legally represented or permitted to give sworn evidence in their own defence. Most trials lasted about 20 minutes or less. 90 death sentences were passed and 15 were carried out. This book provides a powerful analysis of an uncomfortable moment in history when the rule of law gave way to political imperatives. The trials and executions took place while the outcome of the Great War hung in the balance. The government judged that publication of the trial records would damage army recruitment and the war effort, so the trial records were suppressed and most were thought to have been destroyed. But since the turn of the century more and more trial records have surfaced, casting dramatic new insights into what took place. This book, the companion to The Trial of Civilians by Military Courts: Ireland 1921, is a fascinating and comprehensive study of the trials which proved to be a pivotal event in Anglo-Irish history.