Description
Book SynopsisA first-hand account of the 1916 Rising and its aftermath brings alive the historic events that ushered in the beginnings of an independent Irish state.
A Londoner and a member of the Irish Volunteers, Joe Good guarded the approach across O'Connell Bridge as the rebels took the centre of Dublin. He joined the garrison in the GPO, and describes at first hand the events of insurrection: the confusion, the heroism, and the tragedy of Easter Week.
After the Rising, Joe Good worked as an organiser for the Volunteers. He was a close associate of Michael Collins and his portrait of Collins provides fresh insight into his character, his competitiveness, and how he related to his men. In 1918 Good was one of a handpicked team sent to London to assassinate members of the British cabinet, and here he gives the first full account to be published of this extraordinary expedition.
Joe Good, born in London in 1895, died in Dublin in 1962. He wrote his journal in 1946 for his son Maurice, who has now edited it for publication.
Trade Reviewparticularly interesting
-- Irish Independent
remarkably vivid
-- The Irish Catholic
gripping … captivating
-- The Finest
everyone should own a copy … the definitive account of the Easter Rising … exceptionally well-written … a heartfelt work … an invaluable historical record … there are many books being produced for the centenary of 1916 – this one should be top of the list
-- An Phoblacht
the value of this book is that … it is the narrative of a young soldier, rather than that of a leader. And in particular, the story of an English-born Volunteer who, perhaps because of his English background, has a more detached view of events unfolding around him … this book is to be greatly welcomed and fills in the little details
-- irishtimes.com
all the engrossing power of a novel
-- Evening Echo
brilliant ... so much has been written about the Easter Rising, and subsequent War of Independence, that you’d imagine little more can be added to the tale at this stage. Joe Good’s 1996 memoir, however – republished ahead of next year’s centenary of the Rising – certainly does that, both in terms of factual detail and adding texture and colour to this seismic event in our history … the book’s centrepiece, and finest part, is a vivid, almost ‘camera verité’ account of the Rising itself … Joe brings us through the whole thing, with a clarity and immediacy that can be almost physically felt … a remarkable man and an unusually engrossing, thoughtful memoir
-- Irish Independent
